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Class 3A, Section 3 championship: St. Thomas Academy storms back to top Holy Angels

By Luke Hanlon, SportsEngine, 06/06/23, 3:15PM CDT

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The Cadets were trailing heading into the bottom of the seventh, but got just enough over the Stars to secure a victory on Tuesday.

Maximus Sims scoops up a ground ball in center field. Sims' RBI in the bottom of the seventh inning gave St. Thomas Academy a 6-5 walk-off win and a trip to next week's state tournament. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Maximus Sims scoops up a ground ball in center field. Sims' RBI in the bottom of the seventh inning gave St. Thomas Academy a 6-5 walk-off win and a trip to next week's state tournament. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

St. Thomas Academy had an extra game of insurance if needed heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with Holy Angels in the Class 3A, Section 3 tournament.  

Down 5-1 before the start of the bottom of the seventh inning, it seemed certain the two teams were bound to meet again at Richfield High School on Wednesday for a winner-take-all section final.  

The Cadets had other ideas though. After Daniel Dahl led off the inning with a single, the Cadets rolled off five more hits to score five runs and seal their fourth-straight Section 3 title thanks to a walk-off single from Maximus Sims.  

Sophomore pitcher Jac Wright pitched a complete game, tallying 9 strike outs in a 6-5 win over Academy of Holy Angels on Tuesday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Sophomore pitcher Jac Wright pitched a complete game, tallying 9 strike outs in a 6-5 win over Academy of Holy Angels on Tuesday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

First Report

St. Thomas Academy completed an improbable seventh-inning comeback to defeat Holy Angels 6-5 in the Class 3A, Section 3 championship game.  

The Cadets went into the bottom of the seventh trailing 5-1 looking like they would have to play in a do-or-die game tomorrow to make it to the state tournament.  

Instead, the Cadets ripped off six hits to score five runs, with the final one coming off the bat of Maximus Sims to score Michael Stavseth.  

The Stars (19-7,12-2) wasted no time getting their offense going, as the first four batters in their lineup registered hits. George Dittman and Charlie Cline each hit singles which were followed by RBI doubles from Will Briggs and Riley Thuringer to bring in three runs. A sacrifice fly from Tyler Niznick made it 4-0 just five batters into the game. 

The Cadets (18-6,13-3) got their first run in the bottom of the second thanks to a single from Rex Fitzgerald that scored courtesy runner Jake Borman. Their offense threatened multiple times after that but didn’t strike again until the final inning.  

Both pitchers threw a complete game, with Jac Wright picking up the win. The sophomore racked up nine strikeouts and gave up seven hits. Freshman Joe Ackerman struck out two batters and didn’t walk anyone while giving up 13 hits.  

Academy of Holy Angels' catcher Will Briggs protects home plate. Briggs' RBI double helped the Stars to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Academy of Holy Angels' catcher Will Briggs protects home plate in the sixth inning. Briggs' RBI double helped the Stars to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

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