No. 1-seeded Mahtomedi’s Thomas Hennen singled into left field in the top of the 10th inning. Rounding third with a full head of steam, Jackson Hull had no intentions of playing another inning.

"I didn’t want to play one more inning, so I just went for it,” Hull said.

Reaching fifth gear, Hull sprinted the final 90 feet to home plate where he slid under the glove of Stillwater catcher Wes Anderson to score the deciding run in a 4-3 comeback victory over the Ponies at Midway Stadium in St. Paul on Tuesday night. 

“I turned around right when he was sliding," Hennen said. "It was a heck of a finish and fun to watch.”

Stillwater previously had made a statement as the dark horse of Class 3A, Section 4 by knocking No. 5-ranked Woodbury down to the losers’ bracket in the quarterfinals.

With a 17-game win streak pieced together through the month of May, the No. 7-ranked Zephyrs are searching for new ways to keep the streak alive.

“We’re finding different ways to do it,” Mahtomedi coach John Hardgrove said. “We kinda had things our way early [in the season] and now we’re having to scratch for all we can.” 

Down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Zephyrs had barely made a dent in the Ponies' lead. 

Mahtomedi scored its second run off an error at third base. Starting pitcher Michael Baumann followed by floating a hit between three fielders, allowing Sam Richter time to run home and tie the score.

“They showed a lot of grit today through 10 innings, just battling back against a good Stillwater team,” Hardgrove said.

Hull was the leadoff batter for the Zephyrs in the 10th. On the 1-1 delivery, he cranked a shot to left-center field, caroming the ball off the outfield wall for his second hit of the evening. After Thomas Buttermore flied out and Sean Noel was intentionally walked, Hennen wasn’t left with many options.

“I was just thinking don’t hit into the double play, so bust it to first.” Hennen said.

Hennen singled his last two at bats, finishing strong and when it mattered.

"This is kind of a wide open section,” Hardgrove said. “We’re enjoying the run right now, but we gotta keep playing our game.”

By fate or intuition, Hull made the right decision, advancing Mahtomedi to the winners’ bracket finals on Saturday against East Ridge.

“Making that run home, it was do or die for me.” Hull said.

Senior Thomas Hennen’s 10th-inning single boosted top-seeded Mahtomedi to a 4-3 win over No. 5 Stillwater in a Class 3A, Section 4 winner's bracket game on Tuesday at Midway Stadium in St. Paul.

Hennen singled through the gap between shortstop and second base, sending Jackson Hull on a mad dash home from third base. Hull slid head first to clinch the victory for the No. 7-ranked Zephyrs (21-1).

Both teams had their chances of winning foiled through the extra three innings. Stillwater (12-10) turned a double play to close out the bottom of the ninth inning, snuffing out the Zephyrs' rally.

Tony Tierney relieved Mahtomedi starter Michael Baumann to start the 10th inning. The Zephyrs intentionally walked Trevor Dudar to load the bases for Nick Blonski, who flied out to left-center field to end the inning.

Baumann pitched nine strong innings for the Zephyrs, striking out eight.

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