Keenan Bjork knows exactly what to do when anxiety sets in, attack with his fastball.
The senior lefthanded pitcher worked out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh inning, completing a five-hit shutout as Forest Lake upset Farmington 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A baseball state tournament at CHS Field in St. Paul.
"We've been in close games all year," Bjork said. "I was anxious in that last inning."
With good reason. The second-rated Tigers (23-4), according to the coaches association rankings, had second and third with one out, and the top of their order coming to the plate. He got the lead-off hitter on a called third strike and induced a popup to first base to end it.
"My fastball [on the strikeou] was electric," Bjork said. He only allowed two hits to the top six batters in the Farmington lineup. "I came out and mixed speeds at the start of the game. I attacked with my fastball at the end."
Bjork struck out six and walked two while only throwing 87 pitches. He only allowed two runners to reach third base, both coming in the last two innings.
"Keenan didn't panic in a tough situation," Rangers coach Kale Henry said. "That's why he is our ace. He always gives us a chance to win. We rely on him."
The Rangers (14-11) scored the lone run Bjork needed in the third inning. Senior Nolan Dumonceaux was looking for an off-speed pitch and got it. He crushed a double to left-center field, scoring senior Tyler Schnabel from first base. Dumonceaux and Schnabel each had two hits.
"I was looking for a slider after my first at-bat," Dumonceaux said. He ripped a fastball back to the mound his first time up. "He left a pitch up that I could hit. It felt good off the bat."
It was the only mistake Farmington junior righthander Joe Baldus made on the day. He allowed six hits, striking out seven and walking one.
"It's tough," Tigers coach Jon Graff said. "We got every big hit when we needed it against New Prague in the Section 1 finals. We couldn't get that big hit today."
In other Class 4A quarterfinals
East Ridge 7, Eastview 1
Max Arlich is overpowering.
The senior lefthanded pitcher allowed three hits while striking out seven in five shutout innings, leading defending state champion East Ridge to a 7-1 victory over Eastview in the quarterfinals in St. Paul.
"I felt pretty good the first few innings," Arlich said. "I was attacking the hitters."
The No. 7-ranked Raptors (19-6) provided the Texas A&M recruit with all the support he needed in the bottom of the first inning, scoring twice. Junior Luke Ryerse delivered a run-scoring triple after the initial run scored on a dropped fly ball by the right fielder with two outs.
East Ridge added three more runs in the second inning, taking a quick 5-0 lead. Seniors Alex Mezzetti and Colton Widen had run-scoring hits while the third scored following a fielder's choice. Mezzetti, Widen and classmate Jack Blink each had two hits on the day.
Senior shortstop Luke Skinner, a Loyola Marymount recruit, added a two-run home run to right field in the sixth.
"We want to continue playing consistent baseball," Raptors coach Brian Sprout said.
The Lightning (14-14) loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth inning when Arlich got back-to-back strikeouts before getting the final out on a grounder to first base.
"We want to be playing our best baseball this time of the year," Arlich said. "Teams have been gunning for us all year. We're getting hot at the right time."
Eastview avoided being shut out when senior Nick Brandt was issued a bases-loaded walk from junior relief pitcher Ryan Menne with two outs in the seventh inning.
Wayzata 6, St. Cloud 5
Wayzata didn't look like an unbeaten powerhouse. That was until it mattered most.
Junior James Hansen lined a two-run single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth inning, helping the unbeaten Trojans escape with a 6-5 victory over St. Cloud in a shoddy defensive performance in St. Paul.
"That game was crazy, a rollercoaster," Hansen said. "I'm glad I was able to get a clutch hit for us."
Hansen grounded out and flied out in his first two at-bats before coming through in the fifth. Senior Michael Reem singled and junior Adam Deselich walked to start the frame, both scoring on Hansen's single. Deselich tripled and doubled in his first two trips to the plate.
"I got a perfect pitch," Hansen said. "I was able to stay right on it and take it back up the middle."
St. Cloud closed within one in the top of the seventh on doubles by seniors Joseph Hess and Parker Schulz before Trojans relief pitcher Brady Lash got the final two outs on a grounder back to the mound and a strikeout. Lash worked the final two innings.
"We played uncharacteristically today," Trojans coach Bobby DeWitt said. "We made some mistakes we normally don't make, but we made the plays when we had to at the end."
The Trojans (25-0) tied it four-all an inning earlier on senior Tyler Gullickson's second hit of the day, a single to center field.
The Crush (19-6) took a 4-3 lead with three runs in the top half of the fourth. Junior Drew Lieser tied it with a two-run triple when the Trojans centerfielder fell tracking down his fly ball. Junior Jackson Scheetz, who had two hits, followed with a run-scoring single to left field.
Wayzata staked senior righthanded pitcher Riley Leatherman to a 3-0 lead in the second. Younger brother, sophomore Kieran, laced a two-run single and scored on Gullickson's double to left-center field.
Riley set the tone early on the mound. He struck out two in each of the first two innings before developing a blister on his throwing hand. The North Carolina recruit went five innings, getting out of bases loaded jam in the fifth. He allowed five hits and striking out seven.
"The blister popped in the fourth," Riley said. "There was blood all over my hand. I got one earlier this year against Minnetonka but it didn't pop."
St. Cloud got its first run in the third inning on junior Max Kiffmeyer's RBI single.
"That's what makes baseball such a great sport," Hansen said. "Even the biggest underdogs can win at any time."
Mounds View 11, Minnetonka 1
Mounds View coach Nik Anderson is a gambler. Andrew Gette and Tyler Guerin made him look good.
The sophomore righthand pitcher threw a four-hitter while striking out six as the Mustangs crushed Minnetonka 11-1 in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A baseball state tournament Thursday at CHS Field in St. Paul. The game was called after five innings due to the 10-run rule.
