Anderson was running for junior Andrew Murphy, who led off the inning with a single. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a ground out, setting the stage for Garry’s “risky call.” Senior Carter Shook, the Zephyrs’ No. 9 hitter, pulled his bat back on the high 1-0 pitch that bounced off the Cardinals catcher’s glove.

“It was super-unorthodox,” Garry said. “It was a percentage play. We were playing to our strengths.”

Taival and Stockert, both No. 2 starters, threw like aces, each allowing just five hits while pitching complete games. Taival struck out and walked two while Stockert fanned six and walked five.

“That was probably Grant’s best game,” Garry said. “Both pitchers were tremendous in a big situation.”

Taival credited his defense, especially senior second baseman Sam Ladapat, who turned two superb diving stops to his left into outs.

“My defense behind me had more to do with my performance than me,” Taival said. “Sam is always big.”

Each team ran itself out of identical scoring opportunities, Mahtomedi (19-4) in the second and Alexandria (16-7) in the fifth. They had runners on first and second and one out when the next batter singled to right field. The lead runner held up at third, while the trail runner ran up his back in each case and was tagged out. Both pitchers escaped any trouble by getting the next hitter.

Mahtomedi tried the surprise element in the sixth. With the bases loaded and two outs, senior Jamie Berg tried to steal home and was called out.

“I thought I was safe,” Berg said. “I thought I got in under the tag.”

An inning later, Berg was celebrating with his teammates. His promise to Taival two years ago was coming to fruition.

“He told me we would be back (in the championship),” said Taival, referring to Mahtomedi losing to Henry Sibley 8-4 in the finals in 2016. “It’s a dream come true.”