You would have to call them clutch. Rushford-Peterson baseball has gone where it hasn’t gone in some time. Courtesy of some big two-out innings, the Trojans are 1A East champions. Jordan Aug’s senior-laden group is headed to Austin for the Section Final Four. After a helpful bye in round one, top-seeded R-P (11-8) took on 5-seed W-K (8-9) in one semi at Loughery Field in Winona. The Trojans scored first, getting a two-out Carter Weidemann 2-run triple for a 2-0 lead (first inning). The Falcons took advantage of some walks to tie things 2-2 (second inning). They then went ahead 5-2. Nine-hitter Lukas Busch had 2-run hits in each rally. R-P tied the game 5-5 in their half of the third. Jake Paulson’s 2-run single was the biggest hit in a another two-out rally. W-K went ahead 6-5 and then 7-5. But R-P plated four in the sixth (again with two outs). A Weidemann 2-run single gave the Trojans a 9-7 lead heading to W-K’s seventh. There, the Falcons threatened. A couple walks, a hit, and a wild pitch made it 9-8. Trojan senior Shawn Marg, on in relief, then got two outs, stranding runners at second and third. R-P held on, 9-8. Weidemann (3-4, 3B, 4 RBI, R), Paulson (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R), Ben Ansell (2-4, 2 R, 3 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 1 K, Win), and Marg (2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K, Save) led the charge. The Trojans survived despite walking 11. Busch (2-4, 2B, 4 RBI) and pitcher Tanner Sanderson (3-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, Loss) led W-K. The first four Falcons hit .176 (3-17, R). The last five hit .636 (7-11, 7 R, 7 RBI, .800 on-base-percentage). The Trojans (12-8) then faced 3-seed Schaeffer Academy (14-5) in the 1A East final. R-P opened the scoring with a second inning two-out rally. Payton Hahn’s 2-run triple was the big blow in the 3-run frame. The Trojans then led 3-1, 4-1, and 5-2 heading the seventh. There, the Lions threatened. Reed Davis’ RBI-double plated one (5-3) and put runners on second and third with two out. But Marg, the Trojan starter, again stranded the tying runs in scoring position. R-P captured its first sub-section title since 2001 by a final of 5-3. Marg (7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) took the win, keeping S.A. batters off-balanced. Hahn (2-4, 3B, 2 RBI), Nolan Mueller (2-3, 2B, RBI, R), Dawson Dahl (1-3, 2B, R), Weidemann (1-2, RBI), Paulson (1-2, 2 R), and Landon Skalet (1-3, RBI, R) directly produced runs. In the two games, with runners in scoring position and two out, R-P hit .500 (12 RBI), scoring 12 of 14 runs. Meanwhile, Trojan lead-off batters hit .167 (2-12). R-P will face West 3-seed champion Lyle/Pacelli (10-7).
Two-Out Trojans Win 1A East
