Saints win in 15!

Elrosa won 4-3 in 15th innings over Paynesville in their Region 15C-opening game at Richmond on Saturday afternoon. The game actually ended in the evening hours, just a little after 5:00pm.

In the final game held at Richmond today, New London-Spicer beat Farming 1-0.

In the nightcap against Richmond, the Saints are trailing 1-0 with four innings complete at Ray Weber Field in St. Martin. *With six innings complete, the Royals hold a 3-0 lead. Brady Weller, Elrosa's starter, threw the first 7 innings before Greenwald draftee Brandon Worms took the mound in the 8th.

*Update at 11:00pm...the Royals put another run across for a 4-0 lead. Elrosa catcher Steve Mueller was ejected from the game. A circus atmosphere ensued.

*Update at 11:20pm: Elrosa lost 5-0 to Richmond, with the Saints' bats falling prey to a 16-strikeout, complete-game effort by Andy Bauer. As bad as I hate seeing Elrosa lose, you can't help but tip your hat to that type of pitching performance.

Elrosa Saints fall into elimination bracket at the Region 15C tournament, lose to Spring Hill 7-4

Action from the middle of today's game between Elrosa and Spring Hill...

In a revision of the Battle for the Keg during the time-tested Elrosa vs. Spring Hill series, the Chargers won 7-4 after getting a strong pitching effort from starter Eric Schoenberg and another onslaught of offense from their bats. Elrosa took a brief 1-0 lead in the top of the second before Spring Hill erupted for four runs in the bottom of that frame.

The Chargers scored three more runs before Elrosa made a rally late in the game that was too little, too late.

Elrosa faces either Norway Lake-Sunburg or Atwater in an elimination game at 2:30 on the afternoon of Saturday, August 13 in Spicer.

In the first game held today at Green Lake Diamonds in Spicer, Lake Henry survived a tough challenge from Farming in a 5-4 outcome, a game that lasted about 2 hours and 40 minutes. Brad Mergen threw 8 innings for Farming, with Chad Mergen coming on in relief in the 9th.

For Lake Henry against Farming, draftee Scott Schroeder (Richmond) started on the hill, with Jason Kampsen and Jon Lieser sharing relief duties.

Spring Hill faces Lake Henry at noon on Saturday, August 13 in Spicer for a state-qualifying game. Both are 2-0 in the tournament. Lake Henry beat Atwater 4-2 in the first game on Saturday.

Below, more action from Elrosa's 1-0 win over Farming on Saturday...


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Lake Henry, Spring Hill and Elrosa win Region 15C openers today

The Elrosa Saints fans were packed in like sardines in the bleachers, coming out in force to support the Orange and Navy today...


Final scores from Green Lake Diamonds today for the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament opening round games:
Lake Henry 4, Atwater 2
Spring Hill 16, Norway Lake-Sunburg 3 (7 innings)
Elrosa 1, Farming 0

An RBI-single by Pat Illies gave Elrosa a 1-0 lead and they held on for the win. Both Josh Engquist and Ethan Vogt pitched complete games. Unofficially, Vogt threw 123 pitches.

Sunday's schedule:
10:30am - Lake Henry vs. Farming
1pm - Elrosa vs. Spring Hill (possible state-qualifying game, depending on whether or not Lake Henry wins)
3:30pm - Norway Lake-Sunburg vs. Atwater (an elimination game)

The Spring Hill vs. Norway Lake-Sunburg game featured a healthy rain delay...

The Farming Flames are in their first Region 15C appearance since 2002...below, the Flames lineup is introduced...

The Elrosa Saints have had seven Region 15C tournament appearances since 2002. Below, their lineup is introduced...


This Elrosa Saints and Region 15C amateur baseball update is brought to you by:

Who's excited for the region baseball tournament?

The action begins at 10:30 on Saturday morning in Spicer. At that time, Lake Henry faces Atwater in the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament opening game.

Congratulations to the Region 15C tournament and Greenwald this past weekend - attendance record set

Attendance record set at Region 15C in Greenwald

A new four-day attendance record was set in Greenwald for the Region 15C tournament, as 593 attended on Sunday and 623 on Saturday. The four-day total stood at 2,641 in 10 games.

I'll be getting more photos and video posted throughout this week from the Region 15C tournament, the Belgrade August Fest, and the Pope County Fair.

Elrosa Saints' state tournament dreams end today vs. Lake Henry, the 2010 Region 15C champions

Elrosa lost 8-4 in a dramatic game against Lake Henry in the elimination final game of the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament.

