Legion Baseball: Sacred Heart/MACCRAY is State Champs

Aug. 2—SACRED HEART — Part of the beauty of sports is that anything can happen. Especially in baseball.

Sacred Heart/MACCRAY came into the 2021 Division II American Legion Championship against the Tri-Town Black Sox expecting the unexpected to happen on Sunday.

Coming into the matchup 0-2 against the Black Sox, the Scarlets seemed to take the classic 'third time's a charm' motto to heart, defeated Tri-Town 11-0 to become the first Division II team in American Legion baseball history to win it all on its home field.

Sacred Heart/MACCRAY advances to the Division II Central Plains Regional in Waupun, Wisconsin. Play begins Friday and concludes Sunday.

The orange and blue jerseys swarmed between the mound and first base with cheers from the home crowd and the players, blending together with the coaches with expressions of happiness and triumph.

Having made it to state only because it was the tournament host, Sacred Heart/MACCRAY may have not been viewed as a favorite to win it all. However, Scarlets coach Steve Agre told his players: "Anything can happen in baseball. That's why you play the game."

His words rang true Sunday, as the Scarlets arguably played their best game of the summer.

"I don't even know if I can put it into words with how I'm feeling right now, but I'm very darn proud of these guys, I'll tell you that," Agre said. "A lot of times you see the host team lose. We've seen it in the past where the host team gets beat 15-0 or they just can't compete in this tournament. But we always knew that we could compete at this level."

Sunday was a perfect day for baseball: Mid-70s with a bright sun, but also a slight breeze to help keep everyone cool. With the perfect conditions, Sacred Heart/MACCRAY played like a team prepared to hold nothing back at the packed ballpark.

Sacred Heart/MACCRAY scored two runs in the top of the second and three in the third to take a 5-0 lead. After two scoreless innings, the Scarlets scored four runs in the fifth before scoring another two in the sixth to take an 11-0 lead.

Tri-Town may have hoped for another late comeback, as it did on Friday having defeated Glenwood-Lowry 3-2, but saw its hopes fade.

"You always dream of this moment, you want it to happen. But for it to actually become real now is an unbelievable feeling," Agre said.

Brooks Asche and Tyler Froland played key roles. Asche finished 4 of 4 with a double, two RBI and a run. Froland went 4 of 5 with a double, four RBI and scored three times.

Froland was named the MVP of the state tournament prior to the medal presentation.

"It just feels great to win in our hometown with the whole community here with us," Froland said. "It feels great to also win the award. I've worked really hard and haven't received a whole lot of recognition in my career so far. So it's great to receive something."

As the Scarlets celebrated its championship with family and friends in the outfield, Tri-Town coach David Kingery and assistant coach Mike Kingery gave a speech to the Black Sox on the third base line.

"This is a great team. I love these kids, they worked hard and had fun," David Kingery said. "It was a great season to make it to the state championship game. It's a great privilege to play in such a game."

David Kingery described what he thought contributed to his team's defeat.

"I would just say we didn't come ready to play," he said. "In the state championship game, that's what you need to do. You need to come ready to play the game you know how to play and not try to push the other team down. Just play like you know how to play."

Having pitched in the semifinals on Saturday, Tri-Town's star left-handed pitcher, Josh Kingery, did not pitch on Sunday. Right-hander Zach Bagley was dealt the loss, having pitched 2 2/3 innings before being replaced by right-hander Josh Kinzler.

"The biggest thing for us was that Josh Kingery pitched yesterday," Agre said of the Black Sox ace left-hander. "There just isn't anybody that is going to touch him.

"Being able to see those other guys in those other two games, and the confidence that we were rolling into today. I think that was a huge thing. We had seen Kinzler, we had seen some of those other guys leading into the game and every bit helps."

Agre believes Sunday's victory is much more than just winning the American Legion state title.

"This isn't for just me and the coaches, it's not just for the kids. This is for our six communities. This is for all the people that have been working hard for us out here for this tournament. I can't thank enough people for their help, their contributions, and their never-ending support for this team and these boys. This is for them," he said.

