Robbinsdale Armstrong senior Josh Thorp thought he was still in the hole in the bottom of the seventh inning against Blaine, and then the Bengals intentionally walked two batters.
After Falcons senior Jerick Kuznia stole second base and was advanced to third by junior Mitchell Waletzki’s sacrifice bunt with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Blaine elected to try and force a double-play, and intentionally walked two batters with no buffer in between.
That brought up three-year varsity veteran Thorp a bit quicker than he imagined.
“I thought there would be a chance I would be up, but I was expecting the bases to be loaded with two outs," Thorp said. "So I wasn’t expecting (the walks) at that time."
Thorp, who hit two hard singles to the outfield in his previous two at-bats, swung at the first pitch in the strike zone and topped the ball, not having near as much power behind the third ball he put in play.
"Nope." Thorp replied about barely getting a piece of the ball in his final at-bat. "But it got the job done."
The ball rolled short of the pitcher’s mound, where Bengals pitcher Derek Haring tried to scoop it up and tag Kuznia, who was scorching down the baseline on his way to home. But Haring mishandled it, and Kuznia crossed home plate safely, resulting in a 3-2 walk-off win for Robbinsdale Armstrong at Blaine Baseball Complex Saturday afternoon.
“They made a mistake,” Thorp said of Blaine walking two batters. “I just wanted to put the ball in play and give us a chance to win and am glad it was able to happen.”
The location of the game was originally scheduled at Armstrong High School, but was moved to Blaine Saturday morning. No matter, as Robbinsdale Armstrong was still the home team on the scoreboard, which proved crucial, as the Falcons needed the final two innings to notch their runs after only having one hit through five innings.
“It’s nice to get up early, but it doesn’t always happen in 30 degree weather,” Robbinsdale Armstrong coach Brian Sobiech said. “That’s the kind of baseball we want our kids to play. Scrappy baseball. Work hard, work at the pitcher and if you don’t, get him the second or third time through.”
The cold weather didn’t affect Thorp, as he made it on base all three times he entered the batter’s box prior to his walk-off RBI.
Ranked No. 15 in Class 4A by Let’s Play Baseball, the Falcons (1-0) graduated nine seniors from last year’s team and a majority of their bullpen.
They took a committee approach on the mound in the season opener on Saturday, starting with junior Nick Stuernieks, who took a point-blank shot to his shoulder in the second inning. He finished the side, but not before giving up a two-run double to the Bengals' (0-1) Cody Dorff.
Senior Callen Carlson came on in relief and pitched out of a jam, striking out two batters in the top of the sixth which kept the Falcons in striking distance. A triple from Mitchell Verbeten drove Thorp home and set up Talor Blustin’s tying RBI in the bottom of the inning.
Waletzki struck out in the bottom of the fifth and was struggling with the bat throughout the game, but was called to the mound to close.
Waletzki gave up a leadoff single to Dorff, but picked Dorff off at first base before retiring the next two batters.
“He had a bad start to the game, but came in and did what he needed to do.” Sobeich said. “He’s young and there’s definitely a learning process, but he kept his head in the game and we’re proud of guys like that.”
Robbinsdale Armstrong’s bullpen will continue to grow this spring, but in their debut, the Falcons' perseverance shown through even in frigid temperatures.
"I thought we did a good job for our first game," Thorp said. "Obviously it's cold out. We got down early, but I'm proud of the way we battled back, stayed in it and worked as a team."
Robbinsdale Armstrong's Jerick Kuznia slides into second for a stolen base, ahead of the tag from Blaine's Kaden Elvidge. Photo by Drew Herron
First Report
Senior Josh Thorp drove in junior Jerick Kuznia from third base in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Robbinsdale Armstrong a 3-2 victory over Blaine on Saturday afternoon at Blaine Baseball Complex.
Ranked No. 15 in Class 4A by Let’s Play Baseball, the Falcons (1-0) were held scoreless through the first five innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, Thorp singled and was driven home by senior Mitchell Verbeten, whose triple tied the game at 2-2 after a Talor Blustin RBI single. Thorp finished the game 2-for-3.
The Bengals (0-1) went up 2-0 early when senior catcher Cody Dorff hit a two-run double to the left field wall in the second inning, and No. 20-4A Blaine led most of the way.
Junior pitcher Mitchell Waletzki was credited with the win for Robbinsdale Armstrong, while senior Derek Haring took the loss for the Bengals.
Senior Jackson Wuertz pitched 6 and ⅓ innings for the Bengals, giving up five hits, striking out seven batters and giving up two earned runs.
Blaine senior right-hander Jackson Wuertz pitched 6.1 innings and gave up five hits and two earned runs while recording seven strikeouts. Photo by Drew Herron
Robbinsdale Armstrong pitcher Nick Sturnieks started on the hill for the Falcons, but did not factor into the decision. Photo by Drew Herron
