extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Elrosa Saints win 2 of 3 weekend games
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team played two games over the weekend out of Stearns County League play after picking up a 15-6 win on Friday at St. Martin.
On Saturday, the Saints hosted the Pierz Lakers and took a 5-0 loss. Pierz had 11 hits compared to just 5 by the Saints. On Sunday, the Saints traveled to Cold Spring and won 7-0 with Ethan Mueller hitting a home run and Torii Johnson earning the win on the mound.
The Saints racked up 20 hits in the SCL game against the Martins. St. Martin had 12 hits, but they had 6 RBI compared to 14 for Elrosa. Pitching in relief, Luke Dingmann got the pitching win and threw 4 innings and gave up 4 hits with no walks and 4 strikeouts with no runs given up.
Next: the Saints (7-3 overall) host Lake Henry on Friday, June 5 (8 p.m.) before traveling to New Munich on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. game.
One-run loss sends Jaguars to elimination bracket + golf and track/field news
The B-B-E Jaguars baseball teamsuffered a 1-0 loss to No. 3-seeded Brandon-Evansville on Thursday in the Section 6A winner's bracket opener. It was a difficult pill to swallow, but the Jaguars now have to regroup and prepare for a big game on Monday. The next game is at 2 p.m. on Monday, June 1 at Marthaler Field at Minnewaska Area high school. The opponent will be Long Prairie-Grey Eagle.
The Thunder (16-5 overall) bounced K-M-S from the playoffs with an 11-0 win on Thursday at Browerville.
Fun fact! In the past 3 seasons plus this current playoff run, the Jaguars are 13-5 in Section 6A postseason games. They went 5-0 in the 2023 section playoffs to earn the program's first-ever state tournament berth.
Here's a brief video from the postgame huddle in Elrosa on Tuesday:
In golf news...
Walker Winter tied for 11th place individually as the top finisher for the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf team at the Section 5A tournament, which was held at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Willmar on May 20 and May 27. The section finals took place on Wednesday this week with Winter plus his teammates Owen Roering and Cash Lehner participating. After shooting a 90 on May 20 in the first round, Winter shot an 81 in the finals for a total 36-hole score of 171. Other scores for B-B-E: Owen Roering finished with a 178 (90-88), good for an 18th-place tie. Cash Lehner, a freshman, finished with a 194 (89-105) to take 33rd place.
Here's a video featuring the All-Conference announcements at The Lynx Golf Course on May 18:
Olive Olson, a freshman, was the only B-B-E golfer to earn a spot on the All-Central Minnesota Conference teams. A total of 14 athletes earn that award, which is based on 72 holes of golf across April and May.
Recruiting will ramp up considerably for the golf teams going into the summer months. Both the boys' and girls' golf numbers need to increase.
In track and field news...
Seventh grader Brooklyn Breitbach on the B-B-E Jaguars track and field team ran a spectacular 1600-meter run at the Section 5A meet on Wednesday in Collegeville. She finished with a career-best time of 5:23.47, which was good for fourth place out of 16 athletes. Breitbach smashed her previous career-best time of 5:35.7, which she earned over a week ago at the Sub-Section 5A-West meet in Litchfield on May 19.
Taylor Pieper placed 10th (53.93 seconds) in the 400 open as the top boys' finisher.
I've got more to find out and write about from the section meet. Others from B-B-E competing at Section 5A included Mason Douvier, Ziva Miller and Whitney Anderson.
Also, in Section 4A, West Lutheran (the No. 3 seed) swept Gentry Academy in the championship series to earn a spot in the upcoming Class 1A state fastpitch tournament.
Switching gears...
By Friday night, I'm blogging from the Hampton Inn of Oakdale. Five families of my daughter's West Central Wildcats AAU basketball team are staying here. This is the last weekend of our Wildcats season, which started back in April. It's been a privilege to see my daughter participate and become a better athlete through this AAU program this spring. The sports coverage of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper has suffered from it, but that's all on me and on the decisions I've made while splitting the grueling work of being a small business owner with wearing the "Sports Dad" hat that I've got on my head frequently these days.
That's enough blogging. Time to wrap this up and be ready for the 9 a.m. tip-off of tomorrow's first game at Woodbury high school!
In other news...
In case you didn't go to Grove Lake on Sunday, May 24, here's a video from the Memorial parade held that afternoon: GroveLakeMemorialParade2026.
On Saturday in Woodbury, I saw E-85 priced at the whopping price of $3.20 a gallon at a Holiday gas station. What a rotten scam! It's still $1.90 a gallon at Coop's Corner in Belgrade, as it has been since mid-April. When gas stations price gouge on E-85, it hurts both farmers and consumers. Shameful!!!
What a bizarre scenario for the Section 6A playoffs. Bizarre! In the bizarre world of high school sports, theB-B-E Jaguars baseball team is at Ashby facing Border West...and that is legit, with both teams having about a 1 hour drive for this neutral site game. The Jaguars and Buccaneers game started at 2 p.m. in Ashby.
If the Jaguars win, they travel to Brandon-Evansville and possibly could face the Chargers on Brandon-Evansville's home diamond tonight if they move into the 6A winner's bracket.
Today's first game was aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Thanks, Brady! Their website is: https://www.kmgk1071.com.
