The dream is cut short: Elrosa baseball suffers one-run loss in state finals (VIDEOS*)

I don't use this phrase often, but I think it's fitting to include it. The game was not for the faint of heart!

With their backs to the wall late in the Class C state tournament amateur baseball championship, the Elrosa Saints baseball team rallied and battled and hung in there after falling behind 5-1 to Fairmont. Three runs plated in the bottom of the 7th inning were not enough, however.

Final score on Sunday, September 6 in New Prague: Fairmont 5, Elrosa 4. The Saints finish an incredible season with a 27-9 overall record. It was an incredible ride. Thanks for the memories! This is just the third time in the history of the Stearns County League that one of our teams has played in the state championship game. The first was in 1998, when Richmond lost in the state finals by a 6-4 score to Glencoe. In 2017, Lake Henry lost 6-4 to Kimball in the Class C state finals.

Here's a video from an action-packed bottom of the second inning on Sunday night:


Time to rest up and recharge the batteries! It's Labor Day. Don't forget this event in rural Villard: BreakfastOntheFarm2026.

Monday afternoon update: I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to, and the time spent at Breakfast on the Farm in rural Villard. The Reichmann family is wonderful! One of their daughters-in-law is Tara Reichmann, who is the Minnewaska Area boys' and girls' head tennis coach. Her brother is former B-B-E superintendent Patrick Walsh.

Alas, it's time to get back to some very important sports writing.

And now back to baseball...
The Elrosa Saints finished 27-8 overall after completing a terrific 4-1 record at the state tournament. This is remarkable!

Here's a video from the bottom of the fourth inning against Fairmont:


The Saints had numerous players earn post-tournament awards. I'm getting that compiled tonight to write about.

Some additional coverage is being posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: StateFinals6thInning.

Here's a video featuring action in the bottom of the 7th inning:


Peyton Winter, batting No. 8 in the lineup, is shown batting at the plate with three runners on with zero outs. At that point, Elrosa trailed 5-1.

Elrosa's dreams were gashed in the bottom of the ninth inning, when they left the tying run stranded at third base.

Community event announcement!
The Honebrink family and all the friendly staff of Brink's Beer Joint in Swift Falls invites everyone to the annual Turkey Fest celebration, which is on Saturday, September 19 in the scenic village of Swift Falls. Other details to follow in The Voice...the Turkey Fest parade starts at 5:30 p.m.!

State championship day!

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is playing at 6 p.m. tonight in the Class C state championship game at New Prague's Memorial Park Stadium. 

Hopefully that's not news to you by now!

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports department is on its way to the game. Updates to follow.

UPDATES...(and these are edited somewhat after the game as I prepare for the 129-mile drive home!)

At 6:05 p.m., the first inning wrapped up, and the score is 0-0.

In the top of the 2nd inning, Fairmont got a 3-RBI double on 2 outs. They lead 3-0 going into the bottom of the frame.

**In the bottom of the 2nd, Jackson Peter hit an RBI single, and the score is now 3-1 going into the third inning.

**Four complete: Fairmont 4, Elrosa 1.

**After 5 1/2 innings: Fairmont 5. Elrosa 1.

After 7 complete: Fairmont 5, Elrosa 4. The Saints scored 3 times in the bottom of the seventh inning. Derek Wiener led off with a single, Luke Illies walked, and Gavin Kampsen singled to load the bases.

On a fielders choice to the shortstop, Peyton Winter advanced to first while Wiener scored. The 6-5 throw to third went wide, so all 4 runners were safe! No outs!

On a new pitcher, Blaine Fischer walked. On a 2-0 count, Illies attempted to score on a wild pitch, but the catcher tagged him out at the plate. Jackson Peter hit an RBI fly to bring Kampsen home. Ethan Mueller then hit an RBI-single for a 5-4 score. 

Fairmont's third relief pitcher recorded the third out, with Elrosa leaving 2 stranded but making the outcome in doubt.

After 8 complete: Fairmont 5, Elrosa 4. Both teams went quietly at the plate in this inning. 

Final score: Fairmont 5, Elrosa 4. A late game rally fell short. Game and season a wrap.

Time to drive home safely. 

*NOTE: a new blog post is going up on Monday morning, and it will be heavily edited throughout the day.