"There was a lot of pressure, but I was super excited," Gette said. "I had to bear down. I wanted to get back at them since they beat us last year (4-3 in the quarterfinals)."
Anderson selected Gette to start ahead of senior Guerin, an Iowa recruit, on the mound after discussing it with his "stud."
"I consulted with Tyler and he had a lot of confidence in Andrew starting tonight," Anderson said. "That gave me confidence in making my decision."
Guerin was more than happy to let his bat provide a helping hand. He blasted a grand slam bomb to right field in the third inning and was walked twice.
"I'm good for one homer a year," Guerin said laughing. "That felt really good off the bat."
The Mustangs staked Gette to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, taking advantage of five walks to score four runs. Sophomore Jack Glancey capped the frame with a two-run single. Junior Jacob Jude started the scoring with an RBI single while senior Hayden Sperbeck chipped in with a sacrifice fly.
Mounds View added its final three runs on a bases-loaded walk, wild pitch and an error in the fifth. They were issued 13 walks.
"Our guys were patient, and they capitalized when they had opportunities," Anderson said.
The Skippers got on the scoreboard in the third on a wild pitch.
Class 3A, at Chaska High School
Top seeded Benilde-St. Margaret's hit four straight singles in the seventh inning to rally past St. Thomas Academy 6-5 in the quarterfinal round of the Class 3A Baseball State Tournament.
Caleb Koskie started the rally for the Red Knights (21-3) with a one-out single to right field. Ford Stoen advanced him to second with a single through the hole between third and short. Charles Gearen singled to center to score Koskie and get the Red Knights within a run. After a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, Jack Anderson, who was robbed of a home run by Cadets left fielder Michael Stavseth in the first inning, lined a single up the middle for the winning runs.
Koskie, Stoen, Gearen and Anderson had two hits each for the Red Knights. Koskie pitched three innings in relief, including a scoreless seventh, to earn the win.
The Cadets (12-13) only had two hits, but also had six walks and five hit batters.
Grand Rapids 4, Mankato East 3: Jacob Garski and Kyler Miller hit back-to-back doubles in the fifth inning to give the Thunderhawks (17-8) a 4-2 lead. Easton Sjostrand made the lead hold with an eight-strikeout complete game. Austin Hendley and Owen Studtmann had run-scoring hits in the third inning to give the second-seeded Cougars (20-6) a 2-1 lead.
Mahtomedi 8, Northfield 1: The third-seeded Zephyrs scored seven runs in the second inning to pull away from the Raiders. Jack Erickson had three hits and Josh Donna hit a home run for the Zephyrs (21-4). Austin Koep doubled to drive in the lone run for the Cougars (14-10).
Class 2A, at Dick Putz Field, St. Cloud
Rockford 2, Blake 1: The second-seeded Rockets took advantage of defensive miscues to rally past the Bears (14-11). Colton Lundberg lifted a fly ball that was misplayed allowing Harrison Edwards, who reached on an error earlier in the inning, to score the winning run. William Haas allowed one earned run and struck out 10 over seven innings for the Rockets (24-5).
Le Sueur-Henderson 9, Perham 1: Samuel Gupton had four hits, four RBI and two runs scored to help the Giants (20-5) pull away from the third-seeded Yellowjackets. Ethan Hathaway scored three runs and Logan Feeney allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings pitched for the Giants. Alex Blume and Gavin Griffin had two hits each for the Yellowjackets (22-3).
Esko 3, Montevideo 2: Top-seeded Esko scored three runs in the first inning to hold off the Thunder Hawks. Finn Furcht struck out eight and allowed one earned run in seven innings for Esko (25-3). Benjamin Gunlogson drove in both runs for the Thunder Hawks (21-5) in the fourth inning.
Foley 6, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 5: The fourth-seeded Falcons scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to get the walk-off win over the fifth-seeded Cougars. Bryce Gapinski drove in Wyatt Lueck with a sacrifice fly to center field to complete the comeback win for the Falcons (22-4). Hunter Streit drove in Preston Ohm and Kaleb Lochner with a triple in the top of the seventh to give the Cougars (17-8) a 5-3 lead.
Class 1A at Joe Faber Field, St. Cloud
Sacred Heart 7, Lyle-Pacelli 5: The Eagles scored five runs in the sixth inning to upset the third-seeded Athletics. Jake Satterlund and Ben Wharam had two hits and three RBI each for the Eagles (20-3). Issac Small and Dawson Jenkins had back-to-back run-scoring hits to give the Athletics (22-3) a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Parkers Prairie 3, Heritage Christian 0: Dylan Debilzen struck out six in a complete game shutout to lead the second-seeded Panthers (24-1) past the Eagles. Griffin Booms had three hits for the Eagles (17-5).
Cherry 6, Lac qui Parle Valley 3: Isaac Asuma had two hits, two RBI and a run scored and two innings of scoreless relief pitching to lead the top-seeded Tigers past the Eagles. Noah Sundquist had two hits and Isaiah Asuma had three stolen bases for the Tigers (24-2). Davis Patzer scored two runs for the Eagles (16-7).
Springfield 4, New York Mills 0: Jakob Nachreine struck out 14 and allowed one hit over seven shutout innings to lead the fourth-seeded Tigers past the fifth-seeded Eagles (18-7). Nachreine also led the Tigers (23-2) offense with three hits and two runs scored.
Totino-Grace 4, Little Falls 0: Tommy Heifort pitched a complete shutout and Matthew Galatzer hit a home run to lead the fourth-seeded Eagles (17-8) past the fifth-seeded Flyers (18-7).