UPDATE in Ashby:
Thanks to a 2-run home run by Noah Jensen, the Jaguars currently hold a 6-0 lead over the Buccaneers.
UPDATE: going into the top of the 7th inning, B-B-E holds an 8-0 lead over Border West.
B-B-E starter Aiden Mueller fired a strikeout for the 3rd out of the top of the seventh inning to end the game. FINAL SCORE: the Jaguars won by a final score of 8-1 against No. 7-seeded Border West. This win improves their overall record to 15-9.
Aiden Mueller went the distance for the Jaguars with a 5-hitter, as the junior veteran pitcher earned 12 strikeouts.
In another Section 6A game today, the B-E Chargers are hosting Benson. Early in that game, score was tied 3-3. The latest score I heard was Chargers 6, Braves 3. FINAL score: Brandon-Evansville 6, Benson 3. The Chargers will not only host the upcoming winner's bracket game...they will also play in that game even though they are the No. 3 seed of the tournament. (PLEASE someone make it make sense!!!!)
Unfortunately, I am not making the drive to Evansville tonight. I am spending time at home with family and working in our garden. The first 27 days of May had me tied up every single night...without a break.
Game updates to follow...the Jaguars have to travel 9 miles to Evansville now to face the Chargers in the winner's bracket.
UPDATE from Evansville:
The Jaguars trail 1-0 in the fourth inning.
Jaguar baseball advances to Round II of sections (VIDEO)
The B-B-E Jaguars baseball teamwon 13-2 in five innings tonight against Rothsay to open the Section 6A playoffs. Seeded No. 2 out of 15 teams, the Jaguars improved to 14-9 with the win. They play on Thursday this week at 2 p.m. in Ashby. The opponent is to-be-determined...stay tuned. The opponent will be either Border West or...Ashby? I have no idea how these brackets are set up.
UPDATE: the Jaguars face Border West in the next round. The 7th-seeded Buccaneers defeated Ashby tonight 11-1 in Wheaton.
Sophomore Lance Radermacher started for the Jaguars and got the win in 3 innings on the mound. He was relieved by Noah Jensen (fourth inning) and Dylan Koob (closer).
Here's video from the bottom of the 6th inning almost 3 weeks ago:
The Jaguars were facing Brandon-Evansville on that night, a team that entered the game with an undefeated record. B-B-E won 3-0.
Time to get back to the newspaper.
Announcing...FREE summer meals at B-B-E elementary, open to the public, all youth ages 18 and younger, no registration required. Just show up and eat! On behalf of my good friend Barb Walstrom, here's the info she wants to get to the public: FREE SUMMER MEALS in Brooten at the elementary, Use door 21 (north door); Monday to Friday (except Juneteenth on June 19 and Thursday, July 4 and Friday, July 5). Breakfast: 7:45 to 8:35 a.m. and lunch: 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. THANK YOU for your attention to this matter!
Area fastpitch playoff scores on May 26:
Jackson County Central 6, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta (Section 3AA winner's bracket final)
Pipestone Area 6, New London-Spicer 3
Pipestone Area 7, MA/CA 1
Melrose Area 11, Holdingford 1 (6 innings; the Huskers season is over)
St. Cloud Cathedral 11, Kimball Area 1 (6 innings; the Cubs fall to the loser's bracket in Section 6AA)
The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team has earned the No. 2 seed in Section 6A for the upcoming postseason. The Jaguars open playoffs with a home game on Tuesday (tomorrow) at 5 p.m. in Elrosa. Their opponent will be Rothsay out of the Little Eight Conference. The Tigers, who are 0-16 overall, are the No. 15 seed.
The Jaguars finished the regular season with a 13-9 record. They settled in ahead of Brandon-Evansville (No. 3 seed and 18-2 overall) and Long Prairie-Grey Eagle (No. 4 seed and 14-4 overall) in the section pairings thanks in large part to wins against both teams. On Thursday last week at home, the Jaguars edged Prairie Conference champion LP-GE by a 2-1 score.
Two-time defending Section 6A champion Parkers Prairie is the top seed. The Panthers are 18-0 overall.
It's rough at the bottom of the section this year: the 12th to 15th seeds have a combined record of 6-59 overall.
Section 6A baseball seedings:
1. Parkers Prairie
2. B-B-E
3. Brandon-Evansville
4. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle
5. Breckenridge
6. Benson
7. Border West
8. Browerville
9. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg
10. Ashby
11. Pelican Rapids
12. West Central Area
13. Hancock
14. Ortonville
15. Rothsay
The second round of section baseball games are on Thursday, May 28. I haven't looked that deep into the section bracket to deciphere what happens after Tuesday. I also have to go back and see what I have for baseball video. It has been a tough spring to get to high school baseball games.
Here's a video from Thursday in Braham:
The fastpitch team finished the season with a 12-10 overall record. Their postseason awards will be announced at a future time.
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is hosting Richmond this afternoon in a Stearns County League game. They traveled to Farming less than 24 hours ago, to face the Flames, in another SCL game last night.
Last weekend, the Saints went 2-0 with a 13-3 exhibition win over Starbuck on Friday, May 15. On Sunday, May 17, the Saints traveled to Meire Grove and won 10-2 to improve to 2-1 in the SCL-North division standings.
**Sunday update: the Saints took a 13-3 loss at Farming last night. They were out-hit 14 to 9, and 6 errors proved costly.
Today, Elrosa won a 3-2 walk off against Richmond with 3 runs scored in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Next: the Saints travel to St. Martin on Friday, May 29 for an 8:15 p.m. SCL game at Ray Weber Stadium.
On Monday: we have two Memorial Day programs to choose from. The Brooten American Legion and Legion Auxiliary hosts at 10 a.m. at the Brooten Pavilion. The Belgrade VFW and VFW Auxiliary hosts at 11 a.m. at Olson Auditorium in the high school.
They graduated: Class of 2026 officially begins "adulting"! (VIDEO)
Welcome, B-B-E Class of 2026, to the adult world! The Class of 2026 in Jaguar Country held its commencement ceremony last night in the high school gymnasium. Altogether, graduation lasted 1 hour and 6 minutes.
Here's video from the end of graduation and after it was completed:
Remember! Grove Lake will hold a Memorial Weekend event tomorrow, Sunday, starting at 1 p.m. at the Grove Lake Chapel. This is located about 3/4 of a mile south of the center of Grove Lake on Pope County Road 39.
During the day Sunday, when I'm not at church or at Grove Lake, I've got 56 garden vegetable plants to get in the ground. Uff Da. We have finally gotten proper spring gardening weather.
In a new blog post, I'll get some Elrosa baseball updates posted.
This is graduation day for the 37th straight year in Jaguar Country
To watch the graduation ceremony for the 37th class of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa high school, click on the link to move to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BBEschoolGraduation2026.
And! I have to acknowledge a mistake in the graduation section of this week's newspaper. The father of Kadynce Haider is not Todd Haider...it's Brad Haider. Todd is Brad's younger brother. It made for quite the text message thread between Todd, Brad and their mom, Kathy Haider! Brad is Kadynce's dad, and he is a 1998 graduate of B-B-E high school. He was a standout football player for Paul Beuning and a standout wrestler for Chuck Marks and his wrestlers. Todd Haider was a terrific wrestler and also a marvelous football and baseball player. In Todd's senior year, he was one of three seniors for the Jaguar baseball team in 2000 along with Travis Schoumaker and the late Adam Hanson.
The Brooten city council meeting agenda has been posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog: BrootenCouncilAgendaMay26.
Three games deep, Jaguar fastpitch season ends; Baseball Jaguars edge LPGE (VIDEOS*)
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team had chances all game to push runs across home plate, but the defense of the Braham Bombers made big plays in many innings to erase the basepaths while earning a 7-0 win in the Section 4A elimination bracket.
Both teams had 3 defensive errors, and Braham had 14 hits to 9 by the Jaguars. B-B-E had one hit batsman, but the Bombers had 4 stolen bases plus 2 extra base hits. Both teams had 9 stranded runners. For B-B-E, Brielle Worms and Mya Worms split pitching duties.
Here's a video from the bottom of the 2nd inning:
The Bombers scored the game's first runs in the bottom of the 2nd, when they took a 3-0 lead. The third and fourth innings saw Braham expand the lead to 5-0 and then 7-0. The final 2 1/2 innings of the game brought no scoring.
Here's a video from the bottom of the 6th inning:
Senior Kenna Lieser finished a prolific fastpitch career with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate today. Unofficially, I believe she finished her six varsity seasons at B-B-E with 145 hits. No. 2 hitter and sophomore Lillian Thompson was 3-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Paighton Oeltjenbruns had 2 singles, and Kamie Fischer and Ava Lieser had one single each.
B-B-E's season closes out with a 12-10 record, which marks the first time since 2009 that the fastpitch team finished with a winning record. Between starters and substitutes today, only 2 players for the Jaguars were seniors: Ava Lieser and Kenna Lieser. The starting line up had just one senior (Kenna Lieser) and only two juniors (Mya Worms and Kamie Fischer). This was a very young team that made big accomplishments this spring.
Today's game was played at Braham in Isanti County. The facilities of their softball park on the south end of their school campus are terrific. Kudos to their community! The Bombers move on with a 17-6 record. They play next Tuesday in the next round of the elimination bracket.
TWO big events coming in the next two days: B-B-E's 37th annual graduation ceremony will take place tomorrow, Friday, at 7 p.m. at the high school gymnasium. Also, on Saturday, please come to the Brooten Pavilion for the 1st annual BratFest! Hosted by the Jenniges family and Jenniges Meats of Brooten.
I'm working remotely and almost out of battery! I'll get some video attached to this blog post after 10 p.m. tonight.
In baseball news...big news!
The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team defeated Prairie Conference champion Long Prairie-Grey Eagle with a walk-off 2-1 win in 8 innings tonight. Aiden Mueller started, and Cameron Loe got the win in relief. This should give B-B-E the No. 3 seed in next week's Section 6A playoffs. We'll see.
For one of the longest-ever trips for a section postseason game that the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports department has made, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team is traveling to Isanti County this afternoon for a Section 4A elimination game at Braham. This is a No. 5 vs. No. 2 game in the section, which now has 6 teams remaining in contention for the state tournament.
Both B-B-E and Braham are 1-1 in the playoffs. The loser sees their season end today. The winner advances to the elimination bracket semifinal, which would take place next Tuesday, May 26 at a site-to-be-determined. Braham is 16-6 overall. The Jaguars owe them after the Bombers ended our girls' basketball team's season back in March in the Sub-Section 5A-East championship game.
