SECTION 3A TOURNAMENT

The No. 1 Dawson-Boyd, No. 1 Murray County Central and No. 2 Yellow Medicine East baseball teams are all one win away from reaching the Section 3A tournament semifinals after each picking up a pair of wins on Saturday in the section first and second rounds.

MCC eliminated No. 8 Wabasso in the first round 4-3 before defeating No. 4 Minneota 8-3 in the second, while YME grabbed a 9-2 victory over No. 7 Lakeview, then 4-3 against third-seeded MACCRAY with a seventh-inning walk-off with a Braden Nelson RBI single.

The Blackjacks took down No. 8 Renville County West 10-0 in the first round in six innings, and picked up a 7-2 win over fourth-seed Lac qui Parle Valley.

MCC and YME will face each other today at 5 p.m. at Yankee Field in Milroy for the semifinal spot, while Dawson-Boyd will face the winner of No. 3 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and No. 2 Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian at 7 p.m.

RTR defeated No. 6 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in the first round after playing five extra innings with a Brayden Chandler RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning to send the Knights to the subsection semifinals to face E/SWC.

The RTR and E/SWC game was suspended in the fourth inning Saturday evening due to lack of daylight, and will resume today at 3:30 p.m. at Milroy’s Irish Yard in the top of the fourth with the Knights down 3-2. The winner will meet the Blackjacks at 7 p.m. at Yankee Field.

The loser of each game will drop to the elimination bracket and will compete to stay in championship game contention.

No. 1 Dawson-Boyd 10,

No. 8 RCW 0 (6 inn.)

DAWSON — The top-seeded Dawson-Boyd baseball team jumped right to action in the Section 3A first round with a six-inning shutout 10-0 win over No. 8 Renville County West Saturday afternoon behind a four-run first inning start.

The Blackjacks brought in another three runs in both the fourth and sixth innings to end the game an inning early, with consistent hitting efforts and a strong pitching performance from Tygan Long.

Long was credited with the win after throwing nine strikeouts with allowing two walks and two hits.

RCW finished with five errors, while the Blackjacks recorded nine hits and one error.

Kameron Sather had the game’s biggest hit with a triple on a fly ball to right field in the fourth inning.

Colten Bothun and Collin Olson each had a double on the day as well.

Olson, Bothun and Beau Johnson all shared a team-high two hits, while Olson and Johnson led with a pair of RBIs as well.

Dawson-Boyd ended the game with Johnson scoring off an Olson fly ball to center field, who initially got on base with a single to center field.

No. 1 Dawson-Boyd 7,

No. 4 LQPV 2

DAWSON — In a high-hitting game in the Section 3A second round, top-seeded Dawson-Boyd capitalized off No. 4 Lac qui Parle Valley’s errors to earn a 7-2 win Saturday afternoon with a five-run third inning.

The Eagles committed four errors with five hits, while the Blackjacks recorded no errors and seven hits.

LQPV held a 2-1 lead after the first inning and kept Dawson-Boyd scoreless in the second, but the Blackjacks embarked for five in the bottom of the third to take a 6-2 edge before scoring one more on the fifth.

Nathan Hansen pitched all seven innings, and finished with six strikeouts and four walks with two earned runs.

Offensively, Grayson Olson led Dawson-Boyd with two hits, while Tygan Long, Hansen and Collin Olson all had one RBI.

The third-inning rally was sparked with a Collin sacrifice ground out to run in Long from third base, who was initially wlaked.

Holland Schacherer reached base off an LQPV fielding error with a single ground ball for another run, and Kameron Sather also reached base off an error to score another two runs.

Dawson-Boyd (16-2) will next face the winner of No. 3 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and No. 2 Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian today 7 p.m. at Milroy’s Yankee Field with a spot in the section semifinal on the line.

No. 4 LQPV 6,

No. 5 Canby 3

DAWSON — The No. 5 Canby baseball team came up short in a 6-3 loss to fourth-seeded Lac qui Parle Valley in the Section 3A first round Saturday afternoon, ending the Lancers’ season.

Canby put up a fight and briefly held a 3-2 lead after the top of the second inning, yet the Eagles pulled away with the help of a three-run third inning while holding Canby scoreless for four straight innings to seal the win. The Lancers scored a final run in the seventh inning, but LQPV pitched three strikeouts to halt Canby from getting more momentum going.

Will Abrahamson, