It took 8 innings, but the Lexington Minutemen Baseball Team scored 4 runs in the top of the eighth, and pulled off a big 9 to 6 upset win over the St Paul Saints, in a game played last Wednesday at Indian Foothills Park in Marshall.

After a scoreless first inning, St Paul scored in the bottom of the second inning, to take a 1-0 lead. The Minutemen responded in the top of the third inning. Jesse Dunkle had a one out single, and scored on a double by Alex Kraft. Hunter Meyer then walked, and Trey Perez singled home 2 runs putting Lexington up 3-1.

St Paul answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning to go back up 43, but Lexington struck again in the top of the fifth frame. Kraft led off with a single, Meyer reached on a fielder’s choice, and after a ground out, Perez, Ayden Harned and Kale Sander all drew free passes, which drove in a run and knotted the game at 4 apiece.

St Paul then regained the lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but the Minutemen responded again in the sixth, as with two outs, Kraft was hit with a pitch, and Meyer then belted a long RBI double, and the game was tied at 5-5.

That was where things still stood at the end of regulation, and the game headed to extra innings. In the top of the eighth with one out, Drew Bollmeyer, Abel Morris, and Dunkle, all drew successive walks, and after the second out of the inning was recorded, Meyer walked and Braxton Emerson was hit by a pitch, with both forcing in a run.

Perez then lined a single, for his third hit of the game, and Lexington had put a 4 spot on the board in the inning, and led 9-5. The Saints scored an unearned run in the bottom of the inning, but Isaac Huffman struck out the side, and the Minutemen had a well earned 9 to 5 win.

It should be noted that St Paul had only 3 hits in the game, and none after the third inning.

Harned started and pitched 6 innings for Lexington, allowing 4 runs on 3 hits, with 3 strikeouts, 2 walks and a hit batter. Huffman worked the final two innings, earning the win, while allowing 1 unearned run and no hits, with 3 strikeouts, and 2 walks.

Perez had 3 hits to pace the Lexington offense, while Kraft had 2, for his third straight two hit game. Meyer had a double, with Morris and Dunkle each collecting a hit.