It's a win! And the Saints are in (VIDEO)

A determined, gritty Greenwald Cubs team came to town today for a border battle to open the Stearns County League North division playoffs. After drawing first blood with one run in the top of the third, the Cubs fell behind 5-1 in the bottom of the third when Gavin Kampsen hit a grand slam home run over the left field fence at Saints Field. His one-out bomb, which sailed 5 to 10 feet above the fence, gave the Saints a 5-1 lead.

**Here's a video featuring Kampsen rounding the bases and being greeted back at the dugout:


Down the stretch, the bats came alive for the Saints, who finished with two doubles and one triple to go with Kampsen's grand slam. Elrosa joins St. Martin as two SCL teams with tickets to the Region 15C tournament in Lake Henry/St. Martin in August.

Final: Elrosa 12, Greenwald 3. Ethan Vogt pitched six innings for the win with five strikeouts, one walk and three earned runs. Ashton Dingmann earned the save in three innings with just one hit, no walks and three strikeouts. Overall, the Saints had 12 hits to 10 for the Cubs.

NEXT: the Saints play in the division championship at noon tomorrow, July 23, at New Munich. Their opponent will be the winner of this afternoon's game between New Munich and Spring Hill. First pitch at the Silverstreaks' stadium is at 2:30 p.m.

At St. Martin last night, the host Martins defeated Richmond 3-2 in walk-off fashion after trailing 2-0 to earn a spot in the region tournament.

UPDATE on my Bonanza Valley Days coverage...we are entering the final week with BVD coverage to publish in the newspaper. The July 27 issue will have additional coverage from the BVD kiddie parade, kids pedal pull, Scouts BSA Waffle Feed, the Miss Brooten program and the grand parade. So far at the newspaper's SmugMug photo gallery, the BVD photo totals is 855 pictures from the big four-day celebration in Brooten. Of that total 371 uploaded photos are from the BVD grand parade. The direct link to the SmugMug folder that has all the BVD galleries is: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/2023-B-B-EBonanza-Valley-area-events.

Weekend baseball updates

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team defeated No. 4-seeded Meire Grove by a 5-4 win after Matt Schmitz earned a walk-off RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday afternoon. They advance to the Stearns County League North division championship on Sunday at noon, when they'll host New Munich. Read more on the Elrosa/Meire Grove win at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2017/07/20/sports/elrosa-earns-region-berth/492.html.

New Munich also won in walk-off fashion over Spring Hill in the other SCL-North division contest on Saturday. New Munich and Elrosa both earned spots in the Region 15C tournament, while Spring Hill and Meire Grove will play at 3 p.m. on Sunday in Elrosa for a trip to regions. The loser of that game will see their season end.

The Regal Eagles amateur baseball team will face Norway Lake-Sunburg at noon on Sunday, July 30 in Paynesville for the final elimination game of the County Line League playoffs. The winner advances to regions, while the loser is eliminated. The Regal-vs.-Norway Lake-Sunburg winner advances to the CLL championship game, when they'll take on New London-Spicer.

In the Stearns County League South division, No. 1-seeded Lake Henry beat Roscoe, and No. 2-seeded Richmond beat No. 3 St. Martin.

Playoffs, Part II

The Elrosa Saints won the Stearns County League North division title today with a 7-3 win over Meire Grove. Region scheduling information will be posted later today. This is the program's 10th division playoff title in team history.

The Saints move to 14-13 overall with the win and now prepare for the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament that will be held in Paynesville over the next two weekends. Elrosa's first region contest is at either 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 6. I have to confirm the correct time and then post updates after the SCL Little Dipper championship game tonight.

In the County Line League playoffs, the Regal Eagles defeated the Starbuck Stars 9-1 on Saturday in an elimination contest. Earlier this afternoon (Sunday, July 31) the Eagles knocked out New London-Spicer from region contention with a 7-4 win. Currently they are facing Atwater in the CLL championship game. Both Regal and Atwater advance to regions.

Amateur division playoffs

The first final score is in the books for the opening day of the Stearns County League division playoffs.

In an SCL-North match up at New Munich, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won 2-0 to punch their ticket to the Region 15C baseball tournament.

