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. ALL VIEWS posted are strictly and without exception the opinions of the newspaper owner and no one else; they're written in first hand format. 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, August 10, 2025
Elrosa Saints open state on Saturday
The brackets have been revealed!
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team opens their 12th state tournament appearance this Saturday, August 16 in Hutchinson. Their game at 1:30 p.m. that day will be against the Windom Pirates. The Pirates won the Region 10C title with a 3-1 win over the Milroy Irish at Milroy's Irish Yard on Friday.
Windom holds a 23-1 overall record. Their last state trip was in 2021, and their program won the Class A state championship in 1936.
Elrosa's state draftees are Weston Gjerde from Norway Lake-Sunburg, Grant Moscho from Greenwald and Ben Welle from Spring Hill.
Hutchinson's state tournament site is Veterans Memorial Field At Dave Mooney Memorial Complex. This is located along the South Fork Crow River. The address is 301 Ontario Street SE, Hutchinson, MN 55350. Other state tournament sites for all classes are Gaylord, Brownton and Glencoe.
I'm far too busy tonight with the newspaper to write much here, but I'm pleased to report that a really great activities meeting was held tonight at Olson Auditorium. Activities Director Chris Anderson guided parents and student-athletes through a half-hour presentation on what I'll just call the "rules of the road" for those who participate in extra-curricular activities at B-B-E. Tomorrow, I hope to share some video from tonight.
I have been amazed...
With a front-row seat to the workings of the tennis team, I have been amazed at the work that the captains of an athletic team put in to manage what's known as "Captains Practice Week." I had a section of my newspaper column written up about this, but lack of space led me to cut it out before publishing. I'll try to re-write it here. I've never actually gotten a good look at captains practice for any athletic team in the 22+ years I've been a sports reporter. It's just never crossed my radar. The closest I've gotten was tennis captains practice in 2024 for my oldest daughter. Even that amounted to no more than dropping her off and picking her up.
This year, I was asked to help with recruiting. Oh, boy! That's a job I take very, very seriously! That's a job we all should take seriously! I jumped right into it. You learn quite a bit about the inner workings of a team as they try to build numbers and run practices/drills without the guidance of coaches. I cannot be more impressed by what I'm seeing from the tennis captains. The role is not easy, but any role that has great value is going to come with hard work!
The "no contact" week for coaches doesn't really have the same pop here as it would in a bigger school. The no-contact rule was put in place years ago by the MSHSL in order to prevent burnout in student athletes. To me, it's more than that: it presents the opportunity for the captains of a high school team to step up and show leadership. Huge, HUGE skills they need in life!
I'm not aware of volleyball numbers, but they're not hurting. The varsity team is "loaded for bear" for the 2025 season with big goals to achieve. As for cross country, the graduation of Taylor Nelson leaves a huge void. I'll catch up to our A.D. this week and find out if there's any cross country prospects for the paired B-B-E/Paynesville team. This is available for boys and girls athletes at B-B-E.
Did you know? While we can always do better, Minnesota has really outstanding participation rates for students in high school-level activities. The Minnesota State High School League ranks in the Top 10 in the United States for participation with over 240,000 students being active in athletic teams. After adding in the Fine Arts of speech, debate, one-act play, music, cheerleading and visual arts - and that figure jumps past 320,000 students.
In other news...
The Stearns County Fair in Sauk Centre and the Kandiyohi County Fair in Willmar both open up today. Time to promote, promote, promote! I've gotten a small start on that. Here's a link to read about the Stearns County Fair: https://shorturl.at/v5l7v. The full schedule for what's happening in Sauk Centre this week was published in the July 31 and August 7 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
Some additional Region 8C amateur baseball coverage is posted at the newspaper website. You can find that by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/U57LS.
Finally, here's a link to read up on the Kandiyohi County Fair in Willmar: https://shorturl.at/5ZgEZ.
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won their seventh straight game today by defeating New Munich 7-3 in a Stearns County League North game. They now hold a 9-7 overall record including exhibition contests. In the SCL-North standings, the Saints pull into third place with a 5-6 record.
The Saints posted four runs in the top of the second inning, and the scoring started with Derek Wiener hitting a solo home run. Elrosa made it a 5-0 lead in the third. After they added two additional runs in the seventh, the Silverstreaks rallied in the bottom of the ninth with three runs before they ran out of outs. Jackson Peter and Gavin Kampsen also earned extra base hits with one double each.
