Minnetonka first basemen Josh Falk hit his second home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the Skippers up 4-2, the eventual final score Wednesday night at Veterans Field in Minnetonka.

Falk walked up to the plate batting 0-for-1 on the night, including getting hit by a pitch in his second at bat.  

“I was just looking for contact and getting the run in,” Falk said.

With two outs, a runner on third and the idea of a home run nowhere to be found in Falk’s mind, the unthinkable happened.

Falk connected on Wayzata pitcher Nick Olmanson’s throw. It looked as though Falk was underneath it, and it was going to be a routine fly ball for Trojans left fielder Jack Sorensen, but the ball it drifted with the wind. Falk said natural forces, besides his massive arms, helped the ball over the fence.

“A lot of wind," Falk said. "The baseball gods were looking out for me today.”  

Minnetonka coach Paul Twenge said even though the ball went out to shallowest part of the field, it went far enough.

“Falk is just a strong kid, and that ball kept going up and up and up, and it went to the shortest part of the park, so we’ll take it,” Twenge said. “He just got enough of it to put it out, that’s all that matters.”

Shortstop Luke Pettersen said the Skippers' dugout was concerned Falk wasn’t going to reach second base.  

“I didn’t think it was going to go over the fence,” Pettersen said. “We were yelling at him to get to second base, he was jogging, but it carried over.”  

Although the home run came in the sixth inning, Pettersen said it gave the Skippers confidence to finish the game strong.

“We definitely expected to win after that one, it was a big hit.”

Even though it’s early in the conference season, Twenge said a come-from-behind victory over the Trojans, who finished one game behind the Skippers in last year’s Lake Conference standings, is a learning lesson for Minnetonka and encourages positive thinking.

“You got to learn how to win the close ones and that’s great that we answered back after they went ahead,” Twenge said. “It keeps us thinking we can win, and that’s what you got to do.”      

Minnetonka came away with the victory, but Twenge still thinks the experienced Trojans are the dominant force in the Lake Conference.

“I still think they’re the best team in our conference,” Twenge said. “Not anything against us, (Eden Prairie) or anybody else, but they got the most guys returning, and I think they have a good team.”


Wayzata's Brendan Broady beats the tag of Minnetonka catcher Ian Cote to tie the score at 1 in the fifth inning. Photo by Loren Nelson

Spotlight Game Coverage