The 2010 baseball season has come down to the final section games. Here is a look at the teams and players that have made news heading through the postseason.
File photo by Greg Smith
Jacob Beres, Stillwater
Burnsville best in Section 1AA
Maybe it was the tough Lake Conference grind. Maybe it was peaking at the right time. Whatever it was, it worked, and the Burnsville Blaze baseball team is headed to the state tournament after defeating Eagan 10-1 Wednesday in the finals of the Section 3AA baseball playoffs.
The Blaze finished tied for second in the Lake Conference at 12-4 this season, tied with Eagan and Eastview, but took things to another level in the postseason. The Blaze's offense exploded in section play. After squeaking out a 6-5 win over Park Cottage Grove in the playoff opener, the Blaze scored nine, nine and 10 runs in wins over Eastview and two over Eagan.
In the win Wednesday a number of players continued strong seasons. Jacob Threlkeld had three hits, including a double, and two home runs and two RBI, along with two runs scored. Justin Threlkeld had two hits, including a triple, an RBI and two runs scored. Tom Sherman had two hits (one home run, three RBI) and Billy VerMeer had two hits and an RBI in the win. The winning pitcher was Brandon Peterson, who held Eagan to four hits in the win.
Burnsville jumped on Eagan quickly, scoring eight runs in the first two innings. On May 25, Burnsville defeated Eagan 6-5, but on April 29 the Blaze defeated Eagan 12-2.
Mayo defeats Owatonna in Section 1AAA
As previously stated in this MaxPreps column, Section 1AA was going to be tough this year. And it lived up to the billing. On Wednesday, Mayo (Rochester) used big hits in the third, fourth and sixth innings to defeat top seed Owatonna 5-4 to advance to the state tournament. The Spartans will take on top-ranked Eden Prairie on June 17 at Midway Stadium in St. Paul. This is the first state title for Mayo since 2001.
Owatonna jumped out to a 4-2 lead behind a three-run home run from Quin Christenson. But clutch hitting in the later innings, and some buckle-down defense, helped the Spartans pull out the win. Steve Serratore and Matt Stubbs doubled for Mayo. Lance Dozier, Tyler Essig, Derek McMasters and Kyle VanWettering all made key plays to help the Spartans come back. Ben O'Reilly earned the win and Rannon Arch the save for Mayo. Arch also had a key sacrifice fly to score a run in the third inning. Rochester enters the state tournament with a 16-8 record.
Stillwater Ponies prevail in 4AAA
Stillwater, the 2010 Suburban East Conference champions, came through the losers bracket to win the 4AAA title. After a convincing 14-2 win over Roseville Tuesday, followed by a 4-1 win over Cretin-Derham Hall, it set up a winner-take-all section final game. In that game, Stillwater won again, 5-1. In that win against Roseville, Eric Bradley belted a home run and Jeremy Gillard had three hits, three RBI and two runs scored.
Stillwater defeated powerful Cretin all four times they played this season.
Season ends for Irondale's Colwell
Anytime you looked at individual batting stats this year, there was always one name near the top:
Tim Colwell of Irondale.
Colwell's season ended Wednesday when Irondale lost to Coon Rapids 3-2 in the Class 3A, Section 5 final. Coon Rapids defeated Irondale twice to earn the trip to state. Prior to the final game, Irondale defeated Coon Rapids 11-4, led by Colwell's two triples and five RBI. Colwell was batting .558 heading into the postseason with 37 runs scored.
State Tournament at Target Field
The 2010 Class A, AA and AAA championship games will be played at the new Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, in downtown Minneapolis, on June 19.