Elrosa had 10 hits to 8 for the host Silverstreaks. Will VanBeck started and got the win with 8 1/3 innings pitched. Wyatt Steffensen earned the save with the Saints recording the last two outs with him on the mound. New Munich's Ty Reller was tagged with the loss (7 innings).
Here's action today at New Munich starting with Jackson Peter at the plate facing Ty Reller in the top of the fourth inning:
Next: an exhibition game on Wednesday, July 10 in Elrosa against the Paynesville Pirates. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. Following that, Meire Grove is set to come to Elrosa on Friday, July 12. The Roscoe game has not been rescheduled.
Good luck tonight to the Elrosa Saints Little Dipper team, as they enter the SCL playoffs as the No. 7 seed. They face No. 2-seeded Farming in Farming at 6:30 p.m.
Here's a video from a week ago with Greenwald in Elrosa; this is in the bottom of the 8th inning:
More to come.
And just for fun...finally posting this...it was a fun moment! At the Gary Breitbach Memorial golf tournament on June 29 at Prairie View Golf Course.
Duane Braegelman knocks down a great putt:
Stearns County League baseball scores on July 7:
Spring Hill 14, Meire Grove 13 (this was a continuation of a game halted earlier in the season due to the weather; action started today with Spring Hill ahead 11-10 in the seventh inning)
Spring Hill 7, Meire Grove 3
Lake Henry 3, Roscoe 0
Farming 8, Greenwald 1
Food options summary for Bonanza Valley Days in Brooten!
At the Lucky Shots Bowling Alley on main street in Brooten, they will have open kids bowling from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 13. Also! On Lucky Shots Bowling Alley will be grilling brats and hamburgers for sale and also single slices of pizza when open during the BVD weekend.
RJ's Mini Mart, the Backyard Burger drive-in, Marcia's Bar and Grill plus the KaDe Shack will also all be serving food. At the KaDe Shack, they will shut down their kitchen at approximately noon on Saturday, July 13 and be serving only drinks the rest of the day/evening. On Saturday morning, the KaDe Shack will have Tom's hearty breakfast buffet from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. partly to help feed the huge crowd coming to town for the BVD Car and Tractor Show.
Other food vendors are coming to town as well. More on that to come later. I plan to make most updates on this at the Bonanza Valley Voice website, and you can find the BVD food options web article here: https://shorturl.at/muaOI. The July 11 printed newspaper will also have this information.
Special Taher Foods summer meals program announcement:
On Friday, July 12, Tahar will crank up their summer meals to accommodate the extra influx of children who will be in Brooten for the BVD youth baseball tournament. They will have hamburgers to serve up to 200 children between 11 a.m. and noon on Friday. The food will include extra components to qualify as a federally reimbursable meal, and the food will also be served to-go as needed to help keep the kids coming and going and well fed! Please spread the word. These meals are FREE!!!
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team begins the Class C state tournament today with a first-round game at 1:30 p.m. in Dassel. THe Hadley Buttermakers will provide the competition on which team advances to the Round of 32! The game will be broadcast on KASM 1150 AM of Albany and on their website: http://www.mykasm.com.
*Here's a video from the top of the 9th inning last Saturday in Lake Henry:
In honor of the incredible level of respect and admiration that I have for the Elrosa Saints baseball program, I wanted to share this incredible video recorded at a farmer's market in North Carolina where now-famous farmer and song artist Oliver Anthony drew a crowd of over 1,000 people to hear him sing! This is amazing.
Enjoy for yourself...
Remember that on Friday, June 12, 2020, our Elrosa Saints baseball team displayed their own version of civic disobedience in defiance of Governor Tim Walz when they played a baseball game on a quiet Friday night against the Cold Spring Rockies. I'll never, ever forget that night.
I have to get a new blog post added tonight on the B-B-E girls' tennis team, who fought their way into the win column yesterday on the first day of competition of the fall season. They beat Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area by a 4-3 score.
Updates to follow on this blog post this afternoon.
Game updates...
After one inning, it's a scoreless game.
*After 3 innings, the Buttermakers hold a 1-0 lead. They scored in the top of the second.
**After 5 innings, the Saints are trailing 3-2. Hadley got a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning to reclaim the lead.
