Whether it be playing little league, practicing in batting cages or just playing ball over the summer with friends, nearly every youth baseball player growing up in the state of Minnesota has envisioned themselves playing in the majors and stepping onto Target Field.
And on Saturday, the Owatonna Huskies were just one of a few select high school teams to fulfill the dream of getting to play on a major league field.
The Huskies and the Red Wing Wingers kicked off the first of six total games to be played at Target Field in the Twins’ High School Baseball Series. The Big 9 matchup in the Big Leagues ended in a 2-2 time limit draw.
“It’s a surreal experience,” said senior pitcher and shortstop Mitch Seykora. “You get to play where big leaguers play and make millions of dollars to play the game. You just got to take a moment to take it all in once you’re here.”
Every season, the Minnesota Twins will host a couple of high school teams, cover the costs for teams to make the trip to Minneapolis and play one of their regular season games on Target Field for baseball or at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium for softball.
Owatonna put its name in the hat early on when the Twins were starting to look for teams to play in the 2024 HS Baseball Series. The Huskies ended up being one of the teams selected and the Red Wing was the chosen matchup to be played at Target Field.
So after getting to watch the hometown Twins defeat American League Central rival the Detroit Tigers in a 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon, the grounds crew went right to work preparing the field for the Big 9 matchup between the Huskies and Wingers.
“When the notice was out that they were looking for teams, we were able to jump on it,” said Owatonna head coach Tate Cummins. “I think we were ready for the opportunity, we got our names in really early and it worked out. It’s a big time blessing to be out here.”
The Wingers were the first to strike as a pop fly to shallow right field was able to hide in the sun and drop for the first run of the game. Red Wing threatened to extend its lead in the top of the second before the Huskies turned a 5-4-3 double play to get out of a jam.
Junior shortstop Tanner Smith led off the bottom of the second by drawing a walk and ended up at third base, where he’d score on a passed ball to even out the score.
Fellow junior Gavin Saxton made his varsity debut just a few days after hitting a walk off home run for a junior varsity win. Saxton hit a sac fly to center field that allowed sophomore pinch runner Will Radel to score and give the Huskies a 2-1 lead.
Red Wing tied things in the top of the fourth on a hard grounder to third base. Junior third baseman Connor Wiese made a great defensive play to save multiple runs from scoring and nearly got the Huskies out of the inning, but the Wingers beat him to third with one run scoring for a 2-2 ballgame.
The Huskies had a couple of other chances at bringing in a couple more runs that ended up falling short. Nathan Theis attempted to tag from third on a potential sac fly to center, but the throw home beat him there. Owatonna also led off the third inning with a walk from Theis, a single from Michael Reinardy and a walk from Seykora. Red Wing responded with three straight outs to get out of the jam.
“Just in my backyard with my brother, we’d just play wiffle ball and think of this,” Seykora said of getting to play on Target Field. “To finally do it is pretty sweet.”
It was only fitting that a special day would end in a special circumstance. Traditionally, tied games after seven innings of play would warrant extra innings to determine the winner. But for the Huskies and Wingers, a two hour time limit on their game meant the seventh inning was going to be the last inning of play.
Owatonna held the Wingers off the scoreboard in the top of the inning, but led off the bottom of the inning with two straight outs.
With only one out left to play in the game, Seykora blasted the ball deep towards the left-center fence. In almost any other stadium, Seykora would’ve hit a two-out walkoff home run. But in Target Field, the ball hit off the outfield wall.
Seykora reached third on a standup triple as the game-winning run. Red Wing got out of the inning with a strikeout as the Huskies and Wingers’ day at Target Field ended with a 2-2 tie.
Regardless of the outcome, it was a special day for all of the players, coaches and communities that made the trip to watch Big 9 baseball get to play on one of the biggest stages of baseball in the country.
Rosters were limited to 25 players and the Huskies completely filled out their roster to try to give as many players as possible the chance to experience playing a game at a big league field. While they weren’t always able to get all 25 players out on the field, they were able to get multiple players subbed in as pinch runners or in the outfield.
“They gave us a max of 25 guys and we wanted to get as many people on the field as we could,” Cummins said. “Unfortunately, especially with a close game like that, you can’t get as many subs in. It was a well-played game on both sides. That’s the draw back, but it would have been awesome to get more. They were still able to get on this field, get in the dugout and play in a big league park. It’s a big deal.”
No matter what, Saturday’s game at Target Field will go down as a cherished memory for everyone involved.
Most Popular
Comments / 0