SHAKOPEE — The closing game of the opening weekend of the state tournament wasn’t a disappointment. A matchup made for Labor Day weekend, it was the Plato Blue Jays and the Webster Sox batting it out at Joe Schleper Stadium in the first round of the Class B state tournament.
A back-and-forth affair throughout, it was the Blue Jays coming through in big spots time and time again as they kept their season alive with a 5-3 win over the Sox.
Webster struck first thanks to a two-run shot from Pete Tveite in the bottom of the third. With the way he was rolling on the mound, two runs looked like it might be enough for Tveite and Webster, but Plato had other plans.
The Blue Jays began chipping away at the deficit in the top of the fifth. A two-out single from Reece Schwirtz kept the inning alive, and then Dane Schwirtz delivered a line drive to left field that got lost in the sun, allowing Reece Schwirtz to score to put Plato on the board. The Blue Jays weren’t done there. After striking out in his first two at-bats and in an 0-2 hole, Luke Roepke tied the game at two with a clutch RBI single.
The Blue Jays took their first lead of the game in the top of the seventh as they delivered once again with two outs. With runners on second and third, Roepke reached on an error, which allowed the go-ahead run to score.
All of a sudden trailing for the first time, Webster answered back in the bottom half of the seventh. A leadoff single followed by a bunt put the tying run on scoring position. Plato nearly got out of the inning with a double play, but an errant throw to first allowed the tying run to score.
In the top of the eighth, it was the Blue Jays’ turn to answer, and it didn’t take long. Beau Lepel blasted a solo home run to left to make it 4-3, and that lead would never be given up for Plato after adding one more insurance run in the top of the ninth to seal the win.
With the win, Plato advances to face Stewartville-Racine in the second round. The two will meet Sunday, Aug. 30 in New Prague at 4 p.m.
