Elrosa Saints set for battle in state quarterfinals (VIDEOS)

In a tournament that has just 8 teams remaining, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is geared up for the Elite 8 of the Class C state tournament. They face the Glencoe Brewers at 7:30 p.m. this Friday in Shakopee. The site is Joe Schleper Stadium.

Here's a short video from the postgame celebrating after Elrosa beat Dumont on Saturday:


Here's a video from the game at state:


This week's newspaper includes a feature article about Joe Schleper, a Farming native who passed away in 1998. He taught and coached at Belgrade high school from 1954 to 1962. From Belgrade, he and his wife went to Shakopee.

Jaguars take five-set road loss vs. Top 10 New London-Spicer (VIDEOS)

The storied bordering rivalry between the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team and New London-Spicer continued at the home of the Wildcats tonight. It did not disappoint! With a huge crowd cheering on both teams, the match went the distance lasting nearly 2 hours. In the July 29 preseason Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association poll, B-B-E was ranked No. 8 in Class 1A, while NL-S was rated No. 6 in Class 2A.

Here's the first video recorded tonight at NL-S:


That video begins with the score tied at 4-4 in game one.

Here's a video from later in game one, beginning as NL-S held an 18-14 lead:


After erasing that four-point deficit to force a 20-20 tie in game one, the Jaguars gave up four straight points to see NL-S take control with the Wildcats earning a kill and ace serve to go with consecutive B-B-E hitting errors. Teagan Dingmann had a kill for a side out, and the Wildcats then hit long to make it 24-22. Out of an NL-S timeout, senior setter Ezri Boelter hit her first kill of the night to give her team a 25-22 win.

Here's a video featuring action in game two, including the end:


The Jaguars won back-to-back sets in games two and three and brought strong momentum into game four. That faded, however, as the Wildcats brought a tremendous block in the fourth set while earning a 25-18 win. They were in command for nearly the entire fifth set and took the match with a 15-9 win.

Final: NL-S 3, B-B-E 2. Abysmal four percent hitting for the night was costly, with a total of 35 hitting errors on 176 attacks.

The Wildcats (5-0) were just coming off of earning the tournament title at the Albany Early Bird Invitational last Friday. They have 5 seniors on their roster, and they are going to make noise in the brutally tough Wright County West Conference while being one of the contenders in the Section 3AA playoffs in November.

Next for the volleyball team: the Jaguars continue on a non-conference slate while hosting MACCRAY next Tuesday, September 8.

Video is uploading, and more will be posted on Wednesday. It's time to finish out the September 3 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper and prepare it for the printing press.

Area volleyball scores on September 1:
Maple Lake 3, Litchfield 1
Paynesville Area 3, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0
Adrian/Ellsworth 3, MACCRAY 2
Border West 3, Lac qui Parle Valley 0
BOLD 3, Melrose Area 2
Minnewaska Area 3, Sauk Centre 1 (a huge win for Minnewaska at Sauk Centre)

BORDER BATTLE! At Wildcats Country (Updates)

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team played remarkably well, but near the end, New London-Spicer had just the exact firepower needed to come out with a 25-22 win in game one tonight. The Jaguars trailed 18-14 before forcing a tie at 20-20.

Game two will start at 7:22 p.m.

Game two final score: B-B-E 25, NL-S 17. With Macey Roering heating up on the left side down the stretch, the Jaguars expanded on a slim 16-15 lead to even the match at one set apiece.

Game three should start at 7:47 p.m.

GAME THREE final score: B-B-E 25, NL-S 23.

Game four final score: NL-S 25, B-B-E 18. We go to a 5th set! It will start at 8:37 p.m.

Game 5 update: NL-S has an early 7-2 lead. Not good!

Final: NLS 15, B-B-E 9. 

38th year of B-B-E schools is underway

Who knew we'd make it this far!? Back in the late 1980s, no one in the communities knew how far the B-B-E experiment would go. As it stands nearly 40 years later, it's looking like the existing school is primed for another generation of small-school, rural values-based education in central Minnesota in the area commonly referred to as Jaguar Country.

Today, September 1, classes resumed at both buildings for students in preschool through grade 12. This week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper will include the initial enrollment figures, which are not official.

Here's an important item posted at the newspaper website which was also found on page one in last week's August 27 issue: BeLikeJesse.

The Elrosa Saints baseball team has a new website: http://www.elrosasaints.com. Bookmark it!

TODAY in varsity sports action:
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team has a Prairie Conference match at Osakis at 4 p.m.

Just down the road, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team opens their season with a non-conference border battle at New London-Spicer. The varsity match should get underway at about 7 p.m.

In community news...here's an announcement for Sedan:
Come join the always-friendly Sedan Fire and Rescue for their always-exciting 40-gun raffle on Saturday, September 26 at Heidi's Bar in downtown Sedan. The social hour starts at 6 p.m., and the raffle gets underway at 7 p.m. Tickets are available from Sedan Fire Department members or at Heidi’s Bar. They hope to see you there!

Elrosa Saints advance to Elite 8 at State! (VIDEOS)

For the second time since 2023, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is advancing to the Class C state tournament quarterfinals. Thanks to a 3-0 win last night in the Sweet 16 over Dumont, the Saints head to the Elite Eight, which will be held on Friday at 7:30 p.m. this week in Shakopee.

Here's a video featuring the final out recorded against Dumont last night:


Against Dumont, Ashton Dingmann earned the complete game win with the performance of his life. It was a sight to behold! The Elrosa defense was impenetrable all night. Dingmann and company held the high-powered Dumont offense to just 5 hits.

