Step II yields another shutout win! (VIDEOS)

Facing a considerably tougher opponent in their second game today in Morris, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team earned a back-to-back shutout win by defeating No. 2-seeded Upsala/Swanville Area 5-0 in the third round of the Sub-Section 6A-south tournament. Earlier today, the Jaguars dispatched No. 5-seeded Hancock 10-0 in five innings behind the stellar pitching of junior Luke Illies, who recorded nine strikeouts with just one walk and one hit.

The two wins launch the Jaguars into the Section 6A winner's bracket final, also the section semifinal game, for the second straight year. (**This game will be at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4 in Browerville.**)

In 2022, the Jaguars lost in the third round to Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg before grinding back through the elimination bracket to land a spot in the Section 6A finals for the second time in program history. They were then defeated 10-4 by New York Mills. Last season, the Jaguars got revenge on NYM with a 5-4 win over the Eagles in the winner's bracket final. Next came Parkers Prairie, who the Jaguars beat 4-2 in the Section 6A finals for the team's first-ever trip to the state tournament.

Here's a clip featuring the end of the top of the fourth inning today against the Patriots:


The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when the Jaguars plated two runs off of two hits. Brett DeRoo led off with an infield hit, and he was moved over on Kaden DeRoo's sacrifice bunt. Luke Dingmann followed with a single to left field. Ethan Mueller then crushed a deep ball to right field which resulted in a sacrifice fly that plated Brett DeRoo and Dingmann for the 2-0 lead.

And here's video from the bottom of the fourth today!


The tense game continued until the bottom of the sixth, when the Jaguars scored three more runs. Luke Illies hit an RBI-single to left field, and Owen Paulson followed that with a two run home run that sailed over the left field fence at a distance of over 330 feet.

**And here's a video featuring OP's two-run bomb!


Owen Paulson hung in there in the batter's box for over two minutes taking his swings. It was a perfect example of the tenacity of a great baseball player. The two runs were scored on two outs. Earlier, B-B-E's two runs in the fourth inning were technically scored on one out on a sacrifice fly, which was the second out of the inning.

Junior Ethan Mueller pitched a complete game, and the action ended in the top of the seventh after U/SA got two runners on but left both stranded on a harmless grounder to second. Mueller finished with 6 strikeouts, 2 walks and 4 hits (all singles). In addition to Paulson's home run, Ethan Mueller doubled, and singles were earned by Brett DeRoo, Luke Dingmann, Luke Illies, Ryan Jensen and Jack Lundberg.

NEXT! And this is BIG! the Jaguars (15-7) now face state-ranked Parkers Prairie next Tuesday, June 4 in the winner's bracket final. More details to follow after I review the bracket. What I'm reading at the MSHSL website is that the game will be played in Browerville. No time has been announced. UPDATE: the 6A winner's bracket final will be at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4 in Browerville. It appears that a second game could follow that day which represents the first game of the 6A championship series. I'll double check on that. For now, we know this: the big BIG game is at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4 in Browerville! Spread the word!!

In an elimination bracket game of Section 6A, Border West won 8-2 against Hancock. In the other 6A winner's bracket semifinal, Parkers Prairie blanked Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 6-0.

More to come (late) tonight. Video is uploading.

Area baseball playoff scores on May 31:
New London-Spicer 10, Minnewaska Area 4
Parkers Prairie 6, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0
Breckenridge 11, Brandon-Evansville 6

In the Section 6A fastpitch championship series, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley won the winner-take-all game by a 5-1 score against New York Mills. The NYM Eagles burned through the elimination bracket of the tournament before beating C-G-B 8-5 in the first game today at Holmberg Field in Morris. This is C-G-B's first state fastpitch tournament trip since the 2004 season. I learned that at least two current C-G-B players have moms who played on that 2004 squad. That's pretty cool!!

In amateur baseball news...
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team broke into the win column on Friday night by defeating Regal 4-0. The Saints out-hit the Eagles 9 to 4, with Jackson Peter and Gavin Kampsen each going 2-for-4. Riley Meyer got the win on the mound in 5 1/3 innings, firing six strikeouts with four walks and three hits. Wyatt Steffensen closed with 3 2/3 innings pitched while giving up just one hit with one walk and seven Ks. Next: the Saints host New Munich for a Stearns County League North clash on Sunday, June 2 at 1:30 p.m.

Step one is a success! Bring on the Patrots!

this The first step into the Sub-Section 6A-South tournament for the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team has been a success! Facing a young Hancock Owls squad at Chizek Field in Morris, the Jaguars jumped on the No. 5 seed early and made quick work of them in a 10-0 five inning win. This mirrors an earlier-season meeting between them where the Jaguars won 11-0 in five innings. Today's games will not be aired on Glenwood radio. Brady is preparing for the Minnewaska Area vs. New London-Spicer game in the Sub-Section 3AA-North tournament that starts later thif this gs afternoon at MAHS's Marthaler Field. The Lakers (16-2) are the top seed and had a first-round bye.

B-B-E (14-7) now moves into the winner's bracket of the Section 6A tournament with a head of steam as they've equaled the win total from a year ago. They play a second game today at Chizek Field that should start at about 2 p.m. Spread the word! They will take on the winner of the Upsala/Swanville Area vs. Border West game that was also played at 11 a.m. today in Morris.

More updates to follow here after 2 p.m. **Update: the second game was in the top of the second inning by 2 p.m., and the Jaguars are facing Upsala/Swanville Area. By the third inning, the score was 0-0. The No. 2-seeded Patriots (15-7) defeated No. 3-seeded Border West 5-1 earlier today, sending the Buccaneers to the elimination bracket.

More to come.

**We are through four innings, and the Jaguars are ahead 2-0 over the Patriots.

A new blog post will feature additional notes and the final score of this game.

Baseball Jaguars open postseason TOMORROW* (CHANGE)

Chizek Field in Morris will be the site of the opening rounds of the Sub-Section 6A-South tournament for the top-seeded B-B-E Jaguars baseball team. The Jaguars, 13-7 overall, begin with a second-round game against Hancock at 2:30 p.m. in Morris. Hancock won an opening-round game by a 7-4 score against Benson on Tuesday this week.

B-B-E looks to make the most of having a first-round bye, which is crucial in a double-elimination playoff format where pitch counts loom over many decisions made by coaching staffs! **The games will not be on the Glenwood radio station. although I expect the Morris radio station will carry the Hancock game. I'll try to find out that information and update this blog post today when I find out.

***UPDATE: the Hancock baseball playoff game will be played tomorrow (Friday, May 31) at 11:00 a.m. at the same location in Morris. Today, the area is receiving numerous scattered shots of rain with a threat of severe weather.

Here's a video from the postgame huddle with Coach Klaphake on May 17 after the Jaguars defeated Maple Lake:


The Hancock Owls have a 9-10 record after they defeated Benson. In the Little Eight Conference, they finished 4-6 to take fourth place. Border West won the LEC title with a 9-1 record. Tying for second place with 7-3 records were Brandon-Evansville and Ashby. Hancock started the season with a 4-0 record, but they struggled the rest of the way to playoffs.

A short web article was posted tonight to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website with basically the same information that's in this blog post. The web article has an attached video from the May 17 game against Maple Lake. It was recorded in the top of the fifth inning with the Jaguars at the plate. You can find that by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/vnQQH.

Area baseball playoff scores on May 30:
Montevideo 6, Paynesville Area 3
R-T-R 5, Yellow Medicine East 0
New Life Academy 11, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 9
Parkers Prairie 11, Brandon-Evansville 1

In the Section 3A fastpitch championship series...Wabasso continued its surge in the Section 3A playoffs by defeating Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 6-5 in the first game tonight in Marshall. It was the fifth straight playoff win for the Rabbits. The charm ran out, however, when they were belted by R-T-R in an 11-1 six-inning loss in a winner-take-all game. In the Section 3AA fastpitch championship tonight in Marshall, Dassel-Cokato won 2-0 against Jackson County Central to finish an undefeated run through their playoffs and advance to state.

Youth baseball camp coming to Elrosa on June 19
The Starz of Tomorrow Baseball Academy will be coming to Elrosa on Wednesday, June 19 at Saints Field. This is for baseball players age 13 and younger.
The Starz of Tomorrow Baseball Academy is operated by Pat Dolan with the St. Cloud State University baseball team. He has been head coach of the Huskies since June 2007. At SCSU, his teams compiled a record of 611-247-1. The 2024 season was his 29th year as a collegiate head baseball coach.
This year's Starz of Tomorrow Baseball Academy youth camp in Elrosa features a skills camp from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a game will be played from 2 to 3 p.m. Lunch is provided.
This will be the 35th year that Coach Dolan's baseball academy has done summer camps across Minnesota.
From his website, Coach Dolan said, "Come join the baseball FUN and learn the FUNdamentals of this great game with learning new baseball drills, drills, drills to in every area of the game to improve your baseball skills along with simulated baseball games and various contest and always finishing the day with a game!"
Each player will get a Starz of Tomorrow camp T-shirts and a baseball lunch. Awards will be given for MVP, MMS (Star!), Charlie Hustle, Mr. Defense and top hitter. Also included are contests that test arm speed and bat speed with their radar gun and running speed from home to first base along with Rambow "Grinder of the Day!", the Viking Coke "Powerade dirty, mustache throwing contest!", the Firehouse Sub "Strike Thrower of the Day!" and Bo Diddley's "Smile of the Day!"
The cost for B-B-E Jaguar players is just $75 or $50 by cash payment. Registration can be handled online at https://starzbaseballcamp.com/camps/detail.php?campid=178.

Graduation (VIDEO) Track and field season concludes at Section 5A

The Class of 2024 held their graduation ceremony last Friday at the high school gymnasium. I'll be spending a good portion of the next 3 to 4 days combing over my notes from the various speeches and getting a feature story ready for the June 6 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.

Here's another video featuring the seniors visiting with friends and family following graduation that night:


I have a mountain of sports notes to go over and get posted here tonight. They revolve around all four spring sports: golf, baseball, fastpitch and track and field. No rest for the restless!

Tomorrow, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team travels to Morris to open the Sub-Section 6A-South playoffs. They enjoyed a first-round bye and will take on No. 5-seeded Hancock at 2:30 p.m. at Chizek Field. On Tuesday this week, the Hancock Owls earned a mild upset with a 7-4 win at Benson in the quarterfinal round. The Owls are 9-10 overall. They finished 4-6 (fourth place) in the Little Eight Conference, which was won by Border West.

In boys' golf action at the Section 5A finals today in Willmar, eighth grader Walker Winter fired a 97 and fell out of contention for a state berth. Last week he shot an 84, and his score of 181 earned him 16th place overall. He will regroup with the returning members of the boys' golf team for the 2025 season, and I expect they will move up in the conference and section standings next year. Just today, while I was getting my daughter signed up on a youth membership at Prairie View Golf Course, I saw two members of the Class of 2029 heading out on the links. Coach Goodwin has said he expects the nucleus of the boys' golf team to be at the golf course frequently this summer. That's the only way you get better!

In track and field news...
Five members of the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams concluded their season at the Section 5A meet in Collegeville. Here's some results: Kameron Hiltner placed sixth in the 100 meter dash; Taylor Nelson placed sixth in the 1600 meter run and eighth in the 3200 meter run; Bree Thieschafer earned a personal record and took eighth in the long jump (15'6.75") and also 14th in the pole vault; Josh Walstrom placed 11th in the 400 meter dash; Grace Jackson competed in the pole vault, and Hiltner also competed in the long jump.

In fastpitch playoff news...
Nine-time defending Section 3A champion Edgerton/Southwest MN Christian was dethroned on Tuesday night this week after losing both the winner's bracket final (section semis) then the elimination bracket final. In the Section 3A semifinals against Russel-Tyler-Ruthton, the R-T-R Eagles won 5-1. Next came Wabasso, who stormed through the loser's bracket, who defeated the Flying Dutchmen's season with a commanding 10-4 win.

R-T-R, who split the regular season series with Edgerton/SW MN Christian, faces Wabasso on Thursday (May 30) in the Section 3A championship series in Marshall. If R-T-R wins the first game, they advance to state. If Wabasso wins the first game, a second game will be played right away in winner-take-all fashion. The R-T-R Knights are currently ranked No. 6 in the QRF standings, while Edgerton/SW MN Christian was No. 8. Wabasso is not far behind at No. 13.

Sub-Section 6A-South baseball playoff opener scores on May 28:
Border West 4, West Central Area 0
Hancock 7, Benson 4
Upsala/Swanville Area 2, Ortonville 0

Fastpitch playoffs (VIDEOS) and track/field updates (another video added)

Late Tuesday night...I just put the finishing touches on a 1,959-word fastpitch softball story for this week's newspaper. The newspaper as a whole is in jeopardy for this week, however, as the deadline is screaming at me louder than any deadline has in recent memory. It appears my graduation coverage is at risk and will be split up across this week and the June 6 issue. It is a sinking feeling as I'm realizing that my best effort is falling short this week.


Here's additional coverage from Marshall on Saturday...it seems like so long ago, but yet it's still fresh in my mind. The Sunday/Monday activities have been numerous since the drive home from Marshall on Saturday. The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team had a 1-1 showing in the elimination bracket of Section 3A on Saturday. They began with a thrilling 3-2 win against BOLD before falling 10-5 to Camden Conference co-champion Lac qui Parle Valley.

The Jaguars finished 10-13 overall, which marks the first time since the 2009 season when they earned double digit wins.

Here's a video from B-B-E's dugout in the postgame speech by an elated Coach Funk after the Jaguars ended BOLD's season:


Against BOLD, freshman Mya Worms earned six strikeouts with no walks with eight hits. Offensively, the Jaguars stood tall at the plate against BOLD's dynamic and seasoned eighth grade pitcher, Kaitlyn Flann, while earning five hits. Flann, in her second season as a varsity pitcher for the Warriors, also did not walk a batter while earning five strikeouts. One of B-B-E's three runs were earned.

*Here's a longer video from the Lac qui Parle Valley game in the fourth inning, when the Jaguars scored four runs to erase what was a 2-0 deficit:


Against LQPV, Anna Jaeger, Kenna Lieser, Mya Worms and Taylor Shelton each singled, while Brooklyn Fischer had one double. Worms and eighth grader Lydia Primus pitched, with Primus firing from the circle in the final 1 1/3 innings.

