WASECA – The Albert Lea Tigers put six runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning, but they were far from finished.

Saturday, April 21, 2001

WASECA – The Albert Lea Tigers put six runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning, but they were far from finished.

At the end, they escaped with the tying run on third and the winning run on second.

The Tigers rallied and then held on for an thrilling 11-10 nonconference baseball victory at Waseca Friday.

&uot;It’s just another example of the beauty of baseball,&uot; said Albert Lea coach Joe Sczublewski. &uot;You just never know what will happen. It was a very exciting high school baseball game on a beautiful day.&uot;

The Tigers led 7-0 before the Bluejays scored nine unearned runs in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of eight walks and three errors while hitting only one ball out of the infield.

Waseca added a run in the fourth, with the Tigers scoring one in the fourth and two in the fifth.

Isaac Walton led off the top of the eighth with a long home run for the Tigers.

The Bluejays loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Walton got the clean-up batter swinging to end it.

Walton pitched the final 6 1/3 innings for the win. He struck out five and walked eight. Derek Goodnature, a sophomore right-hander, made his first varsity start and went 1 1/3 inning.

David Dahl led the offense, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two stolen bases. Egan Mattson was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, Andy Drenth 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs, Walton 2-for-4 and Adam Hanson 2-for-4. Phil Wacholz and Adam Highum each contributed one hit.

The Tigers, 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Nine, host arch-rival Austin at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Hayek Field.