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Redhawks' state-tournament ride ends with narrow loss to St. Michael in quarterfinals

guy n. limbeck, post-bulletin, rochester, minn.
·5 min read

Jul. 29—ROCHESTER — The Rochester Redhawks finished their season on a disappointing note on Saturday, but the American Legion baseball team made a lifetime of memories along the way.

The Redhawks saw their hopes of a state championship end in the quarterfinals as they suffered a narrow 2-1 loss to defending state champion St. Michael in the Division I State American Legion Baseball Tournament.

The Redhawks just missed tying the game or taking the lead in the top of the seventh inning. With two outs and runners on second and third, Sam Hruska sent a sharp grounder in the hole at shortstop. But Matt Maulik backhanded the ball and made a strong throw to first to retire Hruska and end the Redhawks' championship dreams.

"It was a heck of a play," Redhawks coach Tom Senne said. "It was a game that was going to come down to one play and a lot of those plays didn't go our way."

Both teams had strong games and it was tight the entire way.

"I think we played as well as we could today," Redhawks outfielder Mason Leimbek said. "The bounces just didn't go our way and we put it all out there. It's been a heck of a ride with the boys and I'm proud of every single one of them."

"It was a ride," Redhawks pitcher Zach Condon said. "We stuck toe-to-toe with these guys. If we had a couple of hits more in the right situation, we just never got it done at the right time."

Hruska's RBI single in the first inning gave the Redhawks a 1-0 lead. Rochester had an excellent chance to extend its lead in the top of the third as Alex Prindle walked and Leimbek doubled to start the inning. But St. Michael right-hander Zack Hlinsky struck out the next three hitters to end the threat.

"That's baseball, it happens," Condon added. "They got out of a couple of jams, we got out of a couple of jams."

Condon suffered the loss, but he gave the Redhawks a chance to win. He allowed two earned runs over five-plus innings on five hits before leaving in the sixth due to pitch count.

"It was a great run overall," Condon said. "We didn't start the season hot, but we turned it around midseason and played our best ball at the end. I felt like we left everything out there."

The Redhawks started the season 6-6 with a number of young players in the lineup. They then won 17 of 18 games before dropping their last two games at the state tournament. They finished 23-9 overall and 2-2 at state.

Players and coaches said that a lot of maturity and fun took place during the course of the season.

"I couldn't be more happy with these guys, especially since the way we started the season," Senne said. "They stuck with the process and these are guys who wanted to be here. They wanted to play for their school, their community, their friends, their teammates. And when things weren't going well they rallied around each other and ultimately became a team."

Senne said it was one of the "most fun" teams that he has ever coached.

"It was a very enjoyable summer and I owe that all to the players," he said. "Each one of them was playing for more than themselves, they were playing for other people. And that's very important."

The Redhawks were making their first state appearance since 2014. This year's squad, which features players from Mayo High School, included just four 2023 grads: Leimbek, Hruska, Condon and Kasey Carlson. Prindle is a 2022 Mayo grad who was still eligible to play Legion ball this summer.

"I just think time in the clubhouse was my favorite part," Leimbek said. "Before practice, after practice or during games, just hanging out and laughing with the guys is the most fun thing ever. ... It's probably the most fun I ever had as a team."

St. Michael and Eden Prairie, the two teams that defeated the Redhawks in the tournament, will be playing for the state championship on Sunday.

After slipping past the Redhawks in the quarterfinals, St. Michael nipped Wayzata 7-6 later on Saturday in the semifinals. St. Michael is now a perfect 5-0 in the tournament and will get a chance to defend its state title after winning the event in 2022.

Eden Prairie, who had defeated the Redhawks in the final round of pool play, is also 5-0 in the tournament. Eden Prairie needed 10 innings to beat Mankato 6-2 in the semifinals. Eden Prairie had beaten Prior Lake 11-5 earlier on Saturday in the quarterfinal round.

Mankato and Wayzata will play for third place at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Mayo Field. The championship game between St. Michael and Eden Prairie will follow at 1:30 p.m.

St. Michael 2, Redhawks 1

State quarterfinals

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St. Michael#001#100#x#—#2#6#2

Rochester Redhawks: Kyle Prindle 2-for-3, 1 R; Sam Hruska 1-for-4, 1 RBI; Mason Leimbek 2-for-4, 1 2B; Lincoln Majerus 1-for-3, 1 2B. Pitchers: Zach Condon (LP) 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; Kyle Prindle 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.

St. Michael: Matt Maulik 1-for-3; Dillon Glass 1-for-3, 1 R; Evan Saunders 1-for-2; Kurt Lekatz 1-for-3; Kaleb Klinkhammer 1 RBI; Mason Varley 1-for-2, 1 R; Ashtyn Groves 1-for-3, 1 RBI. Pitchers: Zack Llinsky (WP) 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K; Miles Kay 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; Evan Saunders (Sv) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.