Photo by Sam Thiel Wabasso’s Nick Altermatt celebrates after hitting a game-winning home run during their Class A Tournament game against Hinckley-Finlayson on Friday.

JORDAN – After opening the Class A Tournament with a heartbreaking loss to Parkers Prairie, the Wabasso Rabbits baseball team decided it was their turn to play the comeback role in the consolation bracket.

Not once, but twice.

Wabasso battled back on two separate occasions on Friday in Jordan. The Rabbits used a big final inning before holding off a Sacred Heart rally, including a play at the plate to end the game, to win before capping their season with a walk-off homer from Nick Altermatt to take home an extra-inning thriller over Hinckley-Finlayson.

Trailing 6-5 to Sacred Heart in the opener, the Rabbits needed some late-inning magic against the Eagles if they were going to avoid seeing their season come to an end. Wabasso got just that, scoring four runs in the top of the seventh. Will Carlson got things going by reaching on an error before Cooper Taylor drew a walk and Tony Franta smacked an RBI double to center to tie things up at 6-6. After Altermatt was intentionally walked to load the bases, Jacob Plaetz connected on a two-run single to center to give the Rabbits the lead at 8-6 before pushing their lead to 9-6 on an RBI double from Kyle Jacobson.

Sacred Heart wouldn’t go away, though, getting a leadoff walk and an RBI double to cut it to 9-7 before an RBI single with one out made it a one-run game. After a flyout brought the Eagles to their second out, they got a double that looked to tie things up. But Franta would fire the ball to Altermatt at shortstop, who turned and delivered a strike on the relay throw to Jayden Eis who quickly applied the tag for the game-winning out and seal the one-run victory for the Rabbits.

The game wouldn’t feature much back-and-forth scoring to start, as neither team got on the board in the first, but Sacred Heart did so in the bottom of the second, getting a hit by pitch before coming around to score on an RBI single to take an early 1-0 lead.

The Eagles added to their advantage in the next inning, using a one-out single and a wild pitch to get into scoring position before an RBI single made it 2-0 after three.

Wabasso wouldn’t go away without a fight, however, as Altermatt led off the fourth with a sharp single before Plaetz reached on an error to put two baserunners on with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt attempt from Ty Kemp moved the runners into scoring position, Jacobson stepped up and smacked a triple that plated two runs to tie things up at 2-2.

Sacred Heart had a quick answer, though, getting a one-out single and a walk to put runners on first and second. After a popout gave the Eagles their second out of the frame, Sacred Heart broke the tie with an RBI single before bringing in two more runs on an error to make it 5-2.

The Eagles continued to find scoring in the fifth, pushed another run across on a sacrifice bunt to extend their lead to 6-2. But the Rabbits continued to fight, using a trio of hits in the top of the sixth to cut into the deficit.

Wabasso got a one-out single from Altermatt before Plaetz brought him around with an RBI double to make it 6-3. After Kemp got aboard with a single and stole second, Jacobson beat out an infield single to plate another run to make it 6-4. Wabasso then cut it to just one on a double steal attempt, as the Rabbits trailed 6-5 going into the bottom of the sixth.

Sacred Heart would go down in order in the bottom of the frame, sending the game to the final inning and setting up the late-game dramatics.

Jacobson led the way for the Rabbits in Game 1 with a 2 for 4 day at the plate with four RBI while Plaetz added a pair of hits and three RBI and Altermatt and Kemp each had two hits.

Plaetz earned the win on the mound in Game 1, going five innings while allowing six runs on seven hits and striking out three.

Wabasso then advanced to the consolation championship game, where the Rabbits faced Hinckley-Finlayson. The Jaguars defeated Rushford-Peterson with a come-from-behind victory of their own.

The Rabbits got off to a good start offensively, getting a leadoff walk from Cooper Taylor before Altermatt connected on an RBI single to plate the game’s first run. Plaetz followed that up with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0 Wabasso after one.

After a scoreless second, Hinckley-Finlayson got on the board in the top of the third, using a one-out walk and a hit by pitch to put runners on base before a wild pitch gave the Jaguars their first run of the game. Hinckley-Finlayson then took the lead on the ensuing batter, as Trevor Johnson smashed a two-run blast to left-center to make it 3-2 after three.

The Jaguars added to their lead in the next frame, getting a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases with two outs before reaching on an error to bring a run across and make it 4-2.

Wabasso answered right back, however, as Lance Wagner got aboard on a two-out single before Eis drew a walk and Carlson reached on an error on a fielder’s choice, scoring a run in the process and making it a one-run game at 4-3.

After the Jaguars went scoreless in the top of the fifth, Wabasso continued to find scoring in the bottom half of the frame. Franta led off with a single and a stolen base before Altermatt drew a walk and stole second to put runners in scoring position with no outs. After a groundout, Kemp would tie things at 4-4 on an RBI groundout before Jacobson reached on an error to plate another run and give the Rabbits the lead back at 5-4.

