Michael DiNardo was the hero in Minnehaha Academy's 2-1 victory over St. Paul Johnson in the Class 2A, Section 4 baseball title game Thursday at the University of Northwestern.
In the top of the seventh, the Redhawks trailed the Governors 1-0. DiNardo worked the count full with the bases loaded and two outs before the junior drove the ball to left field for a two-run single and the lead.
This will be the fifth consecutive trip to the state tournament for Minnehaha, winners of the Class 2A title in 2016 and 2017.
Class 4A, Section 8: Rogers beat Buffalo 6-3 in Cold Spring to clinch its first trip to the state tournament. The Royals took control of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Christian Meyer and Gavin McLaughlin hit RBI singles to produce a 3-1 lead. Then Carter VanEngen knocked in two more runs on a single. Rogers was the seventh seed after finishing 7-13 in the regular season.
Class 3A, Section 4: Benilde-St. Margaret's clinched its third trip to the state tournament after shutting out Willmar 7-0. It last reached state in 2016.
Class 3A, Section 2: Marshall's 6-2 victory over Hutchinson forced a second championship game in the double-elimination section playoffs. The two teams will meet again Friday at 1 p.m. at New Ulm's Johnson/Mueller Park for a state title berth. Marshall scored four runs in the top of the first after batting ten in the inning.
Class 2A, Section 5: Host Glencoe-Silver Lake scored in every inning on its way to a 12-2 victory over Holy Family for the section championship. This will be the Panthers' sixth trip to state and first since 2015.
staff reports
