Prep Baseball: Nelson, Wolverines sparkle in seventh inning rally past Bears, 6-5

Ryan Nelson broke out of his slump in a big way to help rally Wadena-Deer Creek past Bertha-Hewitt 6-5 on Friday night at the Wadena County Stadium.

The senior, who had been struggling at the plate, left area high school baseball fans shaking their heads in amazement at his two triples as he went 3-for-4 with two RBIs that sparked the Wolverines four-run, seventh inning comeback.

“I didn’t think I hit the ball that far the second time,” Nelson explained. “I looked over to coach as I neared second and he was screaming and waving at me to keep going—so I did. It was nice way to break out of the slump I was having, and I couldn’t be happier doing it on my last home game too.”

Nelson’s hot bat overshadowed the performance of Bertha-Hewitt’s Patrick Riewer, who belted a two-run homer in the first inning and drove in a pair of runs in the fifth with a double to keep the Bears one step ahead of the Wolverines.

Bertha-Hewitt added another run in the top of the seventh off a Wolverine error to make it 5-2, and set the stage for the climatic fireworks in the bottom half of the frame.

Derrick Rude and Ryan Redfield hit back-to-back, one-out singles to get the home crowd going. Nelson lined a triple out to right-center to plate both runners and Jake Rude followed with a single to left to drive in the tying run.

The roar of the crowd was starting to reach a deafening crescendo when Kevin Tumberg stepped to the plate, and the senior didn’t disappoint, drawing a walk to place Jake Rude with the potential game-winning run at second.

Cody Redfield sent a sharp liner to right, and Rude came tearing around third and went flying headfirst into home for the winner. It set off pandemonium on the Wolverines bench and in the grandstand.

“There are no words to describe how I’m feeling right now,” an emotional Cody Redfield said afterwards. “All I know is that I’m going to remember this for a very, very long time.”

It was the only hit of the game for the senior, as the Wolverines scattered 10 hits in the game, five of which came in the remarkable seventh inning comeback.

“It certainly was baseball at its best tonight!” a jubilant Wadena-Deer Creek coach Kyle Dykhoff exclaimed. “I just can’t describe how proud I am of the guys. They kept plugging away, and to come back from four runs in the bottom of the seventh against a great team like [Bertha-Hewitt] is just a testament of our ability to stay positive and play hard until the last out.”

The Wolverines (6-7) hit the road for a pair of key Mid-State Conference doubleheaders starting with Perham on Monday before wrapping up the regular season at Pequot Lakes 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Bertha-Hewitt at Wadena-Deer Creek on May 21
Wolverines 6, Bears 5
Bertha-Hewitt 2 0 0 0 2 0 1—5 4 0
Wadena-Deer Creek 0 0 0 2 0 0 4—6 10 1
WP: Derrick Rude (WDC) (7IP, 4H, 5R, 3ER, 5BB, 10K)
LP: Ethan Bakken (BH) (2.1IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER, 1BB, 1K)
Wadena-Deer Creek—Ryan Nelson 3-4, (2)3B, R, 2RBI; Jake Rude 1-4, 2B, R, RBI; Cody Redfield 1-4, RBI; Colter Pettit 1-1, 2B, R; Tyler Wohlwend 1-3, R, RBI; David Najjar 1-2; Derrick Rude 1-3, R; Ryan Redfield 1-3, R
Berhta-Hewitt—Patrick Riewer 2-3, 2B, HR, R, 4RBI; Austin Selvey 2-2, 2B, 3R