Redhawks save their pitching, fall to Eden Prairie, but earn spot in final eight of state tournament

Jul. 28—ROCHESTER — The Rochester Redhawks already had a spot in the final eight secured when they took the field for their last game of pool play in the Division I State American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday.

With that in mind, the Redhawks took a cautious approach to using their pitchers.

As a result, the Redhawks suffered a 9-5 setback to Eden Prairie at Massey Field and finished 2-1 in pool play. Eden Prairie was 3-0 in Pool 2 as both teams advanced to the final eight. The top two teams in each of the four pools begin single-elimination play in the tournament on Saturday with the championship game on Sunday.

"It feels good to make it to Saturday so we're just looking to play our best baseball," Redhawks outfielder Sam Hruska said. "It's not great to lose, but we had good pitching today with who we had. We're trying to save our pitching for (Saturday)."

Jackson Brandt, who played mostly second base for the Redhawks' Junior Legion team this summer, started and pitched the first 3 1/3 innings, allowing six runs, five earned, on eight hits. Hayden Mather, another young pitcher, went the final 2 2/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits.

"I didn't do as well as I wanted to, but it definitely helped with the experience," Brandt said.

Eden Prairie finished with 14 hits and overcame a 5-3 deficit with three runs in the fourth to take the lead for good.

"I thought Jackson did fine and Hayden did fine," Redhawks coach Tom Senne said. "We just kind of ran into them putting the ball in play where we couldn't field it. ... I thought everything we got from our pitching was fine; those guys went out and battled for their team."

Both Brandt and Mather were among a number of younger players who got a chance to see their first action in the state tournament.

"It created a winning mentality for people going through the system," Brandt said. "And it just helps build on the foundations that were already set up with classes previously."

The Redhawks had won 17 of their last 18 games before Friday's loss. They scored five runs against Eden Prairie, but managed a modest five hits. Mason Leimbek led the way going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

"Five hits aren't going to cut it," Hruska.

"Our team will definitely pick it up energy-wise," he added. "We kind of seemed flat today so hopefully we bring that energy Saturday and hit more."

Hruska said the Redhawks might have been a little flat due to the heat and the fact they had played — like all of the other 15 state teams — a pair of games on Thursday. The Rochester squad is hoping it has two more games on tap Saturday.

The Redhawks now turn their attention to the all-important state quarterfinal game. They will face Pool 4 winner St. Michael at 1 p.m. Saturday at Massey Field. The winner advances to the semifinals at 7 p.m. at Mayo Field while the loser is eliminated from the tournament.

St. Michael and the Redhawks did not play during the regular season. Senne said the contest "is a big one, and I'm sure they'll be up to the task."

"I think they'll be ready," the coach added. "These guys have played in a lot of high-pressure games all year, with this spring and a lot of the Legion playoffs."

Senne is confident that the Redhawks have enough pitching to get through the rest of the tournament, which could be up to three games. If the Redhawks win in the state quarterfinals, they are assured of two more games. There is also a third-place contest.

"You need a lot of pitching," Redhawks pitcher/infielder Kasey Carlson said. "I think the depth in pitching is the biggest thing. I think the team that has the most depth is going to win the tournament."

Senne did not say who would start on the mound in the state quarterfinals, but among the options may be Zach Condon, Connor Dahl, Hruska or Kyle Prindle.

"I'm confident in the pitchers that we have left," Hruska said.

Eden Prairie 9, Redhawks 5

Game 3

Redhawks#100#400#0#—#5#5#2

Eden Prairie#030#321#x#—#9#14#0

Rochester Redhawks: Kyle Prindle 1 RBI; Kasey Carlson 1 R; Sam Hruska 1-for-3, 1 R; Mason Leimbek 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R; Carson Beavers 1-for-2, 1 R; Alec Sadowy 1-for-3; Zach Condon 1 R. Pitchers: Jackson Brandt (LP) 3 1/3 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; Hayden Mather 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.

Eden Prairie: NIck Macheledt 3-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 R; Vinny Dykstra 2-for-4, 2 RBI; Joey Goetz 2-for-3,1 RBI, 1 R; Aiden Keranen 3-for-4, 1 3B, 2 R. Pitchers: Cade Hutchison 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 1 K; Connor Meadows (WP) 3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K.

Winona closed pool play with a 5-2 victory over Delano on Saturday. Winona finished the tournament with a 1-2 mark in Pool 4.

St. Michael was the winner of Pool 4 with a 3-0 mark and Prior Lake also advanced to the state quarterfinals by going 2-1.

Pool 3 proved to be the tightest as Wayzata, Sartell and Hastings all finished 2-1. But on tiebreakers, Wayzata earned the top seed out of the pool and Sartell was No. 2. Hastings did not advance.

In Pool 1, Mankato American went 3-0 to move to the state quarterfinals while Foley went 2-1 to also advance to the final eight.