**After 7 innings, Hadley is ahead 3-2.
**Final: Elrosa 4, Hadley 3. The Saints advance to the Round of 32! Details to follow in a new blog post.
Region 15C baseball: Elrosa vs. New Munich (VIDEO)
The storied rivalry that is Elrosa vs. New Munich continues today with a big first-round match up between the two juggernauts in the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament. The Saints and Silverstreaks will face off at about 2:30 p.m. in Lake Henry. Updates to come that will be posted below the video.
*Here's a short video from the end of the first playoff game back on July 22 in Elrosa...
The last blog post features other region baseball news plus notes on the Pope County Fair in Glenwood.
Elrosa vs. New Munich game updates...
FIRST pitch for the game was at 14:41. On a deep ding that bounced off the outfield fence, a GREAT relay from left fielder Will VanBeck to second baseman Gavin Kampsen gave the Saints the third out to end the top of the first inning. Umpire Dennis Boecker made the call...out at second!
**Through two and a half innings, the Silverstreaks hold a 4-0 lead after getting two two-run homers.
**Through four and a half innings, the Silverstreaks are ahead 5-1.
**With 8 innings complete, New Munich leads 6-1.
FINAL: New Munich 6, Elrosa 1. The Saints play in an elimination game tomorrow at approximately 4:00 p.m. back in Lake Henry.
Final score in St. Martin on Saturday night:Kimball 13, New Munich 3; the Kimball Express earn the region's first state tournament bid. They play next Friday, August 11 at St. Martin in the Region 15C championship game against the winner of tomorrow's 11 a.m. game.
THANK YOU to Paul Gruber Baling and Bayer Gas and Grocery of Elrosa for sponsoring this region baseball update!
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team faced New Ulm in the second round of the Class C state tournament yesterday. The start of the game in Dundas was delayed by over two hours due to a steady rainfall in the latter part of the morning at Memorial Park.
New Ulm, one of the top teams in Class C, defeated Elrosa 12-2 in eight innings to advance to the Sweet 16 round of state.
Below is a video featuring the playing of the National Anthem in Dundas:
About halfway into the National Anthem, an eagle can be seen flying over the park. It was quite a moment! Additional videos are being uploaded this afternoon and will be added here.
*Here's a video featuring the starter introductions in Dundas:
*Here's video from the top of the third inning starting with top-of-the-order batter Kevin Kuefler at the plate:
We have rain delay changes at the Region 15C baseball tournament in Meire Grove today.
Shortly after 2 p.m., the first game (the 11 a.m. game) was still going in the ninth inning. The second game, which is the "1 o'clock game" is likely to get going at about 3 p.m.
The Elrosa vs. Spring Hill game will likely start at about 5 p.m. today in Meire Grove. More updates to come. I am going to make a swing over to the Pope County Fair before heading back into Stearns County!
On Friday night, the Richmond Royals won 7-2 against Watkins in the first game of the region tournament. That game was played in Elrosa.
*Update: the Elrosa game started shortly after 5 p.m. against Spring Hill. Starting for Elrosa is Payton VanBeck, while Anthony Revermann is Spring Hill's starting pitcher.
In the first game played today, St. Martin defeated New Munich. All games are being broadcast on KASM 1150 AM radio and at "mykasm-dot-com" online.
Final score: Elrosa 4, Spring Hill 1. The Saints play at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow back in Meire Grove.
FIRST: another reminder about the BVD Walk/Run event! This was written about in great detail in a blog post on Thursday. It starts at 8:30 a.m. SHARP near the Catholic church in Brooten, with registration starting at 8 a.m.
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team improved to 9-1 in the Stearns County League North division with a 7-6, 10-inning win over visiting St. Martin on Hall of Fame night. It pained me that I was unable to make it to the Hall of Fame induction. That was just not possible tonight. I've been able to leave Brooten for Elrosa Hall of Fame inductions in the past, but this year has been especially and uniquely stressful and busy leading up to and now during our BVD weekend.
Meanwhile, in Brooten...crazy fun continued today and tonight for Day II of Bonanza Valley Days. I've got some details on Friday to post on the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. Let's just say that we had a crushing level of turnout for everything! I was honored to speak to a former school bus friend, Scott Rudningen, at the KaDe Shack as the street dance was winding down. Scott is a 1992 B-B-E graduate who played on Coach Montbriand's first two Jaguar teams after he assumed head coaching duties in 1990. When Scott was a senior, his Jaguar team played in the Sub-Section 5A-3 championship game against Bob Brink's Rocori Spartans at St. Cloud State University. That was 30 years ago! Where has the time gone?