Lake Henry went on to defeat St.Martin 5-2 in the championship later today, helped by a four-run third inning and a strong starting pitching performance from Josh Roelike, who earned the win on the mound for the Lakers.

Opening round of the Class C amateur state tournament: Region 9C champion Sacred Heart (26-13) plays St. Martin at 7:30 p.m. and Raymond (31-6) plays Lake Henry at 5 p.m. next Saturday in Bird Island in the first round. Sacred Heart upended the Rockets 8-4 Sunday in the Region 9C seeding game.

Photos from the weekend in Greenwald are available to check out at the Sauk Centre Herald's online photo gallery: http://saukherald.mycapture.com

Also being uploaded tonight are pictures from the Belgrade August Fest Tug of War and Miss Belgrade Pageant. And I can't forget to mention, the Pope County Fair as well. (Yeh, it was a terribly busy weekend!)

On Monday I'll begin uploading countless video clips from the Tug of War in Belgrade, the Pope County Fair, and of course the Region 15C baseball tournament.

More will follow later tonight.

Action from the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament on Saturday

In the top of the 8th inning of the Elrosa vs. Norway Lake-Sunburg amateur baseball game in the Region 15C tournament, Pat Illies hit a double deep into right field that dropped just inside the right baseline. Pinch runner Brandon Roelike scored the game winning on this play.


Not long after Pat hit this double, Brandon Roelike scored on a wild pitch for the game-winning run that broke a 1-1 tie.

Elrosa Saints are one win from the state tournament after defeating Norway Lake-Sunburg 3-1 today...Spring Hill is out

The Elrosa Saints erased Norway Lake-Sunburg from the Region 15C amateur baseball playoffs for the second straight year, after beating the Lakers 3-1 in today's elimination round of games at Greenwald.

In the following game, Lake Henry rode the strong arm of Scott Lieser (7 innings pitched) to a 6-0 shutout win over Spring Hill in the other elimination game today.

The results of both games today set up the Region 15C elimination final game, set for 12:00pm in Greenwald tomorrow (Sunday) when Lake Henry and Elrosa will face off for a state tournament berth.

The winner of that game plays St.Martin at 2:30pm in Greenwald, in the Region 15C championship (state seeding) game.

On to the Belgrade August Fest and Pope County Fair...

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Could it get any busier this weekend? Pope County Fair in Glenwood - Belgrade August Fest - Region 15C baseball in Greenwald

The action is fast and furious this weekend, with the 124th annual Pope County Fair having Donkey Races (Friday night), a Combine Demo Derby (Saturday night), and a regular Demo Derby on Sunday afternoon. A whole host of other activities are scheduled as well. You can visit the Pope County Fair website by clicking here: http://www.popecountyfair.org/

In Belgrade, the annual August Fest begins tonight (Friday) and continues through Saturday. August Fest kicks off with a Firemen's Chicken Dinner from 4:30 to 7:30 on Friday night at the Belgrade V.F.W., followed by a street dance. The next day, dozens of activities get underway, beginning with registration for the 5K Walk/Run at 7:15am at the B-B-E High School parking lot. The Miss Belgrade Pageant is at 7:00pm later that night at the B-B-E High School Auditorium.

Up in Greenwald, the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament wraps up with two final days of action this weekend. Two elimination games take place on Saturday, with the winners taking one another on the following day at 12:00pm with a state tournament berth on the line. The winner of that elimination final game faces St.Martin at 2:30pm in Greenwald on Sunday for the Region 15C championship (state seeding).

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More action from the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament last weekend in Greenwald

Here, the Saints record the final out on a grounder from Austen Hadley during their battle with Starbuck in an elimination game on Sunday. Final score: Elrosa 6, Starbuck 4.


From the Elrosa vs. Starbuck game on Sunday...


In the top of the fourth inning against Starbuck, Pat Illies scores on a dropped pop fly attempt for the second Elrosa run of the game.

More video from Region 15C amateur baseball action this past weekend

Cyril Spanier is honored by the Central Minnesota Umpires Association, prior to the Elrosa vs. Lake Henry game on Saturday afternoon in Greenwald.


Action in the Elrosa vs. Starbuck game on Sunday...


Below Josh Roelike is pitching one inning of relief in the Lake Henry vs. Elrosa game on Saturday, August 7, in Greenwald.


The Spring Hill Chargers team is introduced prior to their game against St.Martin on Sunday.

Elrosa comes back from a 2-0 deficit to erase Starbuck from the playoffs - 6-4 final score

Pat Illies slides safely into third base on a throwing error by Starbuck draftee Austen Hadley, right after Kevin Kuefler and Ethan Vogt had scored the final two runs of the game that sealed the deal for Elrosa in the top of the ninth inning.


