Jul. 10—Pine Island has two ace pitchers, depth among its throwers, a guy who’s had a penchant for hitting walk-off home runs, and plenty of hitting — especially at the top of its lineup.
For all of those reasons, the Panthers find themselves seeded first in an American Legion baseball Southeast Sub-State West Division, Division II tournament that begins Monday.
It’s a seed that agrees with them.
“Being the top seed, I love it,” said Pine Island coach Alex Robideau, whose team is 11-5 overall. “We have some losses, but mostly against Class AAAA schools that we stuck with the entire time. We feel confident. Our guys stick with it. Even when they’re down, they always feel that they’re in it.”
Pine Island, like No. 2 seed and high school state champion Hayfield, has drawn a bye in the first round. On Wednesday, it will host the winner of No. 4 Adams and No. 5 Zumbrota. Hayfield hosts the winner of the game between the No. 3 Rochester Eagles and No. 6 Dodge Center winner, also Wednesday.
The top finishers in the West Division tournament take on the East Division’s top two on July 22-25 in St. Charles with a trip to state on the line. The top East seed is Plainview-Elgin-Millville. No. 2 is Caledonia and No. 3 Chatfield. P-E-M is the only team out of the East with a first-round bye.
Pine Island’s Robideau won’t be surprised if his team advances out of the West. He believes his Panthers have what it takes, though he’s particularly concerned about what Hayfield and the Eagles bring.
“Our pitching depth has been awesome,” said Robideau, whose top two starters are Kaleb Johnson and Nick Bauer, the latter a sophomore-to-be. “We’ve been able to have two to three really good starters as well as others who have come in from different positions on the field to pitch. All have pitched well.”
Johnson, a 2021 graduate, possesses a strong fastball that hits 84 mph, as well as a biting curve. Bauer throws in the mid-70s and has an often nasty curveball. Matt Horkey is another strong Pine Island pitcher and possesses the team’s lowest earned-run average, 2.70. Bauer’s is 3.00 and Johnson’s 4.20.
That guy with the flair for hitting dramatics is Cole Uhde. At least twice, Uhde has bombed pitches over the fence to abruptly end games. Despite Uhde’s ability to launch baseballs, Robideau wants his team to keep it simple at playoff time. Good, sound baseball, he believes, is what allows teams to advance.
“We have to make sure to put the ball in play,” he said. “We don’t need home runs. We have some speedy guys and good baserunners. If we can stay in games, we have a great chance.”
Hayfield seeks another title
Neither Hayfield nor the Eagles have played many games this summer, partly due to the late start brought on by the high school season’s late finish.
Hayfield is 6-3, the Eagles just 4-2.
Hayfield won’t have its biggest star from its unbeaten and state championship high school season, Easton Fritcher. Fritcher is playing at a variety of high-profile camps around the country this summer. Still, Hayfield has some excellent players it will run out there, led by pitchers Joey Tempel and Nolan Klocke.
Hayfield coach Kasey Krekling is relieved that his team has a first-round bye.
“That sure helps us, in terms of our pitching (depth),” Krekling said.
The Eagles are also missing key players from their spring high school team, which advanced to the Section 1AA finals. That hasn’t stopped them from playing good baseball, though.
“We have a very solid team right now,” Eagles coach Troy Jurgenson said. “The kids are playing well together, and we are getting some great senior leadership.”
The Eagles have strong hitters, led by Sam Stanley, Nolan Jurgenson, Alex Rudquist and Julio Roman. Rudquist, Jack Jakub and Carter Wenzel are the top pitchers.
P-E-M a clear No. 1
Plainview-Elgin-Millville drawing the top seed in the East was an easy choice. P-E-M is 8-0 and coming off a 10-run rule win over Pine Island and a 7-6 comeback win over No. 2 East seed Caledonia.
The Bulldogs team which finished fourth in this spring’s Class AA state high school tournament returned intact for the Legion season. Led by Luke Stevens, Matthew Keller, Conner Schumacher, Brock Martinez and Jason Feils, P-E-M is a handful. All five of those guys were named to this spring’s all-Three Rivers Conference and all-Section One teams.
Schumacher is the team’s top pitcher.
SOUTHEAST SUB-STATE WEST DIVISION
MONDAY, JULY 12
First round
Game 2: No. 5 Zumbrota at No. 4 Adams
Game 4: No. 6 Dodge Center at No. 3 Eagles
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14
Semifinals
Game 7: Game 2 winner at No. 1 Pine Island
Game 8: Game 4 winner at No. 2 Hayfield
FRIDAY, JULY 16
Losers bracket
at higher seed
Game 9: Game 8 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Game 10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 4 loser
SATURDAY, JULY 17
Final
at Pine Island
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 10 a.m. (winner advances to Southeast District tournament)
Losers bracket
at Pine Island
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 12:30 p.m.
Losers-bracket final
at Pine Island
Game 13: Game 11 loser vs. Game 12 winner, 3 p.m. (winner advances to Southeast District tournament)
SOUTHEAST SUB-STATE EAST DIVISION
MONDAY, JULY 12
First round
Game 2: No. 5 Lewiston vs. No. 4 La Crescent
Game 3: No. 7 Dover-Eyota at No. 2 Caledonia
Game 4: No. 6 St. Charles at No. 3 Chatfield
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14
Semifinals
at higher seed
Game 7: Game 2 winner vs No. 1 Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
Losers bracket
Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser
FRIDAY, JULY 16
Losers bracket
at higher seed
Game 9: Game 8 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Game 10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 6 winner
SATURDAY, JULY 17
Final
at La Crescent
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 10 a.m. (winner advances to Southeast District tournament)
Losers bracket
at La Crescent
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 12:30 p.m.
Losers-bracket final
at La Crescent
Game 13: Game 11 loser vs. Game 12 winner, 3 p.m. (winner advances to Southeast District tournament)
SOUTHEAST DISTRICT
(All games at St. Charles)
THURSDAY, JULY 22
Semifinals
Game 1: East champion vs. West runner-up, 5 p.m.
Game 2: West champion vs. East runner-up, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, JULY 24
Winners-bracket final
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 10 a. m.
Losers bracket
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 12:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 3 p.m.
SUNDAY, JULY 25
Final
(Two games if necessary)
Game 6: Game 6 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m. (winner advances to state American Legion tournament, July 30-Aug. 1 at Sacred Heart)