Elrosa Saints are heading to the 'Ship! (VIDEO)

Don't look now! The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is heading to the state championship game! They now take on Fairmont in the Class C state title game. This game will be played at 6 p.m. tomorrow, Sunday, September 6 in New Prague. The site is Memorial Park Baseball Stadium, where Elrosa won its first two state ball games. They are playing in their 13th state tournament in program history. Overall, this is Minnesota's 103rd state amateur baseball tournament. How about that!!

This marks the first time in Elrosa history that the baseball team will play for a state title. It will also be just the third time in the history of the Stearns County League that a team will play for a state title. It first occurred in 1998, when Richmond took second place. In 2017, Lake Henry also made it to the Class C finals but fell to Kimball.

Box score, Elrosa vs. Hanska:
Elrosa 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 1 - 6
Hanska 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2

In tonight's game:
Tonight, in New Prague, the Saints faced Hanska in the state semifinals. They had a 5-2 lead going into the 9th inning. In the top of the 9th, the Saints scored one more run to make it 6-2. In the bottom of the 9th, Hanska loaded the bases on no outs with two walks and one hit batsman. Jared Cortez, a draftee from Norway Lake-Sunburg, entered as the second relief pitcher of the game. He proceeded to earn three straight strikeouts to seal the win!

Hanska (22-5-1) loaded the bases in the first inning but pushed just one run across home plate on an Elrosa error. They had a runner forced out at home, and the inning ended with a Lakers runner thrown out at home after tagging up on a fly ball to left field.

Elrosa scored once in the top of the second inning on a sacrifice fly-RBI to make it a 1-1 tie. The Lakers pulled ahead with one run scored in the bottom of the second for a 2-1 lead.

In the top of the fourth, Elrosa scored 3 times to gain a 4-2 lead and never looked back.

Overall, the Hanska Lakers left 15 runners stranded. They were held in check for the bulk of the game by Greenwald draftee Grant Moscho, who pitched 7 innings and earned the win with 6 walks and 7 strikeouts. Moscho is a first cousin to B-B-E head football coach Chris Moscho. He threw 136 total pitches and surrendered just 3 hits with no runs.

Derek Wiener and Luke Illies had 3 hits each to lead the offense, while Blaine Fischer and Ethan Mueller each had two hits with two RBI apiece. Altogether, Elrosa launched 13 hits on the Hanska Lakers.

Cortez, a Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Class of 2024 graduate, is the son of James and Kris Cortez of Lake Johanna Township. Kris (Skarpness) is a B-B-E Class of 1996 graduate, while James was a 1996 K-M-S grad. Just for fun! Here's Jared's Southwest Minnesota State University baseball biography page: https://smsumustangs.com/sports/baseball/roster/jared-cortez/13611.

By the way! Fairmont's 2020 population is listed at 10,487. Elrosa's population stands around 230 people.

Here's a video from the state opener against Pierz back on August 23:


That video was recorded in the bottom of the fourth inning with Payton VanBeck pitching.

In case you missed it...


The Cedar Creek Gospel Band, made up of musicians based in Kandiyohi County, performed for the worship service held at the Brooten Pavilion on Sunday, August 30. The worship was hosted by the Big Grove-Crow River-Grace Lutheran and Trinity-West Lake Johanna Lutheran parishes.

More to come...lots of game notes to review!

Elrosa vs. Hanska! In Le Sueur County

The Class C state semifinal amateur tournament game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107.1 FM of Glenwood. I encourage you to tune in either on the radio or at their website: https://www.kmgk1071.com.

 The Starbuck Stars semifinal game ended at 6:34 p.m., and they lost 10-0 in 7 innings to Fairmont. 

The Elrosa game should start sometime after 7 p.m. in New Prague. I expect a time of about 7:05 p.m. for first pitch.

**Game updates won't be posted here until after 9 p.m. 

**UPDATE: Elrosa leads 6-2 in the 9th!

Final score: Elrosa 6, Hanska 2! The Saints advance to the championship!

More to come in a new blog post at 10 p.m. tonight. 

Elrosa Saints are heading to the State Final Four!

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team has made program history by advancing deeper in the state tournament than any previous team. The Saints won 3-2 tonight in a nailbiter against Glencoe in the state quarterfinals at Shakopee.

