TCU baseball snaps 5-game skid with walk-off win over Lester Prairie

Sometimes, seven innings isn’t enough to determine a winner and Monday night’s conference showdown with Lester Prairie proved to be one such game for the Tri-City United baseball team. With Keegan O’Meara at second and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Dylan Fink sent a line drive into right field which brough O’Meara safely home for the walk off victory.

The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Titans, improving the team’s record to 2-5 (2-4 MRC) on the season.

Hunter Moravec started the game for TCU and pitched six innings, allowing four runs, only two of them earned, on six hits while striking out five. Max Krautkremer earned the win, having pitched two hitless innings of relief and striking out two.

Lester Prairie struck first with a run in the top of the first inning, but in the bottom of the second, TCU responded with a five-run inning capped off by a two RBI double from Reggie Vosejpka. The Bulldogs scored a single run in the top of the third, but in the bottom of the inning, a trio of Lester Prairie errors allowed three more runs.

In the bottom of the fourth, Krautkremer made an impact at the plate with a two run homer to left field, giving the Titans a 10-2 lead but the Bulldogs refused to go away. After scoring runs in the fifth and sixth inning, Lester Prairie rallied back with a monstrous six-run top of the seventh, tying the game 10-10.

TCU went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game to extras, but Krautkremer made short work of the Bulldog at-bats in the top of the eighth, going 1-2-3.

In the bottom of the eighth, O’Meara reached first with one out after an error at shortstop before advancing to second on a fielder’s choice that got a second out from the lead runner at third base. That is when Fink stepped up to the plate, driving the game-winning single into right field and securing the win.

Krautkremer not only earned the win in relief, he also led the offense with a 3-4 performance at the plate with two RBI’s. Mason Novotny also picked up a pair of hits in the win, going 2-4 while scoring two runs and drawing a walk.

The Titan’s are scheduled to return to action Thursday, April 25, when they host Norwood Young America in a conference doubleheader. Game one is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.