Needing a win to advance to the playoff portion of the Gopher Classic Tournament, the Excelsior legion baseball team instead lost 6-4 to Lakeville North on Sunday night at Veteran's Field and was eliminated after failing to place in the top two in its preliminary pool.
After splitting its first four Pool 9 games over Friday and Saturday, Excelsior required a victory against visiting North in its final pool play contest, yet instead fell prey to a side that played light and carefree throughout after having been eliminated itself the day before.
North broke open a scoreless game with a five-run fourth inning and held off a late Excelsior charge.
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Gabe Boyce scored the home side's first run on a wild pitch in the fifth inning, but the inning came to an end as Alex LaPorte was called out at home plate as he attempted to log an inside-the-park home run.
North tacked on its final tally in the top of the sixth inning before Excelsior scored three runs in the bottom half of the frame with three consecutive RBI doubles from Alex Twenge, Eric Fasnacht and Lukas Sand to bring the hosts two within two runs before a pair of strikeouts closed out the stanza.
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Tommy Hoopes opened Excelsior's last turn at the plate with a single to lead off the bottom of the seventh, but another strikeout followed by a double play would bring the game—and Excelsior's tournament hopes—to a sudden and woebegone conclusion.
