'The Twilight Zone'

Minneota baseball reached deep into the recesses of the unknown Monday at Prinsburg — finding such a bizarre “moment in time” that it could only be called, “The Twilight Zone.”
“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call ... The Twilight Zone.”
Even Coach Keven Larson was at a loss for words when asked to describe the 6-3 Minneota win over Central Minnesota Christian. He wrinkled his shoulders and threw his hands into the air and muttered something like, “I don’t know what to say.”
This was senior Austin Sorensen’s first varsity start. “I pitched in one game earlier,” he said.
The first two batters he faced began a long journey into the Twighlight Zone that didn’t end until Minneota finally walked off the field with a much-needed victory after two tough losses to MACCRAY, 13-3 and Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, 9-4.
Sorensen walked Case Mulder to start the game, issued three wild pitches and Mulder scored. Then he walked Tucker Dehmlow, uncorcked two more wild pitches to put Dehmlow on third. A balk by Sorensen scored Dehmlow and the Vikings had officially entered, “The Twilight Zone.”
After that Sorensen was brilliant. Oh, he did walk seven batters in all, but he fanned eight and did NOT allow a single hit through five innings of pitching. Imagine the line of “No hits, 2 runs, 1 errors, five wild pitches, seven walks and eight strikeouts.” Yet, he left the game with a 4-3 lead after Minneota rallied for two runs in the sixth when the Bluejays flew directly into their side of the, “Twilight Zone.”
Starting pitcher Trevor Post ran into trouble when Landon Rolbiecki was safe on an error, a passed ball put him on second and a wild pitch advanced him to third. That’s when it got “dark” on the diamond for Central Minnesota Christian. Cole Sanow was hit by a pitch — for the third time in three at bats (add that to the Twighlight Zone), and he decided to play “cat and mouse” with Post.
Sanow got hung up (on purpose) between first and second. At the right time, Rolbiecki broke for home and scored, with Sanow using his blazing speed to dive back into first safely. Minneota had the run — and the lead, 4-3.
So Sorensen left the hill after issuing his seventh walk in the top of the sixth and Sam Buysse came on in relief. Prinsburg got their only hit of the game when Moise Daughtery singled — but Sorensen, now at first base, wasn’t about to see his victory fly away.
He took a throw from outfielder Tate Walerius, flung it to home and catcher Jaymes Moon tagged Braden Swart trying to score. After that Buysse got out of the inning.
Minneota tagged on two more runs in the seventh when Bluejay reliever Skylar Zwart was the victim of a pair of errors (one was his), a walk, a wild pitch, a stolen base and the only single of the inning by Walerius.
By the time the Bluejays emerged from “The Twighlight Zone” they trailed, 6-3.
To add a bit more of the bizarre to this entrance into the forbidden zone, the Vikings pulled off a rare double play when second baseman Teddy Pesch snared a drive off the bat and doubled up runner Jesse Daugherty to end the game.
It was the Vikings second “twin killing” of the game.

NOTES:
•Central Minnesota Christian, without a win this year, entered the game being outscored, 43-3 this season.
•Just before the game a rain shower dumped water on the field. It quickly cleared and the field was good to go. At that point someone should have expected this was, “the Twighlight Zone.”