Prep report: Cloquet baseball tournament run comes up short

Jun. 6—Cloquet's attempt to get back to the Section 7AAA baseball championship through four elimination games was tripped up at the final hurdle as Grand Rapids claimed the second spot with a 2-1 victory in the elimination bracket final in Grand Rapids on Tuesday.

That sets up the defending champion Thunderhawks to meet Hermantown at 1 p.m. in Grand Rapids in Wednesday's section final.

Cloquet lost by a run to Rapids in its tournament opener, but bounced Hibbing, Duluth Denfeld and North Branch (6-1 earlier on Tuesday) to stay alive, only for a sixth-inning run to sink the Lumberjacks when Kyler Miller doubles and scored on an RBI single from Kyle Henke.

Nolan Svatos allowed one run on seven hits for the win, striking out six.

For Cloquet, Brody Dushkin had a pair of hits. Aiden Sievert allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits in 5 1/3 innings but took the loss.

Paced by a 3-for-3 day by Noah Asuma, the Tigers earned a spot in the Section 7A title game by defeating top-seeded South Ridge in a winner's semifinal.

Though South Ridge led 2-1 after an inning, the Tigers took control with three runs in the second inning and another in the third for a 5-2 lead.

Asuma doubled twice and drove in a run, while Noah Sundquist had a pair of hits. The two also combined on the mound, with Sundquist allowing four runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings and Asuma recording the final out with runners on second and third and two out.

For South Ridge, Christian Pretasky had a pair of hits.

Four early runs helped the Panthers get out of trouble in an elimination game played at Frandsen Bank and Trust Field in Virginia.

The first five Panthers batters reached base in the first inning on three singles and two errors, with Austin Josephson adding a fourth run two batters later on an RBI single.

The Timberwolves pulled three runs back in the fourth inning but South Ridge reinforced it after a run-scoring double play.

Anthony Lisic had a pair of hits and an RBI for South Ridge, which earned a rematch with Cherry for the section championship in Virginia on Thursday.

The eighth-seeded Mustangs made it all the way back to the Section 7AA championship game by holding off the Wolverines in the nightcap at Wade Stadium.

Mora scored twice in the top of the second and held the Wolverines off the board until a two-out RBI single from Jaden Lang. However, Mora pitcher Nathan Nelson struck out the side in the sixth and seventh innings to seal the victory. Nelson struck out 11 in a complete game.

The Mustangs, seeded eighth, lost to Esko on May 30 in the second round of the tournament but have eliminated International Falls, Pine City, Proctor and Rock Ridge to get back to the section final.

Lang and Carter Mavec had two hits apiece for Rock Ridge.

The Mustangs scored six times in the fourth inning to seal Proctor's fate.

Tanner Ross's sacrifice fly and a Nick Terhaar RBI double staked Ross to a 2-0 lead after an inning but the Mustangs strung together six hits, two walks and a hit batsman to take control of the game in the fourth, then added another run in the fifth.

Terhaar drove in a consolation run in the bottom of the second on an RBI groundout.

Blake Imhoff and Ian Gilles finished with three hits apiece for Proctor (14-10).

The Green Eagles suffered a painful end to their season in a WIAA Division 4 baseball sectional semifinal in Webster, Wisconsin.

In need of a run to extend their season in the top of the seventh inning, Northwood/Solon Springs got the first two runners on when Dylan Taggart wore a 1-1 pitch and Abe Ahlberg walked, but Jared Schultz lined to third base and Taggart was doubled off. Two walks, one intentional, loaded the bases but Isaiah Ahlberg hit a comebacker to the mound, who made the play to finish off the game.

The Green Eagles scored first, when Schultz's sacrifice fly scored Taggart in the first inning, but fell behind when the Castle Guards scored twice in the bottom of the fourth. Kaden Corlett tied it up on an RBI single in the next half-inning but Washburn took the lead again in the fifth frame after a pair of two-out singles.

Four Green Eagles had one single apiece. Schultz took the loss in relief, allowing one run on three hits in 1 2/3 innings. Taggart started and allowed two runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings.