NYM receives fifth seed in state tournament

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The New York Mills Eagles capped off a dominant section tournament on Thursday night with an 11-1 win over Ogilvie to capture the Section 5A championship. With the win, the Eagles will return to the state baseball tournament after a one year hiatus in 2023. 

During the section tournament, the Eagles outscored their opponents by a 60-5 margin, including wins by margins of 12-2 and 11-1 over Ogilvie last week. In their two games against the Lions, the Eagles took advantage of 11 errors by Ogilvie to cruise to the section championship.

The Eagles, who are 18-6 on the season and have won 12 of their past 13 games, received the fifth seed in the state baseball tournament and will take on fourth seeded Springfield in the opening round of state on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minn. Springfield comes into the game as the third ranked team in the QRF with a record of 22-2 overall. They have won 13 straight games and average 9.2 runs per game on offense, while giving up just 2.2 runs per game. They won the Section 2 championship with a 10-2 win over New Ulm Cathedral. 

NY Mills is currently the fifth ranked team in the QRF and average 8.7 runs per game on offense, while giving up 4.8 runs per game.

The winner of the game will take on either top seeded Cherry, who the Eagles lost to 9-5 earlier this season, or unseeded Lac qui Parle Valley on Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Joe Faber Field. 

The loser of Thursday’s game will drop to the consolation bracket that will move to Bob Cross Field in Sauk Rapids on Friday at either 10 a.m. or 12:15 p.m. The consolation championship will take place on Friday at 2:30 p.m. The third place game will be held on Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Joe Faber Field. 

Cherry, who is the top seed, is the top ranked team in the QRF and are 23-2 on the season. They average 8.2 runs per game and give up 2.7 runs per game. LQPV is 16-6 on the season and are ranked 17 in the QRF. They average 6.9 runs per game on offense, while giving up 3.4 runs per game on defense. 

On the other side of the bracket, second seeded Parkers Prairie (23-1 overall and ranked second in the QRF) will take on unseeded Heritage Christian Academy (17-4 overall and ranked 13th in the QRF), while third seeded Lyle-Pacelli (22-2 overall and ranked sixth in the QRF) will take on unseeded Sacred Heart (19-3 overall and ranked seventh in the QRF). 

The state championship game is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m. at Target Field. 

Monday

A five run bottom of the third inning and four run bottom of the fourth inning proved the be the difference in a 12-2 win over Ogilvie on Monday night. The Lions led briefly in the top of the third inning when they scored a pair of runs on a fielder’s choice and RBI single to take a 2-1 lead. 

The Eagles charged back in a big way in the bottom of the third inning when Bode Roberts hit a sacrifice fly and Sam Kopveiler scored on a wild pitch to make the score 3-2 in favor of the Eagles. NY Mills would later score on an error, RBI single and another wild pitch to make the score 6-2. 

NY Mills put the game out of reach in the fourth inning when they scored one run on a passed ball, a pair of runs on an error and made the score 10-2 on a fielder’s choice. 

The game came to a close in the bottom of the fifth inning by the 10-run rule when Sam Kopveiler hit a bases loaded RBI single and Dashaun Robinson earned a bases loaded walk to make the score 12-2. 

Despite the lopsided final score, the Eagles outhit the Tigers by just a 7-6 margin, but took advantage of four Ogilvie errors and five walks. 

Robinson picked up the win as he gave up two unearned runs and struck out six hitters over five innings of work. 

AB R H     BI

T Lausten 3 3 1 0

S Kopveiler 3 1 1 2

D Robinson 1 2 1 1

B Roberts 3 1 0 1

B Ehnert 2 1 1 0

G Roberts 3 0 0 1

E Ruther 0 1 0 0

B Unger 3 0 1 1

F Roder 3 1 1 0

H Bosman 2 2 1 0

HITTING- 2B- Bosman; 3B- Roder

PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-k)- Robinson 5-6-2-0-1-6

Thursday

NY Mills punched its ticket to the state baseball tournament with a dominant 11-1 win over Ogilvie on Thursday. The Eagles wasted little time in jumping all over the Tigers as they scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a wild pitch and an error that allowed a pair of runners to cross the plate. 

The score remained 3-0 until the bottom of the third inning when Braxton Ehnert hit a sacrifice fly to left field to allow Dashaun Robinson to score from third. 

After making the score 5-0 in the fourth inning when Finn Roder scored on an error with two outs, the Eagles ended the game by the 10-run rule with six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The opening five hitters of the inning reached base safely and the Eagles took advantage of three Tiger errors in the inning. 

Blake Unger ended the game with a bases loaded RBI single to left field to bring Carter Hudalla across the plate to make the score 11-1. 

NY Mills had just five hits in the game, but took advantage of seven errors and eight walks in the win. 

Isaac Kawlewski was brilliant on the mound as he gave up just four hits and one unearned run, while striking out eight hitters and not giving up a walk to earn the win. 

AB R H     BI

T Lausten 4 1 1 2

S Kopveiler 4 1 0 0

D Robinson 2 2 1 1

C Hudalla 0 1 0 0

B Roberts 3 1 1 0

B Ehnert 3 0 0 1

G Roberts 2 0 0 0

E Ruther 1 1 0 0

B Unger 2 1 1 1

F Roder 2 2 1 0

H Bosman 2 1 0 1

PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-k)- Kawlewski 6-4-1-0-0-8