Austin junior Michael O’Connor didn’t feel like he had to be the hero, but that’s exactly what he became when he launched a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Winona 1-0 in Seltz Field Tuesday.

O’Connor didn’t start the game, but he came in is a pinch hitter in the sixth inning, which was the first of two straight innings where Austin grounded into a double play with the bases loaded. O’Connor’s one-out game-winning hit came with one out.

He had never before hit a walk-off RBI in his career and he was glad to have hand in a big win for Austin (7-3 overall), which had lost to Winona (7-2 overall) 3-2 on April 12.

“It was chaos at first, but happiness. I had a lot of water thrown in my face,” O’Connor said of the celebration.

While there was a lot of pressure with the game on the line, O’Connor stayed focused and he kept head coach Joe Kroc’s advice in his mind.

“I just trusted in what Kroc had to say and I trusted the guys behind me,” O’Connor said. “If I didn’t knock in a run, I had trust that Riley Retterath would do the job.”

Austin senior Jack Dankert made his first mound start of the season on senior night and he showed that he is close to being back to full strength. Dankert struck out 10 and allowed just three hits, two walks and a hit batter in seven and two-thirds innings. He has slowly been working his way back from a hockey injury that has been causing fatigue in his arm.

“It was fun to get back on the mound. I have confidence every time I go out there,” Dankert said. “I’ve been doing a lot of physical therapy at home, I’ve been playing catch and I’ve thrown some relief innings. I’m making progress, but it’s not completely done. Good things are happening and I’m trying to strengthen my arm as much as I can for the end of the season, that’s when it matters.”

Dankert threw 105 pitches before coming out of the game. Nate Murphy picked up the win in relief. Kroc was glad to see Dankert back in action for the bulk of a game.

“The kid pitched his butt off and he was pretty dang good,” Kroc said. “He hit his spots and defensively, we were a lot better than we have been in the past. That was good to see.”

Winona’s Mitch McMurl had a no-hitter through four innings when Retterath broke it up with a single to right. McMurl was taken out of the game after seven innings. McMurl was able to escape jams in the sixth and seventh inning by turning inning-ending double plays.

“That kid was a heck of pitcher and I thought those at-bats were pretty good,” Kroc said of McMurl. “We just hit it right at them.” 

Winona 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0  –  0  4  2

Austin 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 1  –  1  5  1

Austin pitching: Jack Dankert 7 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 0 R, 10 K; Nate Murphy (W) 1/3 IP, 0R 

Austin hitting: Riley Wempner, 0-for-3, BB; Pete Conner, 0-for-4; Phillip Zynda, 1-for-3, R, BB; AJ Mueller, 0-for-1, BB, HBP; Josi Bothun, 0-for-2, 2 BBs; Hunter Johnson, 0-for-2; Riley Retterath, 1-for-3; Dankert, 1-for-3; Ross Young, 0-for-3; Dawson Mills, 1-for-1; Michael O’Connor, 1-for-1, RBI, HBP