Panthers baseball on the prowl to State

Don't look now, but South Ridge is fast becoming a top local school during the spring sports season. After the softball team made the state tournament for the first time in school history a week ago, the baseball team is making its second straight state appearance this week.

The Panthers won the Section 7A title last week under coach Tyler Olin with a pair of wins over the Ely Timberwolves.

"It wasn't easy this time around," said Olin this week. "Ely was tough and there were several solid teams and players in the section."

In a game that started Tuesday and finished Wednesday after storms rolled through, the Panthers picked up an impressive 12-1 win over Carlton at Wade Stadium. Carlton and South Ridge were the two undefeated teams left in the tournament up to that point.

"We gave up a couple of runs in the first and then Ryan Gray, our pitcher, got rolling, retiring the side in the second and third," said Carlton coach Ryan Schmidt. "Our lead-off hitter got a single to start the third and we felt like we were getting a little momentum - then the lightning came. When we came back to the park on Wednesday, we just didn't hit or play very well on defense. South Ridge played well. You can't have sleepy bats and make mistakes against a good team like that."

Riley Kinsley picked up the pitching win for the Panthers over Carlton by going five innings on the mound and allowing only one run that was unearned while striking out five Bulldogs. Ryan Gray gave up just one run in his three innings for the Bulldogs.

The Panthers offered up plenty of firepower in taking the win. Mason Lane was two-for-three with four RBIs and a run scored. Matt Clark had an RBI and was two-for-four while scoring a run. Logan Young knocked in three runs and Kinsley added two RBIs to his line score for the game.

By virtue of the win, the Panthers stayed undefeated and moved into the championship game while awaiting the winner of Ely and Carlton in an elimination game that saw the Timberwolves clip the Bulldogs 3-0.

"Against Ely we made a few mistakes and we just didn't hit," said Schmidt. "Kristian Herman pitched well enough to win the game, but if you don't score you don't win."

After beating the Bulldogs, the Timberwolves had the unenviable task of needing to knock off the Panthers twice to make the state tournament. They threw a scare into South Ridge by winning Game 1, but the Panthers bounced back to win the final game and secured their second Section 7A title in as many years.

In the first game of the finals, the Panthers struggled early to put the bat on the ball and eventually fell to the Timberwolves 9-8.

"We hit a few balls hard at players and Ely made a few plays against us," said coach Olin. "We've hit very well this year, but that doesn't mean hitting is easy. It just took a couple of innings for us to find some holes."

After falling behind 9-2, the Panthers started to chip away as the game wore on, but just couldn't get over the hump, so to speak, in taking the one-run loss.

"I was proud of the way we battled back and didn't give in knowing we had that second game to fall back on," Olin said. "I think it was big that Ely had to use pitching to finish that first game instead of saving a guy for Game 2 and that eventually made a difference."

Bryce Longwell threw a solid four innings for the Timberwolves, giving up three runs and five hits. For South Ridge it was Elias Tuominen registering a four-hit game with an RBI. Matt Clark also had a pair of hits, three RBIs and he scored a pair of runs.

The 9-8 loss set up the final game of the tournament at Wade Stadium. Win and in, or lose and go home. Enter Panthers junior pitcher Mason Lane, who gave up only two hits while striking out nine as South Ridge eliminated the Timberwolves 9-0 in Game 2.

"Mason threw very well for us and he's been solid all year," said Olin. "He's thrown a lot of big games for us this year and even back into our state tournament run last year, so I think he's becoming more and more comfortable with these big moments and he's done great."

While the Panthers knocked out only six hits, they were productive hits - allowing them to score nine runs in the shutout victory. Lane went seven innings and pitched two-hit ball that culminated in a second trip to the state tournament in two years.

"I would say I've been most impressed with our hitting and our lineup one through nine," Olin said. "It's something we've focused on a lot this year and it's been fun to watch our guys at the plate."

Olin is not overstating the hitting statistics. Currently the Panthers are leading all Class A teams in Minnesota by averaging almost 11 runs per game.

Lane aided his own cause at the plate with a two-hit night and a pair of RBIs and a run scored. Jaxson Bennett had a hit, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Now the Panthers set their sights on the Minnesota State Class A Baseball Tournament which starts Thursday at the Mini Met in Jordan, Minn. after this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press. South Ridge will open play at 3 p.m. against No. 2 seeded New York Mills. The Panthers are 20-6 on the season while New York Mills is 19-4.