Elijah Sullivan dives

Above: This hit in the sixth was just out of reach of shortstop Elijah Sullivan.

Down 1-0, Mankato Loyola rallied with four runs in the sixth inning to down the visiting Clippers 4-1 on Thursday.

The Clippers’ run came in the fifth when Tanyon Hoheisel tripled and scored on a Jackson Meyer sacrifice fly.

The lead was short lived as the Crusaders, whose only conference loss was to Nicollet, took advantage of a lead off walk and a triple to tie the game at one and followed up with a single, another triple and a single for three more runs.

The first two Clipper batters in the seventh struck out looking before top-of-the-order Carter Dylla walked. Elijah Sullivan singled, but the game ended on a Colin Krenik ground out. 

The Clippers whiffed 15 times. Each team had six hits. Carter Dylla singled in the third and again in the fifth. Elijah Sullivan singled in the seventh. Alex McCabe doubled in the fourth. Meyer singled in the third.   

Starting pitcher Lucas Walechka lasted five and two-thirds innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out seven. With two outs and a runner on third,  Dylla took the hill in relief. He gave up one hit before getting the Clippers out of the inning on a ground out.  

Loyola, 13-3 with the win, had two errors while Cleveland had none.

The Clippers, 9-6, travel to Madelia on Tuesday.

Alex McCabe, who moved from second to third, tosses to first for the final Crusader out.