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The Ramblers won two games Saturday at Mayo Field in the Section 1AA playoffs and moved within one win of a trip to the state tournament.
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Cotter pitcher Thomas O’Brien, center celebrates a 2-1 victory in extra innings over Cannon Falls Saturday with his teammates during the Section 1AA playoffs at Mayo Park in Rochester. (photo by Katie Derus/Winona Daily News) |
Cotter beat Cannon Falls 2-1 in eight innings in the opener, then pounded Rochester Lourdes 11-1 in six innings in the second game.
The wins came a week after the fourth-seeded Ramblers won three elimination games in the sub-section tournament to grab the second spot in the section.
The wins also were made possible by a call on the bases that kept alive Cotter’s hopes in the opener, which they won just an inning later.
“Any way. Any way to tie that game,” Cotter senior Andy Wolfe said. “Somehow we found that run and scavenged another run later to win.”
The crucial and questionable call came in the seventh inning, which began with a single by Thomas O’Brien.
Pinch runner John McGrory was sacrificed to second and took third on a wild pitch. McGrory took an aggressive turn around the base and ran into Cannon Falls third baseman Jared Woodard.
Catcher Jared Erlanson came up with the ball cleanly and McGrory made no real attempt to head for home.
After a brief discussion, umpires called obstruction and awarded McGrory home to tie the game 1-1.
“I think it was the right call,” Cotter coach Mat O’Brien said, admitting he might think differently if he was the opposing coach.
“Some people might say gamesmanship and that it didn’t affect the play and they should let it go,” the third-year coach added. “Other people are more of a purest and say a rule is a rule. If he’s in the way, he’s in the way.
“John does run well and he rounded hard. I think we was looking at the potential to score, but he probably wouldn’t have gone. It ended up being good for us.”
Cotter took advantage, winning it in the top of the eighth with a one-out sacrifice fly by Wolfe. Steven Tofstad started the inning with a single and scored the winning run.
The Ramblers (16-10) rode that momentum into the second game, during which they had 11 hits and rolled past a Lourdes team that beat them twice during the regular season.
Wolfe and David Miller each hit home runs, while Matt Wolfe went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Tofstad had a pair of hits and an RBI.
The win was the fifth in a row for Cotter, which has allowed only one run in each of those wins.
“It feels really good, especially looking back at some of the coaches in our section who seeded us sixth in our sub-section,” said senior Thomas O’Brien, who picked up the win in relief of both games. “Now we’re in the driver’s seat to win the section. That’s definitely an awesome feeling and the guys are having a lot of fun.”
Cotter will play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mayo Field against the winner of Cannon Falls/Lourdes. With a win, the Ramblers would head back to state for the second time in three seasons.
Should the Ramblers lose, the two teams would play at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. On the line again would be a trip to state, set for June 12-13 in St. Cloud.
The Ramblers aren’t buying that it’s an unlikely scenario, even for a team that was 4-8 at one point this season. They’re a hot team when it matters, having won 11 of 13 to prove they belong.
“I’ve found these seniors to be a very competitive group of kids who have found a way to win in some adverse situations,” Mat O’Brien said. “I knew this team had the potential to do this. Everyone stayed positive and stuck with it. I’m not surprised at where our team is at.”
