Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Brewers starting lefty Ethan Stade winds up for a pitch during a Class C Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament game with Faribault at Delano Municipal Baseball Park on Sunday.

NEW ULM — New Ulm Brewers first baseman Zach Hoffmann might not have been the player the Faribault Lakers expected to see drop down a bunt in a tie game.

And that’s one big reason why it was the perfect move for him to make.

With his brother J.T. Hoffmann at third, Zach Hoffmann dropped down a squeeze bunt in the eighth that scored his brother, giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead and eventual 2-1 win Sunday in the second round of the Class C Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament at Delano Municipal Baseball Park.

J.T. Hoffmann reached with a leadoff double before a groundout by Hunter Ranweiler, who went 2 for 3, moved him to third. Then after a mound visit and one strike, Zach Hoffmann dropped down a perfect bunt in front of home plate, allowing both he and his brother to reach safely after Faribault pitcher Jake Petricka’s scoop toss to his catcher at home was not in time.

“As soon as it went to the pitching mound visit, I just talked to [manager] Al [Flor] and was, like, ‘If I get a strike on me, let’s squeeze,'” Zach Hoffmann said. “I’ve been struggling a little bit getting runners in from third base, so let’s find a way. Hats off to that guy [Petricka], he was lights out. He’s a tough pitcher. So I figured anyway we can score a run, and with J.T.’s speed at third, it worked out. Kudos to him, he grinded an AB out and had a big hit for us, too.”

Petricka took the complete-game loss, allowing eight hits and three walks for two earned runs. He struck out 11.

Zach Hoffmann’s squeeze was a big relief for Brewers starting pitcher Ethan Stade, who ended up pitching eight innings in the win, allowing just three hits and three walks for one run while striking out 12.

The 6-4 lefty returned to the Brewers during the Region 2C playoffs after finishing his season in the Northwoods League as a member of the Willmar Stingers.

“I learned so much from being out there,” Stade said of his summer with the Stingers. “I had great teammates, worked on a lot of stuff. Facing the hitters out there, too, you can throw them anything and they’re going to hit it really hard. But coming back here, I didn’t treat these guys any differently, though. I came in here with the exact same thought I would [have] if I was out there.”

Stade was a staple for New Ulm on Sunday. The only two-hard hit balls he allowed were in the seventh, a double by Nate Rost and a single to right by Petricka. Petricka’s hit scored Rost and tied the game at 1-all.

Other than those hits, an infield single to Matt Lane was all Stade allowed.

“I just try to establish a fastball early and it worked out,” Stade said. “I was able to hit spots. Velocity I felt was up today, they couldn’t really catch up to it. And then here and there, try to mix it up, throw a changeup, slider here and there, mix up their rhythm, which also worked really well. Besides that, the defense was amazing for us as well. There were plays that were made that I was so happy with. And I trust these guys back there.”

Stade got notice he’d be starting on Sunday the night before. While Mitch Bockenstedt led the Brewers to a big state win the previous weekend in Delano, it was Stade’s chance to do that Sunday.

Bockenstedt still got work in Sunday, however, as he allowed one infield hit and struck out two in the ninth for the save.

Wade French also went 2 for 4 for the Brewers at the plate, while Colten Schaefer went 2 for 5.

While the Brewers grounded into double plays to end the first and second innings and went down 1-2-3 in the third, they woke up in the fourth after a leadoff single and stolen base by Ranweiler. After that, Zach Hoffmann gave the Brewers their first lead of the game on an RBI double to right.

The Brewers will now take on the defending Class C champion Nisswa Lightning at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Litchfield. Nisswa knocked the Brewers out of the state tournament last year, so the Brewers will be looking to return the favor Saturday.

Zach Hoffmann, a four-time Class B state champion with the Chanhassen Red Birds, would also love to help his hometown team bring home a state title.

“It’s cool being able to come back to Johnson [Park] and New Ulm and all the fans and be able to play in front of my parents and play with J.T.,” Zach Hoffmann said. “I’ve kind of always said towards the end of my run, I wanted to do that, and now to make a run and be able to play on the third weekend is awesome. … But it doesn’t mean as much if you don’t finish it off. … We have Nisswa, so a little bit of a revenge game for us, so we should be ready.”