Elrosa's 6-4 win over Starbuck sets up a rematch of last year's loser's bracket final game in the 2009 Region 15C tournament, when Elrosa blanked Norway Lake-Sunburg 3-0 on a no-hit performance from Ethan Vogt on the final day of the tournament.

Elrosa takes on the NL-S Lakers, the Cornbelt North playoff champions, at 12:00pm next Saturday (Aug. 14) at Greenwald. Norway Lake-Sunburg is 9-11 overall, while Elrosa is 15-6 including exhibition games.

Against Starbuck today, the Saints fell behind 2-0 after one inning and 3-1 after two innings, then tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth when Randy Duevel scored on a wild pitch. Read all about the exciting game in this week's Belgrade Observer and Sauk Centre Herald.

In the middle game today, St.Martin defeated Spring Hill 13-3 in shortened innings. St.Martin picked up the first state tournament bid from our region with the win. Spring Hill moves on to face Lake Henry in an elimination game next Saturday at 2:30pm.

More will follow on Monday.

Be sure to check out the Sauk Centre Herald's online photo gallery containing hundreds of pictures from this weekend's action at the Region 15C tournament.
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/index.asp

This Elrosa Saints and Region 15C amateur baseball update is brought to you by:

Norway Lake-Sunburg takes an early 4-0 lead on Lake Henry

In the first game of Day 2 at the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament, the Norway Lake-Sunburg Lakers staked an early 4-0 lead after three innings against Lake Henry on Sunday morning.

Should Norway Lake-Sunburg win, a total of five teams will advance to the second weekend of the tournament. Two more would be eliminated next Saturday, with the final three making into the final day of the tournament on August 15 in Greenwald.

**Update at 7pm...Norway Lake-Sunburg ended up winning 5-2 against Lake Henry to stay alive in the tournament.

Here's a video clip of Cody Eichers' two-RBI home run against St.Martin in the fourth inning today. (It's also on the Chargers' Facebook fan page.

St.Martin blanks Starbuck 8-0 - Elrosa is humbled by Lake Henry in a 21-0 loss

The Elrosa Saints have their backs to the wall in the Region 15C tournament, as they face elimination in Sunday's final game of Day 2 of the tournament. After losing 21-0 in seven innings to Lake Henry, the Saints will take on Starbuck at 3:30 in Greenwald on Sunday.

In the 1:00pm game, St.Martin defeated Starbuck 8-0.

In the Elrosa-Lake Henry meeting today, in a game that was supposed to be the best one of the opening day, Lakers' starter Scott Lieser completely handcuffed the Saints from the get go, taking down eight of the first 12 batters he saw via strikeout. Lieser, who is entering his sophomore season with Coach Dolan's Huskies program at St.Cloud State University this fall, no-hit Elrosa through six innings of work on the mound.

Here's the lineup introduction for Elrosa before their Region 15C opener against Lake Henry.


Below, Elrosa Saints left fielder Steve Mueller grabbed a pop fly in the top of the fourth inning to stop the bleeding in the Elrosa vs. Lake Henry game on Day 1 of the Region 15C tournament. The Lakers had scored five times in the inning, twice from Saints' errors.


Photos from the opening day of Region 15C baseball can be viewed and/or purchased at the Sauk Centre Herald's online photo gallery: http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/index.asp/

Before the game started between Lake Henry and Elrosa, a brief ceremony was held at home plate in Greenwald to honor Cyril Spanier, a long-time umpire in the area. Spanier was thanked for his thirty years of outstanding service to central Minnesota amateur baseball by the Central Minnesota Umpires Association.

Cyril is in the green shirt in the photo below.

Here Cyril throws out the first pitch before the game.

A few photos from the presentation of Cyril's plaque from the Umpires Association can be found at the Sauk Herald's website as well.
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/index.asp

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Region 15C amateur baseball tournament begins tomorrow - Saturday - at Greenwald

In the Stearns County League Legion championship game this past Tuesday night, Regal beat top-seeded St.Martin 6-0 to win the playoff title. The Eagles were the #3 seed going into the playoffs.

Last weekend in the SCL Little League championship game at Lake Henry, the host Lakers fell to #2 seed Farming 8-4.

Saturday's baseball schedule in Greenwald:
10:30am - Norway Lake-Sunburg vs. Spring Hill
1:00pm - St.Martin vs. Starbuck
3:30pm - Elrosa vs. Lake Henry

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