After 24 teams started the Class B State Tournament, it all comes down to four. A strong start to the tournament for the Crow River Valley League has been validated with three of its four representatives still alive. Delano, the defending Class B state champion, remain alive and in search of a repeat, while the Watertown Red Devils and Plato Blue Jays also kept their stellar seasons rolling. Joining the semifinals and crashing the CRVL party are the Jordan Brewers. The Brewers knocked out the CRVL’s fourth team (Young America) in the second round last weekend.
Delano 5, St. Martin 1
JORDAN — It wasn’t the prettiest of performances by the Delano A’s, but it was enough. Thanks to another gem on the mound from ace Max Otto, Delano earned a return trip to the Class B state semifinals with a 5-1 win over the St. Martin Martins.
“It feels good any way you can do it,” Delano manager Steve Eilen said. “We kind of had to grind that out. It wasn’t always pretty today, but we got enough hitting when we needed it. We tried to stay aggressive when we could, but we didn’t execute very well on moving guys over.”
The A’s went to work right out of the gate as they got to St. Martin’s Scott Lieser early on. After Lieser held the Buckman Billygoats in check in the previous game, it was Delano getting the better end of things in this matchup. In the first inning alone, the A’s scratched across two runs on four hits courtesy of RBI doubles from Toby Hanson and Trevor Jaunich.
Delano added to its lead with single runs in the fourth, fifth, and seventh innings. St. Martin got on the board in the top of the sixth thanks to an error, but that’s all Otto and the A’s would allow.
Otto picked up his second win of the tournament on the mound for Delano. He went all nine innings once again and allowed just the one unearned run on four hits while striking out 12 and walking two.
“He threw more pitches today than he has in a while and had to grind it out,” Eilen said. “He didn’t have his best stuff, but there’s always that confidence in him when he’s out there.”
Hanson led the charge for Delano with a three-hit day while Jaunich finished with two hits of his own.
For St. Martin, Kylie Lieser had two of the team’s four hits in the loss while Tanner Arceneau and Nolan Rueter each added one hit apiece.
Watertown 8, Raymond 2
JORDAN — After five innings of not a whole lot going right for the Watertown Red Devils, they just stuck with things. Down by a run with just one hit on the board, Watertown broke through in a big way in the top of the sixth and then never looked back as it secured a spot in the Class B semifinals with an 8-2 win over the Raymond Rockets.
“We had a pretty good feel of how the game was going to go,” Watertown manager Jared Duske said. “When we gave up one in the first inning, there was no panic. We just stayed the course and attacked when he threw it in the strike zone and knew good things would happen.”
That they did. After Tyler Steen put the Rockets in front 1-0 with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, Watertown started to turn momentum in its favor, and it started with its defense. Raymond had the bases loaded with just one out in the fourth inning, but Pat Tschida rolled a big double play to get out of the inning still down just a run.
The Red Devils broke through in the top of the sixth in a big way. Ben Theisen drew a leadoff walk to give them a base runner. With the tying run on base, Noah Weinzierl laid down a perfect bunt with two strikes to move the runner into scoring position. Looking to play for just one, Watertown did more than that. Jaren Vogt evened the game at one with a sacrifice fly and RBI, but the Red Devils were just getting started.
Thanks to a pair of errors, Watertown batted around and score six runs in the inning to not only take the lead but break things open a bit. The Red Devils would have the answer the rest of the way as they held on for the win down the stretch.
It’s a special feeling for the Red Devils being back in the state semifinals for the first time in four years. It’s an experience some haven’t ever had, and it’s something that they know you can take for granted.
“I have guys that want to be here,” Duske said. “They’re ready to play ball. They want the ball. It’s awesome to show up here and walk into a packed crowd. To walk into a big crowd and get some of these guys to experience this atmosphere that they’ve never experienced before is pretty cool. I’ve told them that in my whole playing career, I’ve never made Labor Day weekend until I became a coach. You don’t take the stuff for granted. This doesn’t happen every year.”
Plato 6, Cold Spring 0
JORDAN — There are a lot of ways a team can win a baseball game. The Plato Blue Jays will do whatever it takes.
