BLUE EARTH — Winnebago/Blue Earth are section 2C champs.

WBE Posts 82 & 89 won a six-inning, run-rule shortened game against Wells Post 210, 14-4, Saturday at Veterans Field in Blue Earth.

Wells came into the championship as the surprise team of the tournament, having played only two games during the Legion baseball regular season. The championship game was Wells’ sixth game in the three-day tournament. Wells eliminated Minnesota Lake during the 2 p.m. game Saturday, 13-1.

With the win, WBE moves on to the Legion Southwest Sub-State tournament in Luverne. Posts 82 & 89 will play either Adrian or Minneota in Thursday’s 5 p.m. game.

Wells starter Ethan Dallmer kept WBE’s offense at bay for the first two innings, but the Posts 82 & 89 bats found their way in the third inning.

WBE starter Gavin Storbeck led off the inning with a walk, then moved to second when Caelan Sanders was hit by a pitch. Joseph Schavey loaded the bases with a bunt single down the third-base line and Karson Legred got WBE its first run with a sacrifice fly to center.

Anders Fering put WBE in the lead with a line drive to right field for 2 RBIs and he advanced to second when Wells’ right fielder had trouble with a high hop.

Fering reached third on a wild pitch and Brayden Barnett took a walk. Hunter Bleess then hit a sacrifice fly to right, and Barnett stole both second and third, sliding under tags at both bases after the throw beat him to the bag.

Koby Nagel scored Barnett with a single to center to put WBE ahead 5-2.

WBE head coach Paul Nienaber said he was happy with the decisive nature of the WBE win.

“It was huge,” Nienaber said. “Since we hosted this tournament, I got to watch a lot of baseball this weekend and that is a very, very good baseball team that we just beat. To come out and play like that against them and win decisively like we did, it says a lot about how our boys played.”

Posts 82 & 89 put another five runs on the scoreboard in the fourth frame.

Storbeck led off again, this time with a single to center, then Sanders laid down a sacrifice bunt to put Storbeck on second.

Schavey singled to right to put runners on first and third before Legred walked to load the bases.

Fering and Barnett were both hit by pitches for RBIs and Nagel hit a three-run double deep down the left field line, but Barnett was thrown out trying to reach third after the throw home, ending the inning.

WBE put another run on the board in the fifth when Luke Mertens walked, reached second on a balk and third on a passed ball, and Sanders hit a sacrifice fly to left.

With the score 11-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth, WBE scored three runs to reach the 10-run rule.

Bleess led off with a single through the left side of the infield before Nagel walked.

Bleess stole third, then Nagel and Bleess pulled off a delayed-double steal to score a run. Mertens reached base on an error, which scored Nagel, and Sanders reached on a throwing error. Schavey was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Fering walked to bring home the game-ending run with two outs.

Nienaber said he was pleased with how WBE played in every part of the game through the tournament.

“I think we’re coming together at the right time,” Nienaber said. “Our hitting is really coming together, our pitching all weekend was outstanding for us, our defense, pretty much all the facets of the game really came together.”

For the third time in three games, WBE got a solid outing out of its starting pitching, this time coming from Storbeck.

Storbeck gave up four runs over 5 2/3 innings of work and allowed eight hits, one walk and two hit batters, while striking out eight.

Wells scored a run in the first when Zach Niebhur took a walk and scored on Sam Zebro’s double to right center, then another in the third when Niebhur singled to left and Zebro hit a flair out to short right field for an RBI.

Wells’ final two runs came in the sixth inning when AJ Kloos led off with an infield single and George Biaz was hit by a pitch. Colton Quade hit a line drive to center for an RBI and Biaz scored when WBE reliever Keegan O’Brien balked.

Nienaber said looking ahead to next week, WBE just needs to keep playing the way it did through the weekend.

“We just need to keep doing what we do,” Nienaber said. “Playing the way that we play is what got us here, so there’s no point in changing anything up. We just need to get after it.”

WEL 101 002 — 4 7 5

WBE 005 513 — 14 9 2

Gavin Storbeck (WP), Keegan O’Brien (6) and Karson Legred. Ethan Dallmer (LP), Joe Bushlack (4), Zach Niebhur (5) and Zach Niebhur, Ethan Dallmar (5).

LOB–Wells 7, WBE 9. 2B–Sam Zebro (Wells), Zach Niebhur (Wells), Koby Nagel (WBE). SF–Karson Legred (WBE), Hunter Bleess (WBE), Caelan Sanders (WBE). SAC–Caelan Sanders (WBE).