"I was really proud of the way our team fought," said Mason McCurdy, who drove in the game-winning run on an RBI single in the eighth inning. "Going down in that inning really took the life out of us, but I think it was big that our bench was there. They were really keeping the energy going."

It was the second extra-inning game for Stillwater (4-1, 4-1), as just two days earlier it lost 3-2 in eight innings at Woodbury.

There has been plenty to sort out for Stillwater after graduating a large amount of experience from last year's 20-5 team that won a Class 4A, Section 4 title. Head coach Mike Parker said the team has 18 seniors on the roster but only three with varsity starting experience.

"The lineup has been rotating a lot, and we've been moving guys around just trying to find it," Parker said. "We hope after a few more games we will settle in, but the guys have all been getting their chances. It has been a lot to actually figure out as a coach right now."

Stillwater has won three consecutive section championships, including a state championship run in 2018. And it hopes work on the lineup now will pay off later this spring.

"I think our leadership has been really good," said McCurdy, one of a few Ponies who have previous varsity starts. "We have a lot of seniors, but not many of them have varsity experience because we lost so many guys. So I think the guys who have been there have really done a great job showing kind of our culture to those guys, and it has been really fun to watch."

Thursday's opponent, Roseville (1-1, 1-1), is hoping a long run in last year's section playoffs will help pay off this spring.

The Raiders finished with a 12-13 record last season, and three of those wins came in the Class 4A, Section 5 playoffs as they advanced to the title game. Mounds View won in the section title game 6-0 to advance to the state tournament. This season Roseville moved to the Class 4A, Section 4 field along with Thursday's opponent, Stillwater.

Roseville started the season with a 13-2 win at Cretin-Derham Hall on April 13.

"They came out ready to go early in the season with a lot of that experience," head coach Greg Setterlund said about the section tournament run.