Trailing host Springfield by three runs in the sixth, head coach Charlie Haugen and company couldn’t have asked for a better scenario on Thursday when, with the bases loaded, the Clippers’ X factor, Miles Tomaszewski, stepped up to the plate.
Taking a mighty cut, the freshman drove the ball into deep center field. But with his glove extended, the fielder made a sprinting catch just in front of the fence for the third out. The Tigers ultimately held on for an 8-5 victory, and the Clippers’ season ended in the first round of the section 2A elimination bracket.
“That’s a top five team in the state,” said Haugen. “We were right there. That’s a homerun in any other field, but that’s baseball at the end of the day.”
Strong out of the gate, Clippers scored two runs in the first.
Carson Lyons hit a line drive to center field for a single but got caught stealing. Up next, Brennan Kortuem’s grounder went through the legs of the third baseman for an error. Caleb Connor walked, and Kortuem scored when Tomaszewski, who has far and away the team’s best batting average and the most hits, uncoiled for a single to right field. Braeden Smith followed with an RBI single before the frame ended on a double play.
The Tigers did most all their damage in the second. The leadoff batter walked and scored on a double. After a sacrifice bunt for one out, Springfield stuck with the small ball, bunting again, this time for a single and an extra base with an error on the putout attempt. With yet another bunt single, the Tigers had runners on first and third.
After another run scored on a double steal, the Tigers came up with two singles and a pair of doubles for a 7-2 lead before the inning ended after a fielder’s choice and a Connor throw from behind the disc that caught the runner stealing.
Not giving up, the Clippers posted another run in the third when Kortuem led off with a single, made it all the way to third on a Connor ground out and scored on a Tomaszewski sacrifice fly.
The Tigers cancelled that run in the same inning though on a single, a stolen base and an RBI single for an 8-3 advantage.
It was all Clippers from there, but just not quite enough. After Kortuem led off the fifth with a hard-hit ball to the shortstop for an infield single, he scored on a Connor double.
Kyle Connor led off the sixth with a hard-hit ball to center field for a single. Next up, Kale Kelley beat out a bunt single. The next two batters struck out, but Kortuem got hit by a pitch, and, diving into first base, Caleb Connor beat out the throw on his grounder to the second baseman while scoring his cousin from third and keeping the bases loaded before Tomaszewski’s just-miss flyout ended the frame.
The Clippers outhit the Tigers 12-11. Their entire starting lineup had at least one hit. Caleb Connor hit a single and a double for two RBIs. Brennan Kortuem hit two singles and scored three runs. Tomaszewski hit a single and batted in two runners. Smith had two singles and batted in one run. Lyons, Kelley, Nathan Seeman, Kyle Connor and Alex Kortuem all had a base hit.
“Everyone had competitive at bats. Everyone gave it his best,” Haugen said.
The Clippers walked three times, struck out six times and got beaned once. Coming up with plays when they needed to, the Tigers marooned 10 Clipper runners.
Brennan Kortuem tossed the first five innings. He allowed 11 hits and eight runs, all earned while striking out five and walking three. In his tenure, the Clippers stranded four on base.
“They had one inning where they hit the crap out of the ball. But BK came back and shoved and shoved and shoved and only gave up one more run and was awesome,” Haugen said.
Lyons pitched one inning. He struck out one and allowed no hits or walks.
Cleveland committed three errors, two more than Springfield.
“It was super fun to watch them compete all year, and I’m proud to be their coach,” Haugen said.
Second-ranked Springfield was upset 3-0 by seventh-seeded Sleepy Eye while the third-seeded Clippers fell 8-2 to eighth-ranked Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s to force the meeting between the Clippers and the Tigers, who went on to beat Madelia 8-1 in the second round of the elimination bracket on Saturday. They take on eighth-seeded Mankato Loyola at Mankato East tomorrow to determine the winner of the elimination bracket. Loyola had topped SESM 10-6. SESM had lost 9-5-Sleepy Eye.
Top-seeded New Ulm Cathedral beat Sleepy Eye 5-2 in the semifinal on Saturday. The Greyhounds play the elimination bracket winner at Mankato East on Thursday. A Springfield upset would force another playoff game to determine the section winner.
The Clippers finish their season with a 14-6 record. Two likely wins toward the end of the season were rained out and never played. It was the last high school game for Brennan Kortuem, Kyle Connor and Kelley.
“I hate to see them go,” Haugen said. “They were great leaders and gave great effort and had great attitudes all year. But know Cleveland is here. We’re returning a lot of guys next year.”
Above: Right after the last note of the national anthem, the Clippers were ready to play and scored two runs in the first. They are, from L-R, head coach Charlie Haugen, assistant coaches Dalton Thelen and Dan McCabe, Aiden Domras, Jackson Shouler, Carson Lyons, Brennan Kortuem, Cale Connor, Miles Tomaszewski, Braeden Smith, Alex Kortuem, Kyle Connor, Kale Kelley and Nathan Seeman.
