The Mahtomedi student section rose to its feet as junior pitcher Jack Schwietz had Fridley shortstop Evan Nelsen down to his final strike Thursday night at CHS Field.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander threw a pitch Nelsen connected with, but like the Tigers' offense had done for most of the night, his hit bounced right into shortstop Trevor Moses' glove.

With a state tournament berth just a throw to first away, Moses secured the grounder, gathered the ball in his glove and threw a laser to first basemen Chad Berggren for the easy out.

Zephyrs fans erupted and the celebration began as Mahtomedi clinched a spot in the state tournament for the third consecutive year, defeating Fridley 5-0 in the Class 3A, Section 4 championship.

“This is a credit to the kids," Zephyrs coach John Hardgrove said. "We look to our shortstop. Everything follows with him, and our pitcher did a great job throwing (Fridley) into groundballs.”

Schwietz's ability to lure Tigers hitters into hitting grounders was the reason he was able to throw a complete game shutout while also striking out four batters.

The Mahtomedi student section rising at the game's end was the first time they were on their feet since the third inning when the Zephyrs exploded for four runs.

With a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, Nelsen fielded a groundball hit to short, but what looked like a routine third out for the Tigers turned into a series of unfortunate events.

Nelson overthrew first base, allowing a run to score. In he next at-bat, Mitch Nordin smacked a two-RBI single, his third hit of the night.

"We had to capitalize when we could and we made the most of that," Hardgrove said. "We tried to muster up more runs but their pitcher did a good job keeping (us) off stride."

Despite losing by five runs, the game was closer than the final score indicated as freshman pitcher Evan Shaw allowed only one earned run on five hits and struck out two in a complete game.   

In the end, Schwietz had the help in the field that Shaw did not as the Tigers committed three costly errors.

“I owe it all to the guys behind me," Schwietz said. "They are the greatest group of guys and make me look good."

Experience also played a factor as Schwietz said he credits the upperclassmen and recent Zephyrs graduates for their state tournament wisdom and leadership.

Fridley is the other side of the coin, and with only one graduating senior, coach Dan Nalepka said he is excited to work with this group of Tigers for years to come.

“I’m proud of them. They are young and if a couple plays go the other way then this is a different game,” Nalepka said. “Mahtomedi is a great team and you can’t take anything away from them.”  

Mahtomedi junior pitcher Jack Schwietz allowed four hits and struck out four batters in a 5-0 shutout of Fridley Thursday night at CHS Field in the Class 3A, Section 4 championship to send the Zephyrs to the state tournament.

A 6-foot-1 right-hander, Schwietz's complete-game performance came largely because he found his fastball early and used the Mahtomedi defense behind him to get out of jams.

The top-seeded Zephyrs (20-5), ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by Let's Play Baseball, recorded seven hits on the night, and senior Mitch Nordin led the way offensively going 3-for-3 with two RBI.

Tigers pitcher Evan Shaw threw a complete game and allowed one earned run on five hits on the mound for third-seeded Fridley (17-7), but three errors by his defense proved too much to overcome.

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