East Ridge to play New Prague in Class 4A baseball title game

Stillwater sent dominant starter Will Frisch to the mound in the Class 4A baseball semifinals. To score runs off the cannon-armed pitcher, the Raptors needed a few breaks to go their way.

They got more than a few, taking advantage of multiple Stillwater miscues en route to a 6-5, eight-inning victory over the 2018 state champs on Saturday at CHS Field.

East Ridge managed just four hits but was the beneficiary of five hit batsmen, four errors, three walks, two wild pitches and two throwing errors by Stillwater pitchers that allowed runs to score.

"When you play a team that has a guy like [Frisch] on the mound, it's whoever makes the fewest mistakes," East Ridge coach Brian Sprout said. "That's your winner of the baseball game."

East Ridge (20-6), seeded No. 5, got its initial break in its first at-bat. Frisch walked the first two batters of the game. Roman Newinski drove in one of them with a single and other scored on a wild pitch.

Taking a quick 2-0 lead shot the Raptors' confidence "through the roof," Newinski said. "I couldn't believe I actually got a hit off him."

Sprout called it "maybe the defining factor of the game. If it had been 1-2-3 … it would have changed the whole demeanor of the game."

The Ponies, down to their final at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, tied the score 4-4 thanks to a leadoff double by Jonathan Koehn, who scored on a fielder's choice.

East Ridge took the lead again on two runs in the top of the eighth, both on Stillwater errors. North scored when the Stillwater catcher dropped the ball on a play at the plate. Joe Trollen scored on an errant throw by a Ponies' reliever.

Stillwater (23-3) scored once in the bottom of the eighth and had two runners on base when Frisch's long fly to center field was hauled in on the warning track by Trollen to secure the victory.

"We kept battling back and battling back and showing resilience, that's what's hard," Stillwater coach Mike Parker said. "We took a loss at the wrong time of the season."

New Prague 12, Rogers 7: There's been no sign of nerves on the New Prague bench, despite not having reached the state tournament in 39 years. No doubt in the backs of their minds, and certainly no quit.

Joe Weiers went 4-for-4, giving him seven hits in two state tournament games. Collin Dorzinski had three hits, drove in three runs and electrified fans with his speed when he scored from first base on a single in the fifth inning. The entire New Prague team looked completely comfortable in a state tournament environment that can often trigger butterflies.

"It's amazing what these guys can do," New Prague coach Tanner Oakes said. "I don't know what the overall theme is, but they've been awesome."

Dorzinski and Weiers have a good idea about what's been driving the Trojans.

"We're just small-town boys with a dream," Dorzinski said.

"Like Collin said, small-town boys with a dream. That's what we've been saying since the first game of the section tournament," Weiers said. "We've shown we can win in all different ways."

The Trojans took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, only to see Rogers get two in the bottom of the inning.

No problem. They scored two runs in their next at-bat to retake the lead. The Trojans built that lead to 8-2 in the top of the sixth, but Rogers answered with five runs in the bottom of the inning, cutting the lead to 8-7.

New Prague countered with four runs in the top of the seventh, sapping any momentum Rogers had gained.