In relief on the mound, Ashton Dingmann threw just 2 pitches to record 2 outs and earn the save. It was an incredible finish that had right fielder Derek Wiener reaching high above his head for a pop fly grab and the third out!

Payton VanBeck started and earned the win in 8 1/3 innings with 13 strikeouts. While he pitched, Glencoe earned just 3 hits. They finish their season 23-7 overall.

NEXT! Please spread the word! The Elrosa Saints (26-8) play at 6:30 p.m. in New Prague tomorrow, Saturday, September 5 against Hanska. At stake is a berth in the Class C state championship game.

In the other state semifinal game tomorrow: Starbuck advanced to the state semifinals after winning 6-5 in 12 innings against Luxemburg. The Stars trailed 4-0 early before coming back to tie the game at 4-4 and then 5-5 to force extra innigs. Starbuck plays at 4 p.m. in New Prague tomorrow against Fairmont.

Fairmont bounced Richmond from the tournament in their quarterfinal game tonight in Chaska. I don't have that final score.

Elrosa vs. Glencoe is underway (UPDATES!)

Elrosa is currently facing off with Glencoe in the state quarterfinals of the Class C amateur baseball tournament. The game is being played in Shakopee at Joe Schleper Stadium. After the first inning is complete, the score is zero to zero. Payton VanBeck is Elrosa's starter, and he earned 3 strikeouts in the top of the first inning.

Here's the link to Elrosa's new website: https://www.elrosasaints.com. Bookmark it! They have done a great job building that new website.

After two innings complete: Elrosa 0, Glencoe 0.
After three innings complete: Elrosa 0, Glencoe 0.
After four innings complete: Elrosa 0, Glencoe 0.

In the top of the fifth inning, Payton VanBeck fired back-to-back strikeouts to retire the side. The first out was recorded on a ground ball play by shortstop Gavin Kampsen to first baseman Ashton Dingmann. VanBeck has now retired 7 straight Glencoe batters.

UPDATE! In the bottom of the fifth inning: the Saints took a 1-0 lead on an RBI-single by Jackson Peter with no outs! Three batters later in the inning, designated hitter Luke Dingmann hit a bomb to centerfield for a standup 2-RBI double. Scoring on the hit were Blaine Fischer and Jackson Peter.

After five innings complete: Elrosa 3, Glencoe 0.

UPDATE in the Starbuck game: the Stars fell behind 4-0 early in the game against Luxemburg. In the 8th inning, Starbuck scored 3 runs to tie the game at 4-4.

Back to the Elrosa game...in the top of the sixth inning: Glencoe had bases loaded, but Payton VanBeck fired his 11th strikeout of the game to leave 3 runners stranded! How about that!

After six innings complete: Elrosa 3, Glencoe 0.
After seven innings complete: Elrosa 3, Glencoe 0. I've also heard that the Starbuck game is tied at 5-5. I don't know what inning they're in.

UPDATE! We are going to the 9th inning in Shakopee with Elrosa holding a 3-0 lead. The 9th inning is starting at about 9:43 p.m.

Action in the top of the 9th inning at Shakopee:
The first batter for Glencoe flew out to third base...Peyton Winter calmly grabbed a pop fly grab for the first out! The second batter hit a high ball on the infield, and it dropped for a base hit.

And now we have Ashton Dingmann pitching for Elrosa. The Saints have a 3-1 lead with 1 out on the scoreboard in the top of the ninth inning.

Let's have the FINAL score in a new blog post...hit refresh!

Elrosa Saints advance to Elite 8 at State! (VIDEOS)

For the second time since 2023, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is advancing to the Class C state tournament quarterfinals. Thanks to a 3-0 win last night in the Sweet 16 over Dumont, the Saints head to the Elite Eight, which will be held on Friday at 7:30 p.m. this week in Shakopee.

Here's a video featuring the final out recorded against Dumont last night:


Against Dumont, Ashton Dingmann earned the complete game win with the performance of his life. It was a sight to behold! The Elrosa defense was impenetrable all night. Dingmann and company held the high-powered Dumont offense to just 5 hits.

Here's a video from the top of the third inning against Dumont:


Now 25-8 overall, the Saints have broken the former program record for most single season wins, which was set back in 2017 in a 24-win season.