Here's a video going back to May 5, when the Jaguars defeated Paynesville Area:
Worth noting: the top 3 teams in the Central Minnesota Conference all earned Top 7 seeds in a very tough Section 6AA this spring. These teams are Kimball Area (CMC champion), Holdingford and Eden Valley-Watkins.
Back at home, in Elrosa, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team is hosting Long Prairie-Grey Eagle in a big non-conference section game. The JV plays at 4:30 p.m. in Elrosa, and the varsity game will follow at about 7 p.m.
**Update: through 3 1/2 innings, the Bombers have a 5-0 lead. A couple key early mistakes have hurt the Jaguars considerably.
Final: Braham 7, B-B-E 0 in 7 innings. A new blog post later tonight will feature additional game details plus updates from the baseball games in Elrosa.
Let's get caught up...track, golf, fastpitch (VIDEOS**)
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team has pushed through to the second day of the Section 4A tournament. After an initial 8-5 loss in the first round on Tuesday to Mayer Lutheran, the Jaguars responded with a 2-1 walk-off eight-inning win against Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. The 1-1 record at Fenway Park in Forest Lake sets up a trip to No. 2-seeded Braham on Thursday this week. The elimination playoff game against the Bombers is at 4 p.m.
Against BL-H-S, Brielle Worms pitched a complete game in the circle with 10 strikeouts, 5 walks and 5 hits.
By the way: Fenway Park fields in Forest Lake to the Wisconsin border is a distance of less than 15 miles. That's absolutely wild to have a high school fastpitch team from our part of central Minnesota open the playoffs that close to Wisconsin. I will never understand.
In Day One games played in the Section 4A fastpitch playoffs:
Gentry Academy 17, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 1
Braham 17, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 2
West Lutheran 10, Ogilvie 5
West Lutheran 9, Braham 3 (this knocked the Bombers into our bracket for tomorrow's game, while West Lutheran moves into the 4A semis)
Gentry Academy 6, Mayer Lutheran 1 (Gentry advances to the 4A semis)
Elimination games of 4A
B-B-E 2, BL-H-S 1 (8 innings)
Ogilvie 9, G-F-W 5
In track and field news...
Six members of the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams have earned tickets to the Section 5A state qualifying meet. They competed in the Sub-Section 5A-West meet in Litchfield on Tuesday.
The section qualifiers includes two boys' athletes and four girls' athletes as follows: Taylor Pieper: 400 dash and long jump Mason Douvier: 800 run Brooklyn Breitbach: 1600 run Ziva Miller: 400 dash Laken Anderson: high jump Whitney Anderson: pole vault
Here's a video from subsections on Tuesday in Litchfield:
Here's Anton Zins during the long jump in Litchfield:
Any time a student-athlete can push past track and field subsections, it's an exciting achievement. They now get another week of practice plus a memorable trip to Collegeville next Wednesday, May 27 to compete at Clemens Stadium.
In golf news...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' and girls' golf teams competed today in the opening round of the Section 5A meet at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Willmar. Updates are forthcoming tonight.
UPDATE: Cash Lehner, Walker Winte and Owen Roering have all advanced through to the Section 5A finals. For the girls' team, both Olive Olson and Kragen Wiener saw their 9th grade seasons conclude today. Olson shot a 110, and Wiener had a 121. Both had terrific freshmen seasons this spring, with Olson being B-B-E's lone All-Conference golfer from both squads. Wiener was in the running for All-Central Minnesota Conference honors and ultimately finished in 8th place. The top 6 individual girls' golfers in the CMC earn All-CMC hardware. For the boys, the top 8 are given All-CMC honors because that group has more overall athletes in the conference.
Later tonight, I will get some video posted here. It has been a wide-open, full-speed sprint for the past few days. Tonight, I'm back in Morris at the Regional Fitness Center, University of Minnesota-Morris, with AAU Wildcats basketball practice.
In baseball news...
The baseball team hosts LP-GE in the last regular season game on Thursday this week: JV at 5 p.m. and varsity to follow in Elrosa. The Jaguars (12-9) are currently ranked No. 22 by QRF in Class 1A out of 117 teams. The Thunder hold a 14-3 record and are ranked No. 19. The winner of this game has almost a lock on the No. 3 seed in Section 6A for next week's playoffs.
LP-GE finished 9-1 in the Prairie Conference to claim the title outright. Upsala/Swanville Area (13-7) took second with an 8-2 record.
Fastpitch Jaguars take close loss, then walk off Mustangs
An 8-5 loss was the outcome of the fastpitch playoff opener today in Forest Lake. Their opponent was No. 4-seeded Mayer Lutheran (11-7). The Jaguars move into the elimination bracket of Section 4A, and they play a second game today.
**Update: the Jaguars are playing BL-H-S in the elimination game right now.
I am at the subsection track and field meet in Litchfield. I'll post updates as much as possible.
**The fastpitch team is advancing in the playoffs! They walked off Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 3-2 in 8 innings in the elimination bracket tonight. They are driving home from Forest Lake with a win. Brielle Worms got the pitching win in the circle.
Next: at Braham (16-6) on Thursday this week at 4 p.m. against the No. 2 seeded Bombers. The Jaguars are 12-9 overall.
