Staff photo by Ari Selvey Hanska's Chris Knowles (7) celebrates with teammates Derek Wilfahrt 93) and Kevin Larson (right) after the three scored runs during the Region 2C Amateur Baseball Tournament Championship against Courtland Saturday at Sleepy Eye Ballpark.

SLEEPY EYE — Despite a late effort from the Courtland Cubs, the Hanska Lakers held on for a 6-4 win in the Region 2C Amateur Baseball Tournament Championship Saturday at Sleepy Eye Ballpark.

“Nothing to lose really,” Hanska’s Chris Knowles said. “We’re already in state, so might as well give these guys a run for their money. It feels really good to beat a team that good. We played them close the regular season, we played them close in the past years too. We knew we had a shot going into the game, but it feels great to beat that kind of a team.”

Chris Knowles added that it was important for the team to end the tournament on a win as they prepare for the state tournament, which starts on Aug. 15 in Brownton, Hutchinson, Gaylord and Glencoe.

“I think it’s super important for us to end the tournament on a win,” Chris Knowles said. “Keep that winning streak alive. That’s really big. I think momentum is going to carry into the state tournament and we’re going to come out hot right away.”

Aaron Portner earned the win for the Lakers, striking out four while allowing two runs on seven hits in eight innings of work. At the plate, Chris Knowles was 3 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Tanner Olson was 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Derick Wilfahrt had a hit and two runs scored, and Alex Stressemann had three hits and a run scored.

Jackson Bode took the loss for Courtland, striking out six and allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits in six innings. At the plate, Maddox Mortenson was 2 for 5 with an RBI, while Teddy Giefer was 2 for 5. Carter Lang had a hit and two RBIs, and Cade Bushard was 2 for 3 with a home run.

The game stayed scoreless through two innings until Mortenson got a run on the board for Courtland in the third, singling to drive Teagan Kamm home. Hanska responded in the top of the fourth, with a single by Tanner Olson with bases loaded scoring three runs, with the help of a pair of fielding errors by Courtland at the plate.

The Lakers added to the lead in the sixth, with a double from Chris Knowles scoring Wilfahrt and a single from Olson bringing home Chris Knowles for a 5-1 advantage. Hanska tacked on one final run in the seventh as a Chris Knowles grounder hit the outfield to bring home Stressemann.

Courtland finally saw more success on offense in the bottom of the eighth as Lang’s fielder’s choice scored Nolan Drill. Bushard kept the pressure on with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth, his first career homer for amateur baseball. A single from Lang cut the lead to 6-4 as Drill scored again, but relief pitcher Sam Knowles coaxed a popup for the final out, sealing the championship for Hanska.

In order to stay hot in the state tournament, Chris Knowles said they team will have to limit mental mistakes and get timely hits.

“Same thing we’ve been doing,” he said. “Getting really good pitching from Aaron [Portner] and Sam [Knowles], they both throw really well. And getting timely hitting. We’ve been getting a lot of hits with guys in scoring position, we’ve had a lot of guys come up big with bunts too … Just doing the little things right. We’ve got to clean up the base running a little bit, there were a couple too many errors on the bases.”