MN State Baseball Tournament Preview

In the 15th year of a three-class format, all three 2013 champions return to defend their titles. BOLD of Olivia is looking for its second consecutive title in Class A. Kasson-Mantorville is seeking its second consecutive title in Class AA. Mounds View returns in search of a second consecutive championship in Class AAA.

Five teams qualified for the first time this year: New Life Academy of Woodbury in Class A; The Blake School of Minneapolis and Aitkin in Class AA; and Lakeville South and Mahtomedi in Class AAA.

This is the second year that the tournament has been seeded. The eight coaches of the section champions logged onto a special page of the League Web site and each coach ranked the other teams one through seven. The highest and lowest rankings for each team were discarded, leaving five rankings for each team. From those rankings, the teams were seeded one through five. In conference calls with all eight head coaches, League Associate Director Kevin Merkle announced the top five seeds. A representative of the coaches association conducted a blind draw to determine the opponents for the top three seeds. Seeds four and five are automatically paired without a draw.

The six teams that advance to title games will compete at Target Field in Minneapolis on Saturday, June 14. All three games will be webcast live by GrandStadium on Prep45.com for a fee of $4.97 for the day. The Class A title game will begin at noon, followed by the Class AA championship game at 3 p.m., and the Class AAA title game at 6 p.m.

The initial rounds of the tournament will be played Thursday and Friday, June 12 and 13, at locations across the state. Class A quarterfinals, championship semifinals and third-place game will be played at Chaska Athletic Park, and consolation semifinals and consolation championship will be played at the Mini Met in Jordan. The Class AA quarterfinals, championship semifinals and third-place game will be played at Dick Putz Field, and consolation semifinals and consolation championship will be played at the adjacent Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud. The Class AAA quarterfinals, championship semifinals and third-place game will be played at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, and consolation semifinals and consolation championship will be played at Dick Siebert Field on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.

Detailed statistics provided by most qualified teams are available on the League’s Web site — www.MSHSL.org — as a Media Guide link under Tournaments > Spring > Baseball.

            Class A Highlights

            (Section 8) Red Lake County (20-5) vs. (No. 1 Seed - Section 2) BOLD, Olivia (21-3) — 10:00 a.m. June 12 at Chaska Athletic Park. Red Lake County, which includes students from Red Lake Falls and Red Lake County Central of Oklee, returns after a two-year absence to make its fourth appearance under this name. Red Lake Falls made a solo appearance in 1982 and Red Lake County made one in 1994. The Eagles scored 156 runs on 175 hits and the team bats .272. Senior Zack Landman leads Red Lake County with a .348 average and he has 12 RBI on 29 hits. Senior Lars Brevik is the top pitcher for the Eagles. He went 8-1 this season and has a 1.05 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 60 innings. Brevik also added 22 RBI on 21 hits and has a .350 batting average. The defending champions from BOLD return for their third consecutive and overall appearance. The Warriors have outscored opponents 213-55 and have a team batting average of .321. They have also stolen 108 bases. Senior pitcher Logan Sandgren went 9-0 this year and has gone 15-0 over the past two years with four no-hitters and one perfect game. This year, he tallied 95 strikeouts in 56 innings and has an ERA of 0.63. Junior Trent Athmann wields the heaviest bat for the Warriors. He has a .418 average and drove in 18 runs on 28 hits. Athmann set a school record by scoring 40 runs this season and he has 61 stolen bases in 62 attempts over the past two years. Senior Trevor Nissen, who bats .338 and had a team-leading 30 RBI this year, will play football at Mankato State University next year.

            (No. 5 Seed – Section 3) Springfield (21-2) vs. (No. 4 Seed – Section 4) New Life Academy of Woodbury (22-4) — 12:30 p.m. June 12 at Chaska Athletic Park. The Tigers of Springfield are making their eighth appearance but first since 1984. They hit .310 as a team and scored 191 runs and held opponents to just 63. Senior pitcher Cooper Scheffler went 5-1 during the regular season and has an ERA of 2.56. He tossed 45 strikeouts in 38 innings and also contributed 27 RBI on 36 hits. Scheffler has the team’s highest batting average of .474 and also had 37 stolen bases this year. Senior pitcher Dylan Wersal compiled a season record of 6-0 and threw 24 strikeouts with an ERA of 0.74. The Eagles of New Life Academy of Woodbury are making their first tournament appearance. They scored 261 runs and are hitting .356 as a team while holding opponents to 79 runs and a .228 batting average. Senior John Horner has the team’s highest batting average of .462 on 42 hits. He also boasts 50 RBI coming into the tournament. Horner is also 5-1 on the mound with a 1.79 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched. Horner’s younger brother, junior Sam, bats .447 and contributed 25 RBI on 38 hits. Sam also tallied 19 doubles this season.

