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.!

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 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.

Saints play twice this weekend

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team hosts Norway Lake-Sunburg tonight in an exhibition game at 8 p.m. They host a golf tournament at Prairie View Community in Brooten tomorrow. On Sunday, the Saints travel to Spring Hill for Part II of the Battle for the Keg series of 2026. First pitch at Chargers Stadium is at 1:30 p.m.

UPDATE: in a rain-shortened game, the Saints defeated the Lakers of the south by a 4-0 score in 5 innings. It was an odd night where scattered thunderstorms and rain showers passed over the area. It was hit-or-miss but enough to wreck a nice night for baseball!

In other news...
The Redhead Creamery's 8th annual Curd Fest is coming soon! It's just one week away. Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website to learn more and to find out how to get advanced tickets: RedheadCurdFest2026.

Also, at the newspaper's website, you can watch the senior farewell address given by Class of 2026 members Bree Radermacher and Josie Bucketine during the graduation ceremony on May 22.

At the state baseball tournament...
In the Class 1A state quarterfinals on Thursday, Brandon-Evansville fell 7-0 to South Ridge in an afternoon game played at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud. The Chargers rebounded nicely with a 13-6 consolation bracket semifinal win on Friday at Cold Spring over Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton. In the state consolation title game, Brandon-Evansville won 6-0 against Ogilvie.

Saints win Battle for the Keg I (*UPDATED)

The Keg is coming back to Elrosa.

In a Stearns County League North division game today, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team defeated Spring Hill 10-4 to square up their division record at 1-1 early in the season. The win was set up by a five-run 4th inning that broke a scoreless tie through three innings.

In the top of the 7th inning, Spring Hill cut into Elrosa's 7-1 lead with three runs. The Saints responded with Blaine Fischer's monster three-RBI double that bounced off of the centerfield fence, and reliever Wyatt Steffensen closer Luke Dingmann shut the door on the Chargers for the last 6 outs. Riley Meyer started for Elrosa and pitched well across 4 1/3 innings. (4 hits, one run, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts) before Steffensen entered in relief in the top of the fifth. Steffensen earned the win with 3 2/3 innings of work on the mound.

The Saints had 12 hits to 11 by the Chargers. Four of Spring Hill's 11 hits were doubles, but the Saints benefited from having no errors in the field to two by the Chargers. Earning 2 hits each for Elrosa were Ashton Dingmann, Luke Dingmann, Peyton Winter and Will VanBeck.

Here's a video featuring the end of today's game:


Elrosa's next town team game is an exhibition game in Elrosa on Friday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. against Starbuck. Following that, the Saints travel the short trip east to Meire Grove to face the Grovers in an SCL-North game on Sunday, May 17 (1:30 p.m.).

In other news...
The Belgrade Commercial Club held its spring purse bingo event on Friday at the VFW with a nice turnout of 65. They also sponsored advertising for over a dozen garage sales in the Belgrade area. That advertising was published in the April 30 and May 7 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

The Brooten city council meets in regular session on Monday night. Once I get the agenda, it will be posted to the newspaper's editor's blog: lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.

The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team plays their final home game of the season on Monday at 2 p.m. against Benson.

Regulation-inning game, but another tough loss to the Chargers

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team hosted Spring Hill and suffered a 3-2 loss in regulation innings. The Chargers pushed the game-winning run across in the top of the 8th inning. For the game, a whopping 30 baserunners were left stranded: 13 by Spring Hill and 17 by Elrosa.

Elrosa scored once in both the first and second innings and rode the early 2-0 lead into the fifth inning. In the top of the fifth, the Chargers tied the game at 2-2. In the top of the 8th, Luke Dehmer hit a one-out single for Spring Hill. He made it a 3-2 lead for the visitors on Ethan Meyer's grounder to shortstop.

Next: the Saints travel to Greenwald for a Stearns County League North division border battle on Sunday with first pitch at 1:30 p.m.

Elrosa Saints win tournament opener (VIDEO, UPDATES)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won their 9th game of the season by defeating Royalton 3-0 tonight in the opening game of their Elite 8 tournament. The Saints will play in the semifinals at 8 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday) against the winner of the Courtland vs. Veseli game. Those two teams square off at noon tomorrow in their tournament opener.

In the night cap, Waterville defeated New London-Spicer 7-3 to advance in the championship bracket.

Here's a short video recorded during the postgame handshakes...


I hope you can make it to Elrosa and/or Terrace this weekend!

Saturday night baseball update:
Veseli faces the New London-Spicer Twins at 10 a.m. tomorrow for the 7th place game. Following that, Royalton will play Fergus Falls at noon in the fifth-place game.

