State Baseball: Class A Championship: Unbeaten Eden Valley-Watkins rallies to stun Sebeka 7-4

Sebeka started strong in the Class A State Championship game, racking up a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, but the undefeated, and No.1-ranked Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles took flight the rest of the game to score five unanswered runs en route to winning the title, 7-4.

The Trojans jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Josh Kinnunen laced an RBI single to left field and Cody Pulju followed with and RBI double into the left-center gap.

The Eagles answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame. Matt Geislinger belted a one-out double deep into left field to score Kevin Kramer.

Sebeka tallied another pair of runs in the second inning to push their lead to 4-1.
Trojan lead-off batter Reid Redetzke was hit by a pitch to start the inning. The junior then swiped second and advanced to third on a balk by Eagle starting pitcher Tyler Geislinger.

After Brenan Brockpahler walked, Paul Funk delivered an RBI single to right field to score Redetzke. The Trojans tallied their final run of the game off a wild pitch that brought Brockpahler racing in from third.

Eden Valley-Watkins trimmed the deficit to 4-2 on a RBI single from Kramer in the third.

The Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to claw past the Trojans. After a Trojan error pushed a run across, Matt Geislinger drove in the tying run with his double down the left field line and then scored the game-winning run on an RBI single from his brother Ty Geislinger.

Eden Valley-Watkins added a pair of insurance runs on RBI singles from Brandon Walz and Kramer in the bottom of the sixth for the 7-4 lead and the win.

Kramer ended up leading the Eagles’ 11 hit attack, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Matt Geislinger picked up the win on the hill, allowing only two hits and struck out six in five innings of relief. The junior also did some damage at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and scored a run to help the Eagles remain perfect.

Alex Brockpahler suffered the loss for Sebeka. The senior surrendered six earned runs and struck out four in six innings. Funk went 3-for-4 with and RBI to lead the Trojans, who finished the season at 21-6.

State Class A Championship
Sebeka vs. Eden Valley-Watkins on June 19
Eagles 7, Trojans 4
Sebeka 2 2 0 0 0 0 0—4 6 2
Eden Valley-Watkins 1 0 1 0 3 2 x—7 11 1
WP: Matt Geislinger (EVW) (5IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 6K)
LP: Alex Brockpahler (Sebeka) (6IP, 11H, 7R, 6ER, 1BB, 4K)
Sebeka—Paul Funk 3-4, R, RBI; Josh Kinnunen 1-3, RBI; Cody Pulju 1-2, 2B, RBI; Ethan Huttunen 1-3
Eden Valley-Watkins—Kevin Kramer 3-4, R, 2RBI; Matt Geislinger 2-3, (2)2B, R, 2RBI; Ty Geislinger 1-3, RBI; Brendan Ashton 1-3, R; Brandon Walz 2-3, R, RBI; Ryan Tri 2-3, 2R