A dramatic sixth-inning rally fuels Willmar’s advance
Willmar American Legion entered the Division I Sub-State 11 elimination game against Foley already behind, staring at a 6-0 deficit as they headed into the bottom of the sixth.
The tide turned when Jordan Ellingson led off the inning with a triple, and Alex Hoppe followed with a double that brought the first run across the plate.
Hudson Sjoberg then delivered a two-run double, and Logan Fagerlie added a two-out RBI single to keep the rally alive.
The sequence culminated in Aidan Paulson’s bases-clearing triple that flipped the score to 7-6, sealing a walk-off win for Post 167.
Fagerlie, who entered in relief, earned the win after striking out two batters over two innings, while Paulson’s starting effort had yielded eight strikeouts in five frames.
Ellingson finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and a host of teammates — including Hoppe, Sjoberg, Eli Ewert, Fagerlie and Tyler Madsen — each contributed a hit.
The victory propels Willmar into a Wednesday showdown with second-seeded Albany at 4:30 p.m. in Cold Spring, while several other Sub-State 11 teams — NLS, Holdingford, Granite Falls, Montevideo, BOLD, Madison, Starbuck, Upsala/Swanville and the Willmar VFW — also advanced to their next contests.
The comeback underscores the team’s resilience and sets the stage for a potentially pivotal postseason run.