Mounds View senior Sam Hentges' run-scoring single in the bottom of the third inning propelled the No. 2-seeded Mustangs past No. 3 seed Champlin Park in the Class 3A, Section 5 championship game on Wednesday at Midway Stadium in St. Paul.
Junior Joe Fredrickson doubled into deep right field earlier in the inning, and Hentges came to the plate with an opportunity to break a scoreless tie.
“I was thinking hit the ball hard, and get it through the infield, and we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I knew it would score Joey.”
Hentges was right – Fredrickson glided into home with ease. The first basemen’s hit sparked the Mustangs as their next batter singled, and a wild pitch scored Hentges from third.
Mounds View, the defending state Class 3A champion, capitalized on the Rebels' inability to end the inning. Mustangs coach Mark Downey said his 6-foot, 4-inch first basemen’s play was game changing.
“Taking the lead was huge, especially being the team that had to get beat twice, if you get down to the other dugout then maybe you get a little tight,” Downey said.
Once Mounds View gained the lead, senior pitcher Kellen Rholl said he knew the defense wasn’t going to give it up.
“Once we got one it is a lot easier to get two and three,” Rholl said. “We knew that we just needed a few runs because the defense was making plays.
Rholl went the distance to earn the shutout. Downey said Rholl had great command of his throws.
Rholl, a member of the 2013 championship team, said he focused on throwing a more complete game in the final because he allowed two runs and walked a few batters in his first meeting with Champlin Park.
He finished with two strikeouts and only walked one while scattering six hits. He said his low number of strikeouts was a testament to the stellar play behind him.
“The whole infield and outfield did their job, and even with three errors we still had a lot of big plays.”
Champlin Park coach Cory Davis said Rholl’s strange release the Mustangs' solid fielding made them tough to beat.
The Rebels' aggressive base running gave them opportunities to score but Mounds View seemed to make the perfect throws to end Champlin Park's momentum.
Champlin Park hadn’t reached a section final since 2003. Mounds View advances to the state tournament next Thursday at Target Field.
The power-hitting Hentges said his teammates are not satisfied yet.
“We need to keep doing what were doing with our pitching and defense and, if we can get the bats going then we are going to be hard to beat,” he said.