            (Section 5) Royalton (12-10) vs. (No. 3 Seed – Section 1) Chatfield (21-3) — 3:00 p.m. June 12 at Chaska Athletic Park. The Royals of Royalton return for their fourth appearance, but first since 2007. Royalton starts three ninth-graders and the Royals scored 143 runs on 155 hits this year. They hit .279 as a team. The Royals have two strong pitchers: sophomore Parker Brezinka and ninth-grader Nathan Psyck. Brezinka has a 2.23 ERA and threw 41 strikeouts in 62 innings. Psyck tossed 41 strikeouts over 49 innings and has an ERA of 4.43. Psyck also bats .348 and drove in 26 RBI on 23 hits. He also hit a team-leading three home runs. Cade Stand, a senior, bats .507 for Royalton and tallied 34 RBI on 16 hits this year. The Gophers of Chatfield are making their sixth appearance, but first since 2006. This year’s squad hits .299 and tallied 126 RBI on 194 hits. Senior Jake Neis, who has not struck out this year, bats .456 for Chatfield and had 19 RBI on 36 hits. He also went 4-2 on the mound with 34 strikeouts in 49 innings. His ERA is 1.00. Junior pitcher Tommy Jech went 6-0 on this year and has a 0.54 ERA with eight strikeouts in 38 innings. Junior Ethan Woltz tallied 18 RBI on 29 hits for the Gophers and has a .408 average.

                (Section 7) Ely (21-2) vs. (No. 2 Seed – Section 6) New York Mills (23-0) — 5:30 p.m. June 12 at Chaska Athletic Park. The Timberwolves of Ely return after a one-year absence to make their fourth appearance. They hit .181 as a team and scored 186 runs while holding opponents to 45. The Timberwolves’ top two pitchers are seniors Will Gustafson and Louis Gerzin. Gustafson compiled a season record of 7-1 with 56 strikeouts in 48 innings and an ERA of 1.31. Gerzin went 5-1, threw 67 strikeouts in 40 innings, and has an ERA of 1.58. He also bats .414 and contributed 20 RBI on 24 hits. Sophomore Pat Huisman leads the offensive charge for Ely; he bats .483 and drove in 24 RBI on 29 hits. New York Mills, which claimed third-place honors in 2013, is making its fourth consecutive and sixth overall appearance. Seniors Brandon Kupfer and Tyler Patron both had stellar seasons on the mound for the Eagles. Kupfer went 9-0 with 62 strikeouts in 44 innings and Patron went 6-0 with 38 strikeouts in 41 innings. Their respective ERAs are 0.81 and 0.87. Kupfer notched 36 RBI on 41 hits and also has a team-high batting average of .612. Patron added 29 RBI on 34 hits and has an average of .493. New York Mills outscored its opponents 204-31 and bats .391 as a team.

            Class AA Highlights

            (Note: Glencoe-Silver Lake and Delano were the only Class AA teams to meet this season; Glencoe-Silver Lake won that game 9-7. The Panthers and Tigers will meet for the second time this season in the quarterfinals.)

           (Section 4) The Blake School, Minneapolis (19-6) vs. (No. 1 Seed - Section 6) St. Cloud Cathedral (24-1) — 10:00 a.m. June 12 at Dick Putz Field, St. Cloud. The Bears of The Blake School are making their debut tournament appearance. The school did not provide team or individual statistics. The Crusaders of St. Cloud Cathedral are hoping to improve on last year’s third-place showing. They are making their fourth consecutive and 18th overall appearance. If they win it would be their eighth title; they won previously in 1977, 1980, 1988, 2001, 2003, 2007, and 2011. Senior pitcher Jeff Fasching went 8-0 on the mound for Cathedral, throwing 79 strikeouts in 59 innings with a 0.36 ERA. Fasching also bats .392 and drove in 24 runs on 31 hits. Brindley Theisen, a junior pitcher, compiled a season record of 7-1 with 49 strikeouts in 48 innings. His ERA is 0.59. Theisen also contributed 31 RBI on 28 hits and his ERA is .389. Three seniors will play baseball in college next year: Fasching at the University of Minnesota, Steven Neutzling at St. Scholastica, and Thomas Imholte at University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. St. Cloud Cathedral’s head coach, Bob Karn, set the all-time wins record at 708 in the section title game against Little Falls.

