by Max Mercy

DULUTH -- Long-time Baltimore Orioles Manager Earl Weaver once said, "You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all."

Proctor's win over Mora in the Section 7AA Playoffs quarterfinals at Wade Stadium on Thursday, by a score of 5-1, proved his point. The Rails led 5-0 into the top of the seventh inning but the Mustangs rallied for a run with four singles and had the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate when the game ended on a full-count swinging strikeout on a high fastball.

Winning pitcher John Aase (6-1 W-L, 2.21 ERA) went the distance. He allowed one run on nine hits and one walk and had 10 strikeouts.

Aase and Chase Oslin locked horns in a pitchers' duel as Proctor had no hits and just one runner left on base through four innings.

Aase finally cracked a line-drive single to start the bottom of the fifth. He then stole second but was out on a steal attempt of third. But the Rails went on ahead anyway. Back-to-back walks to Bryce Huffman and Matt Sievert led to Jordan Linder, running for Huffman, scoring on Luke Nordquist's RBI single and Sievert subsequently scoring on Nathan Carlson's RBI fielder's choice for a 2-0 lead after five complete innings.

Matt Tracey walked and Jake Malec and Matt Morris singled to lead off the sixth, although Morris was out on a run-down play between first and second following his hit. Aase then hit a two-run single, plating both Tracey and Malec, and ending Oslin's day. Aase advanced to second on the play. He then scored the Rails' fifth run of the game when Blake Koski hit a pinch-hit RBI double with two outs off of reliever Logan Sjoberg.

Aase allowed just five hits through six innings but Mora touched him for two consecutive singles to start the seventh. Then, after a strikeout, another single loaded the bases. After another strikeout, Jordan Woods hit an RBI single scoring Brett Johnson. Aase ended the threat with his final dramatic strikeout as the base runners were in motion on the pitch.

Aase was 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI.

Oslin allowed five runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in five and one-third innings.

Woods, Johnson, and Sjoberg, and Bryce Norby had two hits apiece for Mora.

Proctor advances to the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Hermantown. Mora moves over to the elimination bracket.