SH/MACCRAY 11,

Tri-Town 0

SH/MACCRAY 023 004 2-11 15 0

Tri-Town 000 000 0-0 4 1

Hitting — SH/MACCRAY: Brady Kienitz 1-3 r-3, Isaac Strommer 0-2 rbi, Brandon Hoberg 1-4 r rbi-2 2b, Tyler Froland 4-5 rbi-4 r-3 2b, Eli DeHoux 1-3 hbp, Brooks Asche 4-4 r rbi-2 2b, Ayden Gustafson 2-4 rbi-2, Gavin Husman 2-3 r-2, Ben Gislason r hbp ... Tri-Town: Josh Kinzler 1-3, Jack Peterson 1-3, Jaxson Behm 1-3, Keegan Kessler-gross 1-2.

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — SH/MACCRAY: Gustafson (W) 7-4-0-0-1-3 ... Tri-Town: Zach Bagley (L) 2 2/3 -7-5-4-0-5, Kinzler 2 2/3 -6-4-4-2-1, Behm 1 2/3 -2-2-2-1-2

Semifinals Saturday

Tri-Town 10, Wadena 0

Josh Kingery slugged three home runs and struck out 16 in the complete-game victory as Tri-Town overwhelmed Wadena in six innings in the semifinals Saturday at Sacred Heart.

Kingery went 3-for-4 with a walk, driving in five runs. He allowed one hit, walked one and hit one on the mound.

Wadena 000 000-0 1 0

Tri-Town 420 103-10 11 1

Hitting — Wadena: Payton Rondestvedt 1-2, Connor Davis 0-1 hbp-2 ... Tri-Town: Josh Kingery 3-4 hr-3 r-3 rbi-5, Josh Kinzler 2-3 r-2 hbp, Connor Barker 1-3 r, Jack Peterson 1-4 r rbi-2, Jaxon Behm 1-3 3b r rbi-2, Logan Straumann 1-2 rbi sf, Zach Bagley 1-3 3b, Keegan Kessler-Gross 0-2 r, Terrell Renne 1-3 r

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Wadena: Rondestvedt (L) 5 1/3-10-9-9-1-8, Tony Kreklau 1/3-1-1-1-1-0 ... Tri-Town: Kingery (W) 6-1-0-0-1-16

SH/MACCRAY 10,

Roseau 0

Sacred Heart/MACCRAY moved into the championship game with a five-inning win over Roseau on Saturday in the semifinals.

Roseau 000 00-0 4 1

SH/MACCRAY 430 3x-10 10 2

Hitting — Roseau: Aaron Wensloff 0-3 hbp, Gavin Gunderson 1-3, Gavin Helgeland 1-2, Lyle Lisell 2-2 ... SH/MACCRAY: Brady Kienitz 1-1 r-2 rbi hbp sb, Isaac Strommer 2-2 r-2 sb, Brandan Hoberg 1-3 r-3 rbi sb, Tyler Froland 2-3 2b-2 r-2 rbi-4, Eli DeHoux 2-3 2b rbi-2, Brooks Asche 1-3 rbi 2b, Gavin Husman 1-2 2b r

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Roseau: Brady Demars (L) 1/3-3-4-3-1-1, Wensloff 3 2/3 -7-6-6-1-1 ... SH/MACCRAY: Asche (W) 5-4-0-0-1-5

Consolation Saturday

Luverne 7,

Glenwood-Lowry 0

Glenwood-Lowry finished 0-2 in the state tournament after being eliminated by Luverne on Saturday at Sacred Heart.

Glenwood-Lowry 000 000 0-0 3 3

Luverne 121 103 1-7 9 1

Hitting — Glenwood-Lowry: Darion Alexander 1-2 bb 2b, Riley Johnson 1-3, Dalton Friedrichs 1-2 ... Luverne: B. Cowell 2-4 r, C. Wenniger 1-3 r-2 rbi-2 bb, E. Beyer 4-4 r 2b-2 sb, C. Crabtree 1-2 r-2 rbi-4 bb hr, J. Stroh 1-1 r bb-2 sb, K. Anderson 0-3 rbi, B. Ripka 0-2 bb

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Glenwood-Lowry: Alexander (L) 5 1/3-9-8-6-5-2, Gruber 2/3 -0-0-0-0-0 ... Luverne: Beyer (W) 6-3-0-0-3-9, Crabtree 1-0-0-0-0-1