The Albert Lea baseball team left too many opportunities on the field Friday as Winona rallied to beat the Tigers 8-7 in Winona.

Albert Lea (1-1, 1-1 Big Nine) stranded eight base runners and left the bases loaded twice.

“We had one of those games with opportunities to break it open,” said Tigers head coach Joe Sczublewski.

Albert Lea took a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but the Winhawks rallied for three runs to win the game.

Aaron Klatt went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and provided the Tigers with the go-ahead runs in the seventh and Jordan Cooper went 1-for-2 with a solo homer.

Carter Kortan went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and Cole Sorenson finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Colby Strilaeff took the loss in relief of Cooper. Strilaeff gave up three runs on four hits in two innings of work.

Albert Lea rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the second inning to take a 3-2 lead, but Winona tied it in the bottom half of the inning.

The Tigers again took a lead in the fifth inning, but the Winhawks tied it at 5.

Winona beat Albert Lea twice in the regular season, but the Tigers beat the Winhawks in the section playoffs.

Albert Lea plays Mankato West Tuesday in Mankato.

Winona 8, Albert Lea 7

Albert Lea 031 010 2 — 7 7 1

Winona 211 010 3 — 8 12 0

WP—Kyle Kowalewski 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

LP—Colby Strilaeff 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K