2024 Baseball State Tournament: Day 1 Recap

Semifinal matchups are set in each of the four enrollment classes after a full day and evening of games on Thursday, June 13 during opening day of the Minnesota State High School League’s Baseball State Tournament. Here is a quick look at the semifinal matchups set for Friday. Winners will advance to the Prep Championship Series on Monday, June 17 at Target Field.

Class A

At Joe Faber Field, St. Cloud

• No. 2 Parkers Prairie (24-1) vs. Sacred Heart (20-3), 11 a.m.
• No. 1 Cherry (24-2) vs. No. 4 Springfield (23-2), 1:30 p.m.

Class AA

At Dick Putz Field

• No. 2 Rockford (24-5) vs. LeSueur-Henderson (20-5), 11 a.m.
• No. 1 Esko (25-3) vs. No. 4 Foley (22-4), 1:30 p.m.

Class AAA

At Chaska Athletic Park

• Grand Rapids (17-8) vs. No. 3 Mahtomedi (21-4), Noon
• No. 1 Benilde-St. Margaret’s (21-3) vs. No. 4 Totino-Grace (17-8), 2:30 p.m.

Class AAAA

At CHS Field, St. Paul

• Forest Lake (14-11) vs. No. 3 East Ridge (19-6), Noon
• No. 1 Wayzata (25-0) vs. No. 5 Mounds View (19-8), 2:30 p.m.

To earn spots in the semifinals, here is a look at what took place during the quarterfinals on Day 1:

Class A

• No. 2 Parkers Prairie 3, Heritage Christian Academy 0: Junior pitcher Dylan Debilzen was 2 for 3 with a run scored and helped his cause with six strikeouts in leading Parkers Prairie to an opening-round victory over Heritage Christian Academy at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud. The Panthers (24-1) built a two-run advantage they wouldn’t surrender with two runs, including an RBI single by senior catcher David Revering. Sophomore centerfielder Griffin Booms had three hits for the Eagles (17-5).
• Sacred Heart 7, No. 3 Lyle/Pacelli 5: Junior third baseman Jake Satterlund had a two-run single and senior designated hitter Ben Wharam added a two-run double during a five-run sixth inning to propel the Eagles (20-3) to an upset victory over the Athletics (22-3).
• No. 1 Cherry 6, Lac qui Parle Valley 3: The top-seeded Tigers (24-2) scored four runs in the first and two more in the fourth en route to a victory over Lac qui Parle Valley (16-7) at Joe Faber Field. Senior shortstop Isaac Asuma, who has signed to play basketball at the University of Minnesota, was 2 for 3 with two RBIs. He was part of Cherry’s Class A Championship run in basketball this past winter.  
• No. 4 Springfield 4, No. 5 New York Mills 0: Senior pitcher Jakob Nachreiner was double-trouble at the plate and on the mound in leading the Tigers (23-2) past the Eagles (18-7) in the final game of the day at Faber Field. He was 3 for 4 with two runs scored, and on the mound, he pitched a one-hitter while striking out 14. 

Class AA

• No. 2 Rockford 2, Blake 1: Junior pitcher William Haas was 3 for 4 at the plate and scattered five hits on the mound while striking out 10 in leading the Rockets (24-5) past the Bears (14-11) at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. Rockford sidestepped Blake’s upset bid with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Haas hit an RBI single, senior first baseman Colton Lundberg followed with a fielder’s choice RBI to left field to send the Rockets to the semifinals. Senior pitcher Paulie Nathanson was 2 for 3 for Blake. 
• LeSueur-Henderson 9, No. 3 Perham 1: Senior second baseman Samuel Gupton was 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored and four RBIs to help power the unseeded Giants (20-5) past Perham (22-3) at Dick Putz Field. 
• No. 1 Esko 3, Montevideo 2:  Senior right fielder Bobby Thornton had an RBI triple in the first inning, stole home, and then senior catcher Bryce Hipp had an RBI double, an outburst that paved the way top-seeded Esko (25-3) in its victory over the Thunder Hawks (21-5) at Dick Putz Field. Sophomore left fielder Benjamin Gunlogson had a two-run single in the fourth inning for Montevideo.
• No. 4 Foley 6, No. 5 Zumbrota-Mazeppa 5: Foley (22-4) produced three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to post a stunning victory over Zumbrota-Mazeppa (17-8) in the final game of the day at Dick Putz Field. Senior second baseman Bryce Gapinski completed the comeback with a sacrifice fly. Earlier in the inning, senior designated hitter Jaden Enerson ignited the comeback on an RBI double to left center. One batter later, senior catcher Alexander Jennissen earned an RBI when he was hit by a pitch. In the top of the seventh, Zumbrota-Mazeppa had taken a 5-3 lead on a two-run triple by senior left fielder Hunter Streit.

