Winsted outlasts St. Boni in a wild affair

WINSTED – The matchup between the Winsted Wildcats and St. Boni Saints had a little bit of everything. In the end, it was the Wildcats coming out on top in a thrilling 11-10 win over the Saints at Denis M. Campbell Field Wednesday night.

St. Boni, playing their first game of the Crow River Valley League season, had just nine guys to start the game but that didn’t stop them from competing. The Saints struck for one run in the top of the first courtesy of a balk, but Winsted would have the answer in the bottom of the second. Brayden Hollister scored on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at one, setting up the theme of a back-and-forth affair.

After watching the Wildcats answer to tie the game, St. Boni retook the lead in the top of the third. The Saints struck for four runs in the inning alone as it looked as if they were going to break things open. The four runs for St. Boni came on just one hit as they took advantage of four walks, a hit batter, and an error in the inning.

Walks and hit batters were a common occurrence for both teams. The two combined for 26 hit batters and walks in the matchup. Just when it looked like the Saints were pulling away, Winsted answered the call once again taking advantage of wild pitching by St. Boni. A hit batter and a walk gave the Wildcats a pair of baserunners and Garrett Schultz made the Saints pay. A three-run shot to center field for Schultz made it a new game as he brought Winsted back within one with one swing of the bat.

Despite the big inning by the Wildcats, St. Boni didn’t panic. The Saints extended their lead to 7-4 heading to the bottom of the sixth but the game was far from over. Winsted got one run back in the sixth before channeling some two-out magic in the bottom of the seventh. The Wildcats scored four runs in the inning all coming with two outs as they grabbed a 9-7 lead.

The lead for Winsted wouldn’t last long though as the Saints had the answer in the eighth inning. After back-to-back walks to start the inning, Koty Hensel delivered an RBI single to tie the game at nine. Ethan Klahsen would add an RBI single of his own putting the Saints back in front heading to the bottom of the eighth.

Once again, Winsted had an answer of their own. The Wildcats tied the game as the Saints committed three straight errors to open the inning. Needing another run to retake the lead, Winsted took advantage of another error as Riley Heimerl scored on the fourth error of the inning by St. Boni to take the lead.

The Wildcats were not going to let a chance to steal a game get away. They brought on ace Alex Heimerl in the top of the ninth to close things down after tossing eight innings against Plato Sunday. The move paid off as Heimerl sent down the Saints in order to preserve the win for the Wildcats.

Riley Heimerl got the win on the mound in relief while Alex Heimerl secured the save. Offensively, Alex Heimerl added two hits and three RBI as well while Schultz finished with three RBI.

Rhett Johnson was tagged with the loss for St. Boni on the mound. He went the final inning allowing two unearned runs off no hits.

Hensel led the way for the Saints at the plate going 2-for-2 with three walks, four RBI, and three runs scored. Zach Haugen added three runs scored and three walks of his own while Carter Olek scored a pair of runs.

With the win, Winsted improved to 1-1 in the CRVL. St. Boni fell to 0-1 in league play. The two teams are set to meet again Saturday, May 11 in St. Boni at 2 p.m.