Sartell baseball advances to American Legion state tournament
Sartell American Legion Post 277 advanced to the baseball state tournament after the team beat Little Falls Post 46 Thursday in the final game of the sub-state No. 12 tournament final at St. Cloud Orthopedic Field in Sartell.
Needing two games to down the Flyers, Sartell lost the penultimate game 8-3 but clutched up in the nightcap 4-1. They'll play next Thursday in the state tournament in Rochester, which has 16 teams from around Minnesota.
Sartell was undefeated in the tournament prior to losing in the championship round. The team had the No. 6 seed but defeated No. 3 Pierz Post 341, No. 7 St. Cloud Post 76 and No. 1 Cold Spring Post 455 on the way.
Having used many of their pitchers leading up to the final elimination game, Sartell turned to Will Thompson to start on the mound with its season on the line. He had been behind the plate all week, catching, but Thompson stepped up and threw innings and gave up only one unearned run.
"He didn't pitch at all in school ball and that was his fourth outing for us this summer, so he's pitched seven or eight innings total up until now," manager Pete Johnson said after the game.
Despite all the work catching, Thompson said he's "felt good" all week, staying hydrated between back-to-back nights of baseball. Sartell High School's varsity team was seeded sixth in their section tournament, so he's used to being underrated and overachieving. The Sabres made the state tournament from the spot during the spring and played for the consolation championship.
"We kind of feel comfortable here," he said. "People think we're kind of an underdog, doubting us, but I think we're a good team."
All of Sartell's runs in the deciding game came in the fourth inning. Dylan Simones started the rally with a line drive single to center. Hitting with two outs Jake Gruebele, Wesley Johnson and Drew Geiger cashed in for RBI to put their team ahead.
Four of the team's five runs in the first game came in all at once too. Sartell rallied with two outs in the seventh inning, but otherwise, even hard contact was handled well by Little Falls fielders.
Between both games Thursday, Simones was 2-7 with a run scored. Johnson was 2-6 with an RBI and a run scored. Grubele went 1-5, but had an RBI and scored a run. Shortstop Gavan Schulte was 2-6, had an RBI and scored twice, and left fielder Kade Lewis was 2-5. He scored one run.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Sartell baseball advances to American Legion state tournament