Update: the Elrosa Saints lost 5-4 in 8 innings to Courtland in the championship semifinals. They play at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the third-place game against Waterville.

Saints survive the Rangers

The Saints win! Hooray!

On a cloudy, cool Father's Day afternoon, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team came away with a 4-3 extra-inning win at Roscoe.

It was a battle from start to finish, with Roscoe scoring 3 runs during the bottom of the first inning. The Saints scratched one across in the fourth inning before scoring once in both the eighth and ninth innings. In the top of the 10th inning, Luke Dingmann led off with a double and later scored the game-winning run on a successful suicide squeeze bunt by Will VanBeck. In the bottom of the 10th, Elrosa closer Ashton Dingmann got a ground ball and two strikeouts to close out the win.

Next: the Saints (8-5) host the Elite 8 tournament on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 20, 21 and 22. Elrosa's first game is Friday night at 6:30 p.m. against the Royalton Riverdogs. That evening's action at Saints Field concludes with the New London-Spicer Twins facing the Waterville Indians.

Mueller's 2-run dinger helps 10-run Brandon-Evansville (VIDEO)

After going down 0-2 in the count on 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th inning, Ethan Mueller launched a two-run home run straight across center field in Elrosa tonight. The dinger landed directly on the Saints Field scoreboard, and the two runs scored ended the game via the 10-run rule as the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team won by a 10-0 score against Brandon-Evansville.

This game was the second game of the Max Bats Wood Bat Invitational. It was also carried on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.

The Jaguars held an 8-0 lead as Mueller entered the batter's box in the 6th inning. Luke Illies, the previous batter, had just hit a stand-up two-RBI triple.

Mueller has committed to the Alexandria Technical and Community College Legends baseball team, while Illies has signed with St. Cloud Technical and Community College.

See the bottom of the 6th inning play out as the game ended via the mercy rule in this video from Elrosa:


The Jaguars took a 4-0 lead in the first inning and added another run in the third. The last 5 runs were all scored in the bottom of the 6th, with B-B-E improving to 9-4 overall.

The Chargers fall to 11-2 overall; they entered tonight's contest as the No. 9-ranked team in Class 1A by the Minnesota Baseball Coaches Association. In the Little Eight Conference, the Chargers are 8-0. B-E's 11-game winning streak ended; their other loss was in the season opener on April 11 at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle by a 4-2 score. The LP-GE Thunder are 12-1 overall and also a contender in Section 6A.

Next: another huge Section 6A contest when the Jaguars face Hancock in the final game of the Max Bats Invitational. The game is scheduled to begin at about 5:30 p.m. at Saints Field. The Owls are 5-6 overall; they beat Browerville tonight in Elrosa by a 10-0 score in shortened innings.

Other Max Bats Invitational games on Saturday:
11 a.m. - JV game with Brandon-Evansville and Browerville;
1 p.m. - varsity game with Brandon-Evansville and Browerville;
3:30 p.m. - JV game with B-B-E and Hancock;
5:30 p.m. - varsity game with B-B-E and Hancock;

Area baseball scores on May 9:
Parkers Prairie 10, New York Mills 7
Upsala/Swanville Area 2, Border West 1 (at Clinton's baseball field)
Melrose Area 5, Pierz 4

Area fastpitch scores on May 9:
Benson 9, Ortonville 0
Alexandria 2, Willmar 0
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 10, Minnewaska Area 0 (5 innings)
MA/CA 7, Minnewaska Area 1

This is Easter weekend (VIDEOS*)

Two fun Easter events took place today in Elrosa and Brooten.

Here's what the scene looked like at the Elrosa Catholic church basement this morning:


What time or times are you going to Easter Sunday worship tomorrow? I've got 7 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. worships on my schedule. Possibly more!

Let's fast forward to Sunday...
Multiple churches held Easter morning worship services on Sunday. Off the top of my head, a few of those churches held worship services at either 6:30 a.m. or 7 a.m. that were dubbed "Sunrise" services. Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooten held worship at 7 a.m.

Here's a large portion of worship at Trinity on Sunday:


The video begins around the time that Pastor Jeanne was providing her announcements for the church. It continues until shortly after Holy Communion was provided to worshipers.

Often on Easter Sunday, I try to swing out to East Norway Lake Lutheran Church for their sunrise worship service. With my family being involved with serving breakfast at Trinity Lutheran in Brooten this morning, it kept me from making the 20-minute trek into Arctander Township.

Additional Easter Sunday worship coverage will be published in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's April 24 issue.

