MITCHELL — Lennox knocked off another Class B blue blood on Thursday. 

The Alpacas continued their state amateur baseball run with another come-from-behind win at Cadwell Park and this one propelled them into the semifinals. 

Lennox’s 9-6 win over Alexandria — a local favorite and Class B perennial power — came after rallying past Canova (6-5) and Wynot, Nebraska (7-4) in back-to-back games. 

“It’s just absolutely big for us,” Lennox shortstop Drew Sweeter said. “We are kind of a great mix of older and younger guys. So being able to get these younger guys the tough game against Wynot and going toe to toe with Canova and then these guys. We played three great teams so far and we’ve got another one on Saturday.” 

Lennox will play Garretson at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Class B semifinals at Cadwell Park. The winner will play in Sunday’s Class B state championship game. 

On Thursday, the Alpacas scored the game’s final five runs in a seesaw battle, which featured 15 runs, 23 hits and eight total errors. 

“It was an up and down battle, back and forth, all day long,” Lennox pitcher Corey Vasquez said. “That’s a great ball club. They are never out of the game.” 

Lennox’s Jay Green smacked a bases-clearing triple to right field for a 4-0 third inning lead. It remained scoreless until a wild 6-7-8 innings. Alexandria’s Jerrod Zens ripped a sixth inning two-out double into right field, scoring two runs to cut into Lennox’s lead, 4-3. 

In the seventh inning, Alexandria’s Tyson Gau scored from third base on a fielding error by Lennox first baseman Chris Kropuenske on a pop fly. Zens cracked a two-run single to push Alexandria ahead, 6-4. 

“We knew they were going to make a run,” said Sweeter, who had three hits and three RBI. “They are a great baseball team. It was a matter of time and we kept preaching to each other this is a nine-inning game. We have to play all nine innings. We knew it would come down to that.” 

In the bottom of the seventh, Lennox evened it up on a pair of Vasquez and Kropuenske RBIs. The Angels loaded the bases with zero outs in the eighth, but failed to bring in a run. Alexandria left 13 total runners stranded on base. 

“We had a couple momentum swings there,” Alexandria manager/left fielder Peyton Smith said. “We had bases loaded, nobody out and we didn't score a run. We couldn’t get some key hits and they did at certain times.”

In the bottom of the eighth, Sweeter hit an RBI single and Peyton Eich scored on an error for an 8-6 lead. Vasquez’s RBI double pushed it to 9-6. 

In the top of the ninth, Lennox’s Brock Anderson retired the side to preserve the win. Anderson came in relief for Vasquez, who limited Alexandria offensively through the first five innings. He scattered seven hits, allowed three earned runs, struck out three batters and walked two in his 5.2-inning start. 

“I had all three pitches working and that’s a great ball club,” Vasquez said. “So I had to keep that team off balanced and my catcher did a fantastic job. It was an all-around team effort.”

Alexandria starter Jed Schmidt lasted 6.2 innings, giving up seven hits, two earned runs and struck out nine batters on 118 pitches. Ethan Davis pitched 1.1 relief innings, surrendering five hits, three earned runs and striking out two batters. 

Tyson Gau, Jordan Gau, Pierce Smith and Zens all finished with two hits. It marked the end of the season for Alexandria, which was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the second straight season. The Angels also claimed another district championship during the year. 

“We had another fun year,” Peyton Smith said. “I know we didn’t want to end the season this early but that’s baseball. We played well all year, just not at the right times in the last game.”

Up next, Lennox will face Garretson in the Class B semifinals. The Bluejays edged Mount Vernon, 2-1, in Thursday’s other quarterfinal round. 

Sweeter anticipates Lennox will see Garretson ace Aaron LaBrie, a former teammate, in the semifinals on Saturday. 

“He’s going to be ready to throw and they are a good hitting team,” Sweeter said. “They showed that earlier today. They play really good defense. It’s going to be a battle.”