Coach Mark Grundhofer’s high expectations for Waconia before the start of the season reached their pinnacle Monday at Target Field.

Right-handed ace Dillon Whittaker threw a five-hitter and Waconia completed a perfect season with a 6-1 victory over Hibbing for the Class 3A championship. The Wildcats (26-0) became the ninth undefeated team to win the state crown, their first in program history.

“This is crazy, unbelievable,” Grundhofer said. “Nobody goes undefeated. You have to figure that we would have faltered somewhere.”

It wasn’t going to happen with Whittaker pitching. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter, raising his record to 10-0 on the season. He twice pitched out of innings with runners on first and second and one out, and gave up his only run with the bases loaded and one out.

“That’s why he is their ace,” Hibbing coach Jay Wetzel said. “He made some big pitches. That’s the difference between winning and losing, making the most of your scoring opportunities when you have them.”

Waconia gave Whittaker all the run support he needed in the bottom of the first inning, scoring twice. Justin Schultz and Austin Friedrich had back-to-back singles to right field with one out. Schultz later scored on a wild pitch and Friedrich on Jake Hendricks’ groundout to second base.

The Wildcats made it 3-0 in the second. Jack Stoddard’s bloop single over the second baseman scored Robert Smith, who opened the inning with a double.

Waconia, superb at manufacturing runs, did so again in the third. Alex Logelin led off with a single, went to second on a balk, advanced to third on a fly out to center field and scored on Friedrich’s groundout to shortstop.

“Our plan was to get runs every inning, and take the wind out of their sails,” Friedrich said. “We were able to accomplish that.”

The Bluejackets (19-9) got an unearned run against Whittaker in the fourth. Dylan Mattson’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Jaiman Lamphere, who reached with one out on the Wildcats’ third error.

In the second with two runners on, Whittaker fanned the final two hitters. In the same situation in the sixth, he got the final two batters to fly out. He ended the game with a fastball on the inside corner for his final strikeout.

“Their whole team can hit, so I had to keep changing speeds, levels and locations,” Whittaker said. “It’s a dream come true, coming to Target Field and winning a state championship. Going undefeated is icing on the cake.”

The Wildcats added a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Friedrich produced the first run with an RBI triple while the second scored on Hibbing’s only error.

The loss ended Hibbing’s improbable run to the championship game. The fifth seed in Section 7 field was the state tournament runner-up for the fourth time, but remains without a title.

“We had to play really well, and have some luck on our side,” Wetzel said. “Neither happened today.”

Coach Mark Grundhofer had high expectations for his Waconia team before the start of the season. It reached its ceiling on Monday afternoon at Target Field.

Right-handed ace Dillon Whittaker threw a five-hitter and Waconia completed a perfect season with a 6-1 victory over Hibbing for the Class 3A championship. The Wildcats (26-0) became the ninth undefeated team to win the state crown, their first in program history.

Whittaker, who entered the game 9-0 with a 1.25 ERA, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter. In the second and sixth innings, he pitched out of situations in which Hibbing had runners first and second with just one out.

Waconia provided Whittaker with all the support he needed with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Justin Schultz and AJ Friedrich had back-to-back singles to right field with one out. Schultz later scored on a wild pitch. and Friedrich scored on Jake Hendricks’ groundout to second base.

The Wildcats made it 3-0 in the second on Jack Stoddard’s bloop single over the second baseman. It scored Robert Smith, who opened the inning with a double to right-center field.

Waconia was superb at manufacturing runs all day, and did so again in the third. Alex Logelin led off with a single, went to second on a balk, advance to third on a fly out to center field and scored on Friedrich’s groundout to shortstop.

Hibbing broke through for an unearned run against Whittaker in the fourth. Dylan Mattson’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Jaiman Lamphere, who reached with one out on the Wildcats’ third error.

The Wildcats got the run back in the fifth when Logelin tripled over the left fielder’s head, and Friedrich legged out a triple to right-center field. They added one final run on Hibbing’s only error in the sixth.

The loss ended Hibbing’s improbable run to the championship. The fifth seed in Section 7 field was the state tournament runner-up for the fourth time. The Bluejackets (19-9) have never won the title.

Check back later for more on the game.