The Eagles (18-6) scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-5 lead. They scored four additional runs in the bottom of the sixth. Next for LQPV is another elimination game on Tuesday (tomorrow) at 5 p.m., when they take on Wabasso. The winner advances to the loser's bracket final.

Time to get back to the May 30 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

In amateur baseball news...
On Saturday night in Farming, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team suffered heartbreak when a late 4-3 could not hold up in the ninth inning against the Flames. Elrosa, still searching for their first win, led 3-0 after three innings and 4-0 after four-and-a-half. The Flames scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth, and then they punched across two in the bottom of the ninth for the walk-off win.

Friday's game was called mid-game due to Elrosa losing electricity.

Next: the Saints travel to Regal for a border clash on Friday this week (May 31) with first pitch at 7:30 p.m.

In track and field news...
At last Thursday's Sub-Section 5A-West championships, the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams had five athletes advance through to this week's Section 5A meet. Kameron Hiltner (100 dash, long jump), Josh Walstrom (400 dash), Taylor Nelson (1600, 3200), Grace Jackson (pole vault) and Bree Thieschafer (pole vault, long jump) earned spots in the state qualifying meet.


Here's a video from after graduation on Friday night:


What's bogging me down on Tuesday night this week is graduation coverage. I'm not sure what I'll get published. The goal is at least to print a story from Mrs. Hagemeyer's keynote speech. It was a marvelous speech/presentation!!

Baseball earns vaunted No. 1 seed (VIDEOS)

On Saturday it became official! The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team has earned the No. 1 seed in Sub-Section 6A-South, which features seven teams. This feat, which was solidified by a 6-0 shut out win against Upsala/Swanville Area last Thursday, has also given them a first-round bye for the playoffs. The QRF rankings were used this season for the baseball seeding. I believe this has been the case for many, many years in Section 6A.

In the latest Class 1A QRF rankings, the Jaguars are No. 9.

B-B-E has a 13-7 overall record in the regular season, which marks the most regular season wins since 2016, when they were 15-5 going into the Section 6A playoffs. In the 2016 playoffs, the Jaguars made their deepest postseason run in school history and finished in third place in Section 6A. Prior to that, their deepest playoff run was all the way back in the 1995 season, when they finished as runners-up in Sub-Section 5A-3 when Minnesota had just two baseball classes. It was also in 1995 that the Jaguars won B-B-E's lone conference title, when they finished 12-2 in the West Central South Conference.

The No. 2 seed this year is Upsala/Swanville Area, who also has a 13-7 record. The U/SA Patriots were runners-up in the Prairie Conference behind Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, who is the No. 2 seed in Sub-Section 6A-North.

B-B-E's baseball playoffs begin on Thursday, May 30 in Morris. More details to follow.

In B-B-E's side of the Section 6A bracket, they would open the playoffs against either No. 4-seeded Benson or No. 5-seeded Hancock. Those two teams face one another on Tuesday in the sub-section quarterfinals in Benson. The loser of that Tuesday game is done for the year. The winner faces our Jaguars at 2:30 p.m. in Morris on Thursday, May 30. I'd expect that the games will be played at the Chizek Field stadium on the north side of Morris plus the adjacent baseball field.

The Jaguars will have a second game on May 30 regardless of the outcome of game one that afternoon...but that's getting ahead of ourselves!

2024 Sub-Section 6A-South baseball seedings:
1. B-B-E (13-7)
2. Upsala/Swanville Area (13-7)
3. Border West (14-5)
4. Benson (7-13)
5. Hancock (8-10)
6. West Central Area (2-16)
7. Ortonville (3-14)

Here's a video from the Maple Lake game on May 10, during which Ethan Mueller got the pitching win:


B-B-E's No. 1 seed should pay dividends, as it saves pitching for the second and third rounds of the playoffs. The Jaguars automatically qualify for the double-elimination format of the Section 6A playoffs, although they still have every intention on starting strong with a win to start Thursday's action.

In Sub-Section 6A-North, state-ranked Parkers Prairie (18-1) is the No. 1 seed. LP-GE (11-4) is the two seed, while Breckenridge (7-10) is the No. 3 seed.

In other baseball sections...
In Section 3AA-North, Minnewaska Area earned the No. 1 seed, while Paynesville Area is seeded No. 2. Both of those teams earn first-round byes in the six-team section. In Section 6AA, Holdingford earned the No. 1 seed by virtue of QRF rankings plus head-to-head match ups in the regular season. Both Pierz and Foley are ranked higher than the Huskers by QRF, but the Huskers have earned one-run wins against both teams. Seeded No. 4 in Section 6AA is Eden Valley-Watkins. Overall, Section 6AA includes 16 teams, and they are seeded together in a 1-to-16 group.

I'll get a few notes posted here on the fastpitch playoffs, which have now concluded for our Jaguars. It took until tonight to get all my video uploaded from last Thursday's action. The past week (or really three weeks) have been intense! One thing after the other. Friday night's graduation ceremony was outstanding. It was marvelous. I've got more to write about that for the newspaper.

Here's action from the top of the 5th inning against Renville County West last Thursday:


Catcher Brooklyn Fischer threw out an RCW runner on a steal attempt at third base. That was one example of countless exciting plays made by the Jaguar defense during their four-game playoff run. They should be immensely proud of finishing in the Top 6 of Section 3A, which is arguably one of the toughest Class 1A sections in Minnesota. The Top 6 finish is the best showing in the postseason since at least the 2018 season, when they also went four games deep.

Now it's Sunday night...my evening is being dominated by preparing stories for the May 30 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. I'm also catching up on an extensive number of videos that have not been uploaded from May events, including the senior scholarship night (May 15) and the elementary school awards program (May 22) plus Sunburg's Syttende Mai events (May 19). What can I say? May is intense! It may be the most intense month of the entire year. That's certainly how May of 2024 is shaping up.

Fastpitch in Marshall! Playoff success! (VIDEO!)

On Sunday...I'll get a handful of updates to this blog post. I'm juggling morning worship at West Lake Johanna Lutheran church, planting more garden plus preparing for a birthday party for my daughters in Litchfield with my wife's family. AND the Memorial Parade in Grove Lake! That's at 1 p.m., and I'm hoping they get a nice turnout. I promoted that event plus Memorial Day events on page one of the May 16 and May 23 issues of the newspaper.


**Updates from Marshall...on Saturday afternoon at their Schwan's Youth Athletic complex, which features four diamonds that can be utilized for both fastpitch and (youth) baseball.

We have a very close game playing out in Marshall against BOLD. Our B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team is taking on the BOLD Warriors in a Section 3A elimination game. It has been tense the entire way! The Warriors (13-8) feature mostly a young lineup but have numerous key players who were on BOLD's 14-U team that won a state fastpitch title last summer. Their main pitcher is eighth grader phenom Kaitlyn Flann. Through April 19 of this season, she had pitched 41 innings where she earned a whopping 48 strikeouts and just two walks.

I'll post the final score when it's over.

Final: B-B-E 3, BOLD 2! The Jaguars stay alive and now play the number one seed from the north half, Lac qui Parle Valley, at 3 p.m.