In track and field news...
At least three members of the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams have qualified for the Section 5A meet, after they had terrific performances at the Sub-Section 5A-West meet in Litchfield. Moving on from subsections are Taylor Pieper (400), Laken Anderson (high jump) and Brooklyn Breitbach (1600). That's all I've got that is official.
The Section 5A track and field meet is next Wednesday, May 26 at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.
Section 4A fastpitch playoffs begin tomorrow, golf regular season concludes
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team has earned the No. 4 seed via the QRF rankings in the Section 4A seeding. This was announced by the MSHSL on Sunday. It gives just a day basically for the team to prepare for the playoff opener. It's a shoddy way to operate a section, and it's a huge disservice to the teams and athletes in the section.
The Jaguars (11-8) open the playoffs at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19 at Fenway Park in Forest Lake (near Wisconsin)...the opponent will be No. 4-seeded Mayer Lutheran. The Crusaders are 10-7 overall. Teams with seeds of 7 or higher are guaranteed two playoff games. The Jaguars play at 4 p.m. in either the winners' or losers' bracket.
Section 4A fastpitch seedings:
1. Gentry Academy of St. Paul (10-4)
2. Braham (15-5)
3. West Lutheran (11-4)
4. Mayer Lutheran
5. B-B-E
6. Ogilvie
7. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop
8. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart
9. Lester Prairie
Gentry Academy is a first-year fastpitch program. Braham is the defending Section 4A champion. The Bombers went 4-0 in the section tournament a year ago and took home the fourth-place trophy at the Class 1A state tournament.
In golf news...
The Central Minnesota Conference season concluded today with the last 18 holes of the season, with all boys' and girls' teams competing at The Lynx National Golf Course in Sauk Centre. Freshman Olive Olson with the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team earned All-CMC status by shooting a 98. She finished in 6th place individually to earn the final All-CMC spot. Fellow freshman Kragen Wiener also had a solid outing today, and she shot a 102 and finished in 8th place in the conference.
A natural gas leak occurred mid-afternoon on Thursday in Brooten. The area affected is the Park Street and Western Avenue intersection neighborhood. Please stay away from this area! You are not helping by driving by as a gawker. Additional information is posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper: BrootenNaturalGasLeak.
On a brighter note, it's raining! It was raining quite heavily at about 4 p.m. today. We need it.
Here's a video featuring the end of Elrosa's game against Spring Hill:
The Saints won 10-4 over their neighboring division rivals.
On Friday, the Elrosa Saints are set to host Starbuck in an exhibition game. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m.
Have you paid your property taxes? For small businesses, this is especially a big deal to do. Don't forget! Friday, May 15 is the due date in Stearns County.
A marvelous program took place tonight at B-B-E high school's Olson Auditorium for the Class of 2026 seniors. At the end of the program, the Athlete of the Year awards were announced by Activities Director Chris Anderson.
Freshman Jace Mueller was outstanding on the mound in Elrosa for the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team, who won 12-2 in five innings tonight against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The Jaguars belted 15 hits against two Falcons pitchers while Mueller limited the visitors to 5 total hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. All 12 of B-B-E's runs were earned.
Now winners of 6 straight ball games, B-B-E improves to 5-7 in the Central Minnesota Conference while remaining in fifth place.
Next: the Jaguars (12-7 overall) travel to Eden Valley-Watkins on Thursday this week while still holding a shot at gaining fourth place in the standings. EV-W came into the night tied for third (7-5) with Royalton. A-C-GC falls to 2-11 in the CMC and 5-11 overall.
In fastpitch news...
In a battle for third place in the final CMC standings tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team suffered a tough 8-6 loss at Eden Valley-Watkins. The Jaguars had rough go in the fifth and sixth innings, when the Eagles outscored the Jaguars by a combined 5-1 margin to take an 8-1 lead. In the top of the seventh, the Jaguars made a comeback bid that fell short. Four errors were a contributing factor along with 7 stranded runners.
For the second straight season, the Jaguars finished 7-7 in the CMC and in fourth place. Maple Lake, who took third last season, finished 6-8 in the CMC in fifth place. EV-W (14-8) went 8-6 for third place alone.
The fastpitch team waits for Section 4A seeding to take place tomorrow (Wednesday). Updates to come later in the day tomorrow. Now 11-8 overall, B-B-E completed the best regular season since 2008, when they were 12-5 heading into the Section 5A playoffs. In 2009, the Jaguars were 10-8 going into the postseason. Last year, they were 10-9 before heading into the Section 3A tournament.
In track and field news...
In the CMC championships at Maple Lake tonight, B-B-E 7th grader Brooklyn Breitbach won the 800-meter conference title with a career-best time of 2:24.63. Other results will be published in this week's newspaper.
On the winning track: fastpitch Jaguars win thriller over Benson (VIDEOS)
A clutch RBI-single by sophomore Lillian Thompson lifted the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team to a 3-2 come-from-behind walk-off win against Benson today. The game marked the final home game of the season. B-B-E is 11-7 overall heading into tomorrow's regular season finale, which is a Central Minnesota Conference game at 4:30 p.m. (May 12) at Eden Valley-Watkins.
The Jaguars trailed 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. They scored once in the sixth and then twice in the bottom of the seventh for the win.