Speaking of basketball...Coach Anderson's 3-on-3 BVD tournament had an outstanding first day for an event that was not held in 2020 (COVID) or 2021 (school construction)...the 8th-12th grade division took place earlier today, and the adult men's division ran tonight. I heard from Coach Anderson that the men's division included seven teams. I was happy to bring a couple groups of fans (students) of Coach Austin Rambow to the gym to give him his own personal cheering section. It's important to state very clearly that our students love Mr. Rambow! You had to be there to see the look on his face when the first group walked in and waved at him. It was priceless. He is an outstanding teacher and coach at B-B-E. (If you didn't know, he is an assistant coach in football and girls' basketball, and our school is blessed to have him.)
And speaking of Brooten...at the KaDe Shack while I was talking to Scott Rudningen, I also chatted briefly with B-B-E ag teacher and FFA advisor Gary Rodgers. The highlight of the conversation went like this:
Me: "Today's been a great day for Brooten and a great day to be in Brooten."
Gary: "Every day is a great day to be in Brooten."
Now HE sure has the right attitude. Thank you, Mr. Rodgers!
It's past 2 a.m. now and I have to make another run through the city park in a security check of what's there. We take care of our property in Brooten, and many, many eyeballs are on the lookout for shenanigans after the sun has set!
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won the Elite 8 tournament title on their home field today. They defeated the Fergus Falls Hurricanes by a 4-3 score.
Elrosa scored twice in the first inning and rode the 2-0 lead into the top of the sixth, when Fergus Falls tied it at 2-2. The Saints pulled ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, and Fergus Falls tied it in the top of the seventh. Elrosa's Blaine Fischer scored in the bottom of the eighth on Jackson Peter's sacrifice fly-RBI to give the Saints a 4-3 walk off win.
Fergus Falls had five errors, while Elrosa had three errors. Elrosa left 12 runners stranded, while Fergus Falls had 10 stranded runners.Hitting-wise, Elrosa had eight hits compared to nine by the Hurricanes. Ethan Vogt started for Elrosa and pitched six innings and fired seven strikeouts against no walks, seven hits and no earned runs. Ashton Dingmann closed in the final two innings and earned the win.
More to come. The Saints travel west near the South Dakota border for next weekend's action.
If you want to take in part of the street dance in Sunburg last weekend, click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website (short link): https://bit.ly/3HBMMnr.
In their consolation semifinal game today in Elrosa, Tri City beat Royalton 12-0 and will play at noon tomorrow (Sunday) for fifth place. Their opponent will be New London-Spicer. Royalton will face Dawson at 10 a.m. tomorrow in the seventh-place game. NL-S beat Dawson 7-2 in their Saturday game.
Fergus Falls and St. Peter are playing in a Saturday night championship bracket semifinal. I'm expecting Elrosa's semifinal game to start closer to 9 p.m. **Updates to follow!
More to come.
**Through four innings in the last game of the night, Elrosa and Stillwater are battling in a scoreless game. Elrosa has three hits, and the Loggers have none so far. Wyatt Steffensen is Elrosa's starter.
Final score: Elrosa 4, Stillwater 3. Cool!! More info in a new blog post**
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team shut down New London-Spicer tonight 6-0 in the Elite State 8 tournament opener.
Payton VanBeck pitched a complete game where the defense held the Twins to just four hits.
Next: the Saints play at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night in the semifinals. In the loser's bracket with their sights set on the fifth-place game, NL-S plays Dawson at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
UPDATE: the Saints will play the Stillwater Loggers in the semifinals. On Saturday in the 10 a.m. game, the Loggers defeated the Dawson Drakes by a 7-6 score. In Friday night's night cap, the Fergus Falls canes defeated the Royalton Riverdogs by a 4-3 score. Exciting baseball!
More to come in a new blog post on Saturday afternoon.
Don't look now! But the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is 4-0 after they beat Farming tonight at Saints Field by a 7-2 score. The Saints tallied 13 hits compared to six for the Flames. Payton VanBeck got the win in a seven-inning starting role, and Ethan Vogt closed with two no-hitter innings pitched. Elrosa led 3-0 after three innings and then scored one run in the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth innings. The Flames scored their two runs in the top of the fifth. Elrosa had three errors and 11 men left on base, while Farming had two errors and eight stranded.
