By Spencer Flaten
Staff Writer
Prep Baseball Report Minnesota

Spotlight Game of the Day- Mahtomedi vs. St. Thomas Academy

MAHTOMEDI, MN- April 24, 2015  

The Mahtomedi Zephyrs survived a rollercoaster ride of a game against rivals Saint Thomas Academy to preserve their lead atop the Metro East conference in a frigid affair on Friday afternoon. The Zephyrs outlasted the Cadets for a 12-11 win that took a little over two hours and twenty minutes to complete.

Junior Andrew Tri started the game on the mound for the Cadets, while senior southpaw Sam Mustar got the nod for the Zephyrs.

Mahtomedi jumped on Tri in the bottom of the first inning. They pushed across five runs in the frame, highlighted by RBI singles by Trevor Moses and Sean Noel.

St. Thomas Academy pulled a run back in the top of the second thanks to a passed ball with a man on third base, but the Zephyrs kept the pressure on in both the second and third innings. An RBI double by Zack Taylor gave Mahtomedi an 8-1 lead through three innings.

Both teams scored a run in the fifth inning, which put the Cadets behind by seven at that point. Mustar had pitched well for the Zephyrs through the first five innings, but the wheels fell off the wagon in the sixth.

St. Thomas’s bats came to life in the inning to plate eight runs and take a one run lead. It seemed like the Zephyrs couldn’t get anyone out as at one point five consecutive at-bats led to a run for the Cadets. Ultimately, 14 batters came to the plate in the inning. Ryan Zimmel collected two hits in the monstrous sixth inning alone.

The pace did not slow down for the rest of the game. Mahtomedi went on to reclaim the lead in the bottom of the sixth via Moses and John Peterson RBI singles.

The Cadets put up one last fight in the top of the seventh. After being down to their final strike of the game, Jordan Castle ripped an RBI double to tie the game at 11.

It proved to be Mahtomedi’s day in the final frame though. With two outs in the inning and nobody on base, the Zephyrs drew two walks and had another batter hit by a pitch to load the bases. Noel drew a four pitch walk to literally win the game in walk-off fashion.

Tri pitched six innings for St. Thomas Academy and allowed ten runs, four of which were earned. At the plate, he collected two hits. Mustar pitched 5.1 innings for Mahtomedi and allowed seven runs (five earned). Peterson went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI for the Zephyrs. Noel was the winning pitcher, while Joey Tschida picked up the loss.

Mahtomedi moved to 8-1 this year with the win, while St. Thomas Academy fell to 4-4.