Staff photo by Steve Muscatello New Ulm Legion Gold shortstop Andrew Peters tags out Chaska’s Jacob Goraczkowski during Upper Midwest Classic action Saturday at Johnson Park in New Ulm. For more photos of this event go to cu.nujournal.com

NEW ULM — Chaska scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning after there were two outs to break a tie and eliminate New Ulm Legion Gold 8-3 in the Upper Midwest Classic on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Park.

Zack Nelson got the win in relief for Chaska.

Tyler Roufs took the loss for Gold, also in relief.

Roufs pitched the eighth inning and allowed five runs on five hits.

Chris Johnson, Evan Brown, Noah Miller and Marcus Peters each had two hits for Chaska. Jacob Goraczkowski drove in four runs.

J.T. Hoffmann, Brandon Mehlhop, Cole Wellmann and A.J. Lassas each had two hits for Gold. Mehlhop drove in two runs.

For Gold and coach Jeremy Drexler, it was a case of not making enough plays in the game.

“We gave them a couple of runs in the first and gave them a run in the seventh and it got a little hot there in the last inning,” Drexler said. “We needed one more hit too.

“But Brandon did a real good job on the mound. He has nothing to hang his head about.”

Mehlhop pitched the first six innings and held Chaska to two runs on six hits with three strikeouts.

Chaska took a 2-0 lead in the first when Reid Young walked and Goraczkowski hit a one-out RBI double. Goraczkowski came home on an Evan Brown base hit.

Gold scored runs in the third and fourth innings to tie the game 2-2.

In the third, Hoffmann led off with a triple to center and scored on a Mehlhop infield single. Mehlhop was erased on a double play before Wellmann doubled. But Chaska starter Zach Hartford ended the threat.

In the fourth, Lassas led off with a base hit and was sacrificed to second by Kasey Kuck. He scored on a Chaska infield error.

New Ulm then took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth when Lassas reached on one of three Chaska errors in the game to begin the sixth. Kuck walked. An sacrifice bunt by Andrew Peters moved both runners into scoring position.

After a strikeout, Hoffmann was intentionally walked. That strategy backfired as Mehlhop singled to right to score Lassas for a 3-2 lead.

But in the top of the seventh, Chaska tied the game off Peters when pinchhitter Ryan Rodriguez doubled and then scored on a Johnson base hit.

In the eighth, after Roufs had set down the first two batters on groundballs,Miller singled just over the glove of a leaping Mehlhop at second. That was followed by singles from Marcus Peters, Young and Johnson, a hit batter and a three-run double from Goraczkowski.

“That is the way the game goes sometimes,” Drexler said about his team that won Pool A. “There is nothing you can do about it. We competed against a lot of good teams this weekend so we are right where we need to be.

“Baseball is a funny game — one play either way in a lot of close games is the difference between a good or bad season.”