Also, the single season hit record, which was set by Elrosa's one-and-only Pat Illies, was broken in the Dumont win by Jackson Peter, B-B-E Class of 2020.

New Prague hosted the first two rounds of the state tournament for Elrosa's games. Now they move on to play at one of the best baseball parks in Minnesota, just down the road from Valleyfair. Joe Schleper Baseball Stadium, located in Tahpah Park in Shakopee, is named for former Belgrade high school coach Joe Schleper, who coached there in the 1950s.

In Shakopee last night, Richmond faced Cologne in their Sweet 16 game. After holding an early 2-1 lead, the Royals won 7-3 to punch through to the Elite 8.

In Jordan today, Starbuck defeated Urbank by a 5-1 score to also move on to the Elite 8. As of 3:30 p.m., the Atwater vs. Hanska game was still going.

**Update: Hanska trailed 2-0 early in the game, but they pulled ahead 5-3 in the fifth inning after being held scoreless through 4 innings. FINAL: Hanska 7, Atwater 3. The Chuckers will not join the other three Region 8C teams in the state quarterfinals.

Here's a video featuring the post-game celebrating in New Prague after the Saints defeated Pierz:


Coming this week in Jaguar Country:
The volleyball team opens their season on Tuesday at New London-Spicer, and the football team opens the season at New York Mills on Thursday night. The B-B-E/Paynesville cross country teams begin their season on Friday, September 4 at Maple Lake.

GAME DAY! Back at State

The Elrosa Saints take on Dumont tonight in New Prague. First pitch from Memorial Stadium is at about 6:30 p.m. Game updates to follow.

***Updates: first pitch will be at about 7:10 p.m. Ashton Dingmann, B-B-E Class of 2022, will be Elrosa's starting pitcher. 

Just shy of 8 p.m., the game is entering the bottom of the 4th inning. As of now, Elrosa has a 1-0 lead.

**After 7 innings, Richmond has a 6-3 lead over Cologne at Jordan. 

**After 6 innings, Elrosa continues to hold a 1-0 lead over Dumont.

***After 7 1/2 innings, Elrosa has a 3-0 lead. Peyton Winter hit a 2 RBI-double to expand on the early 1-0 lead.

FINAL: Elrosa 3, Dumont 0. The Saints (25-8) advance to the state quarterfinals, and their next game is on Friday, September 4 in Shakopee. It will be an evening game.

**MORE TO COME in a new blog post on Sunday afternoon.

How SWEET it is! Elrosa Saints advance in state tournament (VIDEOS)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is advancing to the Class C state tournament's second round. They earned this feat by defeating the Pierz Brewers 10-5 today in the opening round. With a massive 19-hit attack at the plate and a one-hit, six-inning starting performance by Payton VanBeck on the mound, the Saints led 8-0 after 6 innings.

When the dust settled on the game, every Saints player who saw action at New Prague's Memorial Baseball Stadium earned at least one hit against a total of four different Pierz Brewers pitchers.

Here's a video from the bottom of the 9th inning today:


The Saints take a 24-8 record into the Class C Sweet 16. They play at approximately 6:30 p.m. next Saturday, August 29 in New Prague. Their opponent will be the Dumont Saints.

The Saints scored 2 runs in both the first and second innings for an early 4-0 lead. This put VanBeck in the driver's seat, and he proceeded to fire 8 strikeouts while issuing just one walk. Pitching in relief tonight were Aiden Mueller (B-B-E Class of 2027) and Wyatt Steffensen (B-B-E Class of 2020).

Here's a video from the top of the second inning today:


Ahead 2-0, Jackson Peter hit a two-run home run in the second inning with a distance of about 358 feet.

Elrosa Saints vs. Pierz Brewers at STATE (VIDEO)

The Elrosa Saints face Pierz at approximately 4 p.m. in New Prague, Minnesota later this afternoon in the Class C amateur state tournament. That game follows Atwater's state opener.

Here's a video from the state-qualifying game last weekend, when the Saints defeated Farming:


Game updates to follow.

**Update: after 2 innings, Elrosa has a 4-0 lead over Pierz. 

With 6 innings complete, Elrosa has an 8-0 lead.

