National Highlight Reel: Burnsville wins baseball title with incredible rally

It was one of the most incredible comebacks in the history of Minnesota high school baseball.

Burnsville (Minn.) trailed Maple Grove (Minn.), 5-0, in the seventh and final inning of the Class AAA state championship game at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, in Minneapolis.

The game had been scoreless until Maple Grove scored five times – aided by two errors – in the fifth inning.

Burnsville coach Mick Scholl watched his players hit three hard shots in the sixth inning, but each one only resulted in an out. The baseball gods seemed to again be turning thumbs down to last year's state runner-up.



Bottom of the seventh inning. Last chance. One good omen: the rain, which had been coming down fairly hard since the third inning in 54-degree weather, had slowed to a mist.

Six-foot junior designated hitter Bo Hellquist led off with some extra determination, because he had been soundly chewed out for not running hard on a fourth-inning popup to the shortstop.

"Normally, I don't yell, but the kids know it's very meaningful when I do," Scholl pointed out.

"I was pretty nervous," Hellquist admitted. "You want to prove to your coach that your head still is in the game and you're not slacking off. I knew we had to do something miraculous."

He did his part by hitting a single up the middle. More hits followed and the score closed to 5-4 with two outs. He again came to the plate, this time facing enormous pressure as he ran the count to 2-2. Down to the final bullet.

"I knew the game rested on my shoulders," he said. "Whatever I did would make or break our season. I hit the ball down the first base line. The first baseman dove for it and it just went under his glove. Everything is a blur from then."



Two runs scored (he was credited with a long single) for an astonishing 6-5 victory and Burnsville's first state baseball title. The Blaze finished with a 24-3 record.

"It felt great," Hellquist said. "It just showed that our team could overcome any deficit. I was feeling a little down in the dumps, but I feel I redeemed myself. At Target Field makes it even more memorable, because you played where pro athletes play and where you'd like to play in the future. It's a story I'll never forget. I still get chills every time I watch a replay of it."

Scholl admitted some surprise that Hellquist played such a key role.

He confessed, "Nobody expected Bo would be this kind of player. He's a character – life is pretty easy. He has a loose personality, always joking around. Sometimes he frustrates me, but between the lines he's all business."

Scholl said due to last year's near miss that this year's motto had been "Unfinished Business."

As Burnsville fans stormed the field to celebrate, T-shirts were passed out emblazoned with the prophetic words "Business Finished."



* Texas overcame a nine-run deficit to nip Georgia, 16-10, during the championship game of the second annual Heartland Classic in Norman, Okla. Catcher Hunter Lockwood, who is committed to the University of Oklahoma, drove in four runs for the 8-0 champs. Georgia's Jerad Curry hit five home runs during the tournament.

* Babe Ruth won the Tournament of Stars championship for the third year in a row with a 3-2 victory over AABC at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Daniel Robertson led the champs with four hits and doubled in the winning run.

* Chip O'Neil has retired as head baseball coach at Clay (South Bend, Ind.). He compiled a 545-352-6 record during 33 years at Clay and St. Joseph's (South Bend, Ind.).

BOYS BASKETBALL: MILLIONAIRE TO COACH TWO TEAMS
Millionaire Jim Justice has been named boys basketball coach at Greenbrier East (Lewisburg, W. Va.). Justice, who owns the Greenbrier Resort, also will be coaching the girls team for the 12th year, making him the only West Virginia coach at the AAA level to handle both teams.

* Coach Gary Trousdale has left Class 2A state champion Westwind Prep Academy (Phoenix) to build a program in the La Jolla (Calif.) area.

* Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.) defeated Chatsworth (Calif.), 69-56, to win the 16th annual War on the Floor Tournament at Pierce College. Sophomore Ajon Efferson scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures.



* Purdue University recruit Basil Smotherman has transferred from Heritage Christian (Indianapolis) to Lawrence North (Indianapolis). The 6-5, 190-pounder is among Indiana's elite rising juniors.

* Hope Academy (Chicago) rising junior guard Jalen James has committed to the University of Illinois, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-3 standout averaged 16 points and nine assists.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: A&M GETTING TOP RECRUITS
This year's national championship continues to pay dividends for the Texas A&M women's basketball program, according to the Dallas Morning News. The Aggies have commitments from at least four of the nation's top 50 rising seniors. The latest is 5-6 point guard Jordan Jones, who averaged 14.5 points and 6.3 assists as a junior at DeSoto (Texas). Baylor and Tennessee also wanted her.

* Alex Hillyer, a 6-3 rising senior, has committed to Missouri State, according to the Springfield News-Leader. She averaged 20.2 points, 10 rebounds and 3.4 blocks last season for Eureka (Mo.).

