Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Legion Gold’s Noah Hauge beats Sleepy Eye Post 7’s Jacob Berg to the bag for a bunt single in Saturday’s legion baseball playoff game at Mueller Park.

NEW ULM — It took 3 hours, 29 minutes and 11 innings, but for the first time since 2015, New Ulm Gold is the Division 1, Sub-State 2 champion.

Mason Cox’s two-out single to right field in the bottom of the 11th inning scored Hunter Ranweiler from second and lifted New Ulm to a 6-5 win over Mankato American at Mueller Park on Saturday.

Braden Zimmerman got the win in relief for Gold, now 31-4. He pitched the final five innings in relief of starter Mark Schommer. Schommer went the first six innings and allowed four runs.

Jake Pybilla took the season-ending loss for American, who end at 19-12.

Zimmerman and Cox each had two hits, with Jaden Domeier driving in two runs. Domeier and Teddy Giefer each had a double.

Gold now advances to the Minnesota State American Legion Baseball Tournament in Cold Spring, Paynesville, St. Martin and Watkins, beginning next Thursday.

New Ulm will first play at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Cold Spring against Cold Spring.

For New Ulm Gold and head coach Chris Peters, it was a battle against a team that they had beaten 12-4 on Friday in the tournament.

“We battled a tough Mankato team that came prepared,” Peters said about his team that was ranked seventh in the latest American Legion poll. “They attacked the baseball and came out hitting right away, scored some runs and put us down. But we are a team that never gives up.”

The game was tied 4-4 after nine innings before each team scored a run in the 10th inning.

Mankato grabbed a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th on an RBI single from Griffin Gartzke.

But New Ulm, who had trailed 3-0 after two innings, knotted the contest in the bottom of the inning when Nolan Drill walked, took second on a wild pitch and then moved to third on a passed ball. He scored on Domeier’s base hit.

Gold then pieced together their winning rally in the 11th when Hunter Ranweiler, who walked four times in four at-bats and two of them intentional, legged out an infield single to start the inning.

Braden Zimmerman’s sacrifice bunt moved Ranweiler to second.

After a strikeout for the second out, Mason Cox stepped to the plate and lined a Jake Prybilla fastball to right, scoring Ranweiler.

“I was looking for the fastball,” Cox said. “It was a fastball down the middle.”

And the game-winning hit was nothing new for him.

“A few years ago I had the game-winning hit that got us to state,” he said.

Cox said that while the team was tired, once they had tied the game they had confidence they were going to win.

Peters said that the win was one where his team clawed back and got the job done.

“We are tired and we are going to take a couple of days off before we get back to work for the state,” Peters said. ” These kids deserve it — it has been a long year — but they have shown they belong at the state. I am proud of them.”

Earlier in the day, Gold eliminated Sleepy Eye 4-1 to advance to the game with Mankato. Teddy Giefer got the win, going 6 2/3 innnings. He allowed one run on four hits. Colten Schaefer got the save.

Zach Haala took the loss for Sleepy Eye.

New Uim scored all four of their runs in the second inning.

Josh Seidl and Hunter Ranweiler each had two hits, with both of Ranweiler’s hits being doubles.

Ranweiler had two RBIs.

Carter Brinkman had an RBI triple for Sleepy Eye’s lone run.