To win the game, Anna Jaeger fielded a deep hit to center field and made a perfect throw to her cutoff, Kacey Fischer, at shortstop. She then made a perfect throw to catcher Brooklyn Fischer, who tagged out the game-tying run at home plate. It was insane.

**Here's the postgame celebration immediately following the call made at home plate against BOLD:


Nursing a 2-1 lead going into the seventh, the Jaguars put the win in their sights when Lydia Primus advanced on an error at first base on what appeared to be a routine ground ball play. Ava Lieser's RBI single brought Primus home to make it a 3-1 lead before she was left stranded on a fly out.

In the bottom of the seventh, BOLD's leadoff batter hit a single that just got past a diving Kenna Lieser at second base. Mya Worms fired a strikeout, but the Warriors then earned an infield hit to push one runner into scoring position. Third baseman Taylor Shelton then caught a shallow fly ball along the baseline to make it two outs. The next BOLD batter, who represented a potential game-winning run, then gave the ball a ride deep into center field before the Jaguar defense shut the door with the incredible play at home base.

Here's a video from the bottom of the second inning against BOLD:


The Warriors left two stranded in the second inning, which preserved B-B-E's 1-0 lead.

**Game two update: the Jaguars scored one run in the top of the fifth inning to take a 5-2 lead. Earlier, they scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning to erase a 2-0 deficit.

**Game two update: the LQPV Eagles have a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning.

Final score: LQPV 10, B-B-E 5. The Jaguars finish a terrific season with a 10-13 overall record. This is their best record since the 2009 season, when they finished 11-9 overall and went 1-1 in the playoffs. This year's playoff run had the Jaguars advance into the top 6 of the 16-team Section 3A field. They advanced the deepest in a section tournament since 2018, when they finished 2-2 in the Section 6A tournament.

For LQPV, the Eagles improve to 18-6 overall as they are gunning to return to the Section 3A finals for the first time since 2022. This year, LQPV finished 12-1 in the Camden Conference to tie for the title with Minneota/Canby. In 2022, the Eagles lost in the 3A championship series to Edgerton/Southwest MN Christian. In a winner-take-all game, Edgerton/SW MN Christian won 3-0 to advance to state.

Earlier today, LQPV lost 4-0 to Russel-Tyler-Ruthton in a winner's bracket game. In the other winner's bracket opener, Edgerton/SW MN Christian defeated Renville County West 10-0 in five innings.

Also today, Wabasso ended Renville County West's season with a 7-2 elimination bracket win. Heading into the Section 3A Final Four are R-T-R, Wabasso, LQPV and Edgerton/SW MN Christian.

Time to head home.

Sunday updates to this blog post...they will be numerous...
I'm roughly caught up through May 10 for spring varsity sports photos at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug online gallery. You can see all the uploaded spring albums by clicking here: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/BBE-Spring-Sports-2024.

The baseball team has been seeded for playoffs. I'll get that posted in a new blog post on Sunday afternoon.

ALSO! B-B-E's Walker Winter has advanced to the Section 5A boys' golf finals, which will be held next Wednesday, May 29 at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Willmar. He is very much in the running for an individual berth in the Class 1A state tournament.

ALSO! Five members of the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams have earned spots in the Section 5A state qualifer. I'll get more on that in the Sunday's blog post. Much to keep track of for our fans, which is terrific to say this late in May!

Area fastpitch playoff scores on May 25:
Mayer Lutheran 4, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 2 (Falcons finish 2-2 in the Section 4A playoffs)
Dassel-Cokato 7, Jackson County Central 6
Luverne 2, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 1
Windom Area 3, Litchfield 0
Pipestone Area 8, Minnewaska Area 3
MA/CA 6, Windom Area 0

B-B-E Class of 2024 graduation (LIVE VIDEO)

The B-B-E Class of 2024 graduation is tonight, in less than two hours. The ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. at the high school's gymnasium. In case you didn't read it yet in the newspaper, the May 23 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice features a center spread with all 39 graduates included. It mentions that the live video player for graduation can be found at the newspaper website. To see that, you can click here: https://t.ly/n9lGt.

I'm still combing through my fastpitch video from yesterday's games. I've got a few uploaded and posted. Here's another video from that exciting day of playoff action. This is during the Renville County West game. Our B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team stays alive in the Section 3A tournament and faces BOLD tomorrow in Marshall at 1 p.m.

Action in the top of the sixth inning vs. RCW:


The Jaguar defense turned a slick 6-4-3 double play for the first two outs of the top of the sixth. Shortstop Kacey Fischer scooped up a grounder and tossed it to Kenna Lieser at second base. Lieser then rifled a put-out throw to first base to get the batter.

You can catch an additional video from Thursday's playoff action by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper at this link: https://t.ly/TrXB-. There, you can watch action from the bottom of the sixth inning against Ortonville. The Jaguars scored four runs and left one stranded with two hits, including a two-RBI single to left field by Brooklyn Fischer.

Time to get ready for graduation!

...later Friday night...after graduation...I've had time to settle in and relax, and now I have time to complain about the mistake in the Section 3A fastpitch playoff bracket at the MSHSL website. I wasted almost an hour of my time scouting Yellow Medicine East's team...now I need to spend additional time scouting BOLD. I will save the YME statistics, as it is possible our Jaguars will meet YME further into the bracket if they stay alive in the elimination bracket. The BOLD Warriors are 13-8 overall after going 1-1 in yesterday's Sub-Section 3A-South games played in Edgerton. In the regular season, the Warriors went 8-6 in the West Central Conference for fourth place alone. BOLD's main pitcher is eighth grader Kaitlyn Flann. Her father, Derek Flann, is the BOLD athletic department's director and also the head coach of the Warriors football team.

Round two fastpitch loss, Jaguars move into elimination bracket *UPDATED / VIDEO

A tense, well-played playoff game with a huge crowd had an outcome hanging in the balance until the seventh inning tonight for the second round of the Sub-Section 3A-North playoffs. With the lead changing hands three times, the Renville County West Jaguars came from behind to win 7-4 against our B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team as they improved to 9-11 on the season.

B-B-E led 4-3 going into the top of the seventh inning. They left one stranded in the bottom of the seventh while being stymied by two ground ball plays and a pop fly to end the game. Earlier, our Jaguars broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning on Faith Radermacher's one out sacrifice fly-RBI that scored Anna Jaeger. In the bottom of the second, our Jaguars erased a 2-0 deficit with a run scored by Kacey Fischer on an error and then RBI singles from Ava Lieser and Jaeger.

Freshman Mya Worms fired a three-hitter in the playoff opener, as our Jaguars defeated Ortonville 7-2 earlier today. Worms fired eight strikeouts against the Trojans. For B-B-E, they had just three strikeouts of their own through both games. Also huge: our Jaguars had just one error in each game.

Our Jaguars, now 9-12 overall, advance in the playoffs in the elimination bracket of the Section 3A tournament. They play in a win-or-go-home contest on Saturday, May 25 at 1 p.m. at the Marshall fastpitch softball complex. The opponent is to be determined, although I believe it will be Yellow Medicine East. RCW advances to play the 3A-South's top seed, Edgerton/Southwest MN Christian.

