BOLD is still waiting to play its best baseball at state.
The Warriors trailed unseeded Sebeka through five innings in the opening round before a three-run homer by Riley Weis saved the day. A day later, top-seeded BOLD needed three runs in the final inning to beat fifth-seeded Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in extras.
Despite all that drama, the Warriors managed to advance. And they'll have one more chance to play their best game: in the Class A state championship.
"If we play as well as we can play, we're a tough team to beat," said BOLD head coach Brian Kingery. "These two games have allowed us to relax a little bit more because we know we can come back and beat good teams like KMS even though we commit five errors."
Awaiting the Warriors at Target Field will be second-seeded New York Mills, which has had an easier time at the state tournament with convincing wins over South Ridge (10-1) and Sacred Heart (5-1).
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After a rocky set of games, a point of emphasis is not letting the Target Field setting become overwhelming when the two teams hit the diamond at 10 a.m. Thursday.
"We're just trying to stay sharp mentally," Kingery said after practice Tuesday night. "We have to just remember that it's a baseball game. It's one we've played a thousand times. We just got to stay relaxed, have fun and stay in the moment."
In that moment, the Warriors will have a fundamentally sound Eagles squad to contend with. NYM junior Caden Roberts is slated to start after striking out seven with six hits and one walk allowed in 6-2/3 innings in the win over South Ridge. He is also 3-for-8 on offense over two state games with four runs and a pair of stolen bases. Other Eagles to watch out for are Dylan Fischer (3-for-6, two runs, two RBIs) and Derin Gaudette (2-for-6, one run, four RBIs).
"The big thing with New York Mills is they're not going to beat themselves," Kingery said. "They don't have the star power we have, but they don't have weak spots. They play good defense, put the ball in play and it's up to you to beat them. We have to hit the giant gaps at Target Field."
BOLD will counter Roberts with junior Jordan Sagedahl, who was wildly effective in the opening round with 11 strikeouts but four hits and five walks allowed over six innings.
"Jordan has lights-out stuff, he just has to control the strike zone," Kingery said. "If he gets ahead, he's going to be really, really tough. ... Jordan's more of a thrower than a pitcher. When he's calm, good things happen."
BOLD will look to win its first state championship since 2013 while New York Mills will try to win its first state championship after falling short in 2004 and 2014.
BOLD Warriors
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Coach: Brian Kingery
Record: 19-5
Runs/game: 7.6
Runs allowed/game: 2.8
QRF ranking: 1st
Record vs. QRF top 25: 8-0 (7-0 Class A; 1-0 Class AA)
The championship road
Section 2A championship: BOLD 3, Springfield 1
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Opening round: BOLD 4, Sebeka 2
Semifinals: BOLD 7, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 6 (8 inn.)
State playoff standouts
Jordan Sagedahl 3-7 hr r-2 rbi-4 sb / 1-0 6 IP 4 H, 11 SO, 5 BB
Riley Weis 2-5 hr r rbi-3 bb-2
Luke Ryan 3-8 r-3 rbi
Hayden Tersteeg 1-0, 1 SV, 3.2 IP, 4 H
New York Mills Eagles
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Coach: Dustin Geiser
Record: 21-4
Runs/Game: 5.9
Runs allowed/Game: 2.6
QRF ranking: 2nd
Record vs. QRF Top 25: 10-3 (9-2 Class A; 1-1 Class AA)
The championship road
Section 6A championship: New York Mills 2, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 0; NYM 7, BBE 2
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Opening round: New York Mills 10, South Ridge 1
Semifinals: New York Mills 5, Sacred Heart 1
State playoff standouts
Dylan Fischer 3-6 2b r-2 rbi-2
Caden Roberts 3-8 r-4 sb-2 / 1-0 6.2 IP, 6 H 7 SO, 1 BB
Derin Gaudette 2-6 2b r rbi-4 / 1-0 7 IP, 3 H, 6 SO, 3 BB
State baseball schedule
Thursday, June 20
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At Target Field
Class A championship: BOLD vs. New York Mills, 10 a.m.
Class AA championship: Minnehaha Academy vs. Duluth Marshall, 1 p.m.
Class AAA championship: Benilde-St. Margaret's vs. St. Thomas Academy, 4 p.m.
Class AAAA championship: East Ridge vs. New Prague, 7 p.m.