Here's video from the top of the 3rd inning today:
Kamie Fischer's sacrifice bunt helped set up Thompson's late game heroics. That bunt advanced Abby Lieser, who advanced on an error by Benson's second baseman while fielding a ground ball. McKinley Haider entered to pinch run for Lieser, and she scored the tying run on Lydia Primus's two-out RBI-single to centerfield. Thompson then slapped a base hit to the outfield to drive home Primus and end the game.
Here's a video featuring the end of the game:
Brielle Worms was fantastic in the circle with 10 strikeouts against 3 walks and 4 hits. The Jaguars had no errors in the field to 3 by the Braves. For her part, Benson's freshman Tess Nygaard was also strong in the circle with 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, 1 earned run and 6 total hits given up.
B-B-E and EV-W (13-8) are currently both tied for third place in the CMC with 7-6 records. The winner tomorrow locks up third place alone. Holdingford (10-3) has locked up second place, and Kimball Area won the title once again and remains undefeated (12-0) in the CMC.
The Jaguars currently sit in fifth place in the Section 4A standings. Within their reach is the No. 3 or No. 4 seeds, but that all hinges on beating EV-W tomorrow plus how Braham and Mayer Lutheran fare today and tomorrow.
It's time for the school board meeting.
On Tuesday this week:
The track and field teams travel to Maple Lake for the CMC championships starting at 3 p.m. The girls' golf team has a CMC meet at Paynesville, and the baseball team hosts A-C-GC in Elrosa for a 5 p.m. CMC game.
In a Stearns County League North division game today, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team defeated Spring Hill 10-4 to square up their division record at 1-1 early in the season. The win was set up by a five-run 4th inning that broke a scoreless tie through three innings.
In the top of the 7th inning, Spring Hill cut into Elrosa's 7-1 lead with three runs. The Saints responded with Blaine Fischer's monster three-RBI double that bounced off of the centerfield fence, and reliever Wyatt Steffensen closer Luke Dingmann shut the door on the Chargers for the last 6 outs. Riley Meyer started for Elrosa and pitched well across 4 1/3 innings. (4 hits, one run, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts) before Steffensen entered in relief in the top of the fifth. Steffensen earned the win with 3 2/3 innings of work on the mound.
The Saints had 12 hits to 11 by the Chargers. Four of Spring Hill's 11 hits were doubles, but the Saints benefited from having no errors in the field to two by the Chargers. Earning 2 hits each for Elrosa were Ashton Dingmann, Luke Dingmann, Peyton Winter and Will VanBeck.
Here's a video featuring the end of today's game:
Elrosa's next town team game is an exhibition game in Elrosa on Friday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. against Starbuck. Following that, the Saints travel the short trip east to Meire Grove to face the Grovers in an SCL-North game on Sunday, May 17 (1:30 p.m.).
In other news...
The Belgrade Commercial Club held its spring purse bingo event on Friday at the VFW with a nice turnout of 65. They also sponsored advertising for over a dozen garage sales in the Belgrade area. That advertising was published in the April 30 and May 7 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
The Brooten city council meets in regular session on Monday night. Once I get the agenda, it will be posted to the newspaper's editor's blog: lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team plays their final home game of the season on Monday at 2 p.m. against Benson.
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is hosting neighboring division rival Spring Hill on Mother's Day. The game started at 1:30 p.m. I'm at the Belgrade Sportsmen's Club with the B-B-E Clay Trapshooting team, and I don't think I'll be able to catch any of the baseball game. It depends when my daughter finishes her two rounds of 25 shots.
The final score and more will be posted in a new blog post. Hit refresh!
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team settled for a series split with Maple Lake today in a Central Minnesota Conference doubleheader. The Jaguars (10-7) host Benson on Monday in a non-conference game.
Game one: B-B-E 13, Maple Lake 11.
Game two: Maple Lake 14, B-B-E 8.
In the game two loss, the Jaguars had a rough going in the third and fourth innings, when the Irish outscored them 5-0. After two innings, Maple Lake held a 3-2 lead.
In the latest Section 4A standings, the fastpitch team has climbed to No. 4 out of 12 teams.
In Elrosa tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team defeated Hancock 10-0 in 5 innings and then Browerville 10-0 in 5 innings. No kidding! It was an outstanding day for the Jaguars on the home diamond. Lance Radermacher pitched all 5 innings against Hancock, and Baron Breitbach pitched all 5 innings against Browerville. Both wins were against Section 6A opponents. Next: the Jaguars (11-7 overall) host Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City on Tuesday, May 12 in Elrosa. This will be their 12th CMC game of the season.
Sunday update:
In the latest Section 6A standings (as of Sunday, May 10), the Jaguars have climbed to No. 3 in the Section 6A rankings out of 15 total teams. This is remarkable. They have a way to go until playoffs, but the 11-7 record is an outstanding achievement this far with an incredibly young lineup made up mostly of 9th and 10th grade players.
Baseball team wins third straight; fastpitch Jaguars make it five in a row (VIDEOS)
In a non-conference road game tonight in Grove City, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team defeated Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 7-4. This moves their overall record to 9-6 going into tomorrow's doubleheader at Maple Lake.
In Section 4A, the fastpitch team is ranked No. 5 out of 12 teams.
In baseball news...
