By Andy Walter

WILMINGTON — Owen Daminger will likely remember this moment for the rest of his life.

The bases were loaded, the count was full and the Cape Henlopen High reliever was trying to hang on to a one-run lead and send the Vikings to the DIAA baseball state finals.

The several hundred fans in Frawley Stadium on Saturday night were on their feet.

And when the 5-foot-8 Daminger blew a fastball past the St. Mark’s batter for the final out, Cape’s players stormed out of the dugout to celebrate their 2-1 victory over the No. 5 Spartans with their unlikely hero.

Daminger came into the contest with two outs in the seventh after starter Nick Cox reached his 105-pitch limit.

“I did what I’ve done all year — stayed calm,” said Daminger. “The place was going crazy. I just stayed within myself. I knew I had my teammates behind my back.

“Pure joy,” he said about the reaction to his last pitch. “It’s crazy.”

Cox allowed just one run and four hits in six and 2/3 innings and the Vikings (20-2) made some big plays in the field as they returned to the state championship game for the first time since winning the crown in 2018.

“Cape Henlopen takes on No. 3 Appoquinimink in Monday’s state finals at 7 p.m. at Frawley Stadium. The Jaguars topped No. 2 Conrad, 7-2, in Saturday’s first semifinals to reach the title game for the third straight season.

The Vikings, who beat Appo 2-1 in April, will take a 19-game winning streak into Monday’s contest. Eight of those victories have come by just one run.

After Cox had to come out, Daminger hit the first batter he faced to load the bases. But he recovered to get the final out.

“We had two guys in the pen getting loose,” said Cape coach Ben Evick. “Owen came back and said, ‘I’m ready to go.’

“You talk about a huge situation. The entire stands were on their feet, clapping. That kid’s never had that. He was crying after that game because the emotion just hit him. He was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what did I just do?’”

The Vikings turned a big double play in the top of the fifth after the Spartans put a couple runners on base with one out.

Second baseman Austin Rhue made a nice sliding play on a groundball and threw the runners out at first. Cape first baseman Paris Mitchell then made the throw across the diamond to catch the St. Mark’s runner, who had rounded third base.

Then, in the sixth, Justin Marsh made a sliding catch in right field with a runner on second. Catcher Brenn Scott ended the inning by throwing out a runner trying to steal third.

Cape Henlopen took its 2-1 lead in the second when Cox, who reached on an infield single, scored on a fielding error by the Spartans.

It was something of a tough top of the first for the Vikings as St. Mark’s loaded the bases with one out on a pair of singles and walk. But Cox only allowed one run before getting out of the jam.

The Vikings then tied the contest in the bottom of the first when Tim Hitchcock led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a fielding error.

“These guys really have stuck together and had each other’s backs,” said Evick. “It measn everything. These guys have been playing together for a long time. They play for each other. Sometimes you don’t get that. I think the success we’ve had is because of that.”

“It’s awesome, I’m so excited for this,” Cox said about being in the state finals. “This is my first state finals ever. I’m just hyped to be in that position.”

“Monday’s going to be a great day,” said Daminger, “I can feel it.”

Extra innings

Cape Henlopen downed St. Mark’s, 6-2, on May 10 and has now won four straight over the Spartans. ... Only 19 Henlopen Conference teams have made the state championship game since the tournament was started in 1970.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at 302-741-8227 or walter@iniusa.org

Follow on Twitter at @DSNSports.