Saints win! Nelson completes Grandma's Marathon

In a Stearns County League North game last night that also was part of the opening round of the Elite 8 tournament, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team earned their second SCL win of the season by defeating Spring Hill 4-2. Elrosa's next game in the tournament is tonight at approximately 8 p.m., although I haven't heard what the rain has done to the Elite 8 schedule.

In Elrosa'a win, the Saints collected 9 hits. For Elrosa's pitching, brothers Payton VanBeck and Will VanBeck combined for a three-hitter. Closer Will VanBeck pitched four innings without a hit to earn the save. Payton VanBeck got the win in five innings with five strikeouts and two walks. None of Spring Hill's runs were earned. Jackson Peter was 2-for-4 with one double and two RBI. The Chargers led 1-0 after the first inning and then 2-0 in the top of the third before the Saints got on the board in the bottom of the frame. The Saints tied at at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. They scored the go-ahead run in the fifth and then added a fourth run in the eighth.

In the earlier game last night to open Elrosa's Elite 8 tournament, the New London-Spicer Twins defeated the Luxemburg Brewers by a 1-0 score.

At Paynesville last night in a County Line League game, the Regal Eagles defeated the Paynesville Pirates 2-1. B-B-E graduates Josh Beier (2009) and Jordan Wosmek (2015) had all three Regal hits, with Beier going 2-for-4 with one RBI and Wosmek going 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.

In other sports news...let's talk marathons!
At the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth this weekend, B-B-E senior (Class of 2025) Taylor Nelson of Brooten completed the run with a time of 3 hours, 8 minutes, 21 seconds. His average pace was running a mile in 7 minutes, 12 seconds His 5K split was 20:07.

And speaking of marathons...Brooten high school graduate Tony Hofmann (1984) and Gary Geer (1985) are preparing for the Leadville Marathon in Colorado, which will be held on Saturday, June 29. Around 800 athletes make up the field of this huge event, which is held in support of veterans' causes. From the event website: "The Life Time Leadville Trail Marathon and Heavy Half, presented by La Sportiva, takes trail runners through the historic mining district’s challenging trails to the highest point of any Leadville Race Series event: Mosquito Pass (13,185 feet). As you take on the baddest trails and thinnest air in all of endurance racing, you’ll need all the Grit, Guts and Determination you can muster." You can read more on the event at its website: https://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/run/trailmarathonheavyhalf.

EXCITING! Gary Geer reported that his fundraising shot past his goal of $4,000 for the Leadville Marathon. Both Geer and Hofmann are on a team of 13 that has a combined goal of raising $100,000 for the cause. Today, Hofmann reported that they are nearing that lofty goal and are at about $87,000. The website where you can donate to Gary's efforts is https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/5581238.

The general fundraising website for Hofmann and Geer's team is https://www.classy.org/campaign/leadville-trail-marathon-2024/c581774.