All-Star game

In the All-Star amateur baseball game between the Stearns County and Central Valley leagues, the SCL came out on top 3-2 on Saturday night at Elrosa.

Monday's schedule

Saints Field in Elrosa will see its first action of 2018 on Monday, April 30, when the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team hosts Paynesville Area in a big border battle and Central Minnesota Conference rematch with a 4:30 p.m. start time.

In other varsity action on Monday, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team travels to Paynesville for a CMC doubleheader that begins at 4 p.m.

The junior high track team is at Paynesville for a 4:30 p.m. meet, while the junior high baseball team is also at Paynesville with first pitch set for 4:30 p.m.

...looking ahead to Tuesday: the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf team has their third CMC meet of the season when they head to Maple Lake with a 4:15 p.m. start. Back at home, the high school athletic complex will host the annual Belgrade Lions track and field invitational with a 4 p.m. start.

*Also, here's video from Sunburg on Friday night:


A busy week ahead! I'll be at varsity events all five days, Monday to Friday! Wowza!!! Also, on Wednesday night, the KMGK radio sports banquet will take place at the Lakeside Ballroom.

(HD video) Elrosa v. Spring Hill

Here's action from the Elrosa vs. Spring Hill baseball game on July 8 at Elrosa:


I'm checking on the status of events at the 133rd annual Pope County Fair in Glenwood. It's been raining on and off all day across the Bonanza Valley. **And I can report that the Demo Derby in Glenwood is a GO for tonight. You can go here to read about the Pope County Fair, and remember their advertisement was in the July 7 and July 14 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2016/07/14/regional/pope-county-fair-is-underway/322.html

Thank you for supporting our local county fair! There's another one coming next week in Sauk Centre...details to follow in the upcoming issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.

First loss

The undefeated start to the season came to an end for the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team today in a 6-3 loss to St. Martin. The big factor in the game was five errors by Elrosa, while the Martin's were errorless in the field.

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.

Extra-inning loss

In the last game of the B-B-E Invitational, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team duked it out with the top team in Sub-Section 5A-West, Browerville/Eagle Valley, but came up short in a 3-2 loss in eight innings.

After falling behind 2-0 in the second inning, the Jaguars went into the seventh inning down 2-1. Ryan Olmscheid scored a game-tying run in the top of the seventh and held the Tiger-Rebels in the bottom of the frame to force an eighth inning. B/EV then ended the game with run scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the eighth to improve to 9-3 on the season.

In the earlier game held on Saturday in Elrosa, Minnewaska Area beat Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 6-5 after they trailed 5-0 in the third inning.

(Video) Region 15C baseball

Here's a clip from last Saturday night, featuring Samantha Wiener singing the National Anthem:
http://saukherald.com/content/region-15c-baseball-national-anthem

'National Anthem' starting the Elrosa wood bats tournament

Prior to the Belgrade/Brooten vs. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg game last Friday in Elrosa:


It was a beautiful night for baseball!

Star Spangled Banner at Saints Field

Prior to the Elrosa vs. New Munich game last night:

Vogt pitches two-hitter

Behind another stellar pitching performance by Ethan Vogt, the Elrosa Saints blanked St. Martin 2-0 on a sunny afternoon today. The win ups their Stearns County League-North record to 7-3 heading into the last 3 regular season games.

More will follow later.

Elrosa Saints climb over .500

For the first time since the season-opening win at Spring Hill, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team's record is over the .500 mark. On Saturday night in a home game under the lights, the Saints defeated previously-undefeated Lake Henry 3-1. They are now 4-3 overall, while the Lakers fell to 7-1.

Today in a battle between the top teams in the Stearns County League North division, New Munich prevailed in 13 innings over Meire Grove. The Silverstreaks improve to 6-1 in the SCL-North, while the Grovers are a half-game behind at 6-2.

On a side note, it was announced a month ago that Farming will host the Region 15C tournament in August. All day games will be played in Farming, while evening games are in St. Martin. The dates are August 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th, and 11th.

Video clip from Sunday's amateur baseball game in Elrosa

Matt Middendorf hit an RBI-single in the bottom of the 10th inning to tie it 3-3 against Meire Grove...

...and then the rain came!

Shown is Saints Field in Elrosa late Friday afternoon...the cold, rainy weather nixed the B-B-E baseball team's home opener that was scheduled for Friday night against sub-section rival Browerville.
The rain we've been getting over the weekend is bringing a huge sigh of relief for farmers, who were facing fairly severe drought conditions heading into the 2012 spring planting season.

Hopefully the rain breaks by Tuesday, when the B-B-E Track and Field teams will host an invitational beginning at 4:00pm. Until then, let the rain keep coming!