Baseball state tournament: Class 4A quarterfinals

Nick Spitt drove a two-out, two-run single to left in the top of the 13th inning to score pinch-runner Rob Frederick from second and lift Lake-ville North to a 2-1 victory over Maple Grove in a Class 4A quarterfinal on Thursday at CHS Field. The game took 3 hours, 13 minutes to complete.

"It's the biggest hit I've ever had,'' Spitt said. "At first base, the coach was trying to say something to me, but I was so excited, it just went in one ear and out the other."

Maple Grove took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second but struggled at the plate after that. Lakeville North tied it on Nick Juaire's home run in the sixth.

The Crimson had a terrific chance to win the game with two on in the bottom of the 10th, but Isaac Collins' sharp grounder up the middle glanced off pitcher Luke DeGrammont's leg. He picked it up and threw out Collins in a close play to end the inning.

"That's a bruise I'll want to keep forever," said DeGrammont, who excelled in relief of Billy Riach, who was equally fabulous in his starting role. Riach went 7⅓ innings, gave up one run and struck out seven. DeGrammont followed with 5 ⅓ innings, givingup three hits and striking out nine.

Wayzata 10, Eden Prairie 5: When he woke up Saturday morning, even before Wayzata knew where it would be seeded in the Class 4A baseball tournament, Jake Marsh knew who the Trojans would play. It had to be Eden Prairie.

"We've played each other so many times, probably 40 times over the last eight years," said Marsh, a senior catcher and relief pitcher. "I just knew we'd play Eden Prairie."

The Trojans (21-3) got their wish, defeating their Lake Conference rivals for the third time this season.

"It always feels good to beat Eden Prairie, but I think it's even more enjoyable to beat them here," senior center fielder Cam Keenan said.

The Trojans put together back-to-back four-run innings in the third and fourth and led 9-0. Eden Prairie (18-10) bounced back in the fifth, chasing Trojans ace lefthander Tom Skoro with five runs. That was all the Eagles could muster.

"I think I let myself go a little bit," said Skoro. "But it was great to have those guys to have my back."

Woodbury 7, Burnsville 0: After sitting and waiting nearly two extra hours for his team to take the field, Woodbury coach Kevin McDermott admitted he was concerned about how his team would respond.

Then Max Meyer went out, threw a few pitches, and McDermott relaxed. His ace was on. His team was fine.

Meyer, a junior righthander, pitched 6⅓ innings of one-hit ball and struck out seven as Woodbury routed mistake-prone Burnsville. He retired the first 11 batters and didn't issue a walk, facing two batters over the minimum in his stint.

"We had to wait two hours [for the previous game to end] and I was really concerned," McDermott said. "But Max has been our guy all year."

Meyer said, "When I started hitting the slider in the low zone, and the ump was calling it, I knew I could keep repeating that same pitch. That was one of my best games this season."

Champlin Park 6, Blaine 2: Champlin Park scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and made it stand up, holding off its Northwest Suburban Conference rival.

The Rebels (23-3) looked comfortable in their third consecutive game at CHS Field, where they won the Section 5 title. The first four Rebels reached on base hits and scored.

In the fifth inning Blaine (14-12) cut the Rebels' lead to 4-2, but the Rebels answered with two in their half.

For Champlin Park, pitcher Cole Albers gave up two runs and nine hits in seven innings and center fielder Riley Johnson went 3-for-4 and scored twice.