In the final of three games played tonight in Elrosa for the Max Bats Invitational, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team knocked off Brandon-Evansville by a 3-0 shutout.
Here's action from the top of the first inning:
The big Section 6A win improves B-B-E's overall record to 9-7 overall.
Out of the 21 outs recorded by B-B-E's defense, 17 of them came via strikeout by starter Aiden Mueller, who went the distance on the mound. Both teams had 3 hits, and the Jaguars picked up singles by Tyler Myers and Noah Jensen plus a double by Aiden Mueller.
Here's a short video featuring the final out recorded in the top of the 6th inning tonight:
For Saturday's schedule: the Jaguars play Hancock at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow, and they face Browerville in the final game of the day (approx. 7 p.m.).
Coming into today, the baseball team was ranked No. 5 in Section 6A, while Brandon-Evansville was ranked No. 2.
I have a fair amount of video from tonight's game with the Chargers. Eventually I'll get some of the footage posted.
The Max Bats Invitational is underway this evening in Elrosa, where theB-B-E Jaguars baseball team is hosting three other teams for a round-robin style tournament. It is also Hope at Bat Night, an American Cancer Society fundraiser. The Jaguars are set to play at about 8 p.m. tonight.
Additional updates will be posted in a new blog post later this evening.
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team added another Central Minnesota Conference series sweep to their season tally by going 2-0 today against Royalton. They won game one by a 7-4 score before picking up a 6-1 win in the nightcap.
In game one, Mya Worms started and pitched six innings. Brielle Worms was closer in the seventh inning, and she gave up no hits, no walks and had two strikeouts. Ava Lieser had 3 singles with one RBI to lead the Jaguars. Earning one double apiece were Kenna Lieser, Mya Worms and Lydia Primus.
Brielle Worms pitched a complete game in the nightcap, and she had 8 strikeouts to go with 3 walks and 5 hits. At the plate, Kenna Lieser led the Jaguars with 3 singles, one RBI and 2 runs scored. Mya Worms singled, doubled and had 3 RBI. Lydia Primus had two singles, drew two walks and scored two runs.
Next is a non-conference game against Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. The teams will face each other in Grove City at the A-C-GC high school campus at 6 p.m. for what will be B-B-E's only Section 4A game of the regular season.
The Jaguars hold an 8-6 record, and they're 6-5 in the CMC, where they sit in third place.
And in baseball news...
At Joe Faber Field tonight in St. Cloud, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team defeated Royalton 4-3 in the first game of a CMC doubleheader. The Jaguars scored 3 runs to win in walk-off fashion after the Royals led 3-1 through four innings. Jace Mueller started and pitched 6 2/3 innings. His pitching line was terrific: 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. Noah Jensen got the win with 1/3 innings pitched. Cameron Loe, Jace Mueller and Baron Breitbach had two hits each as part of B-B-E's nine-hit effort. Jace Mueller had B-B-E's lone extra base hit in that opening game.
In game two, the Jaguars used a four-run third inning to claim a 5-3 win for the series sweep. Walker Winter (4 innings) and Noah Jensen (2 innings) split pitching duties. Aiden Mueller led the team at the plate with a single, double, one run scored and a walk. In game two, the Jaguars took a 2-1 lead in the third inning before two scoreless innings took place. The Jaguars pushed four runs across home plate in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Next: the baseball team hosts the Max Bats Invitational in Elrosa on Friday and Saturday. Tomorrow, the Jaguars face Brandon-Evansville in a Section 6A game at approximately 8:30 p.m. It's the third of three games: Browerville takes on Hancock at 3:30; this game is followed by Browerville vs. Brandon-Evansville.
Saturday features the following schedule: Brandon-Evansville vs. Hancock at 2 p.m.; Hancock vs. B-B-E at 4:30 p.m.; and Browerville vs. B-B-E at 7 p.m.
In golf news...
At the Kimball golf course today, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team was led by a fifth-place finish by Olive Olson. Their next action is at a CMC meet next Tuesday at Koronis Golf Course in Paynesville.
In track and field action tonight...
The B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams competed in a robust 11-team Dave Sieben Invitational in Melrose. Numerous boys' and girls' Jaguars turned in terrific performances with a handful of personal records broken.
Here's Taylor Pieper in the long jump:
The girls' 4x800 relay team broke the school record in Melrose tonight. This group of Jaguars ran the 4x800 for the first time in their careers: Andrea Douvier, Brooklyn Breitbach, Ziva Miller and Claire Dailey. Their time was 11:04.95, which was good for sixth place.
Here's Andrea Douvier in the long jump in Melrose:
Brooklyn Breitbach took fourth place in the 400 and 800 open races.
Taylor Pieper took fourth in the 400 (54.57 seconds) and the long jump (18'9").
The track and field teams travel to Maple Lake next Tuesday, May 12 for the Central Minnesota Conference championships.
This is a super, super busy day with four of B-B-E's six spring varsity teams in action - and basically - all at once. I'm at the Dave Sieben Invitational with the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams in Melrose. It's cool and sunny, but the sun has enough power to make for a pleasant evening at the Melrose football stadium.
Update: the fastpitch varsity team swept Royalton tonight at River's Edge in Waite Park. I need to run to the van to get my jacket...it is cooling off here in Melrose as the sun is setting. The boys' 4x400 is yet to come as B-B-E's final event.