The final score and more will be posted in a NEW blog post. Hit refresh!

Game day once again in Regal (UPDATES)

Thanks to a thrilling, nerve-wracking 4-3 win over Farming on Saturday, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team has extended their season to not only the final day of the Region 8C tournament but also the Class C state tournament.

Today, at 10:30 a.m., the Saints take on Starbuck in a state seeding game. The loser heads to state with the No. 4 seed from Region 8C, and the winner gets to play today at 1 p.m. in the final seeding game of regions.

In the Farming game on Saturday, each team had 8 hits. The winning pitcher was Elrosa's second relief pitcher, Wyatt Steffensen, who pitched the third, fourth and fifth innings. Payton VanBeck earned the save in the last 1 1/3 innings.

Today involves 2 church services, baseball in Regal and the celebration of history at the Norway Lake Lutheran Historical Association's log church in Arctander Township.

**Update: with 7 innings in the book, Elrosa holds a 3-1 lead over Starbuck.

Final score: Elrosa 3, Starbuck 1. The Stars enter the state tournament as the No. 4 seed. Elrosa now faces Atwater today in the final seeding contest of Region 8C. The Atwater Chuckers lost last night to Richmond in the Region 8C championship game.

At Belgrade today, the BG/CR/G Lutheran parish and the River of Life church hosted an outdoor ecumenical worship at the city park. Attendance reached around 75, and a pulled pork meal was served afterwards.

**Atwater vs. Elrosa: the Chuckers are ahead 4-0 in the third inning. In the top of the 4th, Atwater used 2 doubles to extend the lead to 6-0. 

In the top of the 5th, Atwater leads 6-1.

 
In the seventh inning, Elrosa scored 5 runs that knotted the score at 7-7. Atwater scored once in the eighth and another time in the top of the ninth to gain a 9-7 lead. In the bottom of the 9th, the Saints got just one run back in a 9-8 loss. This hands Elrosa the No. 3 seed for the upcoming state tournament.

Saints vs. Flames: game updates

After 4 innings, Elrosa and Farming are tied 2-2 in Regal. The Saints scored both runs in the 1st inning. 

Final: Elrosa 4, Farming 3. Elrosa advances to the state tournament. 

The Saints play again on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. in a seeding game. I'll get more updates posted late tonight after the Belgrade August Fest street dance. I have said it before, and it's worth repeating: it's important to take in the community events in the Bonanza Valley!

Here's a video featuring the scene early today in Belgrade:


At that point, the light mist and rain that was falling in the morning was winding down. The August Fest activities had a strong draw, and Belgrade has had a terrific day that they can be proud of.

Elrosa Saints extend their season to next week (VIDEOS)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team extended their season to next week with a 16-6 win in 8 innings today over Spring Hill. It was a wild game that had the Chargers jump all over Elrosa with a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Overall, Elrosa totaled 18 hits and had 11 earned runs against three Spring Hill Charger pitchers plus Meire Grove draftee and closer Jordan Klaphake.

Luke Illies and Peyton Winter had monster games with 4 hits each. Illies scored 5 runs, and Winter had 3 RBI.

Elrosa's next game is another elimination game next Saturday, August 15 at about 3:30 p.m. in Regal. Their opponent will be Farming.

Here's a video from the top of the 7th inning:


Here's a video from the top of the 8th inning:


Earlier today, New Munich won 8-4 over New London-Spicer to advance to next weekend's action.

In the first state qualifier game of the Region 8C tournament, Atwater won 12-3 over New London-Spicer on Saturday night.

In tonight's state qualifier at Regal...
Richmond and Starbuck are facing eachother in the winner's bracket of the region tournament. The winner of the game earns a state tournament berth and a spot in the Region 8C championship game, which is set for 6 p.m. on August 15.

The Royals grabbed the lead back at 7-6 with a Cole Schmitz two-run bomb on a breaking ball from Brayden Skindelien. The game is in the sixth inning. They ultimately scored 3 runs on 3 hits with no errors and none stranded. After 6 innings: Richmond 7, Starbuck 6.

Final score: Richmond 8, Starbuck 6. The Royals earn the region's second ticket to the Class C state tournament.

Video is uploading.

