Byron gets over the top, wins Section 1AAA baseball championship

RED WING — It wasn't easy. It was tense, nail-biting and nerve-racking, but this year Byron got the job done.

The Bears had placed second in the Section 1AAA baseball tournament each of the past two years, but the 2023 squad has won the section title and has earned a state berth.

No. 3 seed Byron needed both games and extra innings in the championship game to hold off Northfield on Wednesday in Red Wing.

"It can never be easy," first-year Byron coach Jordan Bale said. "We had to make it interesting. But that's been this team's ultimate goal, for sure, because the last two years they’ve been the runner-up."

Nolan Thompson tossed an eight-hitter and did not allow a run after the first inning as Northfield defeated No. 3 Byron 4-1 in the first game Wednesday to force a one-game showdown.

In the winner-take-all title game, Byron (18-6) scored three times in the eighth inning and then held off a Northfield rally in the bottom of the inning to win 8-7.

"It was crazy," Byron senior Reid Bielen said. "Two outs and one guy on and it was 8-5 and they wiggle their way back. We were taking deep breaths out there."

Byron had used great execution in the top of the eighth inning, laying down two nice bunts, getting two runs on sac flies and another on a wild pitch to take an 8-5 lead.

"Executing is what we’ve been talking about all year and that's what we did in the top of the eighth inning," Bale said. "Just getting guys on, bunting them over and getting them in."

The Bears needed every run. Northfield scored twice in the bottom of the inning and and had runners on first and second before Isaiah Brennan got the final out to close out the victory and start a wild Byron celebration.

"It was nice to finally win in the semifinals so we had the two-game advantage finally," Byron senior Spencer Nierman said. "That also helped and we closed it out in the second game."

Nierman went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI singles for Byron. The second baseman had an error to extend the Northfield eighth, but then he fielded a grounder with the winning run on base to record the final out of the game.

"It was probably one of the most stressful times I’ve ever been in," Nierman said. "It was going down to the wire and we have a big senior base and none of us wanted to lose."

Byron had a lot of turnover on this year's team, but the Bears are filled with veterans. They have eight seniors on the squad.

"This year's team is a lot different," Bielen said. "We weren't supposed to be this amazing team. We had a rocky start to the season and we just figured it out toward sections and got it done."

Bielen has been a starter for the last three years and was part of the last two section runner-up teams. Getting over the top was a dream come true for this year's team.

"We’ve been here the last three years and got second place the last two years," he said. "So getting this win and going to state feels amazing."

Bale had been an assistant coach on Byron's section runner-up teams the past two seasons.

"All these guys, they all put in a lot of work and it's awesome to see it all come together," Bale said.

Byron will now play in the Class AAA state tournament next week. The seeding for the tournament will be on Saturday.

Thompson struck out just two and walked one as Northfield forced a final game by winning 4-1. The Raiders (19-6) turned two double plays over the final three innings, including one started by Thompson to end the game.

Byron scored its lone run in the first inning on an RBI single by Nierman.

Northfield tied the game in the bottom of the first when Austin Koep hit a run-scoring single. Northfield used its speed to produce a run in the bottom of the third. Jake Gieger had an infield hit, stole second and came all the way home on two Byron throwing errors to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead.

Kam Kaiser hit a triple with one out in the Northfield sixth. With two outs, Jake Eschen slapped a two-run single to make the score 4-1.

Sophomore Gavin Bartel allowed just six hits for Byron but the right-hander suffered the loss. He allowed three earned runs while striking out six and walking two.

FIRST GAMENorthfield 4, Byron 1Byron#100#000#0#—#1#8#2Northfield#101#002#x#—#4#6#1No. 3 Byron: Reid Bielen 1-for-2; Tyler Fox 1-for-4; Isaiah Brennan 2-for-4, 1 R; Jake Coshenet 1-for-3; Quentin Holmes 1-for-3; Spencer Nierman 1-for-3, 1 RBI; Nick Netzke 1-for-3. Pitcher: Gavin Bartel (LP) 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.No. 1Northfield: Jake Geiger 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 SB; Spencer Mellgren 1-for-3, 1 R; Jake Eschen 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Aaron Reisetter 1-for-3; Kam Kaiser 1-for-3, 1 3B, 1 R; Austin Koep 1-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB. Pitchers: Nolan Thompson (WP) 7 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.

SECOND GAMEByron 8, Northfield 7 (8)Byron#011#030#03#—#8#10#3Northfield##—#7#8#5No. 3 Byron: Reid Bielen 1-for-3, 1 R; Tyler Fox 1 RBI; Owen Jefferson-Kroc 2-for-4 ,1 R; Isaiah Brennan 1-for-3, 2 R; Jake Coshenet 1 RBI; Quentin Holmes 1-for-4, 1 R; Kaelin Huebert 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R; Spencer Nierman 2-for-4, 2 RBI; Nick Netzke 1-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 R. Pitchers: Quentin Holmes 5 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 0 K; Reid Bielen (WP) 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Isaiah Brennan (Sv) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.No. 1 Northfield: Jake Geiger 2-for-5, 1 3B, 2 R; Spencer Mellgren 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB; Kam Kaiser 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R; Austin Koep 2-for-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R; Seth Thompson 1-for-4. Pitchers: Nolan Thompson 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K; Tyler Hughes 2 1/3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K; Isaiah Stiner (LP) 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.

Byron holds on to beat Northfield 8-7 in 8 innings to win Section 1AAA baseball championship. pic.twitter.com/KYr0ahQDVy

Byron takes 7-5 lead in 8th on wild pitch and sac fly. pic.twitter.com/B6cwRKvmGz

An error and walk, but Northfield strands pair in 7th as Reid Bielen gets ground out to end threat. Extra innings in Section 1AAA baseball championship game. pic.twitter.com/iiPaIDdqRO