RCW is having their best playoff run since the 2015 season, when they went 2-2 in the Section 3A tournament before getting knocked out by neighboring rival BOLD.

More to come later. I need to get my second crop of potatoes planted before I run out of daylight!

Here's action from the Ortonville game in the bottom of the second inning:


In that second inning, the Jaguars left the bases stranded as the game was scoreless through the first four innings.

UPDATE: the MSHSL bracket says that our Jaguars will play Yellow Medicine East in the next playoff game at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Marshall. It's a win-or-go-home contest, and the winner stays alive to play right away at 3 p.m. in Marshall on Saturday. The stakes are high, but I am excited about Saturday and have high expectations for good things to come our way!

YME (8-12 overall) is the No. 5 seed in Sub-Section 3A-North. They went 1-1 today at Lac qui Parle Valley high school with a 7-0 win over Benson in the opener before an 11-2 loss to top-seeded LQPV. The Jaguars can have payback in their mind, as their season ended at the hands of the Sting in a 7-0 loss to YME during last year's playoff opener. Also, in the 2022 playoff opener at Murdock, YME defeated the Jaguars 2-1 to end our season. Time to return the favor!

A few random notes on YME...on May 14 in a Camden Conference doubleheader, YME split with RCW with a 2-1 loss and then a 13-2 win.

**Friday update...on Saturday, the Jaguars will play BOLD in an elimination game at 1 p.m. in Marshall. The MSHSL made a mistake when filling out the bracket last night. I'll let it go. I am too busy to be upset by that.

In baseball news...
At Upsala tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team earned what I'll call a "section split" with a 1-1 showing. They began with a crucial 6-0 win against Upsala/Swanville Area. Next was Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, who is currently the No. 2-ranked team in Sub-Section 6A-North. The Thunder led 6-0 through five innings, and the Jaguars scored three runs to go into the seventh inning trailing 6-3. LP-GE then tacked on two runs in the top of the seventh before shutting the door in an 8-3 win. Our Jaguars finish the regular season with a 13-7 overall record. This is their best regular season record since 2016! Seeding for the playoffs takes place on Saturday.

LP-GE (11-4 overall) finished as champions in the Prairie Conference this season with a 5-1 record, and they've won five straight to close out their regular seaosn. In second place was U/SA with a 4-2 record.

In track and field news...
Junior Taylor Nelson placed fifth in the Sub-Section 5A-West track and field championships held today at Maple Lake. He finished with a time of 11:03.15. That's the best finish I saw after glancing through the meet results. In the 1600 run, Nelson also placed fifth and had a time of 5:00.67. I also saw that sophomore Kameron Hiltner had a fifth-place showing; he took fifth in the 100 open with a time of 12.18 seconds (he's fast!).

In boys' golf news...
At the Section 5A meet in Willmar on Wednesday, B-B-E's Walker Winter finished in the top eight of the individual standings to advance into the Section Finals round. There's additional boys' golf coverage in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Section 3A first round fastpitch playoff scores on May 23:
Lac qui Parle Valley 7, MACCRAY 1
Yellow Medicine East 7, Benson 0
Wabasso 7, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 5
Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 10, Adrian/Ellsworth 0
BOLD 5, Murray County Central 4
Edgerton/SW MN Christian 14, Lakeview 1 (5 innings)

1-and-Oh! Let's GO! (VIDEOS, Updates)

A 1-0 start is what's in the book for the No. 2-seeded B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team, after they dispatched No. 7-seeded Ortonville 7-2 in the Sub-Section 3A-North opener. The Trojans end the season 5-15 overall, while the Jaguars advance in the Section 3A tournament bracket with a 9-11 record. This is B-B-E's first playoff win since 2021, when they won 17-10 in a play-in round game against Ortonville before falling 7-6 to top-seeded Benson (who made it all the way to the Section 6A finals that year).

Game two in Brooten today features No. 3-seeded Renville County West and No. 6-seeded Dawson-Boyd.

Against the Trojans, the Jaguars battled through four scoreless innings before they broke through in the bottom of the fifth. Anna Jaeger, batting at the top of the order for the Jaguars, took a pitch on her upper leg to get on base, and the veteran senior advanced to second on a passed ball. Kenna Lieser then hit an RBI-single to score Jaeger from third base to break up the scoreless tie. The Jaguars ultimately scored three total runs to go up 3-0 going into the sixth.

In the sixth, Brooklyn Fischer's two-RBI single to left field made it a 5-0 lead. Two more runs were scored when Kacey Fischer hit a ground ball to the second baseman, but the throw to first was bobbled to bring in Faith Radermacher and Brooklyn Fischer to make it 7-0.

The Trojans got two back in the top of the seventh before shortstop Kacey Fischer made a tremendous throw to first base to end the game.

An 11-hit attack helped fuel the late outburst of offense for the Jaguars, who had freshman Mya Worms pitch a complete game for her first career playoff win.

**Here's Coach Funk in a post-game interview today:


B-B-E's 9-11 record is the best since the 2009 season, when the Jaguars went 1-1 in the Sub-Section 5A-West playoffs. This year, the playoffs will continue on after Round 2 regardless of the outcome of tonight's game, as the Sub-Section 3A-North tournament features a double elimination format once a team wins the playoff opener. More on that will be posted later tonight. For now, we need to focus on getting another playoff win tonight!!! Let's go!!!!!!!!

Here's a video featuring the final out recorded against Ortonville today:


Today's B-B-E games are being broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Brady will be covering the third game of today, which will feature our Jaguars! They take on the winner of game two, which is starting at about 4:50 p.m. Stay tuned here for updates on when the last game will get underway.

Update out of Upsala tonight...in a huge game with seeding implications, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team defeated Upsala/Swanville Area 6-0 to improve to 13-6 on the season. They later trailed Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 6-0 in the fifth inning in the second game of the doubleheader.

**Update: RCW won 13-4 while ending the Blackjacks' season.  Game three of the day started just shy of 7:00 p.m. between both Jaguar teams. 

After 3 innings, the game is tied 3-3! More to come in a new blog post, including baseball updates.

The aftermath

I survived the 20-page newspaper. The mighty struggle that lasted roughly four days to assemble it concluded with me beating my deadline! It was a huge victory for the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. I printed many extras too, so please go out and get a copy of you are not a subscriber. They are at RJ's Mini Mart in Brooten and also Coop's Corner and the Belgrade Hardware Store. On Thursday, I hope to get copies to Bayer Gas and Grocery in Elrosa.

Here's what lies ahead for next week's newspaper: a long, long list of "held over" news and sports items will eat up considerable space in the May 30 issue. I'll get to writing about that later.

Here's a video from Wednesday morning at the elementary school:


That was fun! It is always an inspiring experience to see the seniors interact with elementary students in such a positive, memorable fashion. Bravo!!! This crazy, stupid world needs more of this.

Thursday update...major news: the Class of 2024 graduation ceremony has been moved indoors due the potential for severe weather on Friday night. The ceremony will be held in the high school gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. Please spread the word!!