Next: the Saints travel to Roscoe tomorrow for a 1:30 p.m. game.
Here's video from the bottom of the ninth inning a week ago, in Elrosa:
Jackson Peter closed out the game as relief pitcher for the Elrosa Saints, who completed the virus-shortened regular season schedule with an 8-1 Stearns County League record.
Elrosa begins the Region 15C tournament next weekend, Saturday, August 8 at 4 p.m. in Greenwald. Their opponent will be Lake Henry. The Lakers advanced through the play-in round game today by virtue of a 3-1 win over St. Augusta in Greenwald.
The Region 15C tournament continues on Friday, August 7 when Farming takes on the Watkins Clippers. That game is in Elrosa at 8 p.m. that night.
In Region 4C, the Regal Eagles will begin their quest for a state tournament berth as the No. 3 seed from the County Line League. They open regions at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 8 at Minnewaska Area high school's baseball stadium. Their opponent will be Raymond, the No. 2 seed from the Cornbelt League.
The Elrosa Elite 8 amateur baseball tournament is coming next weekend, June 19-21, to Saints Field. The brackets are getting tweaked right now, but a total of 12 games will be played. The fullschedule will be announced soon.
Opening night, Friday: the Saints will host New Munich for the first game of the tournament. That game will also be part of the SCL league standings. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.
New London-Spicer and Cannon Falls play at 8:30 p.m. under the lights that night.
The Elrosa Saints won 3-1 on Friday night against Spring Hill in a Stearns County League North division amateur baseball game. Ethan Vogt pitched all nine innings for the Saints and earned 11 strikeouts for the win. Elrosa led 3-0 after three innings, and the Chargers (8-5 SCL-North) scored their lone run in the top of the ninth.
Next: the Saints (7-5 SCL-North) travel to Richmond on Sunday, July 21 for a 1:30 p.m. game. The Royals are 9-3 in the SCL-South and lead second-place St. Martin by one-and-a-half games. It's a huge game for Elrosa, as they could clinch the No. 2 playoff seed from the division with a win.
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team out-hit the visiting Greenwald Cubs on Friday night by a 16-to-1 margin. The result was a 19-1 win in seven innings to get the team back on the winning track.
They take a 4-2 Stearns County League North record into today's huge game against second-place Meire Grove. First pitch at Gumby Bauer Stadium is at 1:30 p.m.
Click on this link to view the Bonanza Valley Voice newspapers' 67-minute long video of the graduation ceremony held this past Friday night at the high school (short link): https://bit.ly/2wxoHdV.
*Update: the Saints lost 5-0 this afternoon to Meire Grove. Additional coverage will be in the next Bonanza Valley Voice.
Area baseball playoff scores on May 31 and June 1:
Paynesville Area 5, Luverne 0
BOLD 8, Springfield 4
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 10, Minneota 1
Lac qui Parle Valley 9, Renville County West 8 (Eagles scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for the walk-off win in the elimination bracket of the Section 3A tournament)
The state tournament ended early for the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team. Earlier this afternoon in New Prague, the Saints held a 4-1 lead against Sleepy Eye through fourth innings. The Indians then posted eight runs in the fifth inning and rode the 9-4 lead through the final out.
Ethan Vogt, Brad Mergen (Farming draftee) and Aaron Vogt split pitching duties for the Saints.
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is battling Farming tonight in the last opening-round game of the Region 15C tournament.
*Update: After the top of the third inning, Farming has a 3-2 lead over Elrosa; the Flames scored two runs on two hits and left none on base in their third try at the plate.
Final score: Elrosa 15, Farming 3 in seven innings. Ethan Vogt pitched all seven innings and earned eight strikeouts. The Saints piled on 14 hits to go with 11 walks and two hit batsmen.
Next: the Saints (14-7) face Lake Henry on Sunday, August 5 at 1:30 p.m. back at Farming.
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is the undisputed 2018 Stearns County League North champions. The Saints (10-2) clinched the regular season division title with an 11-1, eight-inning win over visiting Meire Grove on Friday night. Ethan Vogt picked up the pitching win.
Elrosa (12-6 overall) travels the short trip north to Sauk Centre to face the Sauk Centre Titans on Saturday afternoon this weekend at 2 p.m. The Titans won the Resorters League title this year. It should be a fun game!
