A solo home run on the second pitch of the game gave Faribault Academies early momentum, but the Albert Lea baseball team didn’t give up.

“We never hung our heads,” said Albert Lea catcher Chris Enderson. “And if someone did, we always picked them up.”

The Tigers rallied from a 5-0 second-inning deficit to beat the Cardinals 8-6 in the Subsection 2AA South finals Thursday at Hayek Park.

Albert Lea’s ace pitcher, Johnathan Fleek, started. He gave up seven hits in two innings. After Christian VonRuden’s solo shot, the Cardinals added three more runs and loaded the bases with no outs. However, Fleek managed to get out of the the first inning by picking off the runner at first base.

The Cardinals extended their lead to five runs in the top of the second, and Albert Lea cut it to four in the bottom of the third.

Albert Lea coach Joe Sczublewski made the decision to change pitchers in the top of the third. Tristin Muilenburg took the mound with two pitching starts under his belt during his first season of varsity action.

“He came in in a tough situation and just settled everything down,” Sczublewski said. “He doesn’t give up any free stuff. You have to earn it off of him.”

Muilenburg held the Cardinals to their first scoreless inning in the top of the third, and he got out of the fourth unscathed because of Fleek’s fielding at shortstop. Fleek snagged a line drive and flipped the ball to E.J. Thomas at second base for the third out.

Pairing with its defensive improvement, the Tigers added improvement at the plate in the bottom of the fourth. An RBI single by Albert Lea’s Kole Smith was followed by an RBI single by Enderson. Faribault Academies was still looking for its first out when Johnathan Fleek took the batter’s box. He crushed the ball to center field for a two-RBI double to tie the score at five, and the Cardinals decided to make a pitching change.

“It was huge to pull even with them,” Sczublewski said. “That double was a big blow,” Sczublewski said.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers had a runner thrown out at home and they stranded runners on second and third.

Faribault Academies took a 6-5 lead in the top of the sixth, but Enderson gunned down John Schoolmeesters at second base from behind the plate to stifle the momentum.

“Before I threw that, I saw him taking a huge lead at first,” Enderson said. “I just said E.J.’s name, gave him the sign, and we were able to pick him off. He never had a chance.”

In the bottom of the sixth, Fleek tied the game at six by driving in E.J. Thomas. Fleek scored the go-ahead run by tagging up after a fly-out by Wyatt Paulsen, and Parker Mullenbach added some padding when he scored on a double by Mason Hammer.

The Tigers squashed the Cardinals’ rally attempt with catches by Wyatt Paulsen in center field for the first and second outs and Kole Smith in left field for the final out.

“Wyatt made a lot of nice catches in the outfield that weren’t routine,” Sczublewski said. “He made them look routine because he was going right for the ball.”

Sczublewski said he was impressed with Muilenburg’s pitching.

“You have to tip your hat to Tristin Muilenburg for coming out of the bullpen and giving us five innings of four-hit ball with only one run,” Sczublewski said. “He uses his defense. That’s his forte.”

Fleek led Albert Lea at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and 3 RBIs.

 

What’s next?

Albert Lea (8-13 overall, 3-13 Big Nine Conference) is on its longest winning streak of the season: four games. The Tigers, the No. 3 seed in the south subsection will play Glencoe-Silver Lake, the No. 2 seed in the north subsection in the Section 2AA finals at 11 a.m. Saturday at Belle Plaine. Glencoe-Silver Lake (14-4 overall, 9-4 Wright County Conference) is coming off a 4-0 home win Thursday against Holy Family Catholic.

“I have a good feeling about the next few games we’re going to have,” Smith said. “We’ve been playing well defensively and hitting the ball well.”

Statistics are in the Scoreboard: May 29 post.