Saints sweep division, earn No. 1 seed for regions
Posted July 28, 2014
By CJ Siewert
The St. Peter amateur baseball club closed out its regular season schedule with four division wins to claim the River Valley League West’s No. 1 seed for Region 6C playoffs.
The Saints beat Gaylord and New Ulm early last week before defeating Fairfax 8-6 Friday night at home followed by another win at Gaylord, 9-7, on Sunday evening.
STP ends the regular season with a 21-7 overall record and 11-2 in the RVL. The 20-win season for St. Peter is the organization’s first in at least 30 years.
St. Peter is guaranteed at least two home games in regions. On Friday, the Saints will face the RVL Central’s No. 4 seed, which will be determined with a play-in game Wednesday night between Chanhassen and Le Sueur. During the regular season, the Saints defeated Chanhassen 12-2 on May 18 and beat Le Sueur 5-0 on July 13.
Win or lose, the local nine hosts either No. 2 seed Belle Plaine or No. 3 seed New Ulm 6 p.m. Sunday. The Saints lost at Belle Plaine, 4-3, in 10 innings on June 27 and swept the season series with New Ulm, outscoring the Kaiserhoff 22-1 in two games. The July 7 meeting in New Ulm featured a combined no-hitter between Matt Lewis (6 innings) and Jeff Wenner (1 inning).
If St. Peter wins its first two playoff games, it is guaranteed at least the region’s No. 2 seed at the Class C state tournament, hosted by fellow RVL members Belle Plaine and Jordan. Having consecutive home games bodes well for the Saints as they hold a 13-2 record at Veterans Field this season without a Class C loss. They have also outscored their opponents 129-45 at home, averaging 8.6 runs per game, while allowing and average of 3.
Friday’s home playoff game starts at 7:30 and is sponsored by Patrick’s on Third. Patrick’s will be at the game cooking its world famous burgers throughout the night. Be sure to be at the game to support your local team and local business!
