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Sam Knowles, Lakers walk off Courtland in 2C Championship

By Ari Selvey 4 min read

SLEEPY EYE - With the game tied at 2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Sam Knowles of the Hanska Lakers stepped up to the plate. With runners at first and second, Knowles knew he had a chance to get the hit that would give the Lakers the victory over the Courtland Cubs to become the champions of Region 2C.

Knowles got that hit, sending the ball into right center field deep enough to bring home Derek Wilfahrt from second to earn the walk-off win.

“I was trying to keep it simple,” Knowles said. “Baserunner was scoring on a base hit, so I didn’t have to do anything crazy.”

Knowles was also the winning pitcher in the game, striking out one and allowing one run on three hits in two innings of relief.

“It’s good,” Knowles said. “Definitely didn’t have my best day on the mound, but I was able to make it happen at the plate there at the end, so that was good.”

Aaron Portner made the start, striking out six and allowing one run on four hits in seven innings. At the plate, Knowles was 2 for 5 with his game-winning RBI, while Kevin Larson was 2 for 2 with two RBIs.

“We want to keep it going,” Hanska manager Chris Koob said. “We’re at the point of the year where we want to take it one game at a time, and we want to win every game the rest of the way. [Courtland] is a good team over there, they’re one of the best teams in the state. I think we are too, so this is a good stepping stone hopefully for the next few weekends.”

With the win, Hanska claims the top seed in the Class C State Tournament from Region 2C.

“It means hopefully a good matchup in the first round,” Knowles said. “It’s going to be good to get a good draft pick and get the guy we want right away.”

The Lakers will try to better their finish from last season, where they fell in the state semifinals.

“Just taking it game by game,” Knowles said. “Not looking over anyone. Everybody up there has a good team and has good pitchers, so just taking it game by game.”

Nolan Drill took the loss for Courtland, allowing one run on two hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings. Josh Giefer made the start, striking out three and allowing five hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings. At the plate for the Cubs, Carter Lang and Maddox Mortensen each had two hits, with Jaden Drill and Nolan Drill each getting a hit and an RBI.

Neither club scored until the fourth inning, where a double from Nolan Drill brought home Lang. Jaden Drill made it a 2-0 game in the eighth inning with a single to score Bode. However, Hanska found some offense in the bottom of the eighth, with Larson singling with bases loaded to bring home two runs to tie the game. Courtland loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but Knowles coaxed a groundout to end the half inning without a score. Colin Anderson opened the bottom of seventh on first after being hit by a pitch, then Wilfahrt drew a walk to put a runner in scoring position. A bunt failed to move the runners as Bode took the fielder’s choice to third for the force out, but Knowles made it a moot point, sending the ball into the outfield for the game-winner.

“This team is a mentally tough team,” Koob said. “They’re resilient. Nothing phases them. Whether we’re up 2-0 or we’re down 2-0, we’re just fighters. That’s all you can ever ask for, is to give full effort and fight. That’s what they did today. They found a way.”

In the Region 2C draft, Hanska selected Isaac Schmitt from Milroy, Nathan Deutz from Milroy and Winsten Nienhaus from Essig. Courtland selected Joey Liebl from Milroy, Mark Schommer from Searles and Layton Hamre from Gibbon.

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