That dream became reality Monday as the Blackhawks defeated Red Lake County 11-1 in six innings in the Class A State Baseball Tournament Championship at Target Field.

“It just feels unbelievable,” Madelia’s Noel Davila said. “It doesn’t even feel real. We’ve been waiting for this moment since we were freshmen. Just grinding every day, and now it came to life and feels amazing.”

The baseball team becomes the first Madelia team to win a state championship in any sport, making history for the town of about 2,500 residents.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Madelia’s Tate Becker said. “All the work we put in since we started baseball and to bring that to Madelia — half our town’s closed down for the day to come to the game. It just brought joy to everyone. The whole town is behind us.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Madelia's Noel Davila presents the Class A State Baseball Championship plaque to the Madelia crowd after the championship game Monday at Target Field.

“Game ended, and it still doesn’t feel real,” Madelia’s Dalton Tatro added.

Madelia head coach Jimmy Kiefer said the experience and dedication of the group was what allowed them to come away with the state title.

“We have a great group of older boys,” he said. “This is my third year here, and we’ve had the same core for all three years. They’ve all grown up together, our entire team of players is made up of juniors and seniors. The emotional resilience that these boys carried carried us through this season. Any time we got scored on or we got down, there was no panic, no heartache in our dugout. They’re a group of dogs that know how to compete.”

Davila added that the team knew how to work together.

“Our chemistry is unmatched,” he said. “That’s what makes us good.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Madelia's Miah Garza turns to make a double play during the Class A State Baseball Championship against Red Lake County Monday at Target Field.

Kiefer had previously been a part of a state-runner up team as an assistant coach for Mankato West in 2023. Before the game, the team promised Kiefer they would take him all the way this time.

“It means everything,” Kiefer said. “Every team you coach, you put all your heart into. Being with these boys for three years, it means everything. It’s something I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life. I’ve built a strong bond with these boys. I love them dearly, so I’m ecstatic that they got to achieve the ultimate goal. I’m really happy to have experienced that.”

Becker scored the final run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Tatro, tagging up to score the fourth run of the sixth inning to end the game due to the 10-run rule.

“I started running home, and I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, it’s going to get caught,'” Becker said. “So I turned around and thought, ‘If he catches it, run as fast as you can.’ If you score the run, you win the state championship. Jimmy made sure I touched the bag before I went.”

Madelia’s offense showed up all state tournament, scoring at least eight runs in each of its three games. The 11 runs the Blackhawks scored in the championship game was the most they scored since the opening round of the section playoffs.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Madelia's Tony Zaleski celebrates to his bench after hitting an RBI triple during the Class A State Baseball Championship against Red Lake County Monday at Target Field.

“We got hot at the right time,” Davila said. “Throughout the state tournament, everyone’s been hot. There’s nobody that just did not hit the ball. We put the ball in play, good stuff happens.”

Becker was also the winning pitcher on the day, delivering nine strikeouts with one unearned run allowed on four hits and six walks in 5 2/3 innings. While the walks count was a bit higher than Becker’s usual output, he was able to maintain his composure, not allowing an earned run on 115 pitches.

“When you’re not throwing strikes, it’s pretty hard to get people out,” he said. “I just said, ‘My team is counting on me.’ In my mind, I knew I wasn’t finishing this game, it’s not going very well, but trying to get as many outs as I can for Zach [Jacobs] to come and close it. He just needed one out. That’s pretty good. Ten-running a team in the state championship, that’s the stuff you dream of. That’s pretty sweet.”

Jacobs was able to deliver that out with a strikeout in the top of the sixth inning.

At the plate for the Blackhawks, Bryce Borkenhagen was 3 for 4 with three RBIs, two doubles and a run scored, while Jacobs was 2 for 2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Miah Garza was 2 for 3 with an RBI, and Davila was 1 for 2 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey The Madelia dugout celebrates after Dalton Tatro (1) scores a run during the Class A State Baseball Championship against Red Lake County Monday at Target Field.

Becker opened the first inning by allowing two walks, a pattern that persisted throughout the game. However, Becker stayed cool, leaving a total of 10 runners stranded on base throughout the game.

“I don’t know what was going on, but it seemed like I had to walk two people before I started throwing strikes,” Becker said. “Every inning, walked two, then throw strikes. I was just doing my best trying to do the same thing. This is the stuff you think about. Mental toughness. And I think I did a pretty good job with that.”

A pair of groundouts and a strikeout ended the half inning without a run scored.

Madelia scored a run in the bottom of the inning, with Tony Zaleski being hit by a pitch, taking second on a sacrifice bunt by Davila, then moving to third on an error put into play by Evan Coil. Finally, Borkenhagen collected an RBI as a groundout brought Zaleski home.

RLC responded in the top of the second, tying the game on a single by Will Gieseke after the first two batters of the inning reached on an error and a walk. Madelia quickly, however, with a walk and an error putting Brayden Grev and Tatro on base before Grev came home on a wild pitch and Tatro scored by stealing home. Jacobs singled and stole second, allowing Davila to come up with an RBI single to round out the three-run inning.

Becker struck out two in the top of the third to keep RLC off the scoreboard, but Madelia came up empty in its half of the inning as well. The Rebels had a single and a walk to open the fourth inning, then another single by Gieseke loaded the bases with just one out, but again Becker came up with two strikeouts to end the inning scoreless. This time, Madelia was able to add to its lead, with a triple by Zaleski scoring Jacobs. Zaleski was injured on the play, exiting the game, but Davila had a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Jacob Lunz anyway for a 6-1 lead.

Becker hit a batter and walked another to start off the fifth inning, and a strikeout was followed with another walk to lead the bases again. However, a grounder to Grev at third base turned into a 5-2-3 double play to get the Blackhawks out of the inning once again.

“Brayden Grev is a dog,” Becker said. “All the plays he’s made in the state tournament are crazy. It’s insane.”

Madelia added one more run in the fifth inning as Jacobs singled to bring home Gabe McCabe, courtesy running for Garza, for a 7-1 advantage. With a large lead, late into the game, Madelia knew it had a chance to end things early.

“We were just saying, ‘We’re three outs away,'” Davila said. “We were just saying, ‘We need to go get it.'”

Becker got the first out by strikeout, then the second by flyout. Madelia went to Jacobs for the final out of the inning, which he delivered in five quick pitches for a strikeout swinging.

Davila and Coil reached base to start the bottom of the third on an error and a walk, respectively. Both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch, then Borkenhagen hit a ground-rule double to left field to score two runs. A single by Becker put runners at the corners, then Becker stole second before a single by Garza scored Borkenhagen and put Becker at third. Grev was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Just one run away from ending the game, Tatro stepped to the plate and delivered, sending the ball far enough into left field to allow Becker to tag up for the final run.

“It’s awesome,” Becker said. “Zach said, ‘Not being selfish, but I want to go out and pitch more.’ He didn’t get the chance, which sucks, but not giving them any chance to come back, ending it yourself, you have the chance to win it and you did, that’s awesome.”

The team swarmed the field as Becker slid home, celebrating a well-earned championship.

“Feels like a dream,” Kiefer said. “That moment when we were all dogpiling, Tate and I locked in a hug, I’m upside down, somebody’s getting crushed — it’s something we’re going to remember for the rest of our lives.”