May 29—BEMIDJI — The Bemidji High School baseball team has a chance to play two home games in pursuit of a section championship this spring. The Lumberjacks earned the No. 2 seed with the reveal of the Section 8-3A Tournament field on Saturday.
BHS will host Alexandria at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 1, at the BSU baseball field for a first-round game. Previously, Bemidji swept the Cardinals 5-2 and 10-0 at home on May 4, which included a five-inning perfect game from Isaiah Biehn in the nightcap.
The rematch’s winner advances to play either third-seeded Detroit Lakes or fourth-seeded Rocori at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 3, at the high seed.
No. 1 Sartell-St. Stephen faces No. 6 Little Falls in the final first-round matchup.
With just six teams in the field, the bracket format is more complex than a prototypical double-elimination tournament. The loser of Bemidji’s game will play the loser of the Sartell-Little Falls game — like normal — but the loser of the Detroit Lakes-Rocori game plays the winner of the Sartell-Little Falls game.
As far as elimination goes, two losses drops a team out of the tournament, even if both of those losses happen outside of the elimination bracket.
View the bracket below for a more visual look at the structure.
After the opening two rounds of the tournament at the high seeds, the final two rounds will be played at St. John’s in Collegeville on June 8 and 10.
The Lumberjacks enter the postseason with a 14-6 record. The Cardinals are 12-8 and have won seven of their past eight games.