Battle For the Keg III

The Elrosa Saints face Spring Hill today in a Region 8C elimination game at Regal.

In the first game today in Regal, New Munich has a 3-1 lead over New London-Spicer after 5 innings.

Updates to follow.

**New Munich beat NL-S 8-4 to stay alive at regions. The Elrosa vs. Spring Hill game won't start until after 2 p.m.

Battle For the Keg III updates:
The Elrosa vs. Spring Hill game got started at about 2:15 p.m. For Spring Hill, they are starting Anthony Revermann on the mound. The Saints are going with Aiden Mueller as starter.

The game had a tough start for Elrosa. Spring Hill earned 6 hits in the top of the first inning and used that onslaught plus one Elrosa error to take a 4-0 lead. They left 3 stranded on relief pitcher Riley Meyer. In the bottom of the first inning, Elrosa scored 4 runs to make it a tie game.

After two innings complete, Spring Hill has a 5-4 lead.

After 3 innings complete, Elrosa has an 8-5 lead. Peyton Winter hit an RBI-single to put the Saints ahead 6-5.

Spring Hill and Elrosa face region opponents today in their openers

The Region 8C baseball field is set. Now all that’s needed are large crowds to make the drive to Buddy Beier Stadium in Regal for what should shape up to be two exciting weekends of amateur baseball. Elrosa, the top seed out of the Stearns County League North, begins their quest for state at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 8 against Starbuck. The Stars lost 8-7 to New London-Spicer in the County Line League championship last Friday. On Saturday, Atwater won 5-1 over Lake Henry in the region play-in game.

Region 8C openers in Regal:
On Friday, August 7: New London-Spicer faces Atwater at 6 p.m. in the first region game. New Munich then takes on Farming at 8:30 p.m.
On Saturday, August 8: Spring Hill faces Richmond at 1 p.m. in their region opener before the Saints take on the Stars at 3:30 p.m.

Scores will be posted as I find them out. There's also the Kandiyohi County Fair's final day, which is today. Lots of ground to cover. I've got 2 updates at the newspaper website: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

In the Elrosa vs. Starbuck game: the Saints have a 2-0 lead early in the top of the third inning.

In the 7th, Starbuck scored once to make it 2-1.

Earlier today, Richmond beat Spring Hill 3-2.

Final: Starbuck 6, Elrosa 4. The Stars scored 2 runs in the top of the 10th inning to break a 4-4 tie. For the game, Elrosa left 15 runners stranded.

Elrosa plays at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow in Regal. The opponent is Spring Hill. 

Elrosa Saints win playoff title (VIDEOS)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won the Stearns County League North playoff title with a 6-5, 10-inning win over New Munich this afternoon in Greenwald. A base hit by Derek Wiener in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Luke Dingmann from second base for the walk-off win.

A three-run home run by Blaine Fischer in the bottom of the 8th inning tied the game at 5-5. In the first inning, New Munich took a 5-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Jackson Peter hit a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 5-2.

Here's a video featuring action in the bottom of the 8th inning:


The game continued past the 9th inning thanks to some great plays made by Elrosa's defense in the top of the 9th inning.

Here's a video from the top of the 9th inning:


Next: the Saints open the Region 8C tournament on Saturday, August 8 at 3:30 p.m. in Regal, host of the 2026 region tournament. They will face the No. 2 seed from the County Line League.

In the second SCL-North game played today in Greenwald, Spring Hill defeated Greenwald 8-2 to keep their season alive. They earned a spot in the region tournament.

More to come. I haven't gotten a full grasp on who's still alive in the County Line League playoffs. The last I checked, teams still alive in the CLL playoffs are Atwater, Regal and Paynesville.

Plenty of baseball to catch up on

I'll start in the Stearns County League South with amateur baseball news...in the division playoffs on Saturday, Farming defeated Lake Henry 11-5 to earn a spot at the Region 8C tournament.

In the SCL-North, New Munich won a high-scoring contest 18-12 against Spring Hill in their division opener. New Munich earns the right to face Elrosa in a region seeding game for the SCL-North playoff banner. New Munich and Elrosa have a first pitch set for 12 p.m. in Greenwald today.

Later today in Greenwald, Spring Hill will face the Cubs in an elimination game.

