DAWSON — A heroic 12-inning complete game from Seth Boerboom kept Cottonwood alive in the elimination bracket of the Region 3C tournament over the weekend. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that salvation did not last long. The sixth-seeded Cardinals staved off No. 10 Benson for a 3-2 win on Saturday, but were defeated 11-4 by No. 9 Rosen to end their season on Sunday.

In addition to his pitching impact, Boerboom also had four hits for Cottonwood in the win over the Plowboys while Aaron Lienemann came up with the walk-off single in the 12th.

On Sunday, Cottonwood led through six innings and was tied through seven, but the Express came up with five eighth-inning runs to pull away for the win. Caine Herigon led Cottonwood with two hits in the game while Boerboom was charged with the loss.

Cottonwood finishes its season at 9-7.

Cottonwood 3, Benson 2

Aaron Lienemann came up with a walk-off single for the Cottonwood Cardinals in the 12th inning of their Region 3C elimination bracket matchup against Benson on Saturday. The score was knotted up at two runs apiece at the end of regulation, but after a pair of scoreless extra innings, the Cardinals stepped up when it mattered most to claim a 3-2 win.

Ayden St. Pietter was hit by the first pitch of the bottom of the 12th. After a passed ball advanced St. Pierre to third, the Plowboys intentionally walked Cody St. Aubin and Noah Jensen to load the bases and bring a force out into play. Needing just one run to seal the win, Lienemann drilled a ground ball into left field to score St. Pierre and send Cottonwood on to the next round.

Seth Boerboom put together a heroic performance on the mound for the Cardinals, throwing 176 pitches in a 12-inning complete-game performance. He struck out 10 batters on the day and limited the Plowboys to a pair of unearned runs on four hits and six walks. He also led the Cardinals at the dish with four hits and a walk in five at-bats.

Lienemann and Boerbooom led off the seventh inning with back-to-back singles with the game locked in a scoreless tie. After Caine Herigon was hit by a pitch, Jordan Fischer hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Lienemann for the go-ahead run and Boerboom scored on a wild pitch to bring the score to 2-0.

A pair of errors allowed Benson to tie the game right back up in the top of the eighth. Matthew Lenarz and Christopher Ebnet reached on a pair of errors with a Landon Skarsten single in between to load the bases with no outs. Boerboom came up with a strikeout to put one away, and Lienemann fielded a ground ball and threw it home to get the force out in the next at-bat. Yet, Matthew Goossen and Alex Claussen drew consecutive walks to force in a pair of runs before a ground out ended the inning.

Cottonwood finished the night with nine hits to Benson’s four. In addition to Boerboom, Lienemann also contributed a pair of hits for the Cardinals while Herigon, Fischer and Jacob Rausch each added one.

Claussen threw six scoreless innings while striking out 10 batters in his start for the Plowboys before being pulled after 106 pitches. Daniel Lenarz gave up a pair of earned runs over four innings of work, Wrobleski pitched a scoreless 11th inning, and Samuel Lenarz gave up one earned run on a hit and two walks without getting an out.

BOX SCORE

COTTONWOOD

A. Claussen: 6 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 10 SO; D. Lenarz: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 5 SO; A. Wrobleski: IP, H, SO; S. Lenarz: 0 IP, H, R, ER, 2 BB.

Rosen 11, Cottonwood 4

Sunday’s elimination bracket matchup between Cottonwood and Rosen was tied at four runs apiece heading into the eighth when the Express chugged ahead. A day after throwing 176 pitches, Boerboom took the mound in relief for the Cardinals. He gave up three singles, an error and a run when he was pulled for Taiven Isaackson. Each of the inherited runners went on to score, as did one more to cap off a five-run frame with Rosen leading 9-4.

The Cardinals led 3-1 heading into the top of the seventh when a walk, a single and a hit batter loaded the bases with Ayden St. Pierre on the mound. A walk and a single drove in the tying runs, and another walk with two outs gave Rosen a 4-3 lead.

Cottonwood tied the game up one last time when Isaackson singled and scored on a Justin Timm single to make the score 4-4.

St. Pierre threw the first seven innings for Cottonwood, giving up three earned runs and one unearned run on five hits and four walks with six strikeouts. Isaackson gave up three earned runs over two innings of relief while Boerboom gave up three earned runs without getting an out.

Boerboom reached on an error with two outs in the first and scored on a Jordan Fischer single to give Cottonwood the game’s first run.

Nate Strong hit a game-tying RBI single for Rosen in the fifth, but Cottonwood pulled back ahead when Jacob Ruasch, Boerboom and Herigon singled consecutively in the sixth. Fischer grounded out to drive in Rausch and Boerboom stole home when the Express caught Fischer stealing second.

Christian Kanten pitched a complete game for Rosen to earn the win, giving up three earned runs on eight hits with six strikeouts.

BOX SCORE

COTTONWOOD

C. Kanten: W, 9 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 SO.