Baseball: New York Mills dominates KMS again

Jun. 11—GLENWOOD — Attention teams heading to the Class A state baseball tournament Tuesday in St. Cloud: The New York Mills Eagles are good, very good.

New York Mills made quick work of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg for the second day in a row of the Section 6A tournament at Marthaler Park, beating the Fighting Saints 13-3 in five innings.

The victory earned the Eagles (22-3) their third state tournament berth in a row, discounting 2020 when the season was canceled because of the pandemic.

As they did in Thursday's 13-2 victory, New York Mills jumped all over KMS early and often, picking up 11 more hits on the Saints, who simply couldn't stem the flow.

"They're good, very good," KMS head coach Wade Adamson said. "They're a very good team.

"They put the ball in play and square up on the ball a lot and make sure they make good contact. They don't over-swing and they don't chase."

The Eagles were good enough to score more runs in two days than KMS (21-3) had allowed all season.

"I'm glad we could put on a good show for you," quipped New York Mills shortstop and lead-off hitter Jacob Guck. "Everybody on this team sprays line drives all over the place. ...

"It's a great feeling to be going to state for the third year in a row. Hopefully, we'll be able to get it done down there this time."

New York Mills was the state Class A runner-up to Hayfield in 2021. Hayfield's back in the tournament, which commences Tuesday at the Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud.

Coaches seed Saturday once the field is finalized. Adamson, for one, believes New York Mills deserves at least a top-three seed.

Dustin Geiser, New York Mills' head coach, said that Hayfield and Randolph also are top contenders for top seeds. Geiser noted that Randolph beat Hayfield 6-5 in eight innings on May 3. Others in the Class A field are New Ulm Cathedral (22-3), MACCRAY (15-6), Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale (11-14), South Ridge of Virginia (17-7) and East Grand Forks Sacred Heart (21-3).

Geiser was concerned about the fact that both teams had to come back to Glenwood on Friday after Thursday because of how the bracket was set up.

"I didn't want to let them (the Saints) have a chance to regroup," Geiser said.

No worries. New York Mills put up six runs in the first inning to take control and really never look back. They added seven runs in the third.

"That's what we do," Geiser said. "We want to put pressure on them, as much as we can."

They did, taking advantage of mistakes and running the bases effectively. KMS simply couldn't stop them.

"Like yesterday, we had our opportunities early to get back into it and we just couldn't do it," Adamson said. "They're a good team and they deserve to be in the state tournament.

"There's no shame in losing to a team like that. We didn't want to lose two in a row. But they had a lot to do with that."

KMS started the season 17-0. The Fighting Saints' only regular-season loss was to an undefeated Paynesville squad by one run. Paynesville wound up in the Section 3AA championship. There also was a Camden Conference championship and sub-section title along the way for the KMS. Friday also was the swan song for seniors Wylee Lottman, Alex Call, Melvin Vikstrom, Tanner Ronholdt and Adam Froehlich.

"It was a good year," Adamson said. "There is nothing to be ashamed about at all. We had a fun season."

KMS 020 10-3 4 3

New York Mills 607 0x-13 11 1

Hitting — KMS: Isaac Rudningen 0-1 rbi bb-2, Wylee Lottman 0-2 bb, Alex Call 1-2 rbi bb, Jaiden Henjum 0-2 bb, Chase Magaard 0-2 r bb, Evan Zimmer 1-2 r, Hunter Kallstrom 1-3 rbi, Luke Jeseritz 1-2 r ... New York Mills: Jacob Guck 1-3 r rbi-2 bb sb, Bren Salo 1-3 r-2 sb, Jonah Johnson 2-2 r-2 rbi bb 3b sb, Bode Roberts 0-3 r rbi-2 bb, Brayden Ehnert 2-4 r rbi-3, Breck Hensch 1-3 r, Cody Barthel 1-1 bb, Monty Briard 1-3 r 2b, Jonah Ruther 2-3 r rbi-3, Jon Rinerson 0-0 r sb, DeShaun Robinson 0-0 r-2 sb

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — KMS: Cortez (L) 2.1-10-13-6-4-1, Henjum 1.2-1-0-0-0-2 ... New York Mills': Barthel (W) 5-4-3-2-6-4