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.

State opener win! and Sedan Daze (VIDEO)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won 3-1 in their state tournament opener! They led 1-0 early againtst Montgomery on their way to advancing to the Round of 32 in the Class C state tournament. The Mallards and Saints had one error each, and the Mallards out-hit the Saints by a 7-to-6 margin. Elrosa's Ashton Dingmann had the game's only extra-base hit, as Dingmann hit a two-out double in the top of the second inning. Payton VanBeck pitched all nine innings with one earned run, two walks and six strikeouts. Two Montgomery pitchers combined to strike out 10 Elrosa batters, and starter Johnny Krocak gave up two earned runs in seven innings to take the loss. Elrosa's defense worked to strand 11 Montgomery base runners, while Elrosa had six stranded in the game.

I haven't confirmed all the information for the next round, but I know the Saints will play on Saturday, August 27 at 11 a.m. More informatio to come. I have to get back to Sedan for about the fifth time today! They are having an amazing Sedan Daze celebration!

**Confirmed: the Saints play in Dundas at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 27 against the Region 2C champion New Ulm Brewers. Spread the word!

Here's a video from the Sedan Daze tug-of-war competition that was held in the hay field due east of Heidi's Bar this evening:


If you were unable to attend Sedan Daze, that is very, very unfortunate!! They pulled off an incredible day. It was amazing from start to finish.

Class C state amateur baseball tournament

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team opens the Class C state tournament tomorrow (Saturday) with a 1:30 p.m. game in Faribault. They will take on the Montgomery Mallards, who are the No. 2 seed out of Region 3C.

Here's a video from last Sunday's game against Watkins:


More info on state to come. Remember! As stated in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, the state tournament game will be played on a live broadcast at Bucky's Bar in Elrosa. This will be sponsored by Bucky's Bar, Elrosa Lumber and Hardware and Paul Gruber Baling.