On the horizon

The Catholic United Financial-St. James chapter in Elrosa will host a matching grant breakfast on Sunday, April 6. Everyone invited! They serve from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church basement with an all-you-can eat menu that includes ham, scrambled eggs, homemade hash browns, cinnamon bread, fritter bread, fruit sauce, cheese, milk and coffee. Prices: $10 for adults, children ages 6 to 11 are just $5 and children ages 5 and under eat free. This event is eligible for a matching grant from Catholic United Financial of up to $1,000.

The Belgrade city council meets tonight at 6 p.m. The meeting agenda can be found at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/xd2th.

Also, there's additional activities and events coming up at the Smilin' D Arena in Colfax Township. Click over to their website to read more. They've got bike races on Thursday and Friday nights this week. A Wild Henke Kids show is on Saturday, and team penning is on Sunday.

And for Tuesday...
The B-B-E speech team travels to Kimball Area high school for the Central Minnesota Conference championships. I am not sure if I can make the drive. Grr!! I am just far too backed up from the weekend. We'll see how the day goes.

Better late than never...! I added just a photo gallery to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's web article featuring elementary students singing the National Anthem back on February 27. You can find the video and web article by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/qRxjZ.

Saints suffer tough loss to open regions

A few county fair updates were posted at the end of this blog post on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team fell into the elimination bracket of the Region 15C tournament tonight with a tough-luck 10-8 loss to Pearl Lake. They trailed 10-4 before scoring four unanswered runs to make for an interesting final stretch. Two stranded runners in the bottom of the ninth inning was the outcome of their final at bat, however, as they now play to stay alive with an 11 a.m. game on Sunday back in Watkins. (Sunday, August 4).

The county fair activity in Sauk Centre and Glenwood is currently at its peak! I spent about three hours this afternoon at the Stearns County Fair in Sauk Centre, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The mercury raced to nearly 90 degrees this afternoon. It was HOT! Officially, the high temperature today in Brooten was 88 degrees. We are blessed with tremendous county fairs in central Minnesota. This is something we should all be VERY proud about! REMEMBER: three county fairs are advertised in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper! I hope you have a copy to read for yourself!

Additional updates to this blog post will be added on Saturday morning.

Saturday night updates...
The Elrosa Saints will play either St. Martin or Spring Hill in a Region 15C elimination game on Sunday, August 4 in Watkins starting at 11 a.m. The Region 15C opener for St. Martin and Spring Hill took place at 3:30 p.m. today. Results are not yet available but will be posted here later tonight. Elrosa faces the loser of that game.

Okay! So I got some bad info and did not check the brackets...the Saints will play Farming or Cold Spring on Sunday in the elimination game. I am struggling to find updated brackets and scores.

Finally! I found the correct Twitter page to get scores. In the second game last night (Friday), the Cold Spring Rockies defeated Farming 8-6 in a terrific ball game. The Farming Flames are who the Saints will play tomorrow in the elimination game. In the 6 p.m. game tonight, the Cold Spring Rockies faced Pearl Lake in the first state-qualifier of Region 15C.

The Watkins Clippers defeated Richmond in their region opener today. I do not have a final score on that.

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website has a web article (just a video) added today...you can see that by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/znd9V. Now it's time to head to the Pope County Fair for the second time of the day. My family and I will be taking in the Pope County Cattlemen's Association supper. It will be great! Later tonight, the Sedan/Terrace-based band Wasted Time will be the feature entertainment at the fair in Glenwood.

Here's Brady Nelson of Brooten at the end of his run through the tractor pull at the Pope County Fair on Saturday night:


Brady Nelson is a 2019 graduate of B-B-E high school. He was driving a John Deere "G" tractor that had a tremendous pull. I was recording the pull, and for a reason I can't explain, my camera stopped recording in the middle of it. I hit record again after his tractor had stopped. Unfortunately, I did not record when he "dug down" just after it appeared that the tractor was stopping roughly 30 yards short of a full pull. The file on my card was corrupted, so all I had was this little short clip at the end. It's weird how technology can fail you in ways you don't see coming!

On Sunday morning, I'll be in Terrace at Chippewa Falls Lutheran church for their 150th anniversary of the church's founding in Pope County.

Elrosa Saints pick up another big win (VIDEO)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team has continued to pick up steam as the regular season is nearing the final stretch. In a border battle league game today, the Saints defeated visiting Greenwald 6-2. Their Stearns County League North division record now stands at 4-6, still good for fourth place.

Payton VanBeck started and got the Saints off to a solid start while striking out the side in the top of the first inning. Ashton Dingmann then took over on the mound and tossed the next six innings while giving up four hits, no earned runs with no walks and six strikeouts. Wyatt Steffensen closed with two innings of one-hit relief with no walks and three strikeouts.

