DICKINSON, N.D. -- In a seemingly never-ending baseball game defined by small ball and capitalization on miscues, one mighty swing brought an explosive ending to the Dakota Athletic Conference.
With the game tied in the 11th inning, Jamestown College junior Max Boe blasted a walk-off solo home run over scoreboard in right field and out of Southside Municipal Ballpark on Saturday afternoon to give the Jimmies the 5-4 victory in the DAC championship game.
Boe, who waited on his first pitch to lead off the 11th before absolutely crushing the game-winner off Mayville State left-handed reliever Josh Drews, said Jimmies coach Tom Hager gave him a choice when he went to the plate.
"He told me I could either drag or crowd the plate and turn on one. I picked the latter," Boe said, still trying to catch his breath after sprinting around the bases and sliding into home plate where his celebrating teammates greeted him.
"It's indescribable," Boe added. "The top experience of my life. I love it."
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It was a painful ending for the top-seeded Comets (27-13), who won their first three games of the tournament before losing to third-seeded Jamestown 9-2 in the first championship game on Friday.
Already playing without suspended first baseman Ricky Alvernaz and injured shortstop Dan Bauer, the Comets lost another starter when right fielder Brad Ferraro injured his ankle following a single to the shortstop.
"You start pulling all those kids out of there and it makes it a real challenge," said Mayville State coach Scott Berry said.
The teams traded runs in the second and third innings before Mayville State took a 4-2 edge in the sixth.
Mark Kuzyk scored on a wild pitch in the fourth to give the Comets a 3-2 lead and then Tanner Carpenter doubled to right to score Alex Berry and make it a two-run game.
But, Jamestown stayed cool.
Tim Penner drove in pinch-runner Nathan Christiuk on a single in the bottom of the sixth and Kyle Mallory's single to let in the eighth inning scored Joe Perez to tie the game.
At that point, the Jimmies (31-11) went to ace Alex Kreis -- their fourth pitcher of the day -- to gain control.
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The senior right-hander from Grand Forks faced 11 batters and struck out six in three innings of work to earn the win.
"We didn't know how he would be, but we knew he had a couple innings in him," Hager said. "It allowed us to relax a little bit. He was absolutely overpowering and it was fun to watch."
The Jimmies had to win five games at the tournament to clinch their fourth DAC tournament title and a place in the NAIA national tournament's opening-round series May 12-16 against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
It was the final DAC tournament under the league's current system. Next year, the DAC will be down to four teams and will likely not hold a postseason tournament.
The game also brought an end to an emotional and memorable 10 months for Scott Berry, Mayville State's coach of 29 years.
Last July, he lost his wife Laurie after a long battle with cancer and the team dedicated the season to her, accenting the team's royal blue gear with pink in her honor.
