Saints Play State-Qualifying Game Saturday at Arlington
Posted August 5, 2024
GAYLORD, Minn. – The St. Peter town team is one game away from clinching a berth to the Minnesota Class C state tournament.
The Saints, who beat Blue Earth 15-7 in the first round of the Region 6C tournament on Saturday, wound up in the consolation bracket with a 10-3 loss to perennial region champ Jordan on Sunday. St. Peter will now face St. Clair at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Arlington with the winner advancing to state and the loser ending its season.
The winner of St. Peter/St. Clair will immediately face the winner of Minnesota Lake/Waterville in the Nos. 3-4 seeding game. Jordan and Le Sueur, who have already clinched spots to the state tourney, will play the region championship at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Last Saturday’s 15-7 win over Blue Earth was highlighted by a 10-for-10 hitting display by the Saints’ Nos. 4-5 hitters in Nick Azar and Hunter Wilmes. Azar went 5-for-5 with a walk, RBI, four singles, a double, and six runs, while Wilmes went 5-for-5 with a hit-by-pitch, three singles, two doubles, three RBI, and three runs. Josh Robb earned the win on the mound after throwing five innings, while Jake Rimstad picked up the four-inning save.
The 10-3 loss to Jordan on Sunday is not indicative of the final score. Cody Booker gave the Saints an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with a solo home run. After Jordan scored a run in the third, St. Peter responded in the fourth as Azar singled, reached third on two passed balls, and scored on a single by Austin Pinke for a 2-1 lead. The Brewers tied the game in the bottom half and took a 3-2 advantage in the sixth, but the Saints answered again in the seventh as Pinke led off with a single, advanced to second on a sac bunt by Jeff Menk, and scored on a single by Billy Hanson to tie the score 3-3.
Logan Carlson tossed the best game of his season, going five innings with two earned runs, but ran out of steam in the sixth. Connor Bjorling came in relief and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, but the Brewers scored four in the seventh and three in the eighth to secure the win.
St. Peter is looking for its first state tournament berth since 2017 when it won two state games and advanced to Labor Day weekend. St. Peter has made 15 state tournament appearances with state championships in 1933 and 1955.
Photo (courtesy of Barb Regner): Nick Azar slides around an incoming throw to the plate against Blue Earth.