Neither team found scoring in the sixth, as the two teams headed to the seventh looking to seal a victory. The Jaguars would get a leadoff single and reach on an error to put runners on first and second with no outs. After a strikeout and a sacrifice moved the runners into scoring position, Hinckley-Finlayson would take the lead back on a two-run single up the middle to go up 6-5.

Down a run, the Rabbits needed some more seventh-inning magic to try and get a win. After a popout started the inning, Altermatt drew a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and later scored on an RBI single from Plaetz to tie things at 6-6. Wabasso had an opportunity to win with runners in scoring position with two outs, but couldn’t capitalize as the game headed to extras.

Wabasso held Hinckley-Finlayson scoreless in the top half of the eighth, but the Rabbits couldn’t take advantage of a Jaguars error to score in the bottom half, and the two teams headed to the ninth.

After the Jaguars went scoreless in the top of the ninth, Altermatt stepped in for Wabasso as the leadoff hitter and on the final swing of his prep career, smashed a deep fly ball to center field for a walk-off home run, propelling the Rabbits to a dramatic 7-6 victory and a consolation championship.

Altermatt said he didn’t know initially if the ball would leave the field off the bat, but once it did, he was relieved.

“I was hoping, but I just watching and watching and then it finally went over the fence and it was a good feeling,” he said.

Wabasso coach Chad Olson said the two games were a perfect ending to the season and is really proud of his team’s efforts.

“These kids really deserved to end their season on a high note like that; they didn’t deserve what happened to them on Thursday,” Olson said. “Things just kind of went astray there in the quarterfinal game, so to have this happen, it’s very enjoyable for me as a coach and I know the kids are really having a good time with it.”

Altermatt led the way for the Rabbits in Game 2, going 2 for 3 with the home run and two RBI while Plaetz added a hit and two RBI and Kemp had a hit and an RBI.

Kemp also earned the victory in relief, going three innings while allowing two runs on four hits and striking out two. Olson said both Plaetz and Kemp did great jobs with the rotation being limited and battled in both games.

“We knew that maybe the pitching was going to be limited, and we knew that we were going to have to score a bunch of runs to come away as winners but Jacob Plaetz coming in and doing what he did after pitching in the first game and then Ty Kemp coming in and pretty much locking it down,” Olson said. “There were some questionable calls but he battled and gave us a chance to get it done and we did with the walk-off; it was almost storybook. I couldn’t be happier with the kids’ performance.”

Wabasso finished its season with a 16-5 record. The Rabbits graduate eight seniors: Cooper Taylor, Colton Taylor, Jacobson, Franta, Plaetz, Eis, Kemp and Altermatt.

Olson said they’re going to miss this group a lot next season but credited the seniors’ hard work and dedication in all of their years in the program.

“We saw these kids coming down the pipeline back in seventh grade or maybe even earlier, but they’re just a great group of kids and it makes your job as a coach so easy. We’ve got eight seniors and we’re going to miss those guys,” Olson said. “They’ve been around a lot; we’ve got a couple of five-year starters and a couple of four-year starters, and it’s just one of those things to make this happen means a lot to the kids and they worked hard for it.”

Altermatt said despite falling short of their ultimate goal, they were proud of their journey to reach the state tournament and it was fun to experience it with his teammates.

“We looked for a bigger goal when we came up here but most kids that play high school baseball don’t get to the chance to come to a state tournament and experience this,” Altermatt said. “We’re all blessed to be here playing and it’s a great feeling up here. We didn’t get what we wanted but at least we got to be here.”

Going into next season, Olson said it’ll be a much different look to their roster, but is looking forward to the returning players having a chance of doing some great things.

“It’ll be kind of a new team next year with a lot of these seniors being on the field the entire time. But the rest of the players got a good taste of sitting here and helping from the bench and they’ve got a good chance to see what it takes to do big things,” Olson said. “We’ll move forward from it, but we’ll enjoy it while it lasts.”

Game 1

Wabasso 9, Sacred Heart 8

Wabasso 000 203 4 – 9 9 2

Sacred Heart 011 310 2 – 8 10 4

Hitting: Wabasso (Franta 1-4, RBI; Altermatt 2-3; Plaetz 2-3, 3 RBI; Kemp 2-4; Jacobson 2-4, 4 RBI).

Pitching (IP-R-ER-H-BB-SO): Wabasso (Jacobson 5-6-4-7-2-3; Plaetz 2-2-2-3-1-2).

Game 2

Wabasso 7, Hinckley-Finlayson 6 (9 innings)

Hinckley-Finlayson 003 100 200 – 6 8 3

Wabasso 200 120 101 – 7 7 3

Hitting: Wabasso (Franta 2-5; Altermatt 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; Plaetz 1-4, 2 RBI; Kemp 1-3, RBI; Wagner 1-4).

Pitching (IP-R-ER-H-BB-SO): Wabasso (Plaetz 6-4-3-4-4-0; Kemp 3-2-0-4-2-2).