Sean Williams/MDN Colton Feller (10) of Bishop Ryan standing at the plate during a game that took place at Corbett Field earlier this season.

After dropping their first two games of the 2023 NDHSAA Class B Baseball State Tournament to eventual champion Thompson and North Star, Saturday presented the Bishop Ryan Lions with a chance to finish their season strongly in the seventh-place game against the Shiloh Christian Skyhawks.

In a game that featured early and late action, the Skyhawks struck first by adding two runs in the bottom of the third. After three consecutive singles, a sacrifice fly from Michael Fagerland and an RBI single from Eli Thompson gave Shiloh Christian their early 2-0 lead.

From there, however, Lions starting pitcher Drew Zwak proceeded to shut the Skyhawks down, making way for Bishop Ryan to string together a trio of late runs so they could steal a win.

Heading into the top of the sixth, the Lions were finally able to get on the board and they did so by plating two runs to tie the game. After Jett Lundeen singled and Ramsey Walz walked after a lengthy trip to the plate, it set the table for the Lions to attack.

They did so on an RBI single from Colton Feller to trim their deficit to 2-1. Macksen Shean and Teagan Coonrod followed that up with consecutive singles, leading to a sacrifice fly from Carson Merck to tie the game at 2-2.

Taking the lead for good were the Lions in the top of the seventh, after a walk by Bennet Warren and a single by Zwak got them started. Succeeding in a big spot was Jett Lundeen, who drove in Warren to bring the game to its final of 3-2 in favor of the Lions.

With the win, the Lions secured a seventh-place finish at the state tournament. Zwak’s performance on the mound was a key contribution to the win. Zwak tossed seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

At the plate, Lundeen led the way by going 3-for-4 with an RBI, followed by Warren who went 1-for-2 with a double and two walks, C. Feller who went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, and Merck who went 0-for-4 with an RBI.

Even though their time at the state tournament didn’t go as they hoped, the Lions were still able to finish strong by getting a win to wrap up their season on Saturday.