Saints one win away from state
Posted August 2, 2014
By CJ Siewert
The St. Peter town team is one win away from advancing to the Class C state tournament, something they haven’t done since 2010.
Top seed St. Peter beat No. 4 seed Chanhassen 6-1 Friday night at Veterans Field, advancing to the semifinals of the Region 6C tournament. With the win, the Saints host perennial playoff contender Belle Plaine, the No. 2 seed, at 6 p.m. Sunday. Belle Plaine defeated St. Peter 4-3 in 10 innings in the regular season.
On Friday night, the local nine got out to a hot start with three runs in the first inning. Billy Hanson and Shea Roehrkasse hit consecutive singles, followed by an RBI double off the bat of Seth Wenner. Ryan Wenner then plated two runs with a single.
St. Peter added a run in the second as Cameron Victor led off with a walk and later scored on a Hanson single.
IN the fifth inning, Shea Roehrkasse put the home team up 5-0 with a solo shot to left-center field. The towering blast hit directly on top of the fence and bounced into the trees before the center fielder could knock it back into play.
The Saints scored their sixth and final run in the seventh after Ryan Kapsner walked, went from first to third on a Hanson double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Roehrkasse.
Jesse Anderson pitched arguably his best game of the year, tossing eight innings of scoreless baseball. He struck out seven, walked one and allowed five hits.
Jeff Wenner relieved Anderson in the ninth and allowed one run after a double, walk and single, but struck out the final two batters to secure the win.
Hanson went 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run. Roehrkasse hit 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs and an RBI. And Seth Wenner batted 2-for-3 with a double, walk, RBI and a run.
St. Peter (22-7) hosts Belle Plaine 6 p.m. Sunday for a state qualifying game and a ticket to the region championship. The loser will play an elimination game 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