Elrosa plays in a region seeding game (the SCL-North championship game) tomorrow (July 31) afternoon. The site is to-be-determined depending on who won the Meire Grove vs. Spring Hill game. If Spring Hill wins, then Elrosa plays at Spring Hill on Sunday. If Meire Grove wins, then Elrosa will host Meire Grove.

*UPDATE on Sunday night: this is exciting news for Saints fans! The Elrosa Saints will host the division championship game after Meire Grove upset the number-one seeded Spring Hill Chargers today. The Saints are the No. 3 seed, while the Grovers are the No. 4 seed. These two teams split in the regular season series. *****This division championship game in Elrosa will take place at 12 p.m. noon. So spread the word!

Stay tuned for updates. And don't forget about heading to Regal on Sunday night for the Little Dipper SCL championship game! Below is a short video clip from the semifinals last Sunday in Farming:

Here's a story on an accident by Belgrade this morning at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2016/07/21/news/driver-flees-accident-by-belgrade/329.html

Little Dipper playoffs

Stearns County League Little Dipper playoff results from Sunday night:

Elrosa beat Farming 16-0 at Farming. At St. Martin, Regal beat the Martins 7-2.

The SCL finals will be played on Sunday, July 31 at Regal with a 5:30 p.m. start time. Elrosa was the No. 4 seed, while Regal was the No. 2 seed.

More on the Elrosa v. Farming game will be posted today at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website.

Little Dipper playoffs

The Elrosa Saints Little Dipper baseball team defeated New Munich 15-0 in the quarterfinals of the Stearns County League playoffs on Sunday night.

Here's video from the game, after Jackson Peter hit an in-the-park solo home run.


As the No. 4 seed, the Saints now face the top seed, Farming, in the semifinal round next Sunday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m. in Farming.

Regal, the No. 2 seed, beat Freeport 13-0 in another quarterfinal game last night.

Saints duke it out in SCL finals

Aim high!

Following the awards ceremony, Will Van Beck (30) gets a host of fist bumps from his fellow Elrosa Saints after they won tonight in the Stearns County League championship game.

The Elrosa Saints Little Dipper team won their second championship of the 2015 summer season tonight. After earning the regular season Stearns County League title, the Saints Little Dipper team won their third playoff game in a row after dispatching a very talented Lake Henry team by a 4-2 score. After Lake Henry took a 1-0 lead in their first at bat, the Saints scored twice to gain the lead that they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night. It was 3-1 after the third inning was done, and then 4-1 in the fourth. The Lakers scored one run in the top of the sixth for the final score.

Elrosa finishes the season with a perfect 12-0 record. Lake Henry finished 8-4 overall after going 6-3 in the regular season to end up in a three-way tie for second place with Farming and Regal. Video is being uploaded from tonight as I type this.

Here's a short video from after the game:


At Roscoe in an elimination game, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team ended Atwater's season with a 7-2 win. They play next Saturday, August 15 against Spring Hill at 1:30 p.m. That game is also an elimination game.

Scores from Region 15C:
On Saturday night, New Munich defeated Roscoe 8-0 in the first state-qualifying game of the tournament. Earlier on the day, New Munich bounced Atwater to the elimination bracket with a 6-1 win. New London-Spicer beat St. Martin in their first-round game by a 2-0 score.

On Sunday, in the second state-qualifying game of the tournament, New London-Spicer beat Spring Hill 12-4. In an elimination game, Lake Henry squeaked past rival St. Martin 3-2.

Tonight was the mandatory parent meeting at the school for student-related extra-curricular activities. By the time I was done in Elrosa, it was time to get home where I haven't been since Friday night. I have heard that a second meeting will be held this week, but I haven't gotten confirmation of that from Mr. Gossen.

Division champions

Today is a GREAT day!!

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team beat New Munich 9-4 this afternoon to claim the playoff division title in the Stearns County League North. They advance to Region 15C as a number one seed. *Update: Elrosa plays at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 8 in the opening round of the Region 15C tournament. They face Roscoe in Roscoe. Matt Imdieke from Meire Grove is their draftee.

More information will follow tonight.

In Atwater, Regal lost out of region contention in a 4-3 loss to New London-Spicer. The County Line League will send New London-Spicer and Atwater to the Region 15C tournament.

Riley Lenarz hitting for Elrosa in Sunday night's win over Roscoe.

