The Austin VFW Post 1216 baseball team took home a state title after beating White Bear Lake 5-3 in St. Cloud Sunday.

Austin (30-6 overall) scored three runs in the fourth to take over the game. Derek McMasters started the frame with a single, Jay Ettinger walked and Tyler Kressin came up with a bunt single to load the bases for Tyler Krekling, who drew a walk to put Post 1216 up 3-1.

Steve Serratore finished the rally with a two-out, two-run scoring single. It was the second time Serratore came up big for Austin in the tournament as he also had a two-out, two-run hit in an eight inning win over Morris on Friday.

“I got pushed into the position to make the plays,” Steve Serratore said. “We had base-runners on all day and I couldn’t have done anything without them. But I did see the ball pretty well and it was fun to compete with a great team.”

White Bear Lake had two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, but Logan Spitzack, who homered in the third inning, pitched out of the jam to get the save.

“We played really good defense all week and every one of our pitchers threw well,” Austin head coach Joe Serratore said.

The state tournament win is a huge boost for a team that has played together for most of the last three summers. Starting as the Tri-County All-Stars, the squad that is made up of 10 Austin players mixed in with 10 players from other towns, finished strong.

“It was a really nice feeling. From day one, this is where we wanted to be and it was our last hurrah,” Steve Serratore said. “Just to come out on top and be respected by the baseball community from all around the state, that’s what you want.”

The competition was heavy for Austin as it won all four of it’s games, but only the first win was lopsided. Austin beat Mankato 5-3 on Saturday to advance to the title game.

“Those teams are very good,” Steve Serratore said. “To play the way we did I think we earned a lot of respect and we showed that Southern Minnesota plays very good baseball and can play with any team.”

It is Austin’s second ever state VFW title and its first title since 1973.

Post 1216 placed four players on the All-State Tournament team: Steve Serratore, who went 9-for-12 in four games; Derek McMasters, who went 6-for-13; Alan May, who went 7-for-15, and Spitzack, who had two wins on the mound and one save.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

Austin 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 5 7 1

White Bear 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 5 0

Austin pitching: Tyler Krekling (W), 4 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, 2 ER, 3 K, HBP; Alan May, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 ER, 1 K; Logan Spitzack (S), 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R

Austin hitting: Spitzack, 1-for-4, HR, RBI, R; Taylor Sederquest, 2-for-4, R; Krekling, 2 BBs, RBI; Derek McMasters, 2-for-2, triple, R; Tyler Kressin, 1-for-2, BB; Steve Serratore, 1-for-2, 2 RBIs

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

Austin 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 5 6 3

Mankato 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 3

Austin pitching: Spitzack (W), 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 K

Austin hitting: May, 2-for-4, 2 R; Serratore, 3-for-4; Krekling, 2-for-4, R; Sederquest, 1-for-3, RBI