Area fastpitch playoff scores on May 22:
St. Cloud Cathedral 12, Paynesville Area 0 (the Crusaders are the No. 1 seed in Section 6AA)
Albany 10, Eden Valley-Watkins 0
Paynesville Area 4, Eden Valley-Watkins 1 (a Section 6AA elimination game; the Eagles finish 15-6 overall, while the Bulldogs improve to 12-11)
PACT Charter 13, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 2 (5 innings; this loss sends A-C-GC to the elimination bracket of Section 4A)
Kimball Area 11, Pequot Lakes 1

Sports schedule changes: fastpitch moved to THURSDAY! (VIDEO)

Quite a bit to catch up on, but all I have time to post right now is the following.

Due to the rain in the forecast for tomorrow, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team will open the Sub-Section 3A-North playoffs on Thursday this week, NOT Wednesday. This is due to other schools having academic and activity-related conflicts on Wednesday. The Jaguars will host three games on Wednesday at the home diamond in Brooten. First is a game between the Jaguars and No. 7-seeded Ortonville (5-14) with a 3 p.m. start time. Then the next two games will follow as outlined last week in the schedule.

The baseball team will also not play tomorrow, and their game against Long Prairie-Grey Eagle will be played on Thursday in Upsala as part of what is now a doubleheader. More details to follow.

Tuesday afternoon update: the home fastpitch diamond has covers across home plate and the pitcher's circle. The infield has a ton of water on it due to sometimes heavy rainfall coming down. It's wet out there!!!

Another announcement: the sub-section track and field meet set in Maple Lake for today has been postponed until Thursday this week.

Here's a video from the last fastpitch game of the regular season, which was last Thursday:


More to come later tonight. The 20-page newspaper is coming along!!

Snakebitten: Grovers defeat Elrosa Saints by one run

Four games into the season, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is far better than their record suggests. Unfortunately, they will head into Memorial Day weekend still searching for their first win of the season after they were defeated 7-6 at Meire Grove today.

The loss comes on the heels of a 12-7 setback to visiting Lake Henry for the home opener held yesterday.

Today is about a 20-hour work day for me. Sunburg hosted an outstanding Syttende Mai celebration! Believe it or not, tonight I had to set up a 20-page Bonanza Valley Voice layout for the May 23 issue. At this point, I do not know if I can pull it off. In all likelihood, it will be 18 pages. If it is 18 pages, it will be the biggest newspaper I've published since prior to the pandemic.

Hot off the press!
Everyone is invited to a Grand Opening celebration for the new Jenniges Meat Processing plant and retail store from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, May 31. Come celebrate the opening with the Jenniges family! The event features FREE brats, burgers and hot dogs served with chips, Local Pantry salad and beans. Guests can tour and walk through the new facility. This is an exciting event for our community. Be sure to stop by! Their company website is: https://jennigesmeatprocessing.com.

Another series sweep; Illies homers in 7th (VIDEO)

The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team defeated visiting Maple Lake 13-4 tonight in the final game of the Central Minnesota Conference schedule. It was technically a makeup game of game two of the April 18 doubleheader. They nixed game two that day due to the cold. I'll never forget going back to the minivan after game one ended and seeing 41 degrees on the thermometer that night. Brrr!! Today the temperature shot well past 80 degrees.

The Jaguars (12-6) finished 9-5 in the CMC, which gave them fourth place alone. Two games remain on the regular season schedule.

Here's action from the top of the seventh inning tonight:


In the top of the seventh, Luke Illies hit a two-RBI home run over the 360-foot fenceline in right field. The Jaguars scored 3 runs in the seventh inning after scoring 5 runs in the top of the sixth to blow the game open.

Ethan Mueller pitched a gem of a game with six hits, one earned run, no walks and eight strikeouts in a complete-game effort. At the plate, the junior was walked four times and scored two runs. The Jaguars out-hit the Irish 10 to 6, and both teams had two errors. Luke Dingmann led the offense by going 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases.

Next: a home game next Tuesday against Long Prairie-Grey Eagle (9-4) in a non-conference section game. The Thunder finished as sole champions of the Prairie Conference with a 5-1 record. Upsala/Swanville Area (12-6) finished in second place with a 4-2 record.

I am adding a few more notes to the most recent blog post, which highlights the fastpitch softball playoffs.

In college baseball news...
Congratulations to the St. Cloud Technical and Community College Cyclones baseball team, who has now won 11 straight games after claiming the NJCAA Region 13 championship with a 15-8 win over Century College earlier today. The lineup for the Cyclones includes B-B-E's Blaine Fischer and Will VanBeck.

I'll get more promotion of this in future blog post and newspaper issues, but I want to at least get the date thrown out there for an exciting event coming to Saints Field in Elrosa in June. On June 19, the Elrosa Saints baseball program will be hosting a youth baseball clinic. Mark your calendars!

Area baseball scores on May 18:
New London-Spicer 5, Glencoe-Silver Lake 0
NL-S 13, G-SL 1
Border West 14, Barnesville 4
Upsala/Swanville Area 4, Royalton 3
New York Mills 8, Wadena-Deer Creek 1
MACCRAY 4, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 2
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 12, Lac qui Parle Valley 2
Parkers Prairie 3, Menagha 2 (9 innings)
Kimball Area 8, Annandale 4
Brandon-Evansville 13, West Central Area 3 (6 innings)

Breaking! Terrific news! Fastpitch Jaguars seeded No. 2 for playoffs (VIDEO)

It is official! (*UPDATED Friday night to correct a big mistake)

The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team has earned the No. 2 seed for the Sub-Section 3A-North playoffs. This is their best playoff ranking in over 23 years! Back in 2008, the Jaguars were seeded No. 3 in Sub-Section 5A-West. In both 2006 and 2009, they were the No. 4 seed. During the 2008 playoffs, the Jaguars had a 3-0 start to claim the school's only fastpitch subsection title. They earned a small upset in the sub-section finals by defeating No. 2-seeded Osakis. Then came the tall task: No. 1-seeded and No. 3-ranked Maple Lake in the finals. A 6-5 win over the Irish was the result, which handed the team the program's only sub-section title in a game I will never, ever forget at Minnewaska Area's softball complex. In fact, if you want to see my recap of that game played back on May 22, 2008, you can click here: https://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2008/05/jaguars-fastpitch-vanquishes-state.html.

We will have to go back to at least 2000 before I'll be able to find a sub-section seeding list that has the Jaguars ranked No. 2. In the 2000 season, our top pitcher's mom, Amy Worms, was a sophomore in high school. In that season, the Jaguars took third place in the Section 5A tournament. I will look up what they were seeded that year.

This year, the Jaguars are ranked second out of eight teams in Sub-Section 3A-North. They host a four-team subsection pod with three games coming in Brooten on Tuesday, May 21. The Jaguars (8-11) have a 3 p.m. game that day against No. 7-seeded Ortonville. A total of three games will be played. The second game features No. 3-seeded Renville County West facing No. 6-seeded Dawson-Boyd, and that will start at 4:30 or later, depending on how long the B-B-E vs. Ortonville game lasts. The third game features the winners of both games, and that will start at 6 p.m. or later - again, depending on how long the first two games last. The losers in the first two games are done for the season. The winners of those first two games earn a pass to the third round of the Section 3A tournament, which will be held on Saturday, May 25 at the Marshall Area high school fastpitch facilities. The Saturday, May 25 schedule is complex - too complex for me to decipher now. Honestly, that day does not matter at this point, as the Jaguars have to focus on earning a win in the playoff opener next Tuesday against the Trojans!

