The Saint Agnes baseball team passed one last final exam with flying colors. The Aggies rallied for a 7-5 victory over St. Croix Prep in the Section 4AA championship game, June 10 at Barnes Field.
As a result, the Aggies (17-7) will take a five-game winning streak as they make their seventh appearance in the MSHSL baseball tournament. They take on top seeded Glencoe-Silver Lake (23-3) in the quarterfinals at Faber Field in St. Cloud on Tuesday, June 15 at 2:15 p.m. If the Aggies win, they will face the winner of the Plainview-Elgin Millville (21-3)-Wadena-Deer Creek (25-3) game on Wednesday, June 16 at Putz Field in St. Cloud at noon. (A loss would end the season. There is no consolation round play in this year’s tournament.) The AA title game is at Target Field on June 18 at 1:00 p.m. A third-place game would be played on June 16 at Putz Field at 5:00 p.m.
“We showed our tenacity and resilience,” said head coach Mike Streitz. “We’ve done that the whole second half of the season.”
On a blistering hot afternoon, the Aggies came out swinging, jumping to a 3-0 first inning lead with James Bloomquist’s two run single the key hit.
The Lions responded to grab a 4-3 lead by the fourth inning. St. Agnes responded with a pair of clutch hits for three runs in the bottom of the frame. Aidan Walsh drove in a run with an RBI single and Andrew Chlebeck laced a run scoring double to give STA the lead for good at 6-4. Isaac Schmidt drove in an insurance run the next inning.
From there, relief pitchers Elijah Pentecost and Mikael Dahlstrom held the Lions in check to send the Aggies back to the tournament for the first time since 2013.
“We figured out our lineup in the second half of the season,” Streitz said. “Since May 3, we have only lost two games. Both of those were by one run.”
In a slight format change this year, there is no consolation round at the state tournament this yeaar. A first-round win, however, ensures three games. The semifinal losers will meet in a third-place game.
STATE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
BRACKETS: Click here for State Baseball Tournament brackets
TICKETS: Click here to purchase tickets
- All ticket purchases are online using the Ticket tab at the top of the MSHSL website
- No tickets will be sold onsite
- A and AA Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Third Place Games: $12/day (Admits to both St. Cloud venues-Re-entry allowed for the 3rd Place game on Wednesday only.)
- All attendees school-age and older must have a ticket
- A scanned ticket or printed paper ticket will be proof of ticket for "rain check" or re-entry for the 3rd Place game on Wednesday
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APPAREL/HOODIES: Click here to purchase State Tournament Apparel There will be no apparel sales on site.
OFFICIAL GAME PROGRAM (Available on Monday, June 14): Click here for the 2021 Official State Baseball Program. There will be no program sales on site. The MSHSL has gone to digital complimentary programs.