Here's action from the top of the 6th inning today against Greenwald:


Next: the Saints host Roscoe on Saturday, July 6 under the lights. The next day, they resume SCL-North action with a trip to New Munich for a 1:30 p.m. contest.

I'm thrilled to say that the church social hosted by the Parishes on the Prairie Catholic churches in Elrosa enjoyed a wonderful turnout today. You can see more on that event in the July 4 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

More to come.

Elrosa Saints win Elite 8 title: it's a THREE-peat! (VIDEOS)

To cap a long and exciting weekend of baseball, the Elrosa Saints earned the Elite 8 tournament title with a convincing 11-4 win over the New London-Spicer Twins tonight. Elrosa held a 6-4 lead after two innings. The offense was aided by three home runs, a three-run shot by Jackson Peter and solo home runs by Kevin Kuefler and Andrew Weller. In addition to the home runs, Jackson Peter had two doubles, and Derek Wiener and Gavin Kampsen also doubled.

Ashton Dingmann started and pitched four innings for the win, and Wyatt Steffensen closed to earn the save in three scoreless innings. The Twins tallied 7 hits, while the Saints had a 13-hit attack.

This marks the third straight year that the Saints have won the Elite 8 title.

Here's a video from the bottom of the third inning against NL-S:


Here's a video starting when Jackson Peter rounded the bases after hitting a 3-run home run:


The Saints now have four straight wins to their credit and improve to 6-7 overall. Next: the Saints host Richmond on Friday, June 28 in a Stearns County League game which will begin in the fourth inning and Elrosa holding a 3-2 lead. This resumes action from May 24, which was halted due to the weather.

This blog post will be updated in the morning.   

Elrosa Saints Elite 8 tournament continues *UPDATES

The second day of the Elite 8 amateur baseball tournament got underway by mid-afternoon after another round of rainfall passed over the Bonanza Valley area earlier today.

Elrosa's game tonight should get going by around 8:30 p.m. They face the winner of Royalton vs. Veseli, which started at 3 p.m. Additional game notes from the Spring Hill win last night were added to my previous blog post.

Elite 8 tournament opening-round scores:
Fergus Falls defeated Raymond 10-6.
Elrosa 4, Spring Hill 2 (last night)
New London-Spicer 1, Luxemborg 0 (last night)
Veseli 12, Royalton 1

Elite 8 round two updates...
Fergus Falls faces NL-S in one of the championship semifinals tonight.

Update...in the top of the seventh, NL-S took a 17-10 lead over Fergus Falls. The Twins won by a 17-11 final score to advance to the championship. The nightcap features Elrosa vs. Veseli in the other championship semifinal. First pitch was set for about 8:50 p.m.

Final score: Elrosa 1, Veseli 0! What a game! Ashton Dingmann drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ethan Vogt pitched a complete game for the win while giving up just four hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Veseli's Jackson Jirk also pitched a great game but took the loss while giving up four hits and four walks with three strikeouts. Earning one hit each for Elrosa were Kevin Kuefler, Blaine Fischer, Ashton Dingmann and Luke Illies.

In the bottom of the sixth, Jackson Peter advanced on an error and stole second base before scoring on Dingmann's base hit. Vogt then earned two strikeouts to go with one grounder to end the game after the top of the seventh. The Saints (5-7 overall) will face New London-Spicer in the championship on Sunday.

Sunday's schedule in Elrosa:
10 a.m. - Spring Hill vs. Royalton
12 p.m. - Luxemborg vs. Raymond
2 p.m. - Veseli vs. Fergus Falls (third place)
4 p.m. - Elrosa vs. NL-S (championship)

The sprint to Christmas continues (VIDEO)

Another super busy week is underway in Jaguar Country! This is a sprint to Christmas that continues this week with multiple sports and community events across the Bonanza Valley area. It sort of "peaks" this Saturday with Santa Day events in Belgrade in the morning and Brooten in the late afternoon/evening.

Tonight features a big event that I am glad I am able to go to with no other conflicting items on the schedule...the football team awards banquet! It will be a big deal!

Here's a little Christmas music and more as was seen in the church basement in Elrosa on Saturday:


Kudos to the Elrosa Commercial Club for hosting the event in conjunction with other local groups such as the Elrosa Baseball Club as well as Kensington Bank and Kensington Insurance. They hired Donny Brang to perform Christmas music, and that added a neat touch to the one-hour event. Turnout exceeded 70 kids!!! That's just flat out awesome for a community with a population of about 230.

