With another win or two in the books during the regular season, the Clipper boys might have had a better seed in the first round of the sections instead of running into second-ranked Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Thursday for an 11-1 loss in five to end their season.
But for head coach Charlie Haugen, the Clippers are in control of their destiny, no matter whom they are paired with, and he has complete confidence they will leave it all out on the field.
“I believe in these guys no matter what. I don’t care what team we’re playing. I don’t care what seed it is, we’re going to give our best effort, and we’re going to play our butts off. We control what we can control. Seeds are seeds, and we look at this team and know what we can get to.”
The Clippers’ lone run came in the first when Caleb Connor hit a two-out double, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a passed ball.
On a single, an infield error and a ground out, the Knights tied the game in the bottom of the first. They added two runs in the second on a triple, a walk with the easy steal and a two-RBI single to take the lead. Never looking back, they posted two more runs in the third and three runs in each the fourth and the fifth, the winner on a stray pitch.
The Clippers totaled four hits. Connor singled in the fourth for a 2-2 night. Kale Kelley and Kyle Connor hit back-to-back singles in the fifth. The Clippers walked once and fanned eight times.
We really just played our hearts out tonight,” said senior Gabe Sullivan. “He was a great pitcher.”
Brennan Kortuem started out on the hill. In three innings, he allowed five hits for five runs, three of them earned. He walked two, beaned one and struck out four.
In relief in the fourth, Blake Lyons tossed an inning and a third until the Knights effected the 10-run rule to walk off with the triumph. He also surrendered five hits. Half of the Knights’ six runs in his tenure were earned. He walked one, struck out one and also hit one batter.
The Clippers errored three times, twice in the infield and once in the outfield. SESM didn’t commit an error.
“I’m super proud of this group,” Haugen said. “There were a lot of ups and downs this season, but we stayed consistent and stayed humble. They always had each other’s back, and it was a privilege to be their coach this year”
They end their season with a 6-9 record, much improved from last year's single win but still something Haugen expects to improve upon next season.
“We’ve got the group of kids. We’re losing only one senior starter. We know what we’ve got. We know what we can be. It just comes down to ‘are we going to put in that time and put in the work, and what are we going to look like?’”
Sullivan, typically the catcher and sometimes an outfielder, was the only senior consistently in the lineup. Brady Bostic is also an outgoing senior.
“It was a really fun season playing with all the guys,” Sullivan said. “You couldn’t ask for a better team. It was a big culture change for all of us, and I really enjoyed the process.”
Sullivan will continue baseball this summer on the U19 team with his underclassman and also as a member of the town team.
Above: Catcher Gabe Sullivan will be the only starter not returning next spring.
Brennan Kortuem started on the hill and threw three innings.
Blake Lyons pitched an inning and a third.
Alex Kortuem sets up to catch a throw to second.
Gabe Sullivan battled in his last at bat.
Kale Kelley heads to third after a Kyle Connor single in the fifth.
Brady Bostic and Jack Shouler.