In an action-packed season-opening high school baseball game at Worthington last Friday (April 5), Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning and won the highly-competitive contest, 7-6, when freshman Payton Leopold crossed the plate — following a Trojan wild pitch — with the game-winning run.
Leopold drew a walk to lead off the inning for the Coyotes, who were the home team as the game was scheduled to have been played in Heron Lake. Wet field conditions at Laker Field, however, forced the contest to be moved to the Worthington Middle School Field. But HL-O / Fulda was still the home team and batted last.
After Leopold reached first base, freshman Daniel Najera drew a walk and sophomore leadoff batter Eli Fest loaded the bases with a third consecutive no-out free pass. With senior Eli Becker at the plate, Leopold raced home on a 1-0 count when the pitch rolled past the catcher and the Coyotes celebrated with a 7-6 victory over the Trojans.
“It was a good win for our guys,” summed up Coyotes’ head baseball coach Chad Knutson. “We had a lot of nice at-bats, drawing several timely walks and putting the ball in play with a few key hits. We fielded the ball well and had good pitching performances from Eli Fest, Tyson Dirks and Eli Becker. Overall, it was a nice way to start our season with a win over Worthington.”
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