Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont's Isaac Stone celebrates scoring in the second inning of Monday afternoon's Section 3AA quarterfinal match up against Windom Area at Legion field.

MARSHALL – Windom Area’s offense seemed poised to explode.

Plating one run in each of the third, fourth and sixth innings, the Eagles used patient trips at the plate and savvy small-ball to ultimately match Fairmont’s six scores. But there was still meat left on the bone.

Cardinal relief pitchers Joey Crissinger and Joseph Hackett did a great job of limiting the damage in this four inning stretch. Their ability to strand seven runners on base simply kept Fairmont afloat heading into the seventh.

However, one big swing from Windom Area’s Jackson Joyce took a once deficit to a comfortable advantage. His bases-clearing double in the final frame of Monday afternoon’s Section 3AA quarterfinal matchup pushed the No. 3 Eagles to a 10-6 victory over No. 1 Fairmont.

Windom Area punched its ticket to Thursday’s section championship back at Marshall’s Legion Field. The Cardinals, now in the elimination bracket, will face either Montevideo or New London-Spicer on Tuesday night, hoping to get one more crack at the Eagles with a win.

“They are a good team,” Fairmont assistant coach Matt Lytle said following the loss. “They put the ball in play and threw more strikes than we did today, and I think that one was the name of the game.”

“In this format of high school baseball, you’re not done until you lose twice, and so far we’ve just dropped the one. We are going to go out of here with a positive body language, a good attitude and be ready to go tomorrow.”

The start to this contest was a carbon copy of the opening frame in Fairmont’s last game against New London-Spicer. It saw the visiting team strike first with an immediate three-run burst.

Mason Bicknase failed to get an out during the initial five batters. Crissinger’s error at third took Hayden Tietz’s lead-off single to a touch of home plate. Two hit-by-pitches and a walk later, Fairmont head coach Don Waletich moved Bicknase to shortstop and Crissinger on the rubber.

Crissinger did his part in avoiding any more significant damage, however. An RBI sacrifice pop-up was sandwiched between two quick outs forced from the right-hander. His ability to strand a pair of runners gave Fairmont’s offense a lofty enough mark to reach.

And it didn’t take long for a Cardinal response. Two mishaps from the Eagles infield and a single by Mac Larson down the left field line loaded up the bases quickly in the home half of the second. This is where the real damage began.

Merritt Pomerenke’s hit-by-pitch was followed by a string of pelted balls by the heart of Fairmont’s lineup. Jensen Livesay got the party started with an RBI single that fell through the center field gap.

Consecutive doubles from Crissinger and Hackett ultimately cleared the basepaths off for good, stamping the six run frame and giving Fairmont its biggest lead of the afternoon. It again felt like the Cardinals last game against New London-Spicer. The offense using a big inning to lead the rest of the way.

But this didn’t happen. In fact, Hackett’s late hit would be the last time any Fairmont individual got a base knock when the final out was made.

Eagle righty Joe Walinga entered the game in the third and simply dominated for four frames. Working through the heart of Fairmont’s batting order on two separate occasions, Walinga’s only base runners allowed were off his three walks. The window to strike back was there.

“That was a big inning for us,” Lytle said “But then they just started throwing strikes and we were just popping it up or they were making plays.”

Windom Area’s ensuing comeback wasn’t anything flashy. Just sound baseball from every facet. They forced free bases, secured timely hits and moved runners over when necessary.

Matthew Voehl and Soren Nielsen were the RBI collectors in the following third and fourth frames. The 12 combined free bases from Fairmont’s pitching staff seemed to always have at least one runner on base.

Hackett’s smooth fifth inning was followed by the Eagles game-tying score the next frame. Initial walks from Joyce and Nielsen put immediate pressure on Fairmont with one away. A passed ball during Stevie Meyer’s at-bat made his flyout to center field Windom Area’s sixth run of the contest.

The Eagles opened the seventh by drawing walks on Hackett’s last two batters faced. Nolyn Goerndt came in for relief and was immediately tested by a well-placed bunt from Matt Redman to put ducks on the pond.

Tietz drew Windom Area’s eighth walk of the night to bring his team ahead for good. Joyce needed seven pitches from Goerndt to deliver the devastating final blow. The Eagles persistent ability to get runners on base was due to bite Fairmont back. All it took was one swing.