* Jackie Boswell has been named head coach at Stevenson University. Over the past 11 years she led highly-regarded Seton Keough (Baltimore) to a 238-81 record. She also was the softball coach and athletic director.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}TRACK: ALLGOOD SETS NATIONAL JAVELIN RECORD
Avionne Allgood set a national record when she threw the javelin 176 feet, 8 inches during the USATF Junior Nationals in Eugene, Ore. The rising senior from Legacy (North Las Vegas) erased the previous record of 176-5 set in 2005 by Rachel Yurkovich of Newberg, Ore.



* Loyola (Los Angeles) won the boys title with 8,173.24 points during the second annual Nike Track Nationals, which also were held in Eugene, Ore. The girls title went to Chandler (Ariz.) with 8,096.71 points. Barlow (Gresham, Ore.) star Ryan Crouser broke his own Oregon state shot put record with a toss of 72 feet, 7 ¾ inches.
 
FOOTBALL: LEGENDARY RAY SEALS RETIRES
Ray Seals has retired at age 67 following 46 years as a high school football coach. During his career, including the last 23 years at Madison (Houston), he compiled a 212-96 record. He was named NFL High School Coach of the Year in 2008 and won the first annual Don Shula NFL Coach of the Year Award in February.

* One of the nation's top kickers, Marshall Morgan, is transferring from Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) to American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), according to the Sun-Sentinel. The 6-3, 195-pound University of Georgia recruit drilled 15 of 16 field goal attempts as a junior, with a long of 53, and punted for a 44-yard average. Several other players reportedly are making a similar move, because head coach John Timmons stepped down.

* The Sun-Sentinel also reports that the University of Miami has commitments from a pair of standout rising seniors: lineman Jelani Hamilton (6-5, 250) from St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and wide receiver D'mauri Jones from Leesburg (Fla.). Last year Jones had 40 catches for 544 yards and 12 touchdowns. Hamilton is the No. 77-ranked player in the country by CBS/MaxPreps recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

* Curie (Chicago) rising senior quarterback Maurice Fleming has chosen the University of Iowa, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The 6-0, 180-pounder accounted for more than 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns as a junior.

* The Dallas Morning News reports that Guyer (Denton, Texas) wide receiver Conner Crane plans to attend Stanford University. No. 1 in his class academically, the 6-4 standout used his 4.5 speed (for 40 yards) to catch 38 passes for 956 yards (25.2 average) and 12 touchdowns as a junior.

* Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) rising senior kicker Ross Martin has committed to Duke University, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The 5-9, 180-pounder has made his last 44 extra-point kicks and carries a 3.94 GPA.



* According to the Charlotte News & Observer, Olympic (Charlotte, N.C.) rising senior Cason Beatty (6-3, 225) has committed to Florida State University. Last year he passed for more than 800 yards and punted for a 43.5 average with four soaring more than 60 yards.

* Texas Tech University has received a commitment from Argyle (Texas) rising senior Trey Keenan, a 6-7, 270-pound tackle, according to the Dallas Morning News. As a junior he had 42 pancake blocks and a 93-percent blocking efficiency.

VOLLEYBALL: BURGESS CHOOSES STANFORD
Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.) rising senior outside hitter Jordan Burgess has made a commitment to Stanford University, according to the Tampa Tribune. The 6-0 Burgess amassed 540 kills, 318 digs, 51 blocks and 37 aces while leading her team to a 30-2 record and its second consecutive Class 3A state title. She also was named PrepVolleyball.com National Junior of the year and Gatorade Florida Player of the Year.

* St. John's (Washington, D.C.) rising senior Darian Dozier has chosen the University of South Carolina over the University of Southern California, according to the Washington Post. The 6-1 outside hitter had 331 kills and 399 digs as a junior.

* Munciana Samurai (Muncie, Ind.) defeated Sports Performance 18 Elite (Aurora, Ill.), 25-23, 25-22, to win the 38th AAU Junior Nationals in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The 18-under champs were led by MVP Morgan Bergren, a rising senior setter who has committed to the University of Kentucky. Sky High 17 Black (Crystal Lake, Ill.) won the 17-under title, while First Alliance 16 Silver (Chicago, Ill.) won the 16-under crown.

POTPOURRI
* Cinco Ranch (Katy, Texas) rising sophomore Connor Black shot 1-over-par 285 to win the prestigious Western junior at the Beverly Country Club in Chicago, Ill. Hunter Kraus of Germantown (Tenn.) was two strokes back.



* Paige Lowary, a freshman from Dallas Center-Grimes (Dallas Center, Iowa), pitched five no-hit softball games from June 13-20, according to John Naughton of the Des Moines Register. Lowary reportedly throws a blazing 70 mph. She's getting plenty of good training from coach Steve Schlafke, who recently recorded his 1,000th career victory.