Minnesota: Spring Postseason Arrives

By Matt Krumrie

MaxPreps.com

The 2008 spring high school sports season is coming to a conclusion. Playoffs have started in some sports, and the boys and girls state lacrosse tournament is taking place this week.

It was just over a month ago that most Minnesota teams were practicing indoors, and wondering if the season would ever get started. Now, another season is coming to a conclusion.

Here is a look at some highlights, stats and newsmakers across the state:

Baseball

Eastview, the top-ranked team in the state in the MaxPreps.com rankings, lost its chance to win the Lake Conference outright when it lost to Lakeville North 15-5 Monday. Both teams finished 14-4 to share the conference crown. Lakeville scored 10 runs in the first inning and Eastview was never able to recover. Nick Johnson led North with three hits, including a double and a triple, and five RBI, while Nick Judkins had two hits, three RBI and scored four runs. Eastviews’s offense came from Erik Fabry’s three-run homer, but the first inning woes were too much for the top-ranked Lighting to handle. Lakeville North is ranked third in the state in the latest MaxPreps.com rankings.

Rochester John Marshall won the Big Nine conference by sweeping a doubleheader against Albert Lea this week. JM won 12-7 and 17-2 to finish 16-2 in the conference and 18-2 overall. Brian Ness had a home run, three hits and three RBI in the opening game win and Brian Anderson went 4-for-6 with six RBI in the two games to pace JM.

MaxPreps.com Baseball Top Five

1. Eastview
2. Tartan
3. Lakeville North
4. Grand Rapids
5. Apple Valley

Golf

Boys: Chaska (AAA) and Detroit Lakes (AA-A) ended the season ranked No. 1 in the state, while Beau Anderson (Park of Cottage Grove) was ranked first individually in AAA, Ben Berquist of Detroit Lakes first in AA and Tyler Champ of Meadow Creek Christian first in A.

Girls: Rosemount (AAA) and Minnewaska Area (AA-A) were the top-ranked teams in the final state rankings. Top individuals were Becca Swords of Rosemount in AAA, and Sarah Roering of Minnewaska in AA.

Lacrosse

Girls: The 2007 girls lacrosse state championship game will have a familiar feel and look. That’s because top-ranked and four-time defending state champion Eden Prairie will face Blake, the 2007 state runner-up, in Thursday’s state title game. The Eagles improved to 16-0 on the season with a 19-6 win over Totino-Grace in the state semifinals Tuesday at Hopkins High School, while Blake improved to 14-1 with a 7-2 win over Bloomington Kennedy. Eden Prairie and Blake square off for the state title Thursday at 8 p.m. Totino-Grace and Kennedy play each other in the third-place game Thursday at 6 p.m.

Makenna Borg scored seven goals for Eden Prairie in the win, while Emily Sherlock had two goals and eight assists in the win. For Blake, Michelle Tremblay scored five goals in the win.

Boys: The 2008 boys lacrosse state tournament opens Wednesday night at Hopkins. White Bear Lake (12-0) plays Blake (15-0) and Eden Prairie (11-3) plays Eastview (13-1) in the other semi-final.

Softball

The playoffs have started around the state. Winning conference championships among Twin Cities-area schools were (school/conference) - Richfield (Classic Suburban), Hopkins (Classic Lake), Eagan (Lake), Southwest (Minneapolis City), Prior Lake (Missota), Benilde-St. Margaret’s (North Suburban), Osseo (Northwest Suburban), Como Park (St. Paul City), Park of Cottage Grove (Suburban East), Minnehaha Academy and St. Anthony (Tri-Metro).

Tennis

Wayzata won the 2A section title with a 5-2 win over Eden Prairie. Justin Haig of Eden Prairie defeated Wayzata’s Markus Langley 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) in No. 1 singles, but the Trojans won five of the remaining six matches to earn the win.

In Section 3A, Sibley will face Eagan for the section title, and in Section 5, Coon Rapids will face Mounds View for a trip to the state tournament.

Track and Field

Boys: The State True Team Meet was held last week, with St. Croix Lutheran repeating as 1A state champs,  New Prague squeaking out the title in 2A, and Eden Prairie winning in 3A. St. Croix Lutheran, located in West Saint Paul, won with 450.5 points, well ahead of runner-up Fillmore Central/Lanesboro (393 points). LeSueur-Henderson finished third with 367 points.

Tate Plath was among the leaders for SCL. He won the 800 (2:03.94) and 1,600 (4:39.11) to help the Crusaders win their second True Team title since 2005. Teammate Matt Dvorak finished second in the 100 meters (11.15), third in the 200 (23.14) and was the anchor on the Crusaders’ 4x100 winning relay team.

New Prague needed every point they could muster to win the 2A title with 390.5 points, just ahead of the 390 points accumulated by Fridley. New Prague’s Drew Feuk won the 110 hurdles and pole vault, and Tony Johnson won the high jump and long jump to lead the Trojans.

Eden Prairie won the 3A title with 811 points, just ahead of runner-up Mounds View (805.5). Roseville was third with 722 points. Eden Prairie was led by first-place finishes from Robert Gunderson (110 meter hurdles, 15.12), Rumeal Harris (triple jump, 43-08.50), Joshua Hendricks, (pole vault, 13 feet),  Max Pryor, (shot put, 51-08.25) and the first-place 4x800 meter relay team.

Girls: Luverne won the 1A state title with 440 points, ahead of Blue Earth (410) and Esko (407.5). Luverne got wins in the 400 from Paige Nath (61.49), 300 (Katlyn Sawtelle, 47.02), pole vault (Katlyn Sawtelle, 10 feet), and shot put (Callan Sawtelle, 37-09.50).

Totino Grace, paced by it’s first-place finishing 4x100 team, won the girls 2A True Team title with 433.5 points. New Prague was second with 423 points.

In 3A, Eastview won the title with 844.50 points, ahead of Mounds View (839) and Roseville (760.50). Eastview’s 4x200 meter relay team finished first (1:43.14) as did Alex Brown (400, 57.95), and McKenzie Melander, (3200 meter run, 11:40.09).

Inside the Numbers

.620 – Batting average of Como Park’s Jackie Dooley – tops in the metro this spring during the regular season.

92 – Strikeouts for Tim O’Keefe of DeLaSalle, tops in the state. O’Keefe was 7-1 on the season.

76.9 – Average 18-hole score for Minnewaska Area golfer Sarah Roering, tops in class AA.

28 –  Strikeouts for Osseo pitcher Becca Girvan in a 14-inning, 1-0 win over St. Michael-Albertville in a 3A, Section 5 playoff win for the Orioles.

5 – Goals scored by Totino-Grace’s Anna Eidem in a girls lacrosse state semifinal game against Eden Prairie. She also added an assist.

5 – Lake Conference teams ranked in the top 10 in the state in the latest MaxPreps.com rankings (1. Eastview, 3. Lakeville North, 5. Apple Valley, 8. Chaska, 10. Eden Prairie).

3.9 -  Grade point average of O’Keefe, who is heading to Boston College next season.

3 – Events won by Breckenridge-Campbell-Tintah's Casey Lipp at the 2008 Boys True Team state track meet. Lipp was the only participant to win three events. Lipp won the long, high and triple jump.

2 – Years the Minnesota State High School League has sanctioned a state tournament for boys and girls lacrosse.