St. Peter's speed upends Jordan 2-0 for region title

By Pat Beck, St. Peter Herald

Speed is a good weapon for any baseball team.

St. Peter displayed speed on the bases, on the mound, in the field and at the plate in shutting out the rival Jordan Brewers 2-0 for the Region 6C amateur baseball championship Saturday night at the Mini Met.

"Speed kills," said speedy left fielder Ryan Kapsner who drove in a run and scored one. "We're not a team that's going to hit a lot of home runs. We bunt when we need to, and we field the ball well."

With the win, the Saints earned a first-round bye in the state tournament and open against the winner of Ada and Hinckley in the second round at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23 at Jordan.

The Saints avenged a regular-season, 12-0 loss to the Brewers, who have had St. Peter's number over the years.

But St. Peter broke the string with hard-throwing right handed pitching ace Matt Lewis scattering eight hits in getting the shutout. He struck out seven and walked three to up his record to 9-1 and the Saints to 24-7.

"We put the bat on the ball well, we got timely hits, and Matt Lewis pitched a heck of game," Kapsner said. "We just made those few runs to get the win."

A number of sparkling plays in the field helped Lewis get out of jams as the Brewers stranded 11 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the second and seventh inning.

Relying on his speed and quick hands, St. Peter second baseman Jordan Wilmes made a number of tough fielding plays with the biggest in the fifth inning. He stole a single from a Jordan batter by stabbing a ground ball up the middle, getting up and throwing the runner out at first with Jeff Menk making the stretch on a close play.

Wilmes also was in the middle of a big double play in the eighth with runners on first and second and no outs. Shortstop Ryan Wenner picked up the ground ball, relayed it to Wilmes who turned the double play.

"Wilmes made a heck of a play out in the middle, and then we had a big double play that got us out of that inning," Kapsner said.

Kapsner, batting in the No. 2 spot, led the offensive attack, hitting an RBI double and scored a run in the third. Wilmes led off the inning by beating out a single and went to second on a ground out by center fielder Ty Kaus. Then Kapsner delivered an opposite-field RBI double to the gap in left center to drive in Wilmes. Kapsner went to third on a ground out by catcher Shea Rohrkasse, and Kapsner scored on a wild pitch.

"I was looking fast ball," Kapsner said. "He stroked me a fast ball, and I hit it well. That's what I was looking for. He had some good stuff. The breaking pitches were good, and I was just looking fast ball."

Two Saints finished with two hits. Wilmes beat out two infield hits in going 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. Third baseman Billy Hanson went 2-for-4 with a double.

Five other Saints had a hit each as they left a dozen runners on base. Kaus went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base. Kapsner finished 1-for-4 with a double, sacrifice, RBI and a run scored. Ryan Wenner batted 1-for-5, Menk went 1-for-2 with two walks. Designated hitter Mike Enz finished 1-for-2 with a sacrifice.

This is Kapsner's first season with St. Peter, but he has a decade of experience playing amateur baseball.

"Winning the region feels awesome," Kapsner said. "This is the first year I've played with St. Peter, and I think this is the first time they beat Jordan in a long time. It feels great. We get two weeks off now, and then hopefully get another win at state."

Kapsner played the last 10 years for the Lake Crystal Nine, which folded this year.

"I knew people on St. Peter and came over and played with these guys," said Kapsner, who graduated from St. Cloud State University in 2005.

Kapsner thinks the Saints can win at state if they follow the same formula as they did against Jordan.

"Good pitching and putting the bat on the ball into play are the keys at state," Kapsner said. "And like we said before, speed kills.

"Hopefully we can string some hits together and score some runs. Matt Lewis throws a heck of a game. If we get a few runs behind him, we should be good."

Immediately after the game, the Saints bolstered their line-up by drafting three players: No. 1. Brody Rodning of the Gaylord Islanders, No. 4. Ryan Wolf of the the Le Sueur Braves and No. 7. John Eichens of the Chashassen Redbirds.