Karter Haala earned the win for Sleepy Eye, striking out four and allowing six runs, four earned, on 10 hits and a walk in six innings of work. Carson Uecker got the save, pitching the final inning and allowing one run and one walk with two strikeouts. At the plate, Jacob Fulmer had a hit, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Uecker had a double and two RBIs. Jaxon Saenz added a hit and an RBI.

Sleepy Eye scored first in the first inning, with Fulmer drawing a walk and going to second on a sacrifice bunt by Haala before coming home on a double from Uecker. Loyola tied it up in the second with George Crimmins earning an RBI single. Sleepy Eye took the lead once again in the third as Fulmer singled to bring home Chase Zufall and Brayden Heiderscheidt, then a sacrifice fly by Kaden Klein to score Anden Braun made it a 4-1 game. Loyola struck right back, putting up five runs on six hits and an error.

The scoring slowed down for several innings, with no runs being added in the fourth or the fifth innings. However, Sleepy Eye broke the scoreless streak in the sixth, loading the bases on a walk and a pair of errors. A walk from Fulmer brought home one run, Haala was hit by a pitch to bring home another, and a sacrifice fly by Uecker put the Indians up by one. Saenz added one more run on a single to make it an 8-6 game before the inning ended.

The Crusaders looked to flip the score once again in the top of the seventh, with Mason O’Malley singling to lead off the inning, then the bases were loaded with a walk and a hit batsman. However, Uecker struck out the final batter with a curveball to earn the save and the win.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye’s Chase Zufall slides into third during a Section 2A Baseball Tournament game against Mankato Loyola/Immanuel Lutheran Tuesday at Sleepy Eye Ballpark.

Sleepy Eye (21-5) rematches with top-seeded Madelia in the championship game at 5 p.m. Thursday at Sleepy Eye Ballpark. Madelia defeated Sleepy Eye 3-0 in the section semifinals to send them to the elimination bracket. A second game will follow if Sleepy Eye wins the first game.