Class AAA

• Grand Rapids 4, No. 2 Mankato East 3: For the second consecutive season, unseeded Grand Rapids opened the season with an upset victory. This time it was senior shortstop Kyler Miller who delivered an RBI double in the top of the fifth inning that gave the Thunderhawks (17-8) a two-run advantage and the insurance run needed to upend the Cougars (20-6). Senior catcher Jacob Garski had two doubles and an RBI two batters prior to Miller in the fifth. Senior pitcher Easton Sjostrand went the distance for Grand Rapids, scattering seven hits and striking out eight. Mankato East tied the score at 2-all in the bottom of the third with an RBI single from junior first baseman Owen Studtman. 
• No. 3 Mahtomedi 8, Northfield 1: Senior shortstop Joshua Donna hit a two-run homer and senior designated hitter Jack Erickson later followed with a two-run double during a seven-run second inning that paved the way for the Zephyrs (21-4). Erickson had three hits on the day and senior catcher Austin Felling added two. Senior Austin Koep had an RBI double for the Raiders (14-10).
• No. 1 Benilde-St. Margaret’s 6, St. Thomas Academy 5: The top-seeded Red Knights were two outs away from playing in the consolation round before digging deep in a stunning come-from-behind victory. Senior first baseman Charles Gearen had an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, and one batter later, senior shortstop Jack Anderson delivered a two-run single to complete a three-run rally that sends the Red Knights (21-3) to the semifinals. St. Thomas Academy (12-13), which lost to Benilde-St. Margaret’s 10-6 on April 20 produced three runs on two hits. 
• No. 4 Totino-Grace 4, No. 5 Little Falls 0: Senior first baseman Matthew Galatzer hit a home run to center field in the fourth inning, and an inning later, added another RBI to spur Totino-Grace (17-8) past Little Falls (18-7) in the final game of the day at Chaska Athletic Park. The Eagles doubled the lead in the sixth inning with a bases-loaded walk and then a wild pitch. 

Class AAAA

• Forest Lake 1, No. 2 Farmington 0: Senior left fielder Nolan Dumonceau hit an RBI double in the top of the third inning to lead Forest Lake to an upset victory over Farmington at CHS Field in downtown St. Paul. Senior Kennan Bjork blanked the Tigers (23-4), giving up five hits and striking out six as the Rangers (14-11) continued their late-season surge with their seventh consecutive victory.  
• No. 3 East Ridge 7, Eastview 1: Senior shortstop Luke Skinner had a two-run home run to right field in the sixth inning to punctuate East Ridge’s quarterfinal victory at CHS Field. Senior second baseman Colton Widen had a double in the second inning and junior shortstop Luke Ryerse had an RBI triple in the first for the defending Class AAAA champions (19-6).  
• No. 1 Wayzata 6, St. Cloud 5: The top-seeded Trojans (25-0) scored a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to erase a deficit and sidestep a potential upset with a victory over St. Cloud, a co-op of St. Cloud Apollo and St. Cloud Tech high schools. Senior third baseman Tyler Gullickson, senior second baseman James Hansen and sophomore center fielder Kieran Leatherman all had two RBIs. 
• No. 5 Mounds View 11, No. 4 Minnetonka 1: Senior first baseman Tyler Guerin belted a grand slam to right field in the third inning to power the Mustangs (19-8) past the Skippers (17-8) in the final game of the day at CHS Field.