Area players will represent South squad in All-Star baseball series
May 31—Two baseball players from both Rochester and Hayfield will represent the South squad during the upcoming Minnesota High School All-Star Series.
The event will be held on June 25-26 at at Chaska Athletic Park. Six teams will feature 20 players per squad, from the class of 2022, and each team will play three games.
Joe Sperry of Lourdes and Kyle Prindle of Mayo will be on the South squad along with University of Minnesota commit Easton Fritcher and Nolan Klocke of Hayfield.
Other local players on the South squad include John Lutzi of Byron, Andrew Ball of Red Wing, and Jacob Weckop and Nathan Weckop of Randolph.
Byron's Ryan Hanson will be the head coach for the South.
The South will play games at 5 p.m. on June 25 and at 9 a.m. on June 26. After the first two games, the teams will play for first, third and fifth place beginning around 2:30 p.m. on June 26.
This marks the 47th year of the All-Star Series.
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When the University of Minnesota Coaches Caravan made the trek to Rochester last week to speak in front of Gophers fans, a former Gophers great from Rochester was in attendance.
Darrell Thompson, a 1986 John Marshall grad and former Gophers standout running back, lives and works in the Twin Cities but he came to Rochester for the event. Thompson said his father, George, got tickets for the caravan.
Darrell Thompson is still Minnesota's all-time leading rusher. He also does radio broadcasts of Gophers football games as well as a TV show. Current Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck wasn't expecting Thompson to be on hand at the event, but he is a big fan.
"I can't tell you how much DT means to the Gopher program and Gopher football," Fleck said. "I just love having him connected to our program, being on the radio every Saturday and doing his TV stuff. He's what Gophers football is all about."
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Minnesota wrestling coach Brandon Eggum was one of four Gophers coaches at the Coaches Caravan.
Goodhue's Bailee O'Reilly, a 174-pounder, is a member of the Minnesota wrestling team. Eggum said O'Reilly has put in a lot of hard work to improve at the Division I level.
"He's wrestling phenomenal," Eggum said. "I couldn't be more proud of a guy like Bailee.
"He's got that mentality and work ethic and he busts his butt and he's done great things," Eggum added. "The growth that he's done in our program between when he first stepped in is amazing. He wrestles at such a pace that people fear wrestling him."
O'Reilly suffered a setback at the end of last season, however. He was injured at the Big Ten Championship meet and had to have surgery. Eggum said battling through injuries is part of being an athlete and he said O'Reilly is dealing well with his setback.
"He's the right type of kid who can overcome this adversity," Eggum said. "And we're excited for him to get back on the mat in a few months."
O'Reilly will be a redshirt senior for the 2022-23 season. He has wrestled four seasons for the Gophers and has a 77-33 career record.
Guy N. Limbeck is a sports writer for the Post Bulletin. His Local Notebook appears each Tuesday. He can be reached at
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