DARLINGTON — Darlington (15-7, 12-2 SWAL) came into a WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal May 28 on a 10-game win streak, but Mineral Point (15-7, 11-3) snapped the streak with a 5-3 comeback win.
The Redbirds, a 3-seed, escaped the first in a scoreless deadlock with the 6-seed Pointers. Tye Crist struck out, Maddox Goebel flew out to right field, and Breylin Goebel grounded out.
Mineral Point struck gold first in the top of the second, though a single score didn’t give it much padding.
Gage Banfield got the start on the mound, and he was effective for much of the matchup. The first two innings featured a pair of strikeouts by the senior.
The Redbirds were sent to their dugout mostly in order in response, with Banfield needing just eight pitches to get his squad back on offense.
Dante Glendenning opened the bottom of the third with a six-pitch walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Carson Mosley advancing Glendenning to second.
Out number two came against Tye Crist, who hit an infield shot to second base, then Maddox Goebel got his hands on a bat. The result was a double to right field on a 1-1 count, scoring Glendenning.
Breylin Goebel targeted right field in his at bat, tallying a single, and Maddox Goebel managed to tag home.
A Jackson single on the next plate appearance was negated as Banfield grounded into a fielder’s choice.
The Pointers were sent away via a double play and a strikeout, with Darlington eager to press its advantage.
Zeke Zuberbuhler kicked off the bottom of the fourth, reaching on an error. Crist grounded out, but not before Zuberbuhler made it to second.
Glendenning sent a single to right field, and a Mosley infield fly ended in Zuberbuhler making a break for home. He tagged up, putting the Redbirds up, 3-1.
The fifth and sixth innings were almost entirely uneventful. Both squads were sent away in order, and Banfield struck out the first two batters.
A pair of fly outs by the Pointers, in addition to a clutch foul ball catch by Mosley, kept the Redbirds’ two-run lead intact.
Darlington managed to put runners on first and second, but a sacrifice bunt and a double play erased any hopes of an extension.
Then came the seventh.
An error and a single sandwiched around a fly out got runners on first and second. A second error resulted in a run for Mineral Point.
Jackson was brought in relief, and he struck out his first opponent for the second out of the inning.
A single brought home a pair of Pointers to swap the lead, and a follow-up single served the 5-3 split that ended the game. Mineral Point hit a fly out to close the inning, with Darlington having one final opportunity to tie or win.
A fly out on Glendenning and a pop out against Mosley served the first pair of outs. Tye Crist walked, and Maddox Goebel grounded out, ending Darlington’s run as the 3-seed.
This is the most successful season for the Redbirds since their 2017 campaign. That year, Darlington went 14-8 with a 12-2 SWAL record to win the conference title outright. Its final stop in 2017 was an 8-1 loss to fellow 1-seed Wisconsin Heights in the Division 3 Sectional semifinals.
