Coon Rapids, St. Anthony win State titles

Coon Rapids and St. Anthony claimed their respective State Class AAA and AA baseball championships on Friday night. The Cardinals defeated Bloomington Jefferson, 6-1, at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, while the Huskies shutout Annandale, 10-0, at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. Wabasso earned the Class A championship with a 5-2 win versus Southland at the Mini Met in Jordan. It was the third State championship for Coon Rapids (18-11), who also won titles in 1980 and 1993. The Cardinals never trailed the Jaguars (19-11), taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Cody Beam singled home Devin Croal. The eventual champions built their advantage to 3-0 in the third and doubled that disparity by the sixth before Jefferson — making just their third tourney appearance — scored its lone tally with two out in the top of the seventh. Winning pitcher Ryan Hable retired the final batter, putting his finishing touches on a complete game four-hitter. Seventy-five miles away, St. Anthony Village was jumping all over Annandale en route to its second State title in three years. The Huskies recorded all the tallies they would need with a three-run first inning, with Dan Zurbey singling home shortstop Ryan Couillard, who led off the game with a double, for the game-winning run just moments into the contest. Zurbey would himself score on a two-run home run by starting pitcher Chris Peterson, who would earn the win with three innings of four-strikeout, one-hit ball before being relieved by Zurbey, who finished off the matchup by notching the same pitching line as his teammate. The Huskies had 12 hits in all, compared to two for their title-game rivals. Couillard earning three hits, two runs and two RBI, with Peterson, Zurbey, and centerfielder Steve Grewe each garnering two hits for the champions.