**The Elrosa Little Dipper team beat Roscoe 7-1 in the semifinals of the Stearns County League playoffs tonight. They will host the SCL championship game on Sunday, August 9; their opponent will be Lake Henry, who beat visiting Regal 4-3 in the other semifinal game tonight.

Don't miss out on this baked ham supper...sounds delicious!

Saints win playoff opener

The Elrosa Saints defeated Spring Hill by a 5-2 score today in the opening round of the Stearns County League amateur baseball playoffs. They host New Munich in the SCL-North division championship game at 12 p.m. noon on Sunday, August 2. The Silverstreaks beat Meire Grove 4-0 in the other division opener.

Video from today's win in Elrosa:


No word yet on how Regal fared in an elimination game against Norway Lake-Sunburg. *Update: the Eagles won 3-1! They play in Atwater tomorrow at noon against New London-Spicer in the final County Line League elimination game. The winner advances to regions.

Girls' golf second at Benson

A tie for first place by Peyton Miller (87) helped the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team take second place out of nine teams at the Benson Invitational on Wednesday. Earning a tie for third place was Alyssa Dalen (89). Team scores were: (1) Ortonville 361 (2) B-B-E 380 (3) Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 413 (4) LQPV 415 (5) Benson 424 (6) Dawson-Boyd 434 (7) Yellow Medicine East 444 (8) Benson JV, MACCRAY incomplete.

In news out of the Stearns County League: Roscoe has been selected as the host of the 2015 Region 15C amateur baseball tournament. The tournament dates are August 7th - 9th and 14th - 15th. I am guessing St. Martin will be the evening game site. Also, Paynesville was selected as host of the 2016 region tournament.

One game to note on your calendar: this Saturday, May 16, Elrosa hosts New Munich in what will be a very entertaining SCL-North matchup. First pitch at Saints Field is at 7:30 p.m.

Little Dipper, Region 15C baseball notes

The Elrosa Saints Little Dipper baseball team lost their bid for a Stearns County League championship by a 17-5 score at Farming on Sunday night. The Saints took a brief 4-3 lead after scoring three runs off of one hit in the top of the 3rd inning.

Elrosa finishes the year with a terrific record of 10-3 overall after finishing 8-2 in the SCL regular season standings (tied for second with Lake Henry).

At the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament on Sunday, St. Martin beat Lake Henry 10-2 to advance to the state tournament for the 10th time in program history. (Their first state trip was in 1966 and last one was in 2010.)

Regal ended Meire Grove's season by a 6-1 score, and Richmond bounced Norway Lake-Sunburg from state contention in a 5-3 win to finish this weekend's games.

Up next for Region 15C fans is a fantastic match up between St. Martin and Spring Hill this Friday night, August 8, at 7:30pm in Elrosa. For Regal, they play an elimination game against New Munich on Saturday at 11:00am.

Amateur baseball update

Here are the teams advancing to the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament, which will be held in Elrosa over the next two weekends = St. Martin, Lake Henry, Richmond, Spring Hill, New Munich, Meire Grove, Regal and Norway Lake-Sunburg.

In the Stearns County League (amateur) playoffs, the Elrosa Saints led 2-0 going into the sixth innings before losing by a final score of 5-3 to visiting Meire Grove today.

In the Stearns County League Little Dipper Final Four round, the Elrosa Saints beat Regal to advance to next Sunday's championship game. In the other semifinal, host Farming beat New Munich 6-4 and will host the SCL title game.

Details to follow.

(Photo galleries) 17-U fastpitch, amateur baseball

Here's New Munich vs. Elrosa amateur baseball playoff action from last Sunday:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/2014-Sports/Elrosa-and-SCL-amateur-basebal/SCL-playoffs-New-Munich-at-Elr

And here's photos from the 17-U fastpitch league playoffs:
http://saukherald.smugmug.com/2014-Sports/2014-BBE-Jaguar-summer-sports/BBE-17U-fastpitch-vs-Eagle-Val

Sorry that I haven't posted much here in the last few days. Summer has been just a tad bit busy!! The rat race continues on Sunday juggling the Glenwood Waterama activities, Elrosa Saints amateur baseball playoffs and then Elrosa Saints Little League playoffs. Luckily the circle between Brooten, Glenwood and Elrosa isn't terribly huge!!

