Prep Blog: State Baseball, Golf Wrap Up Spring
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Minnesota high school spring sports season wraps up this week with the State Baseball and State Golf Championships.
This seems to be the most fun week for prep sports in Minnesota, at least for the spring. Temperatures are a bit warmer, and more importantly for high school kids, school is either done or wrapping up.
We had a thrilling start to the state tournament season last week with champions crowned in lacrosse, boys tennis, track and field and softball. Now we look ahead to state golf and state baseball. Here's a glance at both.
State Golf: AAA Field Loaded With Talent
The Class AAA State Boys and Girls Golf Championships start bright and early Tuesday morning at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids. The girls tee off at 7:30 a.m., and the boys follow later Tuesday morning. Tee times for Wednesday will be set after the first day action is complete, allowing for the leaders to play in the final groups.
In the AAA girls field, it's a loaded field that includes top teams in Eastview, Red Wing and New Prague. The Wingers blew away their competition at the Section 1AAA Championships, winning that tournament by 60 shots over second place Northfield. Marisa Toivonen, Katie Kesti and Nicole Schammel pace Red Wing. Also keep an eye on New Prague's McKenzie Neisen, who was a top-10 finisher at state last year. Sara Detlefson of Eastview is also one of the state's top players.
In the AAA boys tournament, it's another loaded field with the state's best players. That's exactly what you want at the state tournament. The team tournament should be a great battle between Minnetonka, Forest Lake and Rogers. The top individuals in the state competing include Max Rosenthal from Eden Prairie, Dalton Charboneau from Osseo, Corey Muenzhuber from Rogers and Freddy Thomas of Lakeville North.
The Class AA Boys and Girls State Tournament starts Tuesday at the Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan, and the Class A Boys and Girls State Tournament starts Tuesday at Pebble Creek in Becker.
State Baseball: Some Unknowns In The Field
It's an unusual year for the Class AAA State Baseball Tournament as the title is all but up for grabs with No. 1-ranked Burnsville not back to defend its title. The team that beat them to get there, Eastview, might arguably be the favorite this week. The Lightning (20-4) open against who many people think is the next best team there, Red Wing (22-1). On the other half of that bracket is Totino-Grace, who upset No. 2-ranked Maple Grove last week to earn a state bid. Hill-Murray gets Benilde-St. Margaret's in the other quarterfinal, and Eden Prairie will face Hopkins. Quarterfinal games start Thursday at Midway Stadium in St. Paul.
My prediction: Eastview will face Hill-Murray for the championship. But watch out for Red Wing. If the Wingers can beat Eastview, they might take the whole thing.
The Class AA State Tournament will be played at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud, with contenders Holy Family Catholic (22-4), Fairmont (24-3), Minneapolis Washburn (25-0) and St. Cloud Cathedral (22-5) all in the field.
The Class A State Tournament will be played at Athletic Park in Chaska and features undefeated New York Mills (23-0), BOLD (22-4) and Browerville (22-3).
The two teams that advance in each class to play for the state championship will get the thrill of a lifetime. They'll play at Target Field in Minneapolis next Monday.
