Photo by Sam Thiel Milroy’s Andy Schmidt (11, without helmet) is embraced by teammates after delivering the game-winning single during their Class C state tournament game against New Ulm on Saturday at Chaska Athletic Park. Milroy defeated New Ulm 4-3 in 10 innings before falling to Watertown 10-0 in eight innings on Sunday.

CHASKA — Andy Schmidt started to head towards first base, thinking he had drawn a one-out walk in the bottom of the 10th inning of the Class C state amateur baseball tournament game between the Milroy Yankees and the New Ulm Brewers. But the pitch was called a strike. Schmidt went back to the batter’s box, and instead, decided to end the game himself.

Schmidt then connected on a single, and Jackson Hughes sprinted around third and scored the game-winning run for a 4-3 walk-off victory for Milroy on Saturday at Chaska Athletic Park. The win not only kept their season alive, but put Milroy in the final 8 in the tournament.

Milroy manager Ryan Rohlik said after playing New Ulm in an exhibition game before the state tournament, they knew what the Brewers brought to the table and was proud of the way his group continued to battle and play as a team.

“We got the draw with New Ulm after playing them a couple of weeks ago and there we saw their talent and they are such a good team. Hitting the ball, making so many plays that are fast and sometimes that can rush your defense a little bit and we had a few miscues but at the same time, everybody stuck together,” Rohlik said. “Josh [Kingery] bailed us out on a couple and that’s what it takes to win a baseball game. It’s a credit to all of these guys for believing in one another no matter what’s going to happen.”

Rohlik added that Schmidt was looking for a fastball when he delivered the game-winning hit and was happy to see him come through with the clutch hit.

“Andy’s a fastball hitter and he was up in the at-bat, so that’s what he was looking for and that’s Andy,” Rohlik said. “He’s a veteran, he crushes fastballs and we couldn’t be happier for him to have a walk-off like that.”

Milroy then squared off against Watertown in the state quarterfinals on Sunday looking to keep its tournament run going. Watertown had other ideas, though, and advanced with a 10-0 victory in eight innings. With the loss, Milroy’s season comes to an end at 21-9.

Milroy had a chance to get on the board early on Sunday, as Jake Tauer led things off with a walk before Andy Schmidt connected on a single and Dave Schmidt reached on an error to load the bases with no outs, but Watertown was able to get out of the frame with a double play and a flyout. The Red Devils then capitalized on their first at-bat, using a couple of singles and an error to plate two runs and take a 2-0 lead after one.

After a couple of scoreless innings, Watertown added to its advantage in the bottom of the fourth, getting a one-out infield single, a double and a walk to load the bases before a sacrifice fly made it 3-0. Watertown wasn’t done there, though, smacking a two-out double in the bottom of the sixth before a two-run home run from the ensuing batter pushed its lead to 5-0.

An inning later, Watertown made its advantage 6-0 with an infield single, a stolen base and an RBI single. The Red Devils continued its offensive momentum in the eighth, getting a pair of runners in scoring position before three straight doubles plated four runs to bring it to the 10-0 final.

Tauer, Andy Schmidt, Matt Bauer, Aaron Mathiowetz and Jacob Hughes led Milroy with a hit each.

Isaac Schmitt earned the start, going five innings while allowing three runs on nine hits and struck out seven. Nathan Deutz tossed two innings in relief, giving up three runs on five hits and struck out three while Austin Deutz and Sacred Heart draftee pitcher Jeremy Hinderks combined for a third of an inning while allowing four runs on four hits.

Milroy 4,

New Ulm 3 (10 innings)

In the game against New Ulm, it was back and forth right from the start. The Brewers led off with a double before an RBI groundout brought in the game’s first run, but Milroy responded by loading the bases before Derek Rasmussen connected on an RBI single to tie things at 1-1 after one.

After a scoreless second, New Ulm got back on the board in the third, reaching on an error and an infield single before an error on a fielder’s choice put the Brewers in front at 2-1. Two innings later, New Ulm pushed its lead to 3-1 using a walk, a sacrifice and a pair of singles, but Milroy had an answer in the bottom half of the frame. After Andy Schmidt got hit by a pitch to lead things off, Dave Schmidt and Bauer reached on infield singles to load the bases before Mathiowetz smacked a two-run double to tie it up again at 3-3 after five.

It would stay that way for the next several innings, with Kingery, a draftee pitcher from Atwater, in cruise control for Milroy. After New Ulm couldn’t capitalize with a runner in scoring position in the top of the ninth, Milroy had a chance to win the game. Branden Flock was able to reach on an error with two outs and Schmitt connected on a single that was initially bobbled in the outfield, but a perfect throw by the Brewers’ JT Hoffmann would get the runner out at home, preserving the tie and forcing extra innings and setting the stage for the final heroics.

Dave Schmidt led Milroy with three hits while Tauer, Andy Schmidt, Bauer, Schmitt and Jackson Hughes each added two hits, with Andy Schmidt getting an RBI, and Mathiowetz had a hit and two RBI and Rasmussen had a hit and an RBI.

Kingery earned the victory for Milroy. The Atwater draftee threw all 10 innings, allowing three runs on just four hits and struck out 14.

Rohlik said they saw what Kingery was capable of during the Region 4C tournament and applauded his efforts on the mound in a key game.

“Facing him in the region tournament, we knew what he could do. His fastball is electric and he has a nasty change-up to go with that and every pitch was working,” Rohlik said. “That’s a credit to him, the young man is just 18 years old, and he started a state tournament game and that was one of the toughest decisions to do but as a team we decided with the amount of lefties in their lineup, going with Josh was the right move here. Josh is a tremendous talent with a bright future.”

Saturday

Milroy 4, New Ulm 3 (10 innings)

New Ulm 101 010 000 0 – 3 4 4

Milroy 100 020 000 1 – 4 15 2

Hitting: Milroy (D. Schmidt 3H; A. Schmidt 2H, RBI; Tauer, Jackson Hughes, Schmitt, Bauer 2H; Mathiowetz 1H, 2 RBI; Rasmussen 1H, RBI).

Pitching (IP-R-ER-H-BB-SO): Milroy (Kingery (Atwater draftee) 10-3-1-4-1-14).

Sunday

Watertown 10, Milroy 0 (8 innings)

Milroy 000 000 00 – 0 5 2

Watertown 200 102 14 – 10 18 1

Hitting: Milroy (Tauer 1-3; A. Schmidt 1-4; Bauer 1-3; Mathiowetz 1-3; Jacob Hughes 1-3).

Pitching (IP-R-ER-H-BB-SO): Milroy (Schmitt 5-3-2-9-2-7; N. Deutz 2-3-3-5-0-3; A. Deutz 0.1-3-2-3-0-0; Hinderks (Sacred Heart draftee) 0-1-1-1-0-0).