The Hastings Hawks opened the Section 1A tournament with a walk-off win, the kind of win that comes from hanging around, wearing a team down, and finally slipping by with a little chaos and a lot of contact. In their tournament opener Wednesday night, Hastings outlasted the Faribault Lakers 6-5 in a game where the box score looked more like July than October. It was hot, it was messy, but the Hawks found a way.
Two nights later, they ran into St. Patrick, the tournament’s top seed, and learned quickly why the Irish sit at the top of the bracket. The Hawks struck out 14 times and dropped a 5-3 decision that looked closer on paper than it felt at times. Still, through two games, Hastings has shown they’re not going quietly. They’re in it, and they’ve got the tools to keep climbing.
Against Faribault, the Hawks pounded out 15 hits and used four late runs across the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings to squeeze out a one-run win. It wasn’t clean. Hastings committed four errors. They left 11 runners on base. But they kept the pressure on, and eventually it paid off.
Cooper Desutter’s solo homer, his only hit of the night, sparked the lineup early. Max Kaplan reached base three times and scored twice. Jack Seleski drove in two on a trio of singles. Cade Kimmes and Kelin Rasmussen chipped in multi-hit games, and Rasmussen continued to show up in big moments. His three-hit night helped Hastings keep innings alive even when the bottom of the order stumbled.
On the mound, Ben Teigland got the start and walked a tightrope for five and a third innings. He issued six walks and gave up three runs, but kept the damage limited with a handful of groundouts and three strikeouts. Reece Cox came on in relief and threw 3.2 steady innings, striking out six and allowing just one earned run. The Lakers managed only five hits all night, but scraped together runs through walks, hit-by-pitches, and a couple of errors by Hastings infielders.
By the eighth inning, the Hawks were down by one. Then Hastings put together the kind of inning that doesn’t look flashy in the scorebook, but wins tournaments. A couple of base knocks, a walk, a ball in play, and some heads-up baserunning gave them the game tying run. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Max Kaplan started things off with a single to left. Rasmussen bunted Kaplan to second when he reached safely on a sacrifice bunt. The second bunt of the evening was called and Seleski dropped it perfectly in front of a frustrated Joey Grote who threw the ball away allowing Kaplan to score from third on the no out error giving the Hawks the 6-5 walk off win.
The momentum from Wednesday did not carry over.
Friday’s matchup against St. Patrick was a different story. The Irish brought power on the mound and patience at the plate. Gavin Odman started for the Hawks and got through the first two innings before trouble started in the third. St. Patrick put up two runs, then added three more in the fourth. In both frames, they mixed timely hits with walks making Hastings pay for any mistake in the zone. Odman lasted five innings, allowed five runs on seven hits, walked six, and took the loss.
Hastings didn’t land a hit until the sixth. By then, they trailed 5-0.
But the sixth inning turned interesting. Cade Kimmes and Nolan Drossel opened with back-to-back walks. Griffin DiTeodoro dropped a bunt, looking to move the runners, and wound up reaching on an error. Both Kimmes and Drossel scored. With one out, Rasmussen delivered again, this time with a single that brought DiTeodoro around. Just like that, it was 5-3.
The inning could have become more, but the next three Hawks went down in order, two of them on strikes. That was the theme of the night. Hastings struck out 14 times, and eight were called third strikes. The umpire’s zone was tight, but the Hawks also seemed hesitant at the plate. When they made contact, it wasn’t solid. Just three hits in the game, and no extra-base damage.
St. Patrick’s starter, Korey Dahlberg, was in command from the jump. He struck out nine over six innings and gave up only one hit. Two relievers followed and each kept the Hawks from mounting any real threat. Fritz Meyer and Hunter Even combined for five more strikeouts and just two hits allowed across the final three frames. Even picked up the save, retiring the side in the ninth.
On the offensive side for Hastings, Drossel was the spark again. He doubled, walked, and scored. Rasmussen added a hit and drove in one. Seleski reached with a single. Kimmes scored after a walk and smart baserunning. But too many empty at-bats left the Hawks chasing.
One bright spot was Desutter’s work on the mound giving Hastings three scoreless innings in relief. He allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out four. His poise helped keep the Hawks within reach when things could’ve gotten out of hand.
Now the Hawks find themselves in a familiar spot: the grind of the elimination bracket. The path to state isn’t closed, but it just got tighter. Hastings will take the field Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. against the New Market Muskies. The two previous meetings, Hastings won at home 8-4 and but then lost 11-0 at New Market.
If the Hawks win, they’ll be one victory away from a trip to the state tournament. If they lose, the season ends. With the Tuesday night game being after we print, keep an eye on our social media for the results/score. If the Hawks win, they will play at Elko on August 7 at 8:00 p.m. with a trip to state on the line
Section 1A will qualify four teams for the state tournament which means the final section game on Saturday, August 9 is simply for seeding. A win on Tuesday means a trip to Elko on Thursday and a win Thursday at Elko means the first trip to state for the Hawks in over a decade.
For Hastings, this week is where the mindset flips. You don’t need to win a series. You just need to win two games. The Hawks have the arms to do it. They’ve got hitters who can pile up runs. They’ve shown they can respond when things go sideways. The key is sharper at-bats, fewer mistakes in the field, and keeping pressure on from the start.
There’s no margin left, but there’s plenty of reason to believe Hastings still has more to say. Tuesday night will be their chance to prove it.