State Tournament

The 2008 MSHSL state baseball tournament took place June 12-13 at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Siebert Field on the campus of the University of Minnesota, Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud, Chaska Athletic Park and Mini Met in Jordan. The tournament attracted thousands of fans and featured many memorable moments for players, coaches and spectators alike. Cardinals rule Class AAA After a surprising run to a title, Coon Rapids proved it's not how you start, but rather how you finish that matters most. The Cardinals finished the regular season with a losing record (9-11) and were awarded the ninth seed in the Section 5AAA tournament. That, however, didn't stop a determined Coon Rapids team from making a big splash at state. The Cardinals used some timely hitting to dispatch of Stillwater 5-2 in the opening round of the eight-team tournament and moved on to face a Grand Rapids team that had already knocked off a powerful Chaska team. Cody Beam not only was the winning pitcher - giving up four runs on eight hits and striking out three - but also provided the game-winning hit against Grand Rapids. Beam came up with the bases loaded and the game tied in the bottom of the seventh and promptly smashed a run-scoring single to center field for a dramatic walk-off win. Coon Rapids went on to top Bloomington Jefferson 6-1 in the championship game at Midway Stadium on June 13. Ryan Hable - who retired 10 Jaguars in a row at one point - tossed a four-hitter for the Cardinals to pick up the victory. Zack Sather collected two hits to lead Coon Rapids. The championship was the third alltime for Coon Rapids and the first in Class AAA. The Cardinals won state titles in 1980 and 1993, both in Class AA, and have made six state tournament appearances in school history. Longtime Coon Rapids coach Jerry Coe - in his 16th year - also skippered the Cardinals to their 1993 title. Coon Rapids finished with a record of 18-11 on the season after a remarkable 9-0 postseason run. Grand Rapids (26-3) overpowered St. Michael-Albertville 7-3 in the third-place game while Chaska (20-9) - considered one of the favorites coming into the tournament - won the consolation title by topping Rosemount 9-0. In what may have been the game of the year in Class AAA baseball, Grand Rapids knocked off Chaska 1-0 in the opening round at Midway Stadium behind a masterful pitching performance from Gabe Wood. Wood tossed a complete game three hitter to beat Chaska lefty Brad Hand. The Chaska senior - who was drafted in the second round of the MLB draft by the Florida Marlins in early June - struck out 10 Thunderhawk batters in a tough-luck loss. Hand - widely considered the top prep player in Minnesota this season - had indicated he was ready to forgo a scholarship to Arizona State University and begin his professional career this summer in the Marlins' minor league system. It took a village in Class AA For St. Anthony Village, making it to the Class AA championship game at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud was the hard part. From there, it was smooth sailing for the Section 4AA champs. The No. 1 ranked Huskies (29-2) topped Holy Family Catholic 6-3 in the opening round before clipping Thief River Falls/Goodridge 9-8 in the semifinals. The senior-dominated team of St. Anthony Village showed their experience as they battled back from an 8-2 deficient after four innings. The Huskies big bats started swinging in the fifth earning three runs with back-to-back homers coming in the sixth by Calvin Walker -a three run shot - and Chris Peterson. The Huskies went on to trounce Annandale 10-0 in the championship game. Peterson and Dan Zurbey combined for a two-hit shutout while Ryan Couillard led St. Anthony Village with three hits, two runs and two RBI. Winona Cotter (19-11) topped Thief River Falls/Goodridge 13-3 in six innings in the third-place game while Albany (22-7) outlasted Pipestone 4-3 in the consolation championship. Albany's Taylor Holthaus came through with an RBI in the bottom of the eighth inning to give his team the win over Pipestone (20-9). First Class A title for Wabasso Rabbits In 2007, Wabasso (25-6) left the Class A state baseball tournament after finishing in fourth place. The Rabbits were looking for more in 2008 and they got it after topping New Ulm Cathedral 6-4 in the quarterfinals and edging Hawley 8-7 in the semifinals to set up a showdown with Southland in the championship game. Johnny Pisulka worked a complete-game gem for the Rabbits while striking out six and allowing just two runs (one earned) to pick up the victory. Holden Salfer had a two-RBI single in the third inning to give Wabasso a 3-1 lead and the Rabbits never looked back. It was the first-ever state championship in baseball for the school. Hawley went on to beat Red Lake Falls 11-8 in slugfest to take third place. All-Tournament Teams Class AAA Rosemount Infield/Outfield Troy Hoeppner Chaska Pitcher/DH Brad Hand Chaska Catcher John Straka St. Michael-Albert. Third Base Bryton Carlson Grand Rapids Third Base Sam Sparen Grand Rapids First Base/DH Kyle Figgins Bloomington Jeff. Pitcher/Shortstop Matt Voldness Bloomington Jeff. Centerfield Matt Kruger Coon Rapids Pitcher/DH Cody Beam Coon Rapids Catcher Mike Latta Class AA Pipestone Shortstop Doug Mead Albany Pitcher Brad Mergen TRF/Goodridge First Base Spencer Johnson Winona Cotter Pitcher Thomas O'Brien Annandale Infield Tim Queck Annandale Pitcher Bert Marsnik St. Anthony Village Infield Dan Zurbey St. Anthony Village Outfield Calvin Walker St. Anthony Village Infield Nicho Roessler St. Anthony Village Infield Chris Peterson Class A New Ulm Cathedral Second Base Derek Wilfahrt New Ulm Cathedral Outfield/Pitcher Craig Fischer Hawley Catcher Matt Guida Hawley Third Base Joe Fillbrandt Southland Infield/Pitcher Brian Voigt Southland Infield/Pitcher Kody Retterath Wabasso Infield Christopher Eichten Wabasso Infield Jake Bierl Wabasso Pitcher/Outfield Johnny Pistulka Wabasso Infield Mike Wotschke