MANKATO – Martin County West is scheduled to play New Ulm Cathedral in the winner’s bracket final of the Section 2A baseball tournament at 11 a.m. Saturday at ISG Field.
The seventh-seeded Mavericks won their third game of the tournament and second over a higher-seeded team when they held off sixth-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 5-4 Thursday in Sleepy Eye. On Tuesday, MCW had topped second-seeded Madelia 9-7.
Kain Sanders picked up the pitching win vs. the Knights on Thursday, allowing four runs on eight hits in six and one-third innings before reaching his pitch count limit. He walked two, hit two batters and struck out two.
Jesse Potts came on in relief with two runners on and a 5-3 lead. The Knights would get to within one before the game ended on a ball caught by MCW shortstop Zach Anderson.
Christian Bachenberg had two doubles for the Mavericks, Jacob Fiala had two hits with one double and Potts also had two hits. Sanders and Brice Enter had one hit apiece.
Martin County West enters Saturday’s game with a 14-7 record, while Cathedral is 19-2.
Two elimination bracket games are also scheduled for Saturday, with Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (12-10) facing Mankato Loyola (13-7) and Sleepy Eye (14-6) playing Springfield (14-7).
SECTION 2A BASEBALL
Thursday, May 26
First round
New Ulm Cathedral 10, Nicollet 0
Cleveland 5, Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman 4
Mankato Loyola 7, BOLD 6
Sleepy Eye 5, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 0
Springfield 8, St. Clair 1
Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 6, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 0
Martin County West 12, Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey 4
Madelia 8, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 0
Tuesday, May 31
Second round
New Ulm Cathedral 8, Cleveland 3
Sleepy Eye 7, Mankato Loyola 2
Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 4, Springfield 3
Martin County West 9, Madelia 7
Thursday, June 2
Winner’s bracket
Martin County West 5, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 4
New Ulm Cathedral 11, Sleepy Eye 10 (8 innings)
Elimination bracket
Mankato Loyola 7, Cleveland 6
Springfield 6, Madelia 2
Saturday, June 4
At ISG Field, Mankato
Winner’s bracket
Martin County West (14-7) vs. New Ulm Cathedral (19-2), 11 a.m.
Elimination bracket
Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (12-10) vs. Mankato Loyola (13-7), 1 p.m.
Sleepy Eye (14-6) vs. Springfield (14-7), 3 p.m.