Shakopee flips the script to win state baseball title
ST. MICHAEL — For Minnesota kids who grow up playing baseball, there is always the fantasy that you will deliver the winning hit in a championship game.
But not many kids get that chance in real life. They can only imagine what an experience like that would be like.
Sunday, Aug. 3, at Minnesota’s American Legion Baseball championship game at Lower Rec Field in St. Michael, Fantasia became reality – not just for one Shakopee Post 2 player – but for several. With a furious rally, Shakopee erased a five-run Grand Rapids Post 60 lead to win the state title 13-9. It was Shakopee’s first-ever state Legion baseball title.
Shakopee entered the top of the seventh inning with its hopes for a state championship hanging by a thread. Coach Dave Johnson’s boys trailed Grand Rapids 9-8 and the first two batters of the inning were retired.
That left it up to Kyser Boran to keep the dream of Shakopee’s first state title alive. He hit a slow roller to shortstop, the kind of ball that often produces and out, but quickly Boran was across first base at the same time the throw arrived and the ball bounced past the Grand Rapids first baseman for an error.
Boran sprinted to second base, then waited for the fireworks to begin.
Carson Schroeder drilled a base hit to score Boran from second base to tie the score, then a sharp single to right by Ryder Peace was a key piece. Nick Johnson, Shakopee’s clean-up hitter, singled home a run with a hit to right field. Kaden Olson added a single. Colton Jenks put an exclamation point on the five-run seventh inning with a hit.
When the inning ended, Shakopee had five runs on seven hits.
Schroeder, who started the seventh-inning hit parade, said, “I was just trying to put the ball in play. It was a great feeling to get that hit.”
With Peace coming to the plate, Schroeder had a good feeling. So did Peace, who lined a hit early in the count.
Nick Johnson had three hits and four RBIs in the game. Olson followed with his third hit of the game.
Jenks, who would bat clean-up for many Minnesota teams, brought home two insurance runs.
After accepting the Fred Wannamaker Award, Peace said, “It was not possible to win this award without my teammates. They get on base for me. I played well this week, but it’s a team effort.”
Peace’s stat line for the State Tournament included a .533 batting average, two home runs and 15 RBIs.
The win on Aug. 3 was significant because it put Shakopee on a higher plateau with a 30-5-1 season record.
Both teams advance to the Central Plains Tournament at Starion Bank Field in Fargo, which gets rolling Wednesday, Aug. 6, and finished Aug. 10. Shakopee Post 2 takes on Elkhorn, Neb., Post 211 at noon Wednesday, Aug. 6, and Grand Rapids Post 60 faces West Fargo Post 308 at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Information on the entire 64-team field of American Legion Baseball regional action can be found here.
SHAKOPEE 240 002 5 13 14 0
GRAND RAPIDS 100 800 0 9 13 5
WINNING PITCHER OLSON, LOSING PITCHER LEHMBERG
Each team had one big inning during the State Division I American Legion Baseball Tournament championship game Aug. 3 at Lower Rec Field in St. Michael. Grand Rapids scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth. Shakopee scored five in the top of the seventh on its way to a 13-9 victory. It was a big game for the hitters and a rough game for the pitchers with Shakopee piling up 14 hits and Grand Rapids 13. Nick Johnson and Kaden Olson led Shakopee with three hits each. Brodie Sullivan and Colton Jenks each added two. Ethan Morgan and Nolan Svatos had three hits each for Grand Rapids and teammate Alex Wegwerth had two. Sam Dick and Caleb Gunderson joined Morgan with two RBIs each. Grand Rapids (20-14) and Shakopee (30-5-1) both qualified to play in the Central Plains Region Tournament.