            (No. 5 Seed – Section 5) Delano (16-9) vs. (No. 4 Seed - Section 2) Glencoe-Silver Lake (17-4) — 12:30 p.m. June 12 at Dick Putz Field, St. Cloud. The Tigers of Delano are making their fifth consecutive and 10th overall appearance. They placed sixth last year. They have scored 198 runs while limiting opponents to 108 and have stolen 41 bases. Senior Toby Hanson has a team-high batting average of .453 and also hit 13 home runs with 31 RBI on 39 hits. Senior Tyler Hannen has the most innings on the mound, 37, is 6-1 with a 2.84 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Senior Hunter Hart threw 46 strikeouts for Delano in 33 innings. His season record is 2-4 and his ERA is 2.97. The Panthers of Glencoe-Silver Lake made their last tournament appearance under this name in 2009 and this is their fourth overall. Glencoe made five additional appearances between 1947 and 1974. The Panthers scored 123 runs while allowing opponents only 65 and bat .289 as a team. Sophomore Teddy Petersen is the offensive leader with his .424 batting average on his 28 hits and 10 RBI. Senior pitcher Cole Petersen is 8-1 in 53 innings with a 0.40 ERA and 91 strikeouts.

            (Section 8) Hawley (18-6) vs. (No. 3 Seed - Section 1) Kasson-Mantorville (21-4) — 3:00 p.m. June 12 at Dick Putz Field, St. Cloud. The Hawley Nuggets are making their third appearance, but first since 2009. The Nuggets hit .318 as a team and they had 144 RBI on 219 hits. They scored 186 runs to their opponents’ 106 and won five consecutive elimination games to reach the tournament. Junior Chad Chute leads the team with his .413 batting average, 31 hits and 19 RBI. Juniors Jordan Harms (7-1) and Parker Hanson (5-2) have seen the most action on the mound. Harms pitched 49 innings with 79 strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA, and Hanson went 48 innings with 70 strikeouts and a 2.92 ERA. Hanson added 24 RBI on 27 hits and bats .346. The defending champions from Kasson-Mantorville are making their second consecutive and fourth overall appearance. The KoMets have scored 194 runs and their opponents have been limited to 86. They also hit .330 to their opponents’ .232. Senior Jayden Prigge has a team-high .541 batting average and 32 RBI on 46 hits, including two home runs. Kasson-Mantorville also has two outstanding senior pitchers. Collin Ripley went 8-0 with 25 strikeouts in 44 innings and has a 2.40 ERA. Hayden Sheeran went 5-1 on the mound with 57 strikeouts in 35 innings. His ERA is 2.22.

            (Section 7) Aitkin (22-4) vs. (No. 2 Seed - Section 3) Fairmont (23-1) — 5:30 p.m. June 12 at Dick Putz Field, St. Cloud. The Aitkin Gobblers are making their debut appearance. They outscored their opponents 252-71 this year and have a team batting average of .400. Senior Nathan Ehnstrom has the team’s best batting average of .480 and also went 5-1 on the mound with a 4.28 ERA in 40 innings with 46 strikeouts. Junior Jake Lynn pitched the most innings, 41, and went 4-1. He threw 74 strikeouts and has an ERA of 2.41. The Fairmont Cardinals, who are making their 10th appearance, return to tournament action after a one-year absence. Fairmont hit .360 as a team this season and outscored opponents 209-65. Senior pitcher Luke Becker compiled a season record of 7-0 with 30 strikeouts in 37 innings and has an ERA of 1.89. He also leads the Cardinals with a .542 batting average, 45 hits, 37 RBI, and nine home runs. Junior pitcher Spencer Chirpich bats .393 and went 5-0 on the mound. He threw 33 strikeouts in 36 innings and has an ERA of 0.78.

            Class AAA Highlights

            (Section 8) Brainerd (21-3) vs. (No. 1 Seed - Section 3) Lakeville North (21-4) — 10:00 a.m. June 12 at Midway Stadium, St. Paul. The Brainerd Warriors are making their 13th appearance, but first since 2010. If they win, it would be their third title; they won previously in 1995 and 2000. The Warriors did not face any other tournament qualifiers during the regular season. Brainerd is hitting .331 as a team and the Warriors tallied 185 RBI on 222 hits. Junior Tory Miller is hitting .456 with 21 RBI on 36 hits. He also went 4-1 on the mound with 43 strikeouts over 32 innings and has a 1.28 ERA. Senior Tom Graumann is 7-1 on the mound with the most innings pitched, 48, and has 55 strikeouts and a 2.63 ERA. The Panthers of Lakeville North are making their second consecutive and overall appearance. They took the consolation title in 2013. During the regular season, Lakeville North defeated Lakeville South twice, 10-0 and 7-1. The Panthers scored 170 runs to their opponents’ 54, and they have a team batting average of .337. Senior Dalton Lehnen wields the heaviest bat for Lakeville North; his average is .438 with 29 RBI on 35 hits, including three home runs. Dalton also went 9-3 on the mound with 87 strikeouts in 60 innings and an ERA of 1.50. Senior Nick Dorfman went 9-0 while pitching and tossed 60 strikeouts in 52 innings. Jacobson’s ERA is 0.81. Lehnen will play for the University of Cincinnati next year and Dorfman has signed with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Junior Angelo Altavilla, who hit .400 this year, has verbally committed to the University of Nebraska. He tallied 35 RBI on 32 hits and also hit a team-high four home runs.

