Members of four area amateur baseball teams won’t be putting the spikes, bats and gloves away just yet now that their respective teams have won their way into the Minnesota Baseball Association’s State Tournament beginning this weekend.
Webster is going to state as District 5B’s No. 2 seed behind Jordan. The Brewers topped the Sox Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Mini Met.
Prior Lake’s Mudcats will take the district’s No. 3 seed to state thanks to a win over Union Hill Saturday.
Elko won its way into the Class A State Tournament as Section 1A’s No. 4 seed through the loser’s bracket after falling to section finalist Dundas Sunday, Aug. 3. The Express came back with wins over Hastings to capture a state berth before falling to Rochester.
The teams’ open round schedule is listed on a special congratulations page in this week’s edition of The New Prague Times as well as the schedule on this page.
Jordan 6, Webster 3 With four starters out and using a reserve pitcher, the Sox fell to host Jordan Saturday, Aug. 9. Webster scored on two solo home runs by Will Warhead and Peter Tveite in the third inning that gave them a 2-0 advantage. The Brewers came back with three runs to take a 3-2 lead, adding one in the fifth and two runs in the seventh frame. The Sox’s third run crossed the plate in the ninth. After the contest,Webster drafted Alex Mizsak from St. Benedict and Matt Smith from Montgomery, relief pitchers Webster Manager Todd Klein said could help the team if the Sox advance deep into the tournament.
Rochester 12, Elko 5 The Royals won the battle for Section 1A’s third seed with six runs in the top of the ninth inning Saturday, Aug. 9. Elko led with single runs in the second and third innings. Rochester countered, scoring twice in both the fourth and fifth to take a 4-2 advantage. Elko tied the score with two runs in the seventh and saw Rochester score twice again to build a 6-5 lead heading into the final inning.
Cannon Falls 6, Veseli 5 The Warriors needed to win a pair of games Saturday, Aug. 9, to reach the state tournament. The effort started strong when Eddie Sirek hit a one out double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Sam Friedges to give Veseli a 1-0 lead after a half inning. But the Bears answered right back when three Bears walked to load the bases and an infield single tied the game. Walks would continue to be the story all day, as Veseli pitching walked 10 Cannon Falls batters on the day. The Warriors’ Matt Friedges led off the second inning with a deep fly into the trees in right to give Veseli a 2-1 lead. However in the third inning, after a single and another pair of walks, a single off the glove of Nate Picka tied the game. Sirek was hit by a pitch to start the fifth but two Warriors struck out behind him. Stephen Nezerka homered to left making the score 4-2. Veseli tacked another run in the inning when Matt Friedges singled and Nick Geis doubled him in with two out. It was a 5-2 advantage but that was all Veseli would score on the day. Nolan Conzemius homered to start the bottom of the fifth, cutting the lead to 5-3. After another walk and a wild pitch, veteran Rich Burr singled to cut the lead to 5-4. In the seventh frame, Veseli appeared to have turned a double play to end a threat and maintain the lead but it was ruled the first baseman was off the bag. Yet another walk led to a long at-bat by Jay Burr which ended up in a two-run double and gave the Bears their first lead which they would hold on to for the win. Veseli had chances late but could not muster the big hit. The Warriors season ended with a 19-18 overall record.
Prior Lake 4, Union Hill 3 Having won a state tournament berth, Union Hill fell to the Mudcats Saturday, Aug. 9, in a battle for the No. 3 seed Saturday afternoon in Jordan. Prior Lake’s Charlie Bredeson singled and later scored his team’s opening run in the second inning. Ryan Wattermann walked and followed Bredeson across the plate thanks to hits from Nick Allbee and Jonny Houston. The Bulldogs scored a run in the bottom of the second, cutting PL’s lead in half when Nate Osborne smacked a double and later scored on Brad O’Neill’s base hit. The Mudcats added two more in the fifth frame. Harry Fleck singled and watched Bredeson’s home run blast clear the Mini Met’s wall in center field. Trailing 4-1, UH tried to rally in the eighth inning. Jack Kreutzian singled and scored on Nathan Berg’s two-base hit. Nate Lee’s single allowed pinch-runner Jonny Connelly to scamper home with UH’s third run. The Mudcats finished the game with eight hits, three and two RBIs from Bredeson. Offensively, the Bulldogs were off-balance against soft-tossing PL hurler Ben Morrison. He scattered five hits and walked two. Tanner Nordrum took the loss for Union Hill, allowing two runs on four hits.Reliever Henry Novak surrendered two runs as well.
