A team of high school baseball players from New Prague defeated St. Michael/Albertville/Orono 4-2 on Sunday to win the Senior Class Salute Tournament at CHS Field.
The victory capped a two-week event, created by area baseball coaches with the St. Paul Saints, to give recent Minnesota high school graduates an opportunity to compete after losing the 2020 high school season to the coronavirus pandemic.
With only recently graduated seniors eligible, many schools combined to field 24 participating teams. All teams competed in six groups of four during pool play, playing a minimum of three games. The six group winners and two wild-card teams advanced to the championship bracket.
New Prague, one of the wild cards, defeated Chaska/Chanhassen/Eden Prairie 5-0 in a quarterfinal game on Friday and advanced to the finals with a 7-0 victory over Tomahawk Conference Schools on Saturday.
The Tomahawk Conference team, representing schools in south-central Minnesota, claimed third place with a 9-8 victory over Totino-Grace.
Most games were played at the Saints' CHS Field.
PAUL KLAUDA
Saints win in 12th
The St. Paul Saints scored four runs in the 12th inning and defeated Winnipeg 5-1 Sunday in Fargo, N.D.
Three singles by the Saints and two defensive mistakes by the Goldeyes led to the 12th-inning runs.
Saints starter Matt Solter gave up one run on five hits in seven innings.
Next, the Saints return to St. Paul for their first game of the season at CHS Field, Tuesday against Fargo-Moorhead.
