"At this time of year, games are won and lost on little plays like stolen bases and errors," Ponies coach Mike Parker said. "For six innings, they did the little things better than we did. But we were lucky that Drew kept us in the game."

Gilbert, an Oregon State commit, allowed just one hit in eight innings and struck out 14. But five walks had given Woodbury some baserunners, and the Royals took advantage of several Stillwater miscues to plate two runs.

Mazur drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth inning, then sped to third when Gilbert threw wildly on a pickoff attempt. One out later, Mazur scored on a single by Rodney Erickson.

Brock Rinehart walked in the sixth and moved to second on a Gilbert balk before Mazur was walked intentionally. On a double steal, the throw to third base instead flew into left field, allowing Rinehart to score.

"We knew we had made some little mistakes early in the game," Koehn said. "But we knew we had to keep playing and just make something happen."

That was easier said than done against Mazur, who allowed just a single through the first six innings. He needed just 66 pitches to carry a shutout into the seventh.

"They're a good-hitting team, so they were swinging early because they knew if they fell behind it was going to be tough," Woodbury coach Kevin McDermott said. "Adam pounds the zone with multiple pitches, and he has great mound presence. He knows how to pitch."

But with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Stillwater's Will Frisch lined a double off the wall in left field. Kade Peloquin then dumped a double down the left-field line to score pinch-runner Noah Potter, and when the throw back to the infield scooted harmlessly towards the mound, Peloquin raced to third.

That misplay proved costly when Mazur struck out Logan Jordan on a pitch in the dirt. Rinehart, the Royals’ catcher, threw to first for the putout, but Peloquin beat the return throw to home plate to tie the game.

"They were the ones who had the game speed up on them early," Woodbury coach Kevin McDermott said. "But then the game sped up on us late, and we made a few mistakes that hurt us. But when you have two big-time arms — two of the best pitchers in the state — that's what the game's going to be. We were only one out away. We felt good about where we were at, but it was just a quirky play."

After Mazur recorded a strikeout to end the seventh, Gilbert struck out the side in the top of the eighth.

"We were lucky that Drew had a few pitches left, and he got us through that eighth inning," Parker said. "We thought that, if we got to the bottom of the eighth, we would somehow get a run. But it didn't look good at first."

That's because Mazur, a South Dakota State commit, fanned the first two batters he faced to raise his strikeout total to 11. But Ritzer singled to left, setting the stage for Koehn's winning hit.

"Since there were two strikes on me, I knew the chances of him throwing me a straight pitch were out the window," Koehn said. "I just told myself I could not strike out. I just tried to put the ball in play and hoped something good happened."

For Stillwater, something good happened when Koehn's hit eventually plated Ritzer and the Ponies had beaten the Royals for the second straight year to earn a trip to state.