Whether it’s relying on pitching, hitting the ball all over the park, or even playing some small ball, Plato knows how to win this time of the year, and it showed as it secured a spot in the Class B state semifinals with an impressive 6-0 win over the Cold Spring Springers.
“They played great,” Plato manager Nolan Lepel said. “They showed up ready to go. We knew what was at stake and we found a way to win once again.”
It was once again pitching and defense that helped lead the way, but this time around, it was some small ball as well. Scoreless through four innings, Plato put the fielding by the Springers to the test in the bottom of the fifth. Bennett Lepel got things going with a lead-off single, and then it was time for the Blue Jays to execute small ball to perfection. A perfect bunt from Dayton Franke resulted in an error. Reece Schwirtz followed with a bunt single of his own to load the bases with nobody out. Franke then came around to score on a wild pitch for the first run of the game, but Plato wasn’t done there. Luke Roepke then came through with an RBI single to score two more runs and give the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead heading to the sixth inning.
The Blue Jays kept their foot on the gas as they would add three big insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh to give them a little wiggle room for the first time in this tournament. In its first two games, Plato has been locked in close battles, so having that breathing room was welcomed in the dugout for the Blue Jays.
“Absolutely,” Lepel said with a smile. “When you have a lead to play with, you have a little breathing room, which we haven’t had in the first two games. It’s a way better experience having that breathing room.”
Schwirtz turned in another strong outing on the mound for Plato in the win. He tossed eight shutout innings while holding Cold Spring to five hits. He walked just one while striking out eight, including striking out the side in order in both the second and third innings.
For Cold Spring, Drew VanLoy led the way with two of the team’s five hits in the loss. Brady Klehr, Brad Olson, and BJ Huls each added one hit apiece.
Jordan 3, Sobieski 1
JORDAN — After an inning of play, it looked like there would be plenty of offense to go around as the Jordan Brewers and Sobieski Skis battled it out for the final spot in the Class B semifinals. In the end, pitching and defense proved the difference maker, and it was Jordan coming through with a 3-1 win over the Skis to advance to the semifinals.
Both teams came out swinging in the matchup. With two outs in the top of the first, Alex Thoma came through with an RBI single to give Sobieski the early advantage.
Jordan answered back in the bottom of the first with some clutch hitting of their own. With two outs, Nate Beckman delivered an RBI single to tie the game at one. The Brewers tried to add another run in the inning, but the go-ahead run was gunned down at the plate to keep the game tied at one after an inning of play.
The Brewers grabbed their first lead of the game in the bottom of the second. A two-out walk to Zac Daak kept the inning alive, and Joe Lucas made that hurt. An RBI double from Lucas put Jordan in front for the first time, and it wouldn’t let that lead slip away.
Sobieski had its chances to even things up late. In the top of the seventh, the Skis had runners on the corners with just one out, but a line-drive double play got the Brewers out of the inning with the lead intact.
The Skis also threatened to tie the game in the top of the eighth. With the tying run at second, Jordan’s Joe Lucas recorded his third strikeout of the game to keep the Brewers in front heading to the final inning after adding an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth.
Looking ahead
The first of two semifinal games will be between the Delano A’s and the Plato Blue Jays. Delano is looking to get back to the state title game to defend its title, while the Blue Jays are back playing on Labor Day weekend for the first time since 2018, when they won the Class C title.
Delano and Plato, both members of the CRVL, split their two meetings during the regular season.
The A’s and Blue Jays will battle it out Sunday, Sept. 6 in Shakopee at 11 a.m.
In the second semifinal game, the Watertown Red Devils take on the Jordan Brewers. Watertown is back in the semifinals for the third time in six years. After reaching the state title game in 2021 and reaching the semifinals in 2022, the Red Devils are on a run to remember, much like they did in 2022.
After dropping their first game in the state tournament a year ago, the Brewers are back in the semifinals for the second time in three years after falling to the Waconia Lakers in the Class C title game in 2024.
CLASS B SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE
Delano vs. Plato (at Shakopee), 11 a.m.
Watertown vs. Jordan (at New Prague), 2 p.m.
