Big inning dooms Huskies in Section 1AAAA opener

Rochester - In their first matchup this season, Rochester Mayo High School made quick work of the Owatonna baseball team, cruising to a 12-0 win in four innings at Dartts Park in Owatonna.
Saturday, Mayo served as host for the opening round of the Section 1AAAA tournament and Owatonna had senior Kodey Kiel on the mound.
That didn’t seem to even faze the Spartans.
Scoring five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, the fourth-seeded Spartans (12-9) pulled away from the Huskies (9-11) for a 6-2 victory Saturday at Mayo Field.
“We played a good game. It was a game we definitely could’ve got,” commented skipper Tate Cummings. “It didn’t work out, we’ll keep our heads up and look for Monday.”
The momentum shifted to Owatonna early as both Kodey Kiel and Tucker Alstead were awarded to first base after being hit by pitches from Ethan Sawallisch. Four batters later, Zach Mensink’s RBI down the left field line scored Alstead to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. The inning would end with a Brady Schuster ground ball to the third basemen.
Despite facing five Spartans in the first inning, Kiel managed to give up a pair of hits in the innings. He would however retire the final two of the inning. The senior hurler appeared to have his stuff working early, allowing just one run on four hits the first three innings, but demoralizing the Spartans after they left three runners on base, two of which were in scoring position.
Owatonna managed to regain the lead in the top of the fourth inning after Dawson Leer’s RBI single to left-centerfield scored Abe Havelka. In fact, Havelka and Mensink started the inning with back-to-back hits, and Schuster managed to give Leer a bases loaded opportunity. Unfortunately for the Huskies, the struggle of leaving runners in scoring position was prevalent. In the only two innings Owatonna scored runs, the Huskies left runners on second and third twice. For the game, the only other opportunity for Owatonna to have a runner in scoring position was in the top of the sixth.
“We had our chances early to get up early,” noted Cummings. “We had the bases juiced and few others innings where he had runners on first and second,
In the bottom of the fourth, the momentum slanted back toward Mayo.
It would ultimately stay there.
After a leadoff double by Jason Martin, the Spartans would load the bases after a pair of walks by Kiel. Sawallisch would tie the game at 2-2 with an RBI double, keeping the bases loaded. The turning point of the inning was a throwing error by Schuster at home, allowing a pair of runs to score, increasing the lead to 4-2. The final blow was delivered by Thomas Krause’s bases clearing double, which would end Kiel’s day on the mound.
The senior went 3 1/3 innings and allowed six runs on seven hits. Havelka would come on in relief to end the inning with a fly ball to centerfield. The junior’s performance was strong, allowing just three hits in his final 2 2/3 innings of work.
Owatonna attempted to make a rally late after Kiel reached on error. However, when trying to steal third on a passed ball - despite appearing to be safe - Kiel was called out, sealing the fate of the Huskies.
“I didn’t even get into it with him,” Cummings added. “It wasn’t worth it at that point; first time I’ve seen it called.”
Owatonna will play Lakeville South on Monday at 11 a.m. at Lakeville North High School.

Box Score
OHS   1 0 0 1 0 0 0  2 7 2 
RMH  0 1 0 5 0 0 x  6 9 3
LP: Kiel - 3 1/3 IP, 6R, 7H, 2K, 3BB
Owatonna hitters:
Kiel 1-3 (ROE/HBP), Alstead 0-2 (HBP), Budach 0-3, Havelka 2-3, Mensink 2-3 (RBI), Schuster 0-3 (ROE), Malo 1-3, Leer 2-3, Westphal 0-2.