More to come after I review all of the Section 3A bracket. We do need the forecast to change. As of now, it looks "grim" for Tuesday with a 72 percent change of rain and predicted rainfall totals of about one inch.

2024 Sub-Section 3A-North fastpitch seedings:
1. Lac qui Parle Valley (15-5)
2. B-B-E (8-11)
3. Renville County West (7-11)
4. Benson (6-13)
5. Yellow Medicine East (7-12)
6. Dawson-Boyd (5-11)
7. Ortonville (5-14)
8. MACCRAY (1-17)

Defending Section 3A champion and Class 1A state champion Edgerton/Southwest MN Christian (14-4) is the top seed in Sub-Section 3A-South. The No. 2 seed is Russel-Tyler-Ruthton (16-3). Those two teams each went 10-1 in the Red Rock Conference to share the title. Edgerton/SW MN Christian also won state titles in 2016 and 2019. They were state runners-up in 2017 and 2018 to New York Mills (both years). The Eagles have won the Section 3A championship every year since 2014. In 2013, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg swept through the Section 3A tournament, including two playoff wins vs. the Eagles, on their way to a fourth-place finish at state. K-M-S took fifth place at state in 2012 after also claiming the Section 3A title.

Here's a video from the pregame huddle before the top of the first inning yesterday against Upsala:


Backing up to Central Minnesota Conference fastpitch news...yesterday, the Holdingford Huskers lost 11-10 to visiting Royalton, which forced a three-way tie for fourth place between our Jaguars, the Huskers and the Royals. All three teams finished 6-8 in the CMC. The top three in the conference featured Kimball Area (champions), Eden Valley-Watkins (second place) and Paynesville Area (third place).

In Section 6AA, Kimball Area (19-1) got the No. 2 seed behind St. Cloud Cathedral. Eden Valley-Watkins (14-4) was seeded No. 5, Paynesville Area (10-10) was seeded No. 9, Royalton (7-12) was seeded No. 11 and Holdingford (7-12) was seeded No. 12.

Two losses of differing complexions

To conclude a regular season in which they played 10 games in 10 days, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team fell 10-0 to Upsala today. They will enter the playoffs with a high seed and an 8-11 overall record. In the Central Minnesota Conference, the Jaguars finished with a 6-8 record.

Upsala finished the Prairie Conference schedule with a 6-2 record, which earned them a co-championship with neighboring rival Swanville. Overall, the Cardinals are 12-5 heading into tomorrow's regular season finale at Parkers Prairie. They have been on a tear with a 10-1 record since April 24 and recovered in the Prairie by winning out after an 0-2 start in the conference. Starting next week, the Cardinals will be in the hunt for a third straight trip to the Class 1A state fastpitch tournament. They were Section 6A champions in both 2022 and 2023.

B-B-E's fastpitch season started in Swanville almost exactly six weeks ago with a doubleheader. That was Friday, April 5, which does not seem that long ago. The Jaguars played 9 games between April 5 and April 23, and they were 4-5 at that point before the weather turned absolutely foul for their schedule and forced them into a 12-day layoff from competition. Then from May 6 through today, they finished the regular season with the final 10 games. A big sub-section contest against Benson got rained out on April 30 and was not made up.

Assuming that the Camden Conference does not gang up against us, I predict that the Jaguars will earn the No. 2 seed in Sub-Section 3A-North tomorrow. Their resume has earned this! Regardless, the playoffs will open next Tuesday, May 21. The rest will be spelled out tomorrow after seeding is completed over the noon hour. Lac qui Parle Valley, 15-5 overall, is a lock for the No. 1 seed.

Update: in a Camden Conference doubleheader today in Tracy, the Renville County West Jaguars lost 2-1 and then 13-2 to the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers to close out their regular season with a 7-11 overall record. This should solidify their position at No. 3 in the subsection standings. Benson is 5-13 overall at the end of the regular season, and they should be ranked No. 4 from what I can tell.

In baseball news...
At Paynesville today, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team lost 3-2 to finish the Central Minnesota Conference schedule with a 9-5 record. Owen Paulson's solo home run in the sixth inning forced a 2-2 tie. The Bulldogs then pulled off the walk-off win on Bryce VanderBeek's RBI-double to score Reed Johnson.

With the win, the Bulldogs wrapped up the CMC title outright. One week remains in the regular season, and the Jaguars (11-6) are set to host a huge Section 6A game next Tuesday against Long Prairie-Grey Eagle.

Five errors ultimately cost the Jaguars a chance to get to 10 conference wins, a feat they have not earned since 2008. The Bulldogs collected 9 hits compared to 5 for the Jaguars. Junior Luke Illies pitched an incredible game with three walks, five strikeouts and just one earned run. Earning two hits each to lead the Jaguar offense were Ethan Mueller and Owen Paulson (2 RBI).

Here's a video from ten days ago, when the Jaguars broke a 12-day layoff from competition with an 18-8 five-inning win over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City:


Action in the video features the top of the fifth inning.

More to come later. I have to get back in the garden before it gets dark!!

Area fastpitch scores on May 16:
Annandale 7, Kimball Area 2 (the Cubs take their first loss of the season after an 18-0 start)
Swanville 8, Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 6
BOLD 1, Sauk Centre 0 (9 innings)
Yellow Medicine East 2, Ortonville 0
Minnewaska Area 12, Ottertail Central 7
Minneota/Canby 1, Lac qui Parle Valley 0 (the LQPV Eagles finish 12-1 in the Camden Conference and shared the title with Minneota/Canby due to this loss)
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 10, West Central Area 0
Wadena Deer Creek 20, Swanville 5
Sauk Centre 5, BOLD 4 (8 innings)

Game day! Jaguars vs. Cardinals (VIDEO)

Today we have the baseball and fastpitch teams in action.

At home, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team concludes the regular season with a game in Brooten against non-conference Upsala. The game will also feature Senior Night when they honor the four seniors on the team.

In Paynesville, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team completes the season series with neighboring rival Paynesville Area today. The Bulldogs have already clinched a share of the Central Minnesota Conference title. All the Jaguars can do is force a tie for the title between Paynesville and Eden Valley-Watkins if they can defeat the Bulldogs. The Jaguars host Maple Lake tomorrow to conclude the regular season.

Shifting over to track and field...

Here's a video featuring Josh Walstrom and Kameron Hiltner in the long jump on Tuesday in Grove City:


The track and field teams competed at the CMC championships at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City high school.

Fastpitch Jaguars earn 8th win, ready for senior night (VIDEO)

The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team has been on a steady upwards climb of improvement all year. After suffering a five-game skid in the past five days, they recovered from a 6-2 loss in game one today against Holdingford to earn a 14-3 six-inning win. They now hold an 8-10 overall record going into tomorrow's regular season finale against Upsala at 4:30 p.m. That home game will also feature Senior Night, as they will honor seniors Madison Hofmann (manager), Anna Jaeger, Faith Radermacher and Brooklyn Fischer.

