In a game where both pitchers brought their best, Southland’s hurler took it to a higher level.

The third-seeded Rebels advanced to the Subsection 1A West Division title game when they edged out No. 2 Hayfield 1-0 Thursday at Riverland.

The Rebels (14-7 overall) had to fight off two late Viking rallies to get the win. Hayfield (12-10 overall) had runners on first and third with two outs in the sixth when Travis Kaufmann grounded out back to Southland pitcher Chris May, and the Vikes had a runner on third with two outs when Paul Blanchard flew out to right field to end the game.

“That’s been the tell tale of our last five or six games. We can’t get a clutch hit to save our lives,” Hayfield head coach Craig Selk said.

Chris May had a masterful game for Southland as he allowed just two hits and three walks while striking out seven. He kept his cool as Hayfield supplied some late pressure.

“He’s pretty calm and collected. (In the seventh) all I said was ‘just step back and relax and go get this guy. Don’t worry about those guys on base.’ He did a good job of that,” Southland head coach Scott Retterath said.

Chris May also knocked in Southland’s only run when he lifted a sacrifice fly to score Alan May, who had ripped a one-out stand-up triple to right field in the third inning.

“I knew I had to get him. So I just did my job,” Chris May said.

Hayfield’s ace Ben Pollock held the Rebels to four hits and he pitched out of two innings where the Rebels had a runner in scoring position.

“Who would’ve ever thought it would be a 1-0 game? Not me,” Retterath said. “Give both pitchers credit. They each threw a heck of a game.”

Chris May pitched out of a jam in the third inning when Hayfield stranded runners on second and third. Blanchard grounded out and Tyler Krekling flew out to end that frame.

“I just tried to make them guess a lot and my changeup was working good for me,” said Chris May, a junior. “The rain didn’t bother me at all and the defense made good plays behind me.”

Hayfield struggled to adjust Chris May’s pitching arsenal.

“That May kid is good,” Selk said. “He was cutting his fast ball. We tried to move him up in the box and he kept cutting it further away.”

The Rebels will play top-seeded Blooming Prairie for the subsection title Monday at 3:30 p.m. at Seltz field and the loser of that game will play for second place and a trip to the section tournament at 5 p.m.

Retterath said any one of three pitchers could throw against the Awesome Blossoms.

“I’ll probably change my mind 40 times between now and Monday,” he said.

The Vikings will play No. 9 Goodhue Saturday at 10 a.m. at Riverland and must win two games to get to the second place game.

“There’s a lot of things that could’ve happened where we could’ve won today, but if we let it eat us up we’ll be done on Saturday. We’ve just got start all over,” Selk said.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

S 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 1

H 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1

Southland pitching: Chris May (W), 7 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 0 R, 7 K

Southland hitting: Matt Schroeder, 1-for-3, SB, BB; Alan May, 1-for-4 triple, R; Chris May, 1-for-2, RBI; SB, BB; Adam Kiefer, 0-for-2, BB; Josh Bamrick, 0-for-2, BB; Mitch Helmer, 0-for-3; Tyler Kressin, 1-for-3; Grant Hegge, 0-for-2; Clint Bergene, 0-for-3; Mitch Nagele, 0-for-1

Hayfield pitching: Ben Pollock (L), 7 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 1 ER, 6 K

Hayfield hitting: Tyler Nelson, 1-for-3; Mark Evjen, 0-for-3; Tyler Krekling, 0-for-2, 2 SB, BB; Evan Bungum, 0-for-2, BB; Travis Kauffman, 0-for-3; Pollock, 0-for-2, BB; Shayn Naylor, 0-for-2; Jacob Holst, 1-for-3; Paul Blanchard, 0-for-3