Minnehaha Academy baseball steps up to state tournament

While standing with a reporter after his team's victory in the Class 2A, Section 4 championship game, Minnehaha Academy baseball coach Scott Glenn was doused with water from a 10-gallon Gatorade jug.

Glenn was initially upset his phone might have been damaged. But when he realized it wasn't, the coach soaked in the moment: Glenn and his team were headed to the state tournament.

"We have a big group of seniors this year and they set the goal very early that we wanted to get back to state," Glenn said. "We were there two years ago. We've worked really hard and have had a great season and our goal came true. Hopefully we can keep going."

The Redhawks (24-1) begin state tournament play against Providence Academy (17-5) on Thursday at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud.

"To get the state tournament berth, it means a lot," Redhawks junior pitcher/infielder Alex Fedje-Johnson said.

Despite only one loss this season, it's been a wild ride for Minnehaha. During the regular season, the Redhawks won three games by one run and four games by two.

At Breck on April 27, the Redhawks scored nine runs in the second inning to take a 9-1 lead, and scored four runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 13-3. In seven innings they had 15 hits (seven doubles) and won 13-8.

"We always found different ways to win, which was fun," Glenn said. "We always had different people stepping up, somebody else pitching, and someone else coming up with the big hit."

The section championship game — a 5-3 win over Blake on June 4 — was no different. Fedje-Johnson went 6⅔ innings, but allowed runners to reach first and second in the seventh. The junior gave way to Jesse Retzlaff, who induced a fly out to end the game.

After the victory (and before state tournament matchups were announced), Glenn said he wasn't sure who would pitch for the Redhawks in the opening game. He did say he has four viable options.

This season, Minnehaha pitchers combined for a 1.54 ERA and 192 strikeouts. Fedje-Johnson posted a 4-0 record with a 1.26 ERA, while Retzlaff went 8-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 61 strikeouts. Thomas Shogren went 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA, and Matthew Ganter went 6-0 with a 1.03 ERA.

Offensively, the team combined for a .362 batting average, while winning games of 10-2, 18-3, 12-4 and 17-4. The Redhawks also had games with 23, 17 and 16 hits.

"We're obviously feeling pretty good about ourselves," Glenn said. "We feel like we can compete with anybody, so we're going to be very excited. Hopefully we can get our school its first state tournament victory."

By chance, the team's one loss this season came at Dick Putz Field, against undefeated St. Cloud Cathedral 7-2. Redhawks pitchers allowed just five hits that day, but surrendered six walks.

If the Redhawks advance to the state championship game on Saturday at Target Field, they may once again face Cathedral.

Said Glenn, "That'd be a fun way to end the year."

Josh Hyber • 612-673-1724