Baseball 2025: Mahtomedi returns to the top in Class AAA

It was enough to rattle a pitcher. A leadoff walk, a one-out base hit, a steal of second, another walk and a score-tying single. All at Target Field in the first inning of the Class AAA Baseball state championship game during the Minnesota State High School League's 2025 Prep Championship Series.

But Mahtomedi senior hurler Winston Wisely had a loud and proud dugout behind him. He had a game plan he trusted alongside battery mate Peyton Whitbeck. And he had the tools — mentally and physically — to stifle even top-seeded Mankato East's lineup.

Wisely struck out the next two batters, retired 12 of 13 at one point, and helped No. 3 seed Mahtomedi claim its third state title with a complete game in a 6-2 victory on Saturday, June 14 in downtown Minneapolis.

"To start off the first inning was just kind of jitters," said Wisely, who finished the game with nine strikeouts. "It's Target Field. It's the state championship. My senior year. This is my last high school game. I was just overly excited. Once I started to tell myself that the moment isn't as big as I think it is, I started to calm down and start throwing strikes."

Junior catcher Whitbeck never wavered. He knew Wisely would start consistently throwing strikes, just as he always does.

"He listens to everything I say, just knows to trust me. When he's this consistent with his pitches, nobody can stop him," Whitbeck said. "It's one of the greatest feelings ever catching for a guy like that. He wants it more than anyone."

Mahtomedi had the same number of hits in the game (seven) as the Cougars (23-4). But Wisely didn't walk a batter after the first inning while the Zephyrs (19-7) drew eight. Leadoff man Isaac Iten drew a pair and batted 3 for 3 while scoring four of the Zephyrs' six runs.

They scored their first five runs on a bases-loaded walk, a hit by pitch, a groundout, a sacrifice fly and a fielder's choice grounder.

Whitbeck said it took time for the Zephyrs to develop that patience at the plate and tenacity on the basepaths.

"It wasn't like that at first but something clicked within the team," Whitbeck said. "I don't know what happened but our dugout was the loudest it's been all postseason. It's been a great thing to be a part of. When you have guys supporting each other like that, you want to be helpful as a teammate and be supportive, do anything you can to get on base."

Senior center fielder Ethan Felling embodied that attitude. Part of Class AAA runner-up teams the last two seasons after the program won titles in 2018 and 2021, Felling would not settle for anything less than a title this spring. Mahtomedi 

Felling is "always saying a kind thing to someone," Whitbeck said. "Talking to them even when they're down. No matter what, he's always positive. And he's a great outfielder too."

He knew his role and the rest of the Zephyrs followed his lead.

"It was guys just finding out what kind of player they are and how they fit into the team," Wisely said. "For a lot of the year we just couldn't do that. Figured it out a couple weeks ago and rode it to the championship."