File photo by Travis Rosenau Stark’s Brandon Helget throws to first during a Region 2C title game against New Ulm on Aug. 14 in Fairfax.

DUNDAS — With the game-winning run on third base in the bottom of the ninth and one out, Stark’s Mason Cox and Longhorns manager Dusty Mangen met down the third base line to talk when Maple Lake brought in their fourth pitcher of the game.

“He (Cox) said he was going to attack the first pitch,” Mangen said. “I said, ‘Yeah, you have to attack it as they went to five infielders.’ He hit a dribbler past the pitcher — the first baseman made a really good play to get the ball to home.”

While he fielded the ball clean, his throw pulled the catcher’s foot off the base and David Surprenant scored the game-winning run as Stark stunned favored Maple Lake 9-8 in the first round of the Class C Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament.

Justin Haugo, a draftee from Springfield, got the win in relief of starter Adam Sellner, who went four innings and gave up six runs. Haugo pitched the final four innings and gave up two runs and struck out six.

Alex Winslow took the season-ending loss for the Lakers.

Sean Mathiowetz had thee hits for Stark, with Cox, Zach Haala, Dylan Klein and Tim Seifert each collecting two hits.

Seifert had three RBIs, with Mathiowetz and Cox both driving in two.

Ben Clapp had four hits and three RBIs for Maple Lake.

Stark, now 20-6, now moves on in the state tournament and will meet the Region 10 champion Bemidji Blue Ox next Sunday at 11 a.m. in Faribault.

This was a game where Stark fell behind 3-0 after the Lakers plated three runs off of Sellner in the top of the first.

“We never make it easy on ourselves,” Mangen said. “But then we just started putting good at-bats together. And we did what we wanted to do. They threw a really good pitcher (left-hander Hunter Malachek) at us — a guy considered one of the top pitchers in the state — and we got to him early. We got him out of there way before they expected.”

Stark would score four runs in the bottom of the second when Zach Haala and Dylan Klein singled before Malachek issued a one-out walk to David Surprenant to load the bases. No. 9 hitter Tim Seifert followed with a two-run single. Sean Mathiowetz followed with an RBI double that plated Surprenant.

A walk to Mason Cox and a fielder’s choice preceded an Adam Sellner RBI single.

Maple Lake knotted the game in the third on a Clapp home run.

But Stark pushed two runs across in the third and ended Malachek’s day.

Klein doubled and scored on a two-out Seifert double before Seifert scored on a Mathiowetz single.

“Tim is a playoff player and he has been that way since high school,” Mangen said. “I really do not think that Tim begins to care about the season until playoffs start.”

Maple Lake scored two runs in the fourth, ending Sellner’s day with Haugo taking over.

“He (Haugo) pounds the zone,” Mangen said. “Regardless of the umpire and he gave us five strong innings.”

Stark grabbed an 8-6 lead in the sixth on a Cox double and an error before Maple Lake knotted the game with two runs in the top of the ninth.

But in the bottom of the ninth, Surprenant, Seifert and Mathiowetz each walked with one out before Surprenant scored on Cox’s fielder’s choice for the win.

Mangen said that the win was proof that Stark and Region 2C belongs in the state.

“Our region has had bad luck here for a while,” Mangen said “Maybe this game will change that luck — baseball is a game of averages and I think that averages for our region is going to turn around.”