Photos by Jake McNeill: Yellow Medicine East right fielder Jacob Peterson (5) slides into home plate to score a run during a Section 3A semifinal matchup against Russell-Tyler-Ruthton on Saturday at Milroy Yankee Field. The Sting's 7-6 win sends them to the section championship game with the opportunity to clinch its second state tournament berth in three years.

MILROY — Saturday’s Section 3A baseball tournament semifinal matchup between No. 2S Yellow Medicine East and No. 3S Russell-Tyler-Ruthton was a familiar scene for many in attendance. Two years after the Sting overcame a last-inning deficit to walk off the Knights in the 3A championship, the Sting again trailed by a run heading into the bottom of the seventh in this year’s semifinal. Yet, clutch hits from Drew Monson, Gunnar Fagen and Gage Wilke again allowed the Sting to walk off RTR for a 7-6 win and a return to the section championship game.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” Fagen said of driving in the tying run and scoring the winning run. “I’ve been watching baseball as long as I can remember and dreamed of moments like that.”

Facing a 6-5 deficit heading into the last inning, Monsoon hit a leadoff single for the Sting and advanced to second on a Braden Nelson sacrifice bunt. Fagen then drilled a double into right field to drive in Monson and score the tying run.

Fagen advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Eric Jimenez, leaving Fagen 90 feet away from the win and the Knights one out away from forcing extra innings. Yet, Gage Wilke hit a hard ground ball for a single, scoring Fagen and giving the Sting the win.

“Our kids just fought,” YME head coach Nick Richter said of the comeback. “Tip the cap to the RTR guys and [head coach] Danny [Moffitt] and his team, they are gutty and they are good… We kicked the ball round a little bit, but stayed in it and made some good plays when we needed to, and just had some stuff go our way, too. You have to have a little luck in this, there’s no doubt about it.”

In addition to scoring the game-winning run and logging team-highs with three hits and two RBIs, Fagen also pitched the first six innings for the Sting. He gave up three earned and three unearned runs on 10 hits and a pair of walks while striking out three batters. Nelson earned the win in relief, pitching a scoreless seventh inning and logging two strikeouts while allowing a pair of hits.

“We played them earlier in the season and we knew that they were a good-hitting team, so I just knew I had to throw strikes and give my defense a chance to make plays, and I had 100% trust in them,” Fagen said.

RTR claimed the lead in the sixth when Gabe Elton and Brayden Chandler singled consecutively. A wild pitch and a YME throwing error attempting to catch Elton advancing to third allowed Elton to score the tying run, and Tyler Wichmann hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Chandler for a 6-5 RTR advantage.

Eli Determan pitched the first 2 1/3 innings for the Knights, throwing 66 pitches during his time on the mound. He gave up three walks and three hits with two strikeouts while giving up one earned and four unearned runs.

The Sting generated the game’s first offense in the bottom of the first. Monson and Nelson reached on consecutive errors in YME’s first two at-bats, and an RBI single from Fagen and a Jimenez sacrifice fly scored the two runners.

Drew Chandler led off the top of the second with a double, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored the Knights’ first run on a Chase Christianson single. Sean Griesse then reached base on an error with one out and Gavin Schreurs drove Christianson and Griesse in with a double to give RTR a 3-2 edge.

With two outs in the third, Christianson, Griesse and Schreurs hit three consecutive singles to plate another run for the Knights. Griesse and Schreurs each finished with three hits for the Knights, including three RBIs for Schreurs, while Christianson added another pair of hits.

Fagen, Wilke and Jacob Peterson loaded the bases with one out with a double, an error and a walk in the fourth inning. The Knights elected to make a pitching change, bringing in Wichmann for Determan. Still, the Sting continued to rally.

Gavin Torvik put a slow grounder in play but a fielding error by the Knights allowed Fagen to score on the play. Lane Wohlman then lined out and fell to the ground in the batter’s box with a lower-body injury on the play. In the commotion of the injury, Wilke and Peterson tagged up and scored to give the Sting a 5-4 lead.

Wohlman had to be helped off the field with the injury and did not return to the game.

Wichmann pitched the final 4 1/3 innings for RTR, surrendering two earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts in the loss.

“Wichmann and all their pitchers have been tough on us the two times we faced them,” Richter said. “We’re just putting the ball in play, having good at-bats, and Wichmann at the end there was throwing excellent and put in play, but we got lucky. We did enough to get by today.”

The Knights had the opportunity to bolster their lead in the top of the seventh when Seth Cowell reached on an error and Sean Griesse singled with one out. A passed ball advanced the two runners into scoring position, but Braden Nelson cleanly fielded Schreurs’ bunt and tagged Cowell on the third baseline, and a strikeout ended the frame with the Sting still trailing by just a run.

YME will now return to the Section 3A championship game for the second time in three years after they were walked off by YME in the first game of the 2023 championship. The Sting will take on whichever team emerges from the elimination bracket on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Yankee Field in Milroy. If they lose, a second winner-take-all game would be played at 7 p.m.

“Truth be told, we’ve got a few guys banged up, so [the time off] is going to be huge for us,” Richter said. “We needed a couple days and, thankfully, we’re going to get them and hopefully come back ready to play on Thursday.”

Richter added that he’s confident in his team’s abilities and feels like they’ll be well-positioned to move on if they can play clean defense and make the plays that they’re capable of making.

RTR will look to keep its season alive in the elimination bracket, taking on the winner of Dawson-Boyd on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Irish Yard in Milroy.