Thomas Lundquist hits a lead-off single against Benilde during the Metro District 10 American Legion tournament at Wintercrest Park in Coon Rapids July 24. PHOTO: Mark Trockman
The District 10 American Legion baseball tournament started last Thursday in Coon Rapids with 16 teams fighting for three state tournament berths.
Two of the favorites going in - Excelsior and Hopkins - both held serve and advanced with Wayzata somewhat surprisingly grabbing the third and final state tournament spot.
While Excelsior went into the district tournament as a No. 1 seed by virtue of winning the South Hennepin League title, it was Hopkins that swept through the winner's bracket with four straight victories.
After defeating Andover 7-3 and Maple Grove 13-2 in the first two rounds, Hopkins defeated Benilde/Chester Bird 5-3 in the semifinals and then Eden Prairie 10-4 in the winner's bracket final to earn one of the three state tournament berths.
Hopkins trailed Eden Prairie 4-1 late in the game, but came up with eight runs in their half of the eighth inning to seize control of the game.
"Hopkins' pitching and defense was very strong throughout the tournament and they're a real tough team," Excelsior head coach Rob Hager said. "We think we can play with them, but Todd Jahnke is a great coach and they are a tough team to play."
Excelsior beat Coon Rapids 9-4 in the first round, but then slipped up in the second round when they found themselves on the short end of a 14-2 score to Benilde/Chester Bird.
Benilde scored nine runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back.
"We had chances to stop the inning at three runs, four runs, and even six runs, but we kept making errors that allowed the inning to continue," Hager said. "We really dug ourselves a hole and then we left 12 guys on base."
Excelsior rebounded from the loss with three victories in two days to earn their way into the state tournament.
After defeating Blaine 10-6 in an elimination game on Saturday, Excelsior got a second crack at Benilde/Chester Bird and this time they played like the South Hennepin League champions.
Kyle Dahl made his first start since late June due to tendonitis in his arm and was able to go four and two thirds innings while giving up five runs.
"I thought Kyle threw really well," Hager said. "He ended up giving up five runs, but we made a couple of errors behind him."
Robb Miller, who has been nearly flawless out of the bullpen for Excelsior this summer, relieved Dahl and threw the final four and one third innings and gave up just one earned run.
"Robb pitched phenomenally," Hager said. "He shut them down and I think that's his seventh win of the year."
Excelsior led 9-6 in the seventh inning when outfielder Steve Kordonowy hit a three-run homerun to give his team some breathing room.
"That was a big hit for us," Hager said. "That put us up 12-6 and really took any momentum away from them that they might have had."
After eliminating Benilde/Chester Bird, Excelsior needed one more victory over Edina to secure a spot in the state tournament.
Hager gave the ball to his ace, Anders Dzurak, and Dzurak delivered. On two days rest, Dzurak was able to throw seven innings while giving up just two runs. Kurtis Host came in to pitch the last two innings and Excelsior cruised to an 11-2 victory.
Hager said that the middle of his line-up came through at the plate as Brady Williams, Taylor Nelson, Josh Mensch and Mitch Oakes all had extra base hits in the victory.
"I'm very proud of the guys and how hard they fought," Hager said. "We did feel like we had the pitching depth to do it and so we just knew we had to play well."
While the solid performances turned in by Hopkins and Excelsior were no surprise, the performance of the Wayzata American Legion team did open some eyes.
After finishing in seventh place out of 10 teams in the South Hennepin League standings with a 5-7-1 record, few people had Wayzata on their radar going into the District 10 tournament.
After defeating Fridley 10-1 in the first round, Wayzata suffered a humbling 16-1 loss to Eden Prairie in the second round.
But the team rebounded with wins over Andover, Osseo, and then a shocking victory over the same Eden Prairie team that had defeated them so soundly just two days prior.
"It's not overly shocking because they are a good team and they have two of the better pitchers from our league in Andy Johnson and Billy Soule," Hager said. "But they're just kind of an up and down team."
Now Excelsior, Hopkins and Wayzata will all take part in the 16-team, double elimination Minnesota State American Legion Baseball Tournament from Thursday, July 30 to Sunday, Aug. 2 in New Ulm.
The two teams that place first and second will qualify for the regional tournament.
Excelsior is already guaranteed a spot in the Central Plains Regional because it is hosting that tournament at Veteran's Field.
"Our goal is to win the state tournament because we want to go into the regional tournament playing well," Hager said. "The benefit that I have is that I don't have to stretch my pitching staff as much as I normally might. We will do everything we can to win, but we will want to set ourselves up for the regional."