On to the Round of 32 at State! Let's go Saints! (VIDEOS, UPDATES!)

Note: this was updated yet again on Monday morning...see below.

The Elrosa Saints baseball team will play in the second weekend of the 100th Class C amateur state tournament. They earned that right thanks to a walk-off RBI-single by Jackson Peter to defeat Hadley 4-3 in today's opening round game in Dassel.

Peter's base hit was buried in left field, which allowed Andew Weller to score from second base for the game winner. Weller, the leadoff batter for the Saints in the ninth, was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on Will VanBeck's sacrifice bunt. Kevin Kuefler drew a walk, and Jackson Peter then drilled his shot over the third baseman's head for the game winner.

*Here's a rough video of the exciting post-game celebration in Dassel!


*Here's a video from the bottom of the 8th inning when the Saints tied the game at 3-3...


Hadley got a two-RBI home run in the top of the fifth inning that gave them a 3-2 lead.

Payton VanBeck got the pitching win in the ninth inning in relief of Cole Fuchs of Cold Spring, who pitched three scoreless innings. Starter Brett Engelmeyer of Greenwald went the first five innings.

*Here's a video featuring the entire top of the 9th inning with VanBeck on the mound:


Next: the Saints play Region 9A champion Minneota next Saturday at 4:30 p.m., with the site to be determined. **UPDATE: the game will be in Litchfield. Further details to come. Video is uploading. I have to put sports aside for part of the evening as I join what is the 'Event of the summer' at the Brooten Pavilion, where the wedding reception is being held for Larry Torkelson and Eva Smith of Sunburg. They got married! And we couldn't be happier for them.

UPDATE: the Spring Hill Chargers have also advanced to the second weekend of state! They toppled Roseau 6-4 tonight in Litchfield to get Region 15C a total of four teams in the final 32 teams left in contention. Congratulations! Ben Welle started for Spring Hill and pitched seven innings and was relieved by Anthony Revermann, who pitched the eighth inning. Lake Henry draftee Grant Ludwig was closer in the ninth. Next for the Chargers: their second round game is on Friday, August 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Delano, where their opponent will be the host Delano Athletics, champions of Region 12A.

New York Mills ended Regal's season with a 3-2 state tournament win in Litchfield after the Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. It marked the first state win for New York Mills since 1969. 

The Kimball Express defeated Region 9C's runner-up team, the Dumont Saints, by a 4-2 score on Friday in Litchfield to advance. They play Region 8A champion Buckman on Saturday, August 26 at 7 p.m. in Litchfield, a game that follows Elrosa's game with Minneota.

Region 15C champion St. Martin opens their state tournament with the Loretto Larks on Sunday, August 27 at 1:30 p.m. in Litchfield. The Larks were the fourth-place team out of Region 12C, and they beat Luxemburg 8-3 to advance.

State opener is today! (VIDEOS)

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 baseball on Sunday (VIDEO)

Spring Hill has kept their season alive after they defeated Lake Henry 5-4 this afternoon in the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament. Earlier today at Lake Henry, St. Martin edged the Cold Spring Rockies 4-3 to punch their ticket to the state tournament.

The Elrosa vs. Pearl Lake game has been delayed a bit due to a brief shot of rain in Lake Henry. The game won't start until after 4:30 p.m.

Here's the view from Lake Henry just before the bottom of the 9th inning yesterday:


Game updates to follow.

**The game started at 4:28 p.m. 
*Update: going into the bottom of the fourth inning, Pearl Lake has a 1-0 lead.

*Update: with 5 innings complete, Elrosa trails 1-0.

*Update: with 6 innings complete, the Saints are ahead 4-1 over the Lakers.

Final: Elrosa 4, Pearl Lake 1. The Saints stay alive to play next weekend, and they play in another elimination game at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday at Lake Henry. Their opponent will be Cold Spring. Spread the word!! A new blog post will feature game notes and video. Stay tuned.

 

We had a busy weekend (VIDEOS)

It's been a busy weekend with Jake's Day at the Belgrade sportsmen's shooting range, the Stearns County Fair and then the outdoor Mass held at Saints Field this morning in Elrosa. Clean up also has continued in Brooten in the aftermath of Tuesday night's storm.

Here's video of a member of B-B-E's Class of 2032 at the rifle range yesterday morning at Jake's Day:


The outdoor Mass today drew upwards of 500 worshipers to Saints Field in Elrosa. It was a wonderful experience to take in!

Video from Elrosa:


In that video, the final song is performed by the choir and crowd. Unfortunately, the video camera went dead before the song was completed. Look for more coverage in this week's Voice.