            (No. 5 Seed – Section 7) Elk River (17-8) vs. (No. 4 Seed - Section 5) Mounds View (18-6) — 12:30 p.m. June 12 at Midway Stadium, St. Paul. The Elks of Elk River return for their fourth appearance, but first since 2003. During regular-season play, Elk River defeated Robbinsdale Armstrong 11-2 and lost to Eden Prairie 6-0. The Elks hit .271 as a team and outscored their opponents 126-99. Senior Erik Nyquist was the top pitcher for Elk River, going 8-0 with 38 strikeouts in 61 innings and a 1.62 ERA. Nyquist will play for Northwestern College in Roseville next year. Junior Austin Heuer leads the Elks’ offense. He bats .324 and had 12 RBI on 24 hits. The defending champions from Mounds View are making their second consecutive and sixth overall appearance. The Mustangs tallied 126 runs this year and their opponents scored 72 against them. Their team batting average is .287. Senior Sam Hentges pitched 36 innings for the Mustangs, amassing a 6-0 record with 66 strikeouts and a 0.81 ERA. Hentges, a Mr. Baseball finalist, added 17 RBI on 25 hits with three home runs. His batting average is .362. Senior Kellen Rholl pitched 37 innings, went 4-0 with a 1.32 ERA, and struck out 26. Mounds View did not face any other tournament qualifiers this season.

                (Section 6) Robbinsdale Armstrong (14-9) vs. (No. 3 Seed - Section 2) Eden Prairie (18-6) — 3:00 p.m. June 12 at Midway Stadium, St. Paul. The Falcons of Robbinsdale Armstrong are returning to tournament action after a three-year hiatus. This is their fourth appearance overall. The Falcons hit .298 collectively and outscored their opponents 133-103. They have also stolen 42 bases. Sophomore Joshua Thorp hit .444 this year with 32 hits and 12 RBI. Junior pitcher Jordan Kuznia (4-1) pitched 39 innings with 50 strikeouts and a 1.07 ERA. He also bats .300 and contributed 10 RBI on 15 hits with two home runs. Robbinsdale Armstrong lost to Elk River 11-2 during the regular season. The Eagles of Eden Prairie return to the tournament after a one-year absence. They are in the hunt for their third championship, having won previously in 2004 and 2010. During the regular season, the Eagles defeated Elk River 6-0. Eden Prairie scored 118 runs while holding its opponents to 58. The Eagles had 95 RBI on 211 hits and their team batting average is .301. Senior Ryan Zimmerman has a team-leading .393 average on 33 hits and 13 RBI. Zimmerman will play for the University of St. Thomas next year. Seniors Dan Loats and Corey Binger shared the pitching duties this year. Loats went 6-1 with 61 strikeouts in 49 innings with a 1.28 ERA. Binger compiled a 5-1 record with 49 strikeouts in 49 innings and a 1.48 ERA. Binger will play for the University of Nebraska Omaha next year and Loats will play for North Iowa Area Community College.

            (Section 1) Lakeville South (7-18) vs. (No. 2 Seed - Section 4) Mahtomedi (23-1) — 5:30 p.m. June 12 at Midway Stadium, St. Paul. Lakeville South and Mahtomedi are both making their first tournament appearances. The Cougars of Lakeville South lost to Lakeville North twice during the regular season, 10-0 and 7-1. The Cougars scored 80 runs on 147 hits and their opponents tallied 146 runs on 189 hits. The team’s collective batting average is .231. Senior Cory Reiter bats .299 for Lakeville South and tallied a team-leading 23 hits. Mitch Maurer, another senior, went 5-4 on the mound for the Cougars with a 2.91 ERA. He threw 63 strikeouts in 60 innings. The Mahtomedi Zephyrs bat .350 as a team and tallied 199 runs on 220 hits. Senior Sam Richter led Mahtomedi with a .408 average and garnered 13 RBI on 29 hits. Senior pitcher Mike Baumann tossed 73 strikeouts and has a 1.29 ERA. Baumann, who will play for Jacksonville University in Florida next year, also hits .389 and had 30 RBI on 28 hits this season. The Zephyrs did not face any other tournament qualifiers this year.