Rapping out 14 hits and putting runners on base in six of the seven innings, Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda played a competitive high school baseball game against Mankato Loyola last Thursday (May 23) at Franklin Rogers Park in Mankato.
The game was an opening round clash in the 15-team Section 2A tournament between the highly-favored Crusaders — the section’s third seed — and the Coyotes, who were tabbed as the tournament’s 14th seed.
Loyola utilized a big seven-run fifth inning to stretch a 5-3 lead into a 12-3 advantage. The Coyotes rallied with five hits, which — along with a Loyola error — produced five runs in the top of the seventh, but ended up on the short end of a 12-8 loss.
The win advanced the Crusaders (15-3) to the second round (Tuesday, May 28) for a game against 11th-seeded Sleepy Eye (10-8), also at Franklin Rogers Park. The Indians blanked sixth-seeded Mountain Lake Area / Comfrey (13-6) in their opener, 1-0.
Mankato Loyola is averaging 8.9 runs per game and allowing just 3.8.
After putting the brakes on a potential Coyote scoring threat in the top of the opening frame, the Crusaders scored twice in their half of the inning. Loyola added a single run in the bottom of the third and plated two more in the bottom of the fourth to claim its 5-3 edge.
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