“It’s been our identity all year to force teams to make plays and be aggressive and steal a few bases when we can,” Cathedral head coach Alan Woitas said. “We’ve got the guys that can do it. We got thrown out a couple of times, but I think overall it was beneficial and put a lot of pressure on their defense and manufactured a few runs that way too.”

Cathedral now plays third-seeded South Ridge at 9:30 a.m. in the semifinals at Joe Faber Field.

Colin Anderson earned the win for Cathedral, striking out four while allowing one run on three hits and two walks. At the plate for the Greyhounds, Finstad was 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Elijah Rieser was 2 for 3 with two runs scored. Caleb Forstner was 2 for 3 with a run scored, Elliot Schabert had a hit and two RBIs, and Alex Portner had a hit and a run scored.

Brayden Chandler took the loss for RTR, striking out one and allowing four runs on two hits and three walks in one inning of work. Tyler Wichmann pitched five innings in relief, striking out two and allowing two runs on eight hits. At the plate for the Knights, Brayden Chandler was 2 for 4 with a run scored, while Drew Chandler and Seth Cowell each had a hit.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Cathedral’s Colin Anderson delivers a pitch during the first round of the Class A State Baseball Tournament against Russell-Tyler-Rutheton Wednesday at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud.

Cathedral also came up with several big hits with runners in scoring position during the game.

“Elliot Schabert in the first inning to get us two, playing with the lead early is really important in these types of games,” Woitas said. “For him to hit that ball to left-center was good. And then Jake Finstad in the sixth with the big triple down the right-field line. Just adding extra runs, those insurance runs helped calm the nerves if there are any.”

Cathedral’s Jake Finstad added that the team always looked to make solid contact at the plate.

“Put the bat on the ball,” he said. “It wears down teams and we can build off of that.”

RTR scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning as Brayden Chandler doubled, advanced to third on a groundout and then took home on a wild pitch. Cathedral responded quickly, with Schabert singling to drive in Finstad and Caleb Forstner to take a 2-1 lead. Cathedral scored again in the second as Josh Forstner took home on an errant throw down to second base to a stealing Rieser. Rieser scored later in the inning on a double steal with Finstad to increase the lead to 4-1.

Anderson kept RTR off the basepaths in both the second and third innings, and in the bottom of the third, an outfield error put into play by Josh Forstner brought home Portner for Cathedral’s fifth run of the game. The Knights managed to load the bases in the fifth inning, but a strikeout and a pop out ended the inning without scoring a run.

Burns finally came through for the Knights in the sixth inning, putting a ball into play to score Chase Christianson, but the Greyhounds got the run back in the bottom of the inning, with a triple by Finstad bringing home Rieser for a 6-2 lead. Finstad started off the seventh inning with a great defensive play, scooping up a ball popped into the air off the third baseman’s glove and throwing it to first in time for the out. The defensive momentum continued as Cathedral shut down the rest of the inning to seal the win.

Cathedral now turns its attention to the semifinals.

“Everyone up here is capable of beating you,” Woitas said. “You’ve just got to make sure you show up and do the little things well. We made a few miscues today, but overall we can clean it up a bit and play well tomorrow.”