The Crookston Reds’ Blake Kawlewski drove home the winning run with a single to secure a thrilling 10-9 walk-off win over the Moorhead Mudcats in a non-League game played at Jim Karn Field in Crookston.
The Reds sluggish offense displayed in a Wednesday night loss to Ada didn’t carry over into Thursday night’s game as Crookston took the lead with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Will Zimmerman walked to start the inning and an errant pickoff throw towards first base was deemed a balk and, in some confusion, the Mudcats first baseman never threw the ball in after tracking it down in foul territory near the visitors’ bullpen allowing Zimmerman to score the first run of the game giving the Reds a 1-0 lead. Zimmerman scored Crookston’s second run of the game in the third inning following a two-out triple. Zimmerman scored after Bailey Schmitz reached on an infield error doubling the hosts’ lead. Moorhead gained the lead in the top of the fourth inning with three runs. A leadoff single followed by an infield error put two runners on base before a passed ball put the Mudcats on the scoreboard cutting the deficit to 2-1. Fletcher Andell gave Moorhead the lead with a deep home run over the centerfield ivy to push the visitors ahead 3-2. The Mudcats added to their lead in the top of the fifth inning with a double followed by a single to start the inning. A groundout double-play plated one more run for Moorhead before a two-out rally concluded with a bases-clearing triple giving the Mudcats a 7-2 lead. Crookston scraped back two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning with Cody Magsam singling and Will Zimmerman getting hit by a pitch to start the inning. Dave Grabowski tripled to plate two runs but was tagged out after overrunning third base to end the inning with the Reds trailing 7-4. Crookston’s comeback effort was far from over. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lars Brevik was hit by a pitch before Rob Silvers singled to put runners on first and second base. An error at shortstop scored Brevik and allowed Sean Minder to reach base safely with the deficit down to two runs. Blake Kawlewski grounded out but picked up an RBI as Rob Silvers scored cutting the lead down to one run. Austin Campos singled allowing Sean Minder to score tying the game at 7-7 after six innings. Dave Grabowski singled to open the bottom of the seventh inning with the Reds poised to take the lead. Lars Brevik followed with a single putting runners on first and second base before an error by Moorhead’s catcher allowed both runners to move into scoring position. Sean drove a sacrifice fly into right field allowing Dave Grabowski to dive into home plate giving Crookston an 8-7 lead. Lars Brevik scored an insurance run on a wild pitching giving the Reds a 9-7 lead after seven innings. A sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth inning cut the Reds lead down to 9-8 heading into the final inning. In the top of the ninth Moorhead started the inning with a single and double to put runners on second and third base with no outs trailing 9-8. Back-to-back strikeouts by closer Will Zimmerman put the Reds one out away from the win, but a wild pitch plated the tying run sending the game to the bottom of the ninth inning after Zimmerman struck out the side. Dave Grabowski walked to start the bottom of the ninth inning. An error on a ground ball hit to the shortstop by Sean Minder put runners on first and second base with two outs in the inning. Blake Kawlewski singled on a liner into right field and Grabowski slid into the plate avoiding a tag as the throw home high-hopped over the catcher on a fortunate bounce to secure the Reds’ 10-9 walk-off win. “He laced it and there’s two-out so we know we’re going to send (Grabowski), we actually tried to hold him up, but you’ve got to make a play and might as well try and we got a bad hop,” explained Reds’ player/manager Blake Karas. “That’s Karn Field for us, the home field advantage.” The latest Crookston comeback win exemplified a resiliency the Reds have showcased all season. “The guys are just coming together,” added Karas. “The guys that want to be here are here, it’s a new guy coming through every night and it’s fun.”
The Reds improve to 13-12 overall and will travel north for a four-game trip opening with two games on Saturday in Warroad against the Marble Mallards at 4:30 p.m. and the Warroad Muskies at 7:30 p.m. The Reds will then play the Muskies in a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at Noon.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Moorhead | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 4 |
| Crookston | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 2 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Blake Karas- Crox | 5.1 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| Sean Minder – Crox | 2.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Will Zimmerman – Crox | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Drew Olsonawski – Mhd | 5.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Isaac Mohr – Mhd | 3.2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
For Crookston
Dave Grabowski – 2-3, 2 rbi, 2 runs
Bailey Schmitz – 2-5, rbi, run
