Saturday's the big day, no wait, it's a HUGE day for the Elrosa Saints as they prepare for Region 15C winner's bracket final - State Trip on the line!

The Elrosa Saints face St.Martin in the Region 15C winner's bracket final on Saturday at High Noon in Spring Hill. At state is a trip to the 2009 State Amateur baseball tournament, which begins August 23 in Gaylord/Arlington.

This game is HUGE baseball fans! Nothing short of baling hay should keep you from attending this game. And if you aren't buried under 50+ acres of hay to bale, then take two hours or so out of your schedule and get over to the Spring Hill ball diamond this Saturday! Amateur baseball (or town team baseball, whatever you want to call it) is quite special, and with the final weekend of region baseball coming up for our area, everyone needs to come out and support the teams still alive in the tournament. The crack of the wood bats, the smell of hamburgers in the background, and the roar of the big crowds that gather at regionals are just a few of the "little things" that add up to what would be a very memorable experience for you and your family. Don't miss out on it!

Elrosa has had a good run of post-season baseball this decade, having played in the Amateur State Tournament in 2002, 2003, and 2006. They look to stamp "2009" as a year they made it to state as well!

They need one more win, though, to make that happen, and a huge crowd of crazed amateur baseball fans cheering them on will go a long ways to making it happen.

Their opponent, St.Martin, has advanced to the state tournament for three years straight, and four out of the past five - 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Results and schedule info can also be found here at the Spring Hill team website: Region 15C matchups

Last weekend, the Elrosa Saints put on impressive shows for area baseball fans at the opening rounds of Region 15C baseball.

In each of the games, their draft picks paid off. Against Norway Lake-Sunburg on Saturday, Meire Grove ace Matt Imdieke, who entered the tournament with a 6-1 record against Stearns County League opponents, gave up only two runs to a strong-hitting Lakers team, then held them to one hit in the extra innings of play as the Saints won 5-4 in 12 innings.

The biggest key to Imdieke's performance, besides obviously getting the win, was that it preserved the arm of Ethan Vogt for Sunday.

Last Sunday brought New Munich to the opponent dugout for Elrosa at Spring Hill. It was one of those games where you would think it could go either way, especially considering New Munich could use its loss in the SCL-North division championship (4-3 in 10 innings) as extra motivation. The funny thing about that is, you don't need "extra" motivation at regions. It's game on, all the time, from all teams who made the six-team field.

Ethan went all nine innings on the mound, throwing 105 pitches and holding the high-powered Silverstreaks team to two hits in a shutout 3-0 win for Elrosa. Catcher Nate Terresm, drafted out of Spring Hill, went 2-for-4 at the plate as a key part of Elrosa's offensive punch. His RBI-double in the first inning ended up being the game-winning run.

A final note, I have to give credit to my fellow sports reporter, Herman Lensing, for his summary on all six teams that entered Region 15C competition. The link to find this is here, click to go to that page: Melrose Beacon Sports-Region 15C baseball This is of the Melrose Beacon newspaper.

Time to call it a night, more will be added on Friday.

This Elrosa Saints/Region 15C baseball update brought to you by:

Bayer Built Woodwork's website: Bayer Built Woodworks, Inc.