A small glimpse of Waterama 2014:
http://lifeinpopecounty.blogspot.com/2014/07/waterama-excitement-is-underway.html

Spring Hill's game

The upcoming Spring Hill vs. New Munich game at Chargers Field starts at 11:00am this Sunday (July 27).

Another tough one-run loss

Kevin Kuefler, their number-two batter, had one of Elrosa's hits today.

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team lost 3-2 today to visiting New Munich in a region-qualifying playoff game. Going into the 8th inning, the game was tied 1-1 before the SilverStreaks plated two runs in the top half of the frame. The Saints got one back in the bottom of the 9th but couldn't tie it or win it. They're in a must-win situation now when they host Meire Grove next Sunday, July 27 at 2:30pm at Saints Field.

The 4th-seeded Grovers lost 21-8 in 7 innings at Spring Hill.

Top-seeded Spring Hill hosts third-seeded New Munich at noon next Sunday. (No, it is at 11:00am)

In the Stearns County League Little League playoffs, #2-seeded Elrosa beat Spring Hill 11-1 tonight to advance to the Final Four round. Fifth-seeded Regal won at #4-seed Roscoe by a 2-0 score to also earn a spot in the semifinals.

In the Sinclair Lewis Days youth baseball tournament at Sauk Centre, the Elrosa Saints lost 2-1 in the championship game to Osakis. In the third-place game, the B-B-E Jaguars beat Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 9-7 thanks to a huge rally after they fell behind 5-0 in the first inning.

More to follow.

Elrosa wins!

Soaking up the playoff-opening win, a feat they've earned for the 5th straight year.

Final score of the playoff opener: Elrosa 2, Meire Grove 0.

At New Munich, 4th-seeded Spring Hill beat #1 seed New Munich 2-1 to qualify for regionals for the 7th year in a row.

In a tournament at Sauk Centre this weekend,  the Elrosa Pee Wee team took first place with an intense 2-1 win over rival KMS today. They won the Sinclair Lewis Days tournament for the second year in a row. Last year they blanked K-M-S 7-0 to take first.

Playoffs set to begin Sunday for Elrosa

Game time is 1:30pm in Elrosa on Sunday, when the Saints host Meire Grove in a Region 15C-qualifying game.

Action from the New Munich vs. Elrosa game on July 3...

The Saints finished 9-4 in the Stearns County League North division to clinch the number two seed for the playoffs.

Saints fall in seeding game

At New Munich on Sunday afternoon, the Elrosa Saints lost a bid for the top seed from the Stearns County League-North division for the upcoming Region 15C tournament in a 5-1 loss to the Silverstreaks.

Now 8-7 in league games this year, the Saints will be the two seed from their division in the region tournament at Richmond. Their first game is at 1:30pm on Saturday, Aug. 4 against Paynesville. The Pirates finished as runners-up in the County Line League playoffs after losing the seeding game to New London-Spicer by a 4-1 score.

Other results in SCL playoffs saw: Richmond beat Farming; Lake Henry bumped St. Martin in a nailbiter 3-2; Spring Hill bumped Meire Grove 8-4.

Click here to download a PDF of the Region 15C brackets, courtesy of the Elrosa Saints official website:
http://www.eteamz.com/elrosasaints/files/2012Region15CBracket.pdf

How about that! Final score in the SCL-North opener: Elrosa 1, Spring Hill 0

The Elrosa Saints won another baseball game by shut out today when the amateur baseball team traveled to Spring Hill and picked up a 1-0 win in the Stearns County League North division opener.

Way to go, Saints!

The Saints face New Munich on the road next Sunday (at New Munich) in the winner's bracket final of the SCL-North playoffs. Today's win earned them a berth in the Region 15C tournament in August.

Spring Hill hosts Meire Grove next Sunday in the loser's bracket. The winner of that game gets the final pass to Region 15C from the SCL-North division.

More will follow later.

Elrosa at Spring Hill - regaining possession of the Keg

The Region 15C-bound Elrosa Saints open up the next round of their playoff run with a 3:30 p.m. game on Saturday, August 6 in Spicer against the Farming Flames. The Region 15C tournament will be held at Green Lake Diamonds, which is located along the west side of four-lane Highway 23 on the southwest side of Spicer.