Saints looking to lock up No. 1 seed for regions
Posted July 21, 2014
By CJ Siewert
Since we haven’t been very proactive in writing game recaps after winning the High Life Invite, here is an update on the Saints to bring everyone up to speed.
The Saints left Arlington with the championship and a 12-2 overall record. Since then they have posted a pedestrian 6-5 overall record and now sit at 18-7. St. Peter was without a loss in the River Valley League Class C standings until a 4-3, 10-inning loss at Belle Plaine on June 27. It’s second loss in the league standings was a 12-0, 7-inning drubbing at top seeded Jordan on July 8.
The Saints nearly knocked off Class B’s No. 1 ranked Victoria Vic’s on July 10, but a 2-run monster home run in the ninth erased the Saints’ lead.
Despite the midseason ups and downs, the Saints control their own destiny to claim the No. 1 seed in Region 6C playoffs, which begin Aug. 1 in St. Peter. The Saints picked up a key division win over Gaylord, 4-2, on Sunday evening, giving them an 8-2 league record and a 1.5 game lead over Gaylord in the RVL West standings with three games to play. The magic number to clinch the West is two.
St. Peter closes out the regular season with home games against division rivals New Ulm (7:30 p.m. Tuesday), Fairfax (7:30 p.m. Friday) and then travel to Gaylord (6 p.m. Sunday) for the regular season finale.
If the Saints lock up the West No. 1 seed for region playoffs, they will face the winner of the Central’s 4-5 play-in game. As of Monday, the Central is still in a dogfight for its bottom four teams. Jordan has locked up the No. 1 seed with a perfect 11-0 league record, while Belle Plaine has control of the No. 2 seed at 7-3. But Chanhassen (5-6), Henderson (5-6) and Le Sueur (4-6) are still battling to stay out of the cellar.
If the Saints want to make a run in the playoffs, they’ll have to do so with some injuries. Starting shortstop and leading hitter Jesse Munsterman is likely out for the season with a torn UCL. Ace pitcher Matt Lewis is also dealing with arm issues, but will make his return to the mound for playoffs. Starters and top hitters Shea Roehrkasse (quad) and Ryan Kapsner (Achilles) have also dealt with injuries, but are now back in the lineup in time for the playoff push.
For the Saints to clinch a state tournament berth – which would be their first since 2010 – they need to either win their first two games in regions or fight through the loser’s bracket with either two or three wins (depending on when the first loss is).
If St. Peter wins the region playoff, it would have a first round bye at state and face the winner of Region 10B and 1C on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Jordan. If the Saints claim the No. 2 seed they would face Region 11C on Sunday, Aug. 17 at noon in Belle Plaine. And if they hold the No. 3 seed, they would face Region 14B on Friday, Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Jordan – which is also the opening game of the state tournament.
