Northfield, Chanhassen, Lakeville North win in Class 3A

Northfield coach Peter Maus knew that his Raiders might experience some first-time jitters before their Class 3A quarterfinals game against two-time defending champion Mounds View.

So he embraced it, let them be nervous. For about a half-hour. After that, Maus said, it was time to get down to business. "We got here at about 9 a.m.," Maus said. "I told them they had until 9:30 to walk around and be in awe. Then it was time to take batting practice."

Their pregame butterflies soothed, Northfield went out and played with calm efficiency, holding off Mounds View 3-2. Sophomore pitcher Hunter Koep flummoxed the Mustangs for 6⅓ innings, then gave way to reliever Colin Sheply when Mounds View caught on. Koep, who was a JV pitcher at the start of the season, gave up two earned runs, both in the bottom of the seventh, and scattered six hits to earn the victory.

Maus said he had no qualms about starting a sophomore in the first state tournament game in the program's history. In fact, he may have faced bigger problems if he hadn't.

"He's been our guy since midway through the season," Maus said. "I'd have had a mutiny on our hands if I started someone else. Hunter is a cool customer."

Northfield (21-4) broke out on top with two runs in the top of the fourth off Mounds View starter Henry DeCaster. Thomas Meland tripled and scored on a single by Caleb Melak. Melak scored later on a Mounds View error. They added an important run one inning later on Melak's RBI-double.

Mounds View (22-3) finally solved Koep in the bottom of the seventh with two runs, but Shepley ended the threat.

"I said, 'We've scored 200 runs this year. Do we think we can score one?' " Pettersen joked.

They did, two innings later, to defeat the Knights (21-7). Cole Kirchoff stroked a fly ball to left, allowing Jared Davidson to score from third base. Davidson had led off the bottom of the ninth with a double off the glove of a diving Tyler Hoselton, who had already robbed the Storm (24-4) of at least two hits in center field.

"We crushed the ball all game, but it wasn't falling," Davidson said. "When I hit it, everything was just a blur. I didn't know what was happening until I heard the fans cheering."

He went to third on a fly ball by Cullen McNeill and scored on Kirchoff's first-pitch fly ball.

"That last 90 feet felt like a triple," Davidson said. "It seemed like it took a long time."

Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Rhodus fielded a single and threw a dart to home plate, nailing Anoka's Bowen Olson at home to preserve the shutout. He celebrated with some enthusiastic chest-thumping.

With one out in the next inning, Rhodus doubled to the wall in right center. He stood at second base, grinning broadly and pumping his fist. He came around to score the second run on a double by Nick Juaire.

"I'm an energy guy," Rhodus said. "The team looks to me for a spark. I haven't had the greatest season, but I'm always trying to get the team excited if we need it."

"Kyle's a spark for us," said pitcher Billy Riach, who was the model of efficiency, pitching six shutout innings, giving up seven hits, on just 74 pitches. "He gets us going."

Armstrong 2, Mahtomedi 1: Mahtomedi's 6-11 Sean Hjelle, a Kentucky recruit, was the more heralded pitcher, but lefthander Jordan Kuznia of the Falcons (17-9) outdueled him, giving up just four hits and one first-inning run.

Matthew Bachmeier's RBI single scored Armstrong's go-ahead run in the sixth inning.

"The story tonight was Kuznia," Mahtomedi coach John Hardgrove said. "He moved the ball around and controlled the zone. We couldn't do much."