Baseball State Tournament 2022: Day 2 Recap

Baseball championship matchups are set in three of the four enrollment classes when the Prep Championship Series is played on Friday, June 17, 2022 at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.

Here is a look at the championship pairings on Friday after Wednesday’s semifinals that were played in various stages of unstable weather:

Class A

Hayfield vs. Randolph, 10 a.m.

Class AA

Fairmont vs. Roseau, 1 p.m.

Class AAA

Mankato West vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 4 p.m.

Class AAAA

TBA

The Class AAAA semifinals were suspended because of weather at CHS Field in downtown St. Paul. The first semifinal between Maple Grove and Farmington will resume on Thursday, June 16 at noon. Play was halted in the top of the second inning with Maple Grove batting in a scoreless game. The second semifinal between Stillwater and Chanhassen will follow the completion of the first semifinal.

Here is a look at the rest of the classes on Day 2 of the state tournament:

Class A

Hayfield 6, Sacred Heart 0

Top-seeded Hayfield took another step toward what it hopes will be a successful defense of its Class A championship with a 6-0 victory over Sacred Heart at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud. Senior pitcher Nate Fritcher threw a one-hitter while striking out 13 batters in leading the Vikings (24-2). Fritcher had two RBIs to support his cause and sophomore first baseman Zander Jacobson had two hits and two RBIs. Senior centerfielder Colin Rohrich had the lone hit for the Eagles (22-4).

Randolph 4, New York Mills 3

Randolph, the No. 2 seed in the Class A field, completed the championship pairing following a 4-3 victory over No. 3 New York Mills at Joe Faber Field. The Rockets (23-1) used a four-run fifth inning to erase a three-run deficit and earn a championship opportunity for the first time in three state tournament appearances. Randolph constructed its game-deciding inning behind three hits and a New York Mills error. Those three hits were it for the Rockets against two New York Mills (23-4) pitchers that combined for nine strikeouts. Two Randolph pitchers also surrendered just three hits and struck out seven. 

Third place

New York Mills 9, Sacred Heart 8

Catcher Bode Roberts hit a two-out RBI single to snap a tie and send New York Mills to a 9-8 victory over Sacred Hart at Joe Faber Field. It was his second RBI of the game and joined teammates Jacob Guck and Breck Hensch, who also had two RBIs each. Montgomery Briard was 3 for 4 with two runs scored for the Eagles (24-4). Third baseman Ethan Arntson was 3 for 4 with three RBIs for Sacred Heart (22-5).

Class AA

Farimont 7, Rochester Lourdes 2

Top-seeded Farimont earned a berth in a baseball state championship game for the fourth time in program history with a 7-2 victory over Rochester Lourdes at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. Junior third baseman Jack Kosab was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and junior pitcher Eli Anderson was 2 for 3 with two triples for the Cardinals (26-3). Fairmont has been the Class AA runner-up in its past two championship games appearance. In 2014, the Cardinals were the Class AA runner-up to St. Cloud Cathedral and in 1993, they finished second to Greenway (Coleraine). In 1975, Fairmont lost to Bloomington Kennedy in the final season of a single-class champion. On the mound on Wednesday, Anderson gave up six hits and struck out five in going the distance. Senior first baseman Brendan Davick had two RBIs for the Eagles (19-5).

Roseau 8, St. Agnes 1

Unseeded Roseau made its way into a baseball championship game for the first time with an 8-1 victory over St. Agnes at Dick Putz Field. The Rams (19-6), the Section 8AA champion, scored four runs in the third inning to build a 6-0 lead. The spree began with an RBI bunt from right fielder Gavin Jensen. Pitcher Aaron Wensloff was 4 for 4 with three RBIs on two doubles for the Rams. On the mound, Wensloff gave up five hits to St. Agnes (22-5) and struck out five.  Catcher Isaac Schmidt was 2 or 3 for the Aggies.  

Third place

Rochester Lourdes 11, St. Agnes 9

Designated hitter Joe Sperry and third baseman Nicholas Bowron had three RBIs each to help power Rochester Lourdes to an 11-9 victory over St. Agnes for the third-place trophy. Leftfielder Seth Haight contributed to RBIs for the Eagles (20-5). Rightfielder John Patros was 3 for 5 with three runs scored for the Aggies (22-6).

Class AAA

Mankato West 3, Alexandria 2

Top-seeded Mankato West survived a scare for the second consecutive game before rallying for a 3-2 victory over No. 5 Alexandria in the Class AAA semifinals at Chaska Athletic Park. The Scarlets (25-1) gave up two runs in the top of the first inning and then shut down the Cardinals (20-7) behind seven shutout innings from junior senior relief pitcher Tanner Shumski to earn a berth in a baseball championship game for the first time in program history. Mankato West, which went down to its final out before defeating St. Francis 1-0 in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, score a run in the fourth inning and two unearned runs in the fifth inning to climb over the Cardinals. Over seven innings in the semifinals, Shumski gave up two hits while striking out seven. Senior pitcher Alexander Dittberner, who was unable to record an out in the top of the first inning, had three hits for the Scarlets. Junior pitcher Jaxon Schoenrock had a run batted in for the Cardinals.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s 10, Grand Rapids 8

Benilde-St. Margaret’s scored six runs over the fifth and sixth innings to rally twice in posting a 10-8 victory over Grand Rapids in the second semifinal at Chaska Athletic Park. Senior rightfielder Tomas Lee was 2 for 3 with four RBIs, including one in the decisive sixth inning when the Red Knights (23-3) scored three runs to surge past the Thunderhawks and into the Class AAA championship game for the second time since 2019. In that title-game matchup, the Red Knights finished as the runner-up to St. Thomas Academy. Junior centerfielder Easton Breyfogle had two RBIs, both coming in the second inning when Benilde-St. Margaret’s built a 4-0 lead. But Grand Rapids, the Class AAA runner-up in 2021, had two rallies as well. The Thunderhawks (17-7) had a six-run third inning, keyed by a bases clearing double down the left field line by second baseman Klous Jones that gave Grand Rapids a 6-4 lead. But the Red Knights chipped away with three in the bottom of the fifth for a 7-6 advantage. Not to be deterred, the Thunderhawks responded with two in the top of the six to regain the lead. That set the stage for the Red Knights’ final surge in the sixth.

Third place

Alexandria Area 13, Grand Rapids 3

Alexandria bounced back from its narrow defeat to top-seeded Mankato West to record a 13-3 victory over Grand Rapids in six innings. The Cardinals (21-7) finished their season with a victory after scoring six runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game. Alexandria scored those decisive six runs on five hits and an error. Will Suchy had a two-run double in the inning. Leftfielder Caleb Runge had a home run and two RBIs for Alexandria. Leftfielder Daniel Wolters of Grand Rapids (17-8) provided a highlight with a home run to left field and a broad smile as he rounded the bases.