By Nick Gerhardt
Elrosa put together an impressive offensive showing and got a stellar outing from Payton VanBeck in a 10-5 win before Pierz started to make things interesting late.
The Saints tallied 19 hits and saw everyone in the lineup collect a hit. Eight players had multi-hit games. Jackson Peter went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and three runs. Luke Dingmann drove in three runs with a pair of hits while Blaine Fischer had two hits and two runs.
Elrosa jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and doubled the lead with two more in the second. After a single run in the third made it 5-0, the Saints struck for three more in the sixth and two more in the seventh for a 10-0 lead.
VanBeck did his part with six innings of one-hit ball where he walked one and struck out eight. He set down the side in order in every inning after the first, but once he exited with a 10-0 Elrosa lead after the sixth inning things got a little dicey.
Aiden Mueller came on in relief for the Saints and gave up a home run to Pierz’s Gunnar Wicklund to make it a 10-1.
The Brewers kept coming with four more runs in the eighth inning as Wicklund collected an RBI double. Derek Dahmen and Rylee Rauch added RBI singles.
Randall draftee Adam Nibaur came on in relief for Pierz to give them a chance and allowed just three hits in 2 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out two. He came on with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh inning and struck out the next two hitters to end the threat.
But Wyatt Steffensen came on in the ninth to close things down after allowing just a two-out single.
It marked the first state tournament win for Elrosa since the 2023 state tournament after missing the 2024 state tournament and losing in the first round last season. The Saints will face the Dumont Saints – 3-1 winners over Luverne – Saturday, Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m. in New Prague.
Atwater 10, Nimrod 0, 7 innings
Atwater got a routine dominant start from ace Josh Kingery while brother David helped pace the offense in a 10-0, seven-inning victory over Nimrod Sunday in New Prague.
Josh allowed just one hit in six innings of work. He walked none, hit one and struck out eight. David meanwhile went 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs.
The Chuckers also had Jaxon Behm go 2-for-5 with two RBI and a double as the team finished with 12 hits.
Atwater took a 3-0 lead in the second inning behind an RBI single from David and a sacrifice fly from Josh. Jon Broman got hit by a pitch to bring in another run.
The Chuckers extended the lead to 5-0 in the third inning after Jack Peterson and Brody Straumann collected back-to-back hits. Two errors in the inning allowed them to score.
In the fifth inning, Atwater tacked on three more runs after David drove in his second run. Josh added a two-run single.
In the seventh, Behm singled to score David Kingery to end the game.
Connar Jackson collected the lone hit for the Gnats with a bloop double to right field in the fifth inning. Nimrod appeared in the state tournament this year for the first time since 2015.
The Chuckers move on to face Hanska Sunday, Aug. 30 at 1:30 p.m. in Jordan.
Dumont 3, Luverne 1
Dumont starting pitcher and manager Jordon Roos bulldogged his way through Luverne in a 3-1 victory Sunday in New Prague.
The Saints got just enough offense to get him the win by doing the things they do – bunting and taking an extra base when possible.
Dumont managed just four hits but grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning behind a bases-load hit by pitch. The Saints added to the lead in the third inning after taking advantage of two hit by pitches with two outs and an infield single.
Luverne got a run back in the fifth inning after a pair of errors and an infield single, but Roos and the Saints got out of the inning after he picked off the second runner of the game at second base.
Dumont got an insurance run in the sixth on a squeeze and Roos bore down, retiring the final 12 hitters he faced. He allowed just one unearned run on three hits, walked none and struck out eight.
The Saints move on to face the winner of Pierz Brewers-Elrosa Saturday, Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m. in New Prague.
