St. Peter Town Team Begins Region Playoffs Saturday at Gaylord
Posted July 28, 2024
The St. Peter amateur baseball club clinched a berth to Region 6C playoffs with a best-of-three series sweep over Arlington in the River Valley League playoffs on July 24 and 26. The Saints cruised to a 17-3 victory last Wednesday at Veterans Field and then secured the sweep with an 8-4 win at Arlington on Friday.
St. Peter (11-9 overall) will compete in Region 6C playoffs Aug. 3-4 at Gaylord with hopes of winning at least one game to advance to the second weekend of regional playoffs, which will determine seeding for the Class C state tournament hosted by Jordan, Belle Plaine, and Green Isle the weekends of Aug. 16-18, 23-25, and Aug. 30-Sept. 2.
The Region 6C bracket features eight teams in a double-elimination format with the final four teams advancing to the state tournament. Jordan, Le Sueur, St. Peter, and St. Clair represent the RVL, while Waterville, Blue Earth, Eagle Lake, and Minn Lake represent the 13-60. As the RVL No. 3 seed, St. Peter will open the tournament at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against Blue Earth, the No. 2 seed from the 13-60. The winner will face either Jordan or Minn Lake on Sunday in a state-qualifying game.
The 2024 season for the local nine has featured its ebbs and flows with the Saints starting the year 3-1 before losing five of its next seven games. Midway through the season, St. Peter picked up crucial league victories over Arlington, Le Sueur, and Gaylord to secure the No. 3 seed in RVL playoffs.
Last Wednesday’s 17-3 victory over No. 6-seed Arlington was highlighted by a first-inning leadoff home run by Sam Wenner, four hits from Hunter Wilmes, and a five-inning, one-run mound win for Josh Robb. As a team, the Saints collected 15 hits and the 14-run decision was the largest margin of victory in the playoffs in recorded team history.
Newcomer Jake Rimstad was the story of Friday’s 8-4 win at Arlington. Sam Carlson, who has logged the most innings with five complete games for the club the season, left the game after the first inning with an injury. Robb then struggled through the second frame, allowing three runs, but Rimstad entered in the third and tossed the final seven frames, allowing just one run to send the Saints to the regional tournament.
Looking ahead…
The 2024 season may be the last in the River Valley League for St. Peter. The RVL started in 2008 and has seen several changes over the years with Henderson, Winthrop, and New Ulm Kaiserhoff folding, Chanhassen moving up to Class B, and Fairfax leaving for the Tomahawk East League. At a recent league meeting, Arlington expressed interest in joining the Crow River Valley League and St. Clair, who will be moving to Waldorf next year, is likely to join the Tomahawk, leaving St. Peter, Belle Plaine, Jordan, Gaylord, and Le Sueur as the only five teams in the RVL. The class realignments this upcoming offseason, determined by the Minnesota Baseball Association state board, may also impact teams’ decision to stay or leave the RVL.
Photo (courtesy of Barb Regner): Sam Wenner hits a leadoff home run against Arlington in game one of the RVL playoffs July 24 at Veterans Field.