Elko 12, Hastings 4 With no margin for error in the loser’s side of the Section1A playoff bracket, the Express opened the Thursday, Aug. 7, game with six runs in the first inning. The win advanced the Express to the state tournament. Elko took a 10-0 lead to the fifth inning only to have Hastings extended the game with two runs in the top of the sixth. The two teams traded runs the rest of the way, but Elko’s lead was insurmountable. The Express finished the game with nine hits.
Rochester 6, St. Patrick 2 Despite their best effort, the Irish suffered a season-ending loss to the Royals Thursday, Aug. 7. Rochester jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning as Easton Fritcher hit a two-run homer, followed by Logan Milene's solo blast. The Irish tallied a run in the fourth, as Ryan Friedges scored on a double steal. Rochester added a run in the fifth inning via Logan Milene's second round-tripper of the night, making it 4-1. In the bottom of the fifth, Ryan Friedges' RBI single knocked in Kal Brohmer to make it 4-2. But in the ninth, Rochester added two insurance runs to make it 6-2, which proved to be the final score. Korey Dahlberg got the start on the mound for St. Patrick, giving up three earned runs and striking out seven in 3.2 innings pitched and took the loss. Fritz Meyer pitched 4.1 innings in relief, giving up two earned runs and striking out 10. Jack Taxdahl pitched 0.2 innings with an earned run. Ryan Friedges led the offense with two hits and the Irish’s lone RBI.
Webster 3, Union Hill 0 The Sox topped Union Hill for a state tournament berth Tuesday, Aug. 5, in Veseli. Webster’s Peter Grassl doubled in the first inning and scored on Peter Tveite’s base hit, scoring the game-winner. Webster added insurance runs in the third and fifth innings. Kutter Herzog singled and later scored after advancing on a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base. A home run from Tveite closed out the scoring for the Sox. Union Hill’s Jackson Renz led the Sox with seven shutout innings, allowing one hit. Ryan Joyner and Tveite finished up for the win.
Union Hill 8, Eagle Lake 0 The Bulldogs punched their ticket to state Thursday, Aug. 7, with a big win over the Expos at Don Giesen Field. A six-run explosion in the fifth inning allowed UH to start packing its bags for the state competition. The inning featured four hits and a walk. But two of those hits were home runs, one from Conrad Masberg and the other from Tomas Lee. UH added two more runs, one in the seventh when Will Busch singled and later scored and the other in the eighth. Brady O’Neill singled and later scored thanks to an error. The Bulldogs finished the game with 10 hits and seven earned runs. Busch and Tomas Lee paced UH with three hits each. Bulldogs’ pitcher Jake Hermann earned the win. He went five innings, striking out five and walking five. Charlie Otteson and Busch finished the game for UH.
Prior Lake 10, New Prague 3 The Prior Lake Mudcats are headed to the 2025 Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament after defeating New Prague, 10-5, Thursday night at Veterans Field. The Mudcats rallied behind a strong team effort and a game-changing triple by Charlie Bredeson to secure the state berth and advance to the District 3B seeding round. Prior Lake struck first in the second inning when Jonny Houston delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0. New Prague responded in the third as Gavin Bergman doubled in two runs to take a brief 2-1 lead. The Mudcats tied the game at three in the fourth inning, capitalizing on a New Prague error to pull even. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Bredeson broke things open with a bases-clearing triple, giving Prior Lake a 6-3 lead.