In youth baseball news...
At the state tournament in Barnesville on Saturday, the B-B-E Jaguars 16-U Babe Ruth team took a very, very tough loss by a 7-6 score in regulation innings against neighboring Paynesville. The Jaguars scored 2 runs in the top of the seventh, but they ran out of outs before at least extending it to the bottom of the frame. They had a spectacular finish to their season with a fourth-place finish at state. How incredible is that!

In Greenwald...New Munich has a 5-2 lead through 7 innings over Elrosa.

*Update: the Saints tied the game 5-5 in the 8th inning.

Final: Elrosa 6, New Munich 5 in 10 innings.

Elrosa Saints clinch Stearns County League North title (VIDEOS)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team clinched the regular season Stearns County League North division title this weekend with an 11-1 mercy rule win over Meire Grove on Friday night. On a sunny Saturday afternoon today, the Saints defeated Greenwald 11-3 to finish the SCL-North schedule with a 10-3 record.

Aiden Mueller started and got the win (IP-5 H-2 BB-0 K-6), and Riley Meyer pitched the sixth inning. Luke Dingmann was closer (H-1 BB-2 K-4).

Here's a video from the bottom of the 7th inning:


In that video, Jackson Peter hit a two-run home run over the left field fence. That hit gave the Saints an 11-3 lead. The Cubs scored all 3 of their runs in the top of the 6th inning.

Here's a video from the end of the game:


Next: the Saints host the division playoff opener on Saturday, July 25 at 1:30 p.m. Their opponent has not yet been determined. New Munich and Greenwald play tomorrow afternoon in a key SCL-North game. They are both jockeying for third place in the division.

And in other news...
Almost a week after Bonanza Valley Days concluded...and I've still got a mountain of photos and video to work through. It was a grand four-day event in Brooten!

Here's a video from the BVD sand volleyball tournament:


Team Anderson, which included head coach Kristina Anderson and Activities Director Chris Anderson, emerged as champions of this 10-team tournament, which was organized by Grant Anderson. A team picture of the champions was published in this week's issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Mark your schedule for this coming week: the Padua Pub Dave's Famous Pork Chop and Sweet Corn Feed will be on Wednesday, July 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. Come early! Be ready to stand in line. It is always worth the wait!

Saints win 10-inning thriller

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won a thriller on Friday night by a 5-4 score in 10 innings against visiting New Munich. The Stearns County League North win all but locks up at least a No. 2 seed for the upcoming division playoffs. Riley Meyer was the winning pitcher while throwing in the final inning. He gave up no hits with one walk and one strikeout.

In the top of the 10th, the Silverstreaks started off on the right foot with Brandon Holm earning a walk. He was left stranded, however, on a ground ball, a fly out and a strikeout. In the bottom of the 10th, Luke Illies drew a walk on one outs. He advanced on a walk earned by Aiden Mueller and later scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch.

Each team committed one defensive error, and the Saints were out-hit by an 8-to-5 margin. Aiden Mueller started and pitched 5 1/3 innings (4 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts). Ashton Dingmann relieved Mueller and went 3 2/3 innings (4 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts).

More to come.

On Wednesday night, the Saints lost 5-2 to Avon in Elrosa.

Saints shut down Rangers

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team made relatively quick work of the Roscoe Rangers on Thursday night, July 2, with a 10-0, seven-inning Stearns County League win on the home diamond. Elrosa banged out 13 hits in 30 official at bats against two Roscoe pitchers. All 10 runs were earned.

Elrosa scored 3 runs in the first inning and added 2 more in both the second and third frames.

Defensively, the Saints were in top form with Payton VanBeck starting and earning the win in 4 innings for his first win of the summer. The B-B-E Class of 2019 graduate gave up just one hit and no walks against 8 strikeouts. Riley Meyer was closer with no runs, no walks and 4 strikeouts.

NEXT: the Saints host Avon in an exhibition game on Wednesday, July 8 with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. On Friday, July 10, the Saints host New Munich under the lights in a huge SCL North contest. Currently, Elrosa, Spring Hill and New Munich are all gunning for the regular season title and top division playoff seed.

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website has been updated with a few important items: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Be sure to check out the web article on the Bonanza Valley Days Saturday night street dance! Also found here: https://surl.li/wzlsdn.