It comes fast and furious – the end of the regular season and start of postseason high school baseball in the state of Minnesota. Let’s get right into the action and look at the heroes and highlights of some opening-round games:
City Conference champ Central wins opener
St. Paul Central emerged as the St. Paul City Conference champion this spring, going 8-3 in conference action and 11-7 overall. The Minutemen didn’t waste any time extending the season in the Class 4AA playoffs either. Central opened with a 14-4 six-inning win over Concordia Academy on Thursday.
Central’s Colin Goligoski was 3 for 3 with two home runs, a triple and 6 RBI in the game. Both of these home runs were two-run shots. Junior pitcher Brandon Percell started the game and earned the win.
Two other City Conference teams opened up against each other as Highland Park (St. Paul), the City Conference runner-up, defeated Como Park 8-0. Tommy Paulson pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout for the Scots. He struck out seven and was also stellar at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI. Teammate Mitch Sellers was 3 for 4 with a double, two runs and an RBI in the win.
First-ever playoff win for East Ridge
That headline may be misleading, but it’s a fact. East Ridge (Woodbury) won its first-ever baseball playoff game with a 9-1 win over district rival Woodbury. To be fair – it was the first playoff game ever for the new school that is home to students from Woodbury, Cottage Grove and surrounding communities. Many of these players played together in summer ball and/or on school teams before the new school opened this year. Jack Leiviska had four hits, including a double and three RBI in the win Thursday, while pitcher Mitch Luebbe gave up one earned run and struck out seven in the complete-game win.
These two teams both finished 9-9 in the Suburban East conference and split the season series with Woodbury winning 12-9 on April 12 and East Ridge winning 4-0 on May 3. East Ridge will now play Stillwater – a team it lost twice to during the regular season, Tuesday in the next round.
St. Agnes scores 23 first-inning runs
That’s right, St. Agnes (St. Paul) scored 23 runs in a win over Humboldt on Thursday – in the first inning. The Aggies had 16 hits and sent 28 batters to the plate in that inning on its way to a 29-4 win over Humboldt in Class 3A, Section 4 action.
Slow start, strong finish for St. Louis Park
Early-season struggles took a toll on the St. Louis Park baseball team. The Orioles were playing a lot like the professional counterparts in Baltimore – not well. They lost four of their first five games and were struggling. But that start is now a distant memory for the high school Orioles (not so much for the professional Orioles), who won six straight heading into the Class 2A, Section 4 playoffs, closing out a respectable 14-6 season and a second-place finish in the North Suburban Conference – one game out of first place.
That success continued Thursday when the Orioles opened playoff action with a 15-10 win over Edina. The tandem of Mark Bearmon and Derrick Keller played a key role in the offensive explosion. Bearmon had a single, double, triple, three RBI and two runs scored while Keller had two singles, a double, a home run, four RBI and three runs scored.
The Orioles will now face Benilde-St. Margaret’s in second-round action Tuesday. Will the strong finish continue?
Owatonna looking to claim Section 1AA crown
The Section 1AAA baseball playoffs are always fun to watch and this year is no exception. With single-elimination, anything can happen – especially this year. Action kicks off on Saturday with top-seeded Owatonna (14-6) – the defending section champs – the slight favorite based on seeding. But Albert Lea (14-6), Rochester Mayo (12-8) and Rochester John Marshall (10-10) are among the teams looking for the upset and trip to the state tournament.
In previous years the tournament was double-elimination, but the double-elimination doesn’t take place this year into the final four of the tournament, which will be played in Red Wing at Red Wing Stadium. Owatonna emerged as the top seed after winning its first Big Nine title since 1988.
MaxPreps leaderboard
Strikeouts
Carlton Littlejohn, Minneapolis North – 94
Nick Maiers, St. Cloud Cathedral – 86
Miles Campbell, Holy Family – 81
Graig Weber, Fridley – 73
Jaron Christenson, Montgomery-Lonsdale – 71
T.J. Larson, Prior Lake – 69
Nate Trelstad, Minneapolis South – 68
Josh Hanson, Marantha Christian Academy – 67
Ross Stein, Big Lake – 62
Bryan Schlangen, Albany - 62