A bizarre finish in extra innings ended a pitching duel between Suburban East Conference foes Woodbury and Mounds View at Woodbury High School on Wednesday afternoon.

With the score tied at 2 and a runner on first in the bottom of the eighth inning, Woodbury first basemen Brady Mundahl lifted a pitch to right field.

“Just hit it deep,” Mundahl said. “I was just trying to hit a fly ball, really, to the outfield. Just trying to score him.”

Mundahl got what he wanted.

“Once it got to the outfield, I was like, ‘He’s gonna score, Nate’s (Jacobsen) going to score,' ” Mundahl said.

The ball was caught in the outfield, but before it could get to the catcher, Jacobsen collided with Mustangs catcher Wyatt Meyer. Meyer dropped the ball, and Jacobsen scrambled to touch home.

The frenzied finish was preceded by a pitching duel between Mustangs starter Kellen Rholl and the Royals’ Ben Meyer. Rholl finished with three strikeouts, six walks, and two earned runs in seven innings. Meyer completed the game with eight strikeouts, four walks and two earned runs.

“I was planting my fastball really well, and I was just trying to get the guys to hit low and get ground balls so my teammates can make the plays behind me,” Meyer said.

Meyer entered the game with 11 strikeouts in 11 shutout innings of work. His performance against Mounds View was an upgrade from last year, when he threw six innings and gave up four runs on eight hits with one strikeout.

One player in this game who didn’t stand out, at least not on the stat sheet, was Mounds View first basemen Sam Hentges. Hentges, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound Arkansas recruit, was named to the Louisville Slugger preseason high school All-American team. Hentges went 0-for-2, with two intentional walks and a strikeout.

The Mustangs, reigning state Class 3A champion and number one in the preseason polls, haven’t started the season out the way they would’ve hoped. They are lugging a 2-5 record and sit at eighth in the conference standings.

On the other hand, the Royals, who lost to Roseville Area in the section quarterfinals last season, are 6-1 and sitting atop the Suburban East.

Woodbury coach Kevin McDermott downplayed the victory.

“This is just a win,” McDermott said. “They played a hell of a baseball game. They played just like they played last year today against us. We’re just happy to get a win.”

Spotlight Game Coverage