TheB-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team defeated Paynesville Area 9-2 tonight in home Central Minnesota Conference action. Brielle Worms, a freshman, pitched the complete game win. They face Royalton on Thursday at Waite Park in a CMC doubleheader. The site will be the River's Edge softball complex, and the first game starts at 4 p.m.
At home in Elrosa in a CMC game, theB-B-E Jaguars baseball teamtook an 8-2 loss to Paynesville Area. The Jaguars racked up 10 hits to 12 by the Bulldogs, but 4 errors hurt the cause. Aiden Mueller led the Jaguars at the plate with a 3-for-3 mark, including one triple plus one walk. The Jaguars left 10 runners stranded, and Paynesville left 11 runners on base. The Jaguars face Royalton at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud on Thursday this week in a CMC doubleheader. The first game is at 4:30 p.m.
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team defeated Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City tonight by a 6-0 score in the first game of a very busy week. Junior Mya Worms started and pitched the complete game shutout of the Falcons. This improves their Central Minnesota Conference record to 3-5, putting them right around the fifth-place position in the standings. They are 5-6 overall.
Next: the Jaguars host Paynesville Area tomorrow with first pitch set for 3:45 p.m. in Brooten.
A-C-GC falls to 3-8 in the CMC and 4-9 overall. In the teams' first meeting on April 28 in Grove City, the Jaguars won 9-2.
The track and field teams were in Olivia today at BOLD high school for an invitational. What a truly rotten day for that sport. It will improve 100-fold by Thursday when they travel to Melrose Area high school.
ALSO tomorrow:
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf teamtravels to Paynesville Area for a conference meet. Also tomorrow, the varsity baseball team hosts Paynesville with a 5 p.m. start in Elrosa.
Central Minnesota Conference fastpitch scores on April 30 last week:
Paynesville Area 16, Royalton 11
Royalton 9, Paynesville Area 8
Holdingford 5, A-C-GC 4
Holdingford 4, A-C-GC 1
Today, we all join forces to pray and support the safe travels and activities related to the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa high school prom. The grand march is at 3:30 p.m. today at the high school in Belgrade.
Earlier this afternoon, B-B-E prom students gathered at the historic Brooten Pavilion - now approaching its 97th anniversary as a local institution - for pre-Grand March photos.
VIDEO at the Pavilion:
The weather is terrific, relatively speaking, with near full sunshine and moderate wind.
Let's fast forward to the evening...
*One of the last songs played by Lynn Wold at the Brooten Pavilion tonight:
The community at large should be very proud of the outstanding attendance by B-B-E senior high students at the prom dance this evening.
In girls' golf news...
Two members of the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team traveled to Little Falls yesterday for the fourth Central Minnesota Conference meet of the season. B-B-E's Kragen Wiener fired a 47 to tie for third place with A-C-GC's Laila Zaeska. Olive Olson tied for 6th place with Paynesville's Avery Braun with a 49. As their teammate, Marlie Schlangen, was absent due to academic commitments, the rules add a "filler" score of 90 to the team total. This gave B-B-E a 186, putting them in 5th place behind Osakis's score of 185.
A-C-GC won the meet with a 135; they were led by Brooke Brekke's medalist score of 37. Paynesville Area's Peyton Roeske took second with a 42, and the Bulldogs took second with a 139. In third place was Kimball/Eden Valley-Watkins with a 167. Royalton was sixth with a 190.
In amateur baseball news...
*Sunday afternoon update...the Elrosa Saints won their season opener by a 13-6 score in an exhibition game on Saturday in Elrosa. They trailed Greenwald 10-7 in the 7th inning on Sunday afternoon. Time to get back in the garden! This weather is great, although it looks like it cools off again for a couple days.
In a road doubleheader on Thursday, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team earned a Central Minnesota Conference series split with Kimball Area. In game one, the Jaguars were stung in the bottom of the 9th inning in a 7-6 loss. They rebounded with a 4-3 win in the nightcap. Jace Mueller started and pitched 6 2/3 innings for the win, and Cameron Loe closed for the save while earning the final out after giving up two hits, one walk but no runs.
Also on Thursday, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team lost two games to Kimball Area in a doubleheader at home. The first game resulted in a 12-0 loss, and the Cubs won game two 13-2.
Here's a video from the top of the 3rd inning in game two against Kimball:
Kimball Area is 13-2 overall after the sweep; they were coming off of their first loss of the season, which occurred on Tuesday this week by a 4-0 score at Annandale. They are 10-0 in the CMC and locked up at least a share of the title - which is a rare feat to pull off in the month of April in high school fastpitch. Eden Valley-Watkins is currently in second place with a 6-4 CMC record (8-4 overall).
Annandale is 11-4 overall and currently ranked No. 17 in Class 2A in the QRF rankings out of 120 total teams in that class. In Section 6AA, Kimball Area is currently in second place behind undefeated (11-0) St. Cloud Cathedral.
Lots to catch up on today! The B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team is competing in a CMC meet today hosted by Royalton at Little Falls. That's all for varsity action today.
The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's spring sports photos folder has finally been created a few weeks after the varsity sports got their action underway. Three galleries are included at this point. You can find that by clicking here: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/B-B-E-Spring-Sports-2026.