Upsala, a state entrant last year who took fourth place in the Class 1A tournament, is 11-5 overall. They went 6-2 in the Prairie Conference to earn a co-championship with Swanville, who is 15-3. Upsala is all but a lock for the No. 3 seed in Sub-Section 6A-North, while Swanville appears poised to earn the No. 2 seed. Browerville (14-4) is in position to be that sub-section's No. 1 seed with a Class 1A QRF ranking of No. 8. The Tigers went 5-3 to take third in the Prairie Conference with losses to Swanville, Upsala and Long Prairie-Grey Eagle.

In game one today, the Jaguars could not muster the needed hits to catch up to the Huskers, who led 5-1 through three innings. When the Jaguars connected with pitches, they often resulted in quick pop fly grabs. For the game, the Jaguars were out-hit by a 12 to 9 margin, with Holdingford overcoming two errors. B-B-E had no errors, and they were led by two hits each by Anna Jaeger, Kenna Lieser and Kacey Fischer. Earning RBI hits were Jaeger and Mya Worms. Worms pitched a complete game with one walk and three strikeouts.

In game two, the Jaguars blasted the Huskers with a 14-hit attack. Earning doubles were Worms, Brooklyn Fischer and Kacey Fischer. Faith Radermacher was 3-for-3 with one RBI and three runs scored. Worms was 3-for-5 with two RBI. A 2-1 lead after four innings expaned to a 4-1 lead after five. The Jaguars then battered Holdingford with 10 runs in the top of the sixth. Worms pitched all six innings and scattered 7 hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

B-B-E's eight wins marks the most wins since the 2009 season. The Jaguars finished 7-16 in 2018 after a 2-2 showing in the Sub-Section 6A-South playoffs. In 2009, the Jaguars were 10-8 going into the Sub-Section 5A-West playoffs and finished 11-9 overall.

Here's a video from towards the end of the top of the sixth inning in game two:


Holdingford stands at 6-7 in the Central Minnesota Conference in fourth place. They play Royalton tomorrow to close out the regular season. The Jaguars finish the loop with a 6-8 record, which is their best CMC record since 2009.

In the latest Sub-Section 3A-North standings, the Jaguars have remained at the No. 2 spot, while Renville County West (7-9) has jumped above Benson (5-13) to the No. 3 spot. The Braves are at No. 4, while Yellow Medicine East (6-12) is at No. 5. The playoffs open next Tuesday at home for the Jaguars, although we won't know what seed they will get until Friday this week. I don't see them falling below No. 4 in the standings, which means they will have a home playoff game for the first time since 2012!!

More to come. It's going to rain soon, and I need to get more garden planted! Tonight is also the seniors awards banquet.

Area fastpitch scores on May 15:
Osakis 9, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 7
LP-GE 16, Osakis 1

Fastpitch suffers one-run loss (Updated Tuesday night)

In a Central Minnesota Conference battle between the second-place and fourth-place teams today, the Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles defeated the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team by a 2-1 score. The Eagles finish the CMC schedule with a 10-4 record in solid hold of second place. The Jaguars slipped to 5-6 in the league heading into tomorrow's battle at third-place Paynesville Area. The Bulldogs are 8-4 in the CMC in third place.

Looming on the horizon in just two days is a home CMC doubleheader against Holdingford. Game one starts at 1 p.m., and the second game should start around 3 p.m.

More to come...I have to get to the school board meeting.

Back to fastpitch news...
While the one-run loss today was tough to swallow, the Jaguars are thrilled to see that they've moved up to No. 2 in the QRF rankings in Sub-Section 3A-North. This is tremendous news!!! They have a real shot at earning the No. 2 seed for playoffs. This is just plain fantastic!!! The next three days will determine how it all shakes out. They need more wins.

The Jaguars got a huge boost today by the news of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City defeating Paynesville Area. The final score was 15-10 in a game that featured 10 total errors: 4 by the Falcons and 6 by the Bulldogs. This shakes up the CMC standings somewhat, and it puts the Jaguars in a position to grab third place in the circuit depending how the next two days go. Currently, Paynesville Area is 8-5 in the CMC, while the Jaguars are 5-6. If the Jaguars win out in CMC games, they will tie for third place with the Bulldogs in the CMC!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team has a huge game on deck with the Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles coming to Elrosa for a CMC game. First pitch at Saints Field is at 4:30 p.m.

Here's the tail end of the postgame huddle with Coach Klaphake on Friday night after the Jaguars blanked Brandon-Evansville:


I have much to write for this week's newspaper. I doubt I'll get to any more blogging tonight. I'm in a foot race to get the majority of the newspaper ready for press by mid-afternoon tomorrow. The plan is to head to Grove City with the track and field teams. We'll see how the next 16 hours go!!!

Area fastpitch scores on May 13:
Menahga 4, Upsala 2
Pierz 13, Osakis 3 (5 innings)
Dawson-Boyd 11, Ortonville 1 (6 innings)
Ortonville 6, Dawson-Boyd 5
Wabasso 3, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 1
Browerville 4, Brandon-Evansville 3
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 12, Royalton 2
MACCRAY 20, Renville County West 12
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 11, MACCRAY 1
Lakeview 14, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 4 (5 innings)
K-M-S 4, Minneota-Canby 3

Area baseball scores on May 13:
Sauk Centre 8, Brandon-Evansville 3
LP-GE 12, Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 2
Parkers Prairie 2, Ottertail Central 0
Paynesville Area 6, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
MACCRAY 7, Central MN Christian 1


Tuesday night...I don't have time to get a new blog post up. I'll work on that tomorrow morning. The fastpitch team suffered a 3-1 loss at Paynesville Area. It was another tough loss in a winnable game. The sun rises tomorrow! It's a bittersweet night, as tonight marked the last time I likely will be at a track meet this season. I don't know if I can make it to the Section 5A meet, and I know I am not going to Maple Lake next week for subsections.

In baseball news...the baseball team hosted Eden Valley-Watkins tonight in a battle of two teams still in the hunt for a share of the conference title. The Jaguars out-hit the Eagles 11 to 8, but six B-B-E errors proved costly in a 14-7 loss to the Eagles. The Jaguars (11-5) led 6-0 after two innings, but the Eagles stormed back to regain the lead after scoring 5 runs in the fourth and 5 more in the fifth. All that B-B-E could get in the last five innings was one run in the bottom of the fourth. Luke Illies had four of the Jaguars' 11 hits as he went 4-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and one run scored.

B-B-E Prom Grand March (VIDEO)

It's over a week later, but you can now watch the B-B-E prom grand march at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. Click here: https://rb.gy/a7pcaz.

Today in varsity sports...
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team travels to Paynesville Area today for a 4:30 p.m. game. (Initially I though this was at Eden Valley.) The Bulldogs are 9-9 overall and 6-4 (third) in the Central Minnesota Conference; this has them one game ahead of the Jaguars (7-7, 5-5) in the standings.

Tomorrow! The fastpitch team travels to Eden Valley-Watkins to face the second-place Eagles, who are 9-4 in the CMC and 12-4 overall. They are 3-0 in non-conference games with the following wins: 7-3 over Litchfield on April 12, 15-1 against K-M-S on May 3 and 9-2 against Osakis on May 10. In Section 6AA, EV-W holds the No. 6 position by QRF out of 16 teams. Paynesville Area is not far off at No. 8 in the section standings.