Here's a video from the top of the third inning against Dumont:


Now 25-8 overall, the Saints have broken the former program record for most single season wins, which was set back in 2017 in a 24-win season.

Also, the single season hit record, which was set by Elrosa's one-and-only Pat Illies, was broken in the Dumont win by Jackson Peter, B-B-E Class of 2020.

New Prague hosted the first two rounds of the state tournament for Elrosa's games. Now they move on to play at one of the best baseball parks in Minnesota, just down the road from Valleyfair. Joe Schleper Baseball Stadium, located in Tahpah Park in Shakopee, is named for former Belgrade high school coach Joe Schleper, who coached there in the 1950s.

In Shakopee last night, Richmond faced Cologne in their Sweet 16 game. After holding an early 2-1 lead, the Royals won 7-3 to punch through to the Elite 8.

In Jordan today, Starbuck defeated Urbank by a 5-1 score to also move on to the Elite 8. As of 3:30 p.m., the Atwater vs. Hanska game was still going.

**Update: Hanska trailed 2-0 early in the game, but they pulled ahead 5-3 in the fifth inning after being held scoreless through 4 innings. FINAL: Hanska 7, Atwater 3. The Chuckers will not join the other three Region 8C teams in the state quarterfinals.

Here's a video featuring the post-game celebrating in New Prague after the Saints defeated Pierz:


Coming this week in Jaguar Country:
The volleyball team opens their season on Tuesday at New London-Spicer, and the football team opens the season at New York Mills on Thursday night. The B-B-E/Paynesville cross country teams begin their season on Friday, September 4 at Maple Lake.

GAME DAY! Back at State

The Elrosa Saints take on Dumont tonight in New Prague. First pitch from Memorial Stadium is at about 6:30 p.m. Game updates to follow.

***Updates: first pitch will be at about 7:10 p.m. Ashton Dingmann, B-B-E Class of 2022, will be Elrosa's starting pitcher. 

Just shy of 8 p.m., the game is entering the bottom of the 4th inning. As of now, Elrosa has a 1-0 lead.

**After 7 innings, Richmond has a 6-3 lead over Cologne at Jordan. 

**After 6 innings, Elrosa continues to hold a 1-0 lead over Dumont.

***After 7 1/2 innings, Elrosa has a 3-0 lead. Peyton Winter hit a 2 RBI-double to expand on the early 1-0 lead.

FINAL: Elrosa 3, Dumont 0. The Saints (25-8) advance to the state quarterfinals, and their next game is on Friday, September 4 in Shakopee. It will be an evening game.

**MORE TO COME in a new blog post on Sunday afternoon.

Tennis travels to Melrose today

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team competes today at the Melrose Area triangular. Action begins with a dual against Parkers Prairie at 2 p.m. It's part of a four-match week for the team. They lost on Monday in their home opener by a 6-1 score to non-conference Pierz.

To see a short video from Feathered Acres Learning Farm and Inn, click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: FeatheredAcresFieldDay2026. Trisha and Nolan Zachman, the business owners, were gracious hosts that day to over a hundred guests who took in farm tours and soil and animal health presentations.

How SWEET it is! Elrosa Saints advance in state tournament (VIDEOS)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is advancing to the Class C state tournament's second round. They earned this feat by defeating the Pierz Brewers 10-5 today in the opening round. With a massive 19-hit attack at the plate and a one-hit, six-inning starting performance by Payton VanBeck on the mound, the Saints led 8-0 after 6 innings.

When the dust settled on the game, every Saints player who saw action at New Prague's Memorial Baseball Stadium earned at least one hit against a total of four different Pierz Brewers pitchers.

Here's a video from the bottom of the 9th inning today:


The Saints take a 24-8 record into the Class C Sweet 16. They play at approximately 6:30 p.m. next Saturday, August 29 in New Prague. Their opponent will be the Dumont Saints.

The Saints scored 2 runs in both the first and second innings for an early 4-0 lead. This put VanBeck in the driver's seat, and he proceeded to fire 8 strikeouts while issuing just one walk. Pitching in relief tonight were Aiden Mueller (B-B-E Class of 2027) and Wyatt Steffensen (B-B-E Class of 2020).

Here's a video from the top of the second inning today:


Ahead 2-0, Jackson Peter hit a two-run home run in the second inning with a distance of about 358 feet.

Elrosa Saints vs. Pierz Brewers at STATE (VIDEO)

The Elrosa Saints face Pierz at approximately 4 p.m. in New Prague, Minnesota later this afternoon in the Class C amateur state tournament. That game follows Atwater's state opener.

Here's a video from the state-qualifying game last weekend, when the Saints defeated Farming:


Game updates to follow.

**Update: after 2 innings, Elrosa has a 4-0 lead over Pierz. 

With 6 innings complete, Elrosa has an 8-0 lead.

The final score and more will be posted in a NEW blog post. Hit refresh!

Season opener, 2026-27 sports are in play! (VIDEO)

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team is opening the new season at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle this morning. The tennis team has 14 players on the roster. They face LP-GE/Upsala-Swanville Area and Staples-Motley at the triangular.

Additional coverage is forthcoming.

The day began with the drive to Long Prairie for tennis, and it ended at Feathered Acres Learning Farm and Inn, which is located in Crow River Township east of Bayer Built Woodworks on County Road 32.

Here's Chase Grant performing at Feathered Acres Farm:


More to come. Time to get back to the garden to water vegetables!

Update:
The tennis team lost the opener 6-1 to LPGE/USA, and then Staples Motley won 7-0 in the second match of the triangular. It's now Sunday afternoon and time to pack up the minivan to head to New Prague.