Snakebitten: Grovers defeat Elrosa Saints by one run

Four games into the season, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is far better than their record suggests. Unfortunately, they will head into Memorial Day weekend still searching for their first win of the season after they were defeated 7-6 at Meire Grove today.

The loss comes on the heels of a 12-7 setback to visiting Lake Henry for the home opener held yesterday.

Today is about a 20-hour work day for me. Sunburg hosted an outstanding Syttende Mai celebration! Believe it or not, tonight I had to set up a 20-page Bonanza Valley Voice layout for the May 23 issue. At this point, I do not know if I can pull it off. In all likelihood, it will be 18 pages. If it is 18 pages, it will be the biggest newspaper I've published since prior to the pandemic.

Hot off the press!
Everyone is invited to a Grand Opening celebration for the new Jenniges Meat Processing plant and retail store from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, May 31. Come celebrate the opening with the Jenniges family! The event features FREE brats, burgers and hot dogs served with chips, Local Pantry salad and beans. Guests can tour and walk through the new facility. This is an exciting event for our community. Be sure to stop by! Their company website is: https://jennigesmeatprocessing.com.

Elrosa Saints win again

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won 6-2 today at Greenwald to remain undefeated in the Stearns County League North division standings. Wyatt Steffensen pitched 6 and 2/3 innings to pick up the win. The Saints are now 7-0 in the SCL.

Next: the Saints host Freeport in an exhibition game on Friday, June 10 under the lights of the home stadium. This is currently the only game scheduled for next weekend. Freeport is 1-3 in the Victory League South/West.

More to come.

**Announcement: families in the B-B-E area with children under age 18 are invited to come to the elementary school for free breakfast and lunch this summer from now through August 19. All the details can be found at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website (short link): https://bit.ly/3MnBZOq.

**Another announcement...this one for Magnifi Financial customers: Magnifi Financial Member Appreciation Lunch is Friday this week.
The Belgrade branch of Magnifi Financial will host a Member Appreciation Lunch To-Go event on Friday, June 10 starting at 11:30 a.m. at 218 Wells Street, Belgrade. A boxed lunch to-go* will be available for members, serving a sandwich, chips, cookie and water. Catered by the Local Pantry of Brooten. *Boxed lunches available while supplies last.

**And here's one of many forthcoming Bonanza Valley Days announcements! The BVD celebration in Brooten will be held July 7, 8, 9 and 10. You can get a preview of the weekend by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website (short link): https://bit.ly/3Q6LkNJ. Much of what you read at that web article was published on page 5 of the May 26 issue of The Voice.

Well, well, well - don't look now, but the Elrosa Saints are 3-0

As it turned out, I don't have to take a full break like I was staring down last night, although I am still working with a scaled-back operation here and facing a mountain of energy-draining issues. I have news that's just too good to not share right away.

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is 3-0 after picking up two big Stearns County League wins this weekend. On Saturday at Spring Hill, the Saints won 9-7 in a 12-inning marathon. Payton VanBeck started, and Ethan Vogt closed to pick up the win (IP-5 2/3).

On Sunday at Lake Henry, the Saints won 15-5 with Wyatt Steffensen picking up the pitching win in seven innings of work. Riley Meyer closed, and the Saints had 14 hits to 12 by the hosts.

Next: the Saints host Farming on Saturday night this weekend at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, Elrosa travels to Roscoe for a 1:30 p.m. game to conclude their Memorial Day weekend SCL contests.

Let's play ball! Playoffs with first pitch at 6 p.m.

I'll get information here on tonight's Stearns County League Little Dipper baseball playoffs. The Elrosa Saints host Regal at 6 p.m. in a game between the No. 4 seed (Elrosa) and No. 5 seed.

Updates to follow later tonight.

Finally, here is video from the Bonanza Valley Days youth baseball tournament last Friday. This was recorded at the 10-U game against Minnewaska, which was held at the Brooten city park. It was the second game for the Jaguars that day.


Both of B-B-E's teams went 2-1 that day. I was very fortunate to be able to attend games for both the 10-U and 12-U teams. ##Grateful

Also...this weekend, the B-B-E Jaguars American Legion baseball team opens the playoffs with the Sub-District tournament in Elrosa. Details to come in a new blog post (along with tonight's results).

Elrosa Saints baseball wins two

Although Bonanza Valley Days all but shut down the Bonanza Valley Voice sports department over the weekend, we managed to take in 10-U and 12-U B-B-E Jaguars baseball at the BVD youth tournament on Friday. Then Friday night it was the Elrosa Saints baseball Hall of Fame induction. Beyond that we missed out on two big Stearns County League wins by the Saints.

On Friday against Roscoe, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won a thriller by a 3-2 score in 10 innings.

Last night (Saturday) against Greenwald, the Saints won 8-3 to move to 5-7 in the SCL-North standings.

We just had an absolutely crazy, exciting and wide-open, full bore Bonanza Valley Days weekend in Brooten. It will take the better part of this next week to recover. I won't be moving so fast tomorrow (Monday) once all the adrenaline has worn off.

Elrosa Little Dipper wins, B-B-E Legion falls by one

The Elrosa Saints Little Dipper baseball team won at New Munich last night (Sunday) by an 8-6 score to square their record at 2-2 overall. The game lasted nine innings, two more than the regulation standard of seven innings in that division.

The Stearns County League Little Dipper division is comprised of players who have completed 4th through 8th grade this past school year.

Next: the Elrosa Little Dipper team hosts Spring Hill on Sunday, June 20 with a 6:30 p.m. start time. The Chargers are 4-0 this season.

The B-B-E Jaguars American Legion Post No. 288 team lost a heartbreaker tonight by a 4-3 score at the Minnewaska Area high school stadium to the Glenwood-Lowry Legion team. The game was aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood, and I knew that last week...but I have been quite overwhelmed with news and sports lately, and I forgot to post that information here.

Here's the link to view the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper photo gallery from the Sub-Section 6A-21 meet in Wheaton on June 3: (short link) https://bit.ly/3xn4XXL.

That's all for tonight. The Brooten city council meeting lasted until 10 p.m. tonight, and it took the wind out of my sails.

Elrosa Little Dipper baseball

The Elrosa Little Dipper (Little League) baseball team won 15-3 at Lake Henry last Wednesday in their 2021 Stearns County League season opener. The Saints look to improve to 2-0 with a home game tomorrow (Wednesday, June 2) against Roscoe.

Elrosa travels to Farming (1-0) on Sunday, June 6. All Little Dipper games (unless otherwise stated) start at 6:30 p.m.

(VIDEO) Elrosa vs. St. Martin

 Here's video from Saturday's elimination game of the Region 15C tournament in Greenwald.

Elrosa finished 11-4 this season. Thanks for the memories! It was a heck of a fun summer taking in town team baseball.

(VIDEO) Elrosa vs. Farming ...and game updates

Below is video from after the top of the seventh inning was finished in last Sunday's game against Farming. The Saints turned a double play to quell a threat by Farming.

Game updates will follow around noon today from Greenwald.

Elrosa faces St. Martin in a win-or-go-home elimination game of the Region 15C tournament today at 11 a.m. in Greenwald.

Game updates:

Final score: St. Martin 4, Elrosa 0. The Saints finish a very memorable season 11-4 overall.

Here's video from the top of the fourth inning today in Greenwald:

The Martins are playing Lake Henry now in a seeding game for state. The loser will be the No. 4 seed to state from Region 15C.

Thank you for supporting Elrosa and Stearns County League baseball...and the business supporters of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper!

That's it for today. Time to take the rest of my day off! Get your sunshine!!!!

(VIDEO) Elrosa vs. Farming in SCL baseball action

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.

#RocksAndCows

(VIDEO) Elrosa vs. Greenwald

In this video the Elrosa Saints baseball team is taking on Greenwald this past Friday night.


Action is from the bottom of the third inning when the Saints scored three runs to take a 4-2 lead over the Cubs.

Below, action from the bottom of the sixth inning on Friday night:


The Saints (9-2 overall) host Farming on Friday this week at 8 p.m. in the final Stearns County League game of the regular season. They also added an exhibition game at home against Becker that will be played on Saturday, July 25 at 7 p.m.

Elrosa has earned a trip to the Region 15C tournament, now it's just a matter of locking up the No. 1 seed if they beat the Flames.

Baseball Sunday

At Lake Henry today, Elrosa won 11-3 in a Stearns County League amateur baseball game.

They host Farming on Friday, July 24, to close out the regular season.

I haven't had a chance to get caught up on video uploading from Friday night's game. *Below, you can take in the last nine minutes of the Roscoe win from a week earlier...(VIDEO)


Tonight at Elrosa, the Saints Little Dipper baseball team defeated New Munich 8-3 to improve to 3-2 in the Stearns County League. It was a great game, and the Saints trailed 3-0 earlier in the game. They travel to Spring Hill this week on Wednesday night (July 22) with a 6:30 p.m. game on the schedule.

Next Sunday, a week from tonight, the Little Dipper Saints host Regal in a huge game that has playoff seeding implications. First pitch on July 26 is at 6:30 p.m.

Saints win

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team defeated Starbuck 3-0 in a non-league game last night on the home diamond. Luke VanBeck pitched the complete, nine-inning game with just four hits and two walks given up with four strikeouts.

Next: a home Stearns County League game tomorrow night (Friday) against Roscoe at 7:30 p.m.

After that, the Saints (5-2) travel to Spring Hill on Sunday afternoon for a 1:30 p.m. SCL game.

SCL amateur action: Saints vs. Grovers

With four innings in the book, Elrosa has a 5-1 lead at Meire Grove. This game is being aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Also broadcasting was MidMNSports out of Sauk Centre. Thanks, Brady and Mark!

Aaron Vogt started for Elrosa, and he pitched 3 2/3 innings before being relieved by Austin Imdieke.

Lots of wind out there!!

Update: in the bottom of the fifth inning, Colton Meyer hit a two-RBI home run over the left field fence to make it a 5-3 score, Elrosa ahead.

Here's video from the top of the first inning today:


And video from the top of the second inning...here, Elrosa scored two runs to take a 2-0 lead:


Meire Grove, playing in their season opener, fell behind 6-3, and then they tied it at 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning to make it one heck of an interesting game.

Final score: Elrosa 7, Meire Grove 6. Jackson Peter closed for Elrosa and earned the win. An RBI-double by James Kuefler earned the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning.

Next: Elrosa (2-0) hosts New Munich on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Added Monday morning...a web sports article at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website with additional video (short link): https://bit.ly/3hxexQT.

Around the Stearns County League today:
Richmond won 18-8 in Farming over Spring Hill
New Munich won 3-2 over visiting Roscoe

In the County Line League, Regal won their first game of the season today by a 5-2 score over Paynesville.


#RocksAndCows

Hallelujah! Let's PLAY BALL!

Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord!

The Stearns County League amateur baseball teams will begin action this weekend. They will play games against one another (one game each) this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Also, the Elrosa Saints will host an exhibition game against Cold Spring on Friday night, June 12.

Friday, June 12: Greenwald under the lights of Ray Weber Field in St. Martin at 8:30 p.m. and Elrosa vs. Cold Spring at 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 13: Lake Henry under the lights of Scheper Brothers Field in Farming at 8 p.m.

Sunday, June 14: Elrosa at Meire Grove at 1:30 p.m.; Spring Hill vs. Richmond at Farming at 1:30 p.m.; and Roscoe at New Munich at 1:30 p.m.

In related news, youth baseball restarted about two weeks ago in Elrosa. The Elrosa youth baseball programs have multiple practices under their belts. I will find out tomorrow night when the first Little Dipper baseball game will be held for the Elrosa Saints.

And side note...in unrelated news, on-site worshiping will resume at West Lake Johanna and Trinity Lutheran churches of Brooten. Information on that will be in the June 18 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Here's a summary of "good news" just posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice website. Two items are already mentioned in this blog post...here's the link: https://bit.ly/2YwADKj.

Baseball playoffs continue

The B-B-E Junior Legion baseball team lost 7-5 to Morris this morning. Their season has now come to a close after a magnificent playoff run.

At Region 15C, New Munich beat Richmond 3-1.

Farming defeated Meire Grove by a 5-0 score.

*Update on Saturday night: Farming defeated St. Martin in a state-qualifying game. The Flames are the first Region 15C team to qualify for state.

Saints win

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.

Offense sputters

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team settled for a regular season series split with Stearns County League North rival New Munich. The Saints hosted the Silverstreaks last night and suffered a 5-1 loss.

Next is a game at Atwater on Saturday, July 6.

Tonight in the amateur baseball All-Star game in Watkins, the Central Valley League defeated the Stearns County League by a score of 4-3.

Tournament opener

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won 1-0 over Freeport in the tournament opener tonight. Austin Imdieke got the complete-game win.

In the game that followed, the Sartell Muskies defeated New London-Spicer 5-1.

Elrosa and Sartell square off at 8 p.m. tomorrow night. On the line will be a berth in the championship.

Wet, rainy day

The weather for our Sunday isn't instilling confidence for outdoor activities...a high of 43 degrees, 100 percent chance of rain and 20 mile an hour winds.

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team host postponed a home game set for today with Richmond has been postponed to July 21. It will now be played in Richmond at 1:30 p.m. that day.

Other events today:

In Sunburg, a full day of activities has been curtailed to some extent due to the rain. I will post more after church.

From 1 to 4 p.m., Integrity Home Investments of Brooten is a real estate open house is in rural Brooten...details on page 10 of this week's Voice. You can also check out additional photos and information at the Voice website (short link): https://bit.ly/2HGtFKz.

What else? Oh, there's more!
The B-B-E Just For Kix chapter is hosting their spring dance show at 4 p.m. today at the elementary school. They have 106 student dancers in their program this season!

Remember to visit the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website every day at this community calendar page...even visiting a couple times a week will help you stay up-to-date on local events!  (Short link)  https://bit.ly/2EvexOA.

*Update: the Syttende Mai parade in Sunburg was canceled due to the cold wind and rain. However, the Sunburg fire department hamburger feed is still on. They are serving until 7 p.m.