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Chisago Lakes 3, North Branch 2 (9 innings)

Andy Willhite's walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the fourth-seeded Wildcat baseball team to a 3-2 win over the fifth-seeded Vikings. The single came in the opening game of the double-elimination portion of the Section 7AAA baseball tournament Saturday, May 30 at Princeton. But Willhite may not have been at the plate with a chance to drive in the winning run without the help of great nine-inning pitching performances by Wildcat pitcher Joey Reed and Viking pitcher Matt Becklin, Viking second baseman Joe Johnson's clutch two-out, two run homer in the top of the sixth and 6,000 golf balls.

So what do 6,000 golf balls have to do with a section baseball playoff game? For a senior prank, it was reported that 25 or so Chisago Lakes students, including three baseball players, dumped 6,000 golf balls into the commons at Chisago Lakes High School. As punishment, three baseball players involved in the prank were suspended for the Wildcats' first playoff game. This created an opportunity for Kyle Buchanan, a sophomore who had played on the JV all season, to start at second base for the Wildcats. He came to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Jack Faith on second and the Wildcats trailing 2-1. Buchanan dumped a 1-1 pitch into right field, scoring Faith with the tying run to send the game into extra innings and set the stage for Willhite's extra-inning heroics.

The Wildcats scratched across the game's first run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Cody Bergquist led off with a walk. Two outs later, Tyler Henderson walked to move Bergquist to second. On a 1-1 pitch, Bryan Eichten dropped a single into short right field just beyond the reach of Viking second baseman Johnson, scoring Bergquist for a 1-0 Wildcat lead. "It's just one of those balls that you hope to get behind the ball and catch it," North Branch Head Coach Steve Christensen said. "But, this one just fell in for a hit."

Johnson returned the favor, and then some, in the top of the sixth. Designated hitter Matt Lutgen singled to left with one out. One out later, Johnson blasted a 2-0 pitch over the fence in straightaway left field to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.

"He hit that ball a long ways," Christensen noted. "There was some hesitation as the ball was hit down the left field line, but Joe hit it really well."

Faith walked with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch-hitter Brandon Dawson laid down a nice sacrifice bunt that moved Faith to second. Buchanan then stepped to the plate and delivered the game tying hit - his second hit of the game and only the second hit of his varsity career. Wildcat Head Coach Pat Collins said "I wouldn't normally bunt with one out, but I had the gut feeling that Bucket [Buchanan] had another base hit in him. So here's Dawson, a 200 pound kid who hasn't had that many plate appearances this year. Since Becklin had been a little wild, I told Dawson to take one strike, and then lay down the bunt. Bucket singles in the tying run, and I look like a genius. Of course, if it had worked people would have wondered what the heck I was thinking. If I had a chance to do it over again 20 times, I'd do it the same way every time."

After Buchanan's hit, Chad Haider pinch ran for him. Luke Schuler walked to move Haider to second, , but Becklin got Cody Bergquist to ground out to third baseman Sean Graff to end the Wildcat threat and send the game into extra innings.

The Wildcats had a chance to win the game I the bottom of the eighth. Tyler Henderson hit a long line drive to left that looked like it had a chance to go over the fence. But the ball banged off the fence halfway up, and Henderson slid into second with a double. Eichten was intentionally walked, but Becklin got Faith to pop out to short to end the Wildcat eighth.

The Vikings threatened to take the lead in the top of the ninth. Johnson led off with an infield single ad moved to second on Becklin's sacrifice bunt. Catcher Kyle Grote stepped to the plate. He hammered a 2-1 pitch to deep center field. Unfortunately, he hit it right at Wildcat center fielder Willhite for the second out. Johnson moved to third on the play, but Reed struck out the next batter on a 3-2 pitch to end the Viking threat.

With the score still tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Wildcat designated hitter Luke Schuler drew a two-out walk. Copy Bergquist then hit a popup into short right field that dropped just over the outstretched glove of Viking first baseman Eric Berggren, moving Schuler to second. Willhite then stepped to the plate and drilled a single up the middle to score Schuler from second and give the Wildcats a 3-2 win. After the game, Willhite was asked if he had ever ended game with a walk-off hit in the past. "Not that I remember," he said. "But it was a fun way to end the game. I was expecting a first pitch curve. I was going to take till I had one strike on me, then swing away if he threw something in the zone. But he threw me a first pitch fastball and I just reacted to it and knocked it up the middle."

The game represented baseball at its classic best. It featured great pitching, great fielding and clutch hitting. All of the game's runs were scored with two outs. Reed allowed two earned runs on six hits and struck out eight. He walked just one batter, his lowest total in any appearance so far this season.

Becklin was equally dominating for the Vikings, allowing six hits while striking out four. His only Achilles' heel for the game was wildness - all three Wildcat runs were scored by players who walked.

"Both guys pitched really well," Christensen said. "They are two different pitchers, but kept each team's bats at bay. The defenses really played well behind each guy. It's nice as a pitcher to know that your team plays well behind you."

"That game was a lot of fun," said Collins. "We got big plays from Bucket , who had never played a varsity game before. Dawson was given just one chance to do something and he laid down a nice sacrifice bunt. And Joey Reed pitched his best game of the year. He threw strikes at the knees and had great control, which was amazing considering the home plate umpire is a guy with a notoriously tight strike zone. Their guy Becklin pitched a heck of a game, too. We had to work hard to get all three runs off of him."

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