DEFENSIVE GEM — Fairmont outfielder Landen Meyerdirk ventures into the ivy-covered wall to make a catch on a deep drive by Perham during their Class AA state semifinal baseball game Wednesday at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. (Photo by Greg Abel)

ST. CLOUD — There will not be a back-to-back state championship this season for the Fairmont Cardinals baseball team, but it was one win shy of that goal.

The unseeded Perham Yellowjackets (22-4) played a perfect game and pulled out a 3-2 win over the Cardinals in a Class AA state semifinal on Wednesday at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud.

Perham advances to play at 1 p.m. Friday against No. 1-seeded Esko (25-1) in the state championship game. Esko was a 7-2 winner over the No. 5-seeded Cannon Falls Bombers in its semifinal.

“It was one or two plays either way that made the difference,” Fairmont head coach Don Waletich said. “It was one heck of a game. We just didn’t get the breaks. I’m proud of these players.”

Perham scored one run in the third inning and added two more in the fifth.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Nate Soelter tripled and scored on Jack Kosbab’s single.

Perham tied it 1-all with the run in the third inning and took a 3-1 lead with the two runs in the fifth.

The Cardinals came back and looked like they tied the game on Levi Pooley’s two-run triple in the fifth. However, Brendan Schmidtke, who was on first, had to go back to third and Pooley returned to second on what the umpires called a ground-rule double.

In the fifth, Cooper Steuber walked, moved to second on Brendan Schmidtke’s single and scored on Pooley’s double.

They trailed 3-2 and couldn’t get the tying run home, leaving them at second and third with two outs. They were retired in order in the sixth and seventh innings.

Schmidtke took the loss, pitching 4 1/3 innings. He gave up three runs – two earned — on six hits, one walk, hit one batter and struck out six. Lincoln Becker pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up no runs, one hit, did not allow a walk and did not record a strikeout.

For Perham, Blaiz Schmidt earned the win on the mound. He pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up two earned runs, eight hits, three walks and struck out six. Austin Schmelz retired the two hitters he faced to earn a save.

Offensively for Fairmont, Nate Soelter and Josh Soelter each had two hits, while Kosbab, Steuber, Schmidtke and Pooley had one hit apiece to round out their eight-hit attack.

For Perham, Ben Shumansky had a team-leading two hits.

Fairmont (24-3) finished third in AA after beating the Cannon Falls Bombers 8-6 in the third-place game at Dick Putz Field.

Cannon Falls finished its season 22-7.

“We hit the ball well in this game and the guys played hard after that tough loss earlier in the day,” Waletich said. “The last two years these guys have won 27 and 24 games, not a bad two years. The seniors had a first and a third place in the state; not bad.”

The Cardinals scored first, getting one run in the bottom of the first. Meyerdirk doubled and scored when Becker had a sacrifice bunt and the pitcher threw wild, allowing Meyerdirk to cross the plate on the error.

The Bombers tied the game in the top of the third 1-all, but in their half of the third, the Cardinals scored three runs to take the lead for good.

Becker hit a solo homer. Schmidtke had a suicide squeeze bunt that drove home Kosbab, who walked earlier in the inning and moved to third after a Steuber single and a wild pitch, and Pooley’s sacrifice fly scored Steuber, who singled.

The Cardinals added four runs in the fourth, sending 10 hitters to the plate.

Hackett singled, Meyerdirk singled and Becker singled to load the bases. Nate Soelter followed with a two-run single. Steuber had a run-scoring double, and Pooley drove in his second run of the game with another sacrifice fly.

The Bombers made it close, scoring two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth, but Becker retired them in order in the seventh, picking up a save.

Jensen Livesay was the winning pitcher, going four innings. He gave up one earned run, five hits, no walks and struck out two. Ben Moeller pitched 1 inning, giving up four runs –three earned — three hits, one walk and struck out one. Becker pitched 2 innings, giving up one earned run, one hit and struck out one.

For the Bombers, Ari Wells took the loss. He pitched 2 1/3 innings, giving up four runs – three earned – three hits, two walks and struck out three. Tyler Johnston pitched 2/3 innings, giving up four earned runs, four hits, no walks or strikeouts, and Jadan Winchell pitched three innings, giving up no runs, two hits, two walks and struck out three.

Offensively for the Cardinals, Meyerdirk, Becker, Nate Soelter and Steuber each had two hits, while Hackett had the other hit.

For the Bombers, Wells had three hits, while Winchell and Elliott Nelson each had two hits.

Perham  001 020 0–3 7 0

FMT        100 010 0–2 8 2

Blaiz Schmidt (WP), Austin Schmelz (7, Sv) and Ben Shumansky. Brendan Schmidtke (LP), Lincoln Becker (5) and Joseph Hackett.

LOB–Perham 7. Fairmont 9. 2B–Gavin Griffin (Perham), Ben Shumansky (Perham), Levi Pooley (FMT), Josh Soelter (FMT). 3B–Nate Soelter (FMT). SAC–Cooper Steuber (FMT).

CF          001 023 0–6 9 1

FMT      103 400 x–8 9 1

Ari Wells (LP), Tyler Johnston (3), Jadan Winchell (4) and Elliott Nelson. Jensen Livesay (WP), Ben Moeller (5), Lincoln Becker (6, Sv) and Joseph Hackett.

LOB–Cannon Falls 6. Fairmont 6. 2B–Elliott Nelson (CF), Landen Meyerdirk (FMT), Cooper Steuber (FMT). 3B–Nicholas Barrett (CF). HR–Lincoln Becker (FMT). SAC–Lincoln Becker (FMT), Brendan Schmidtke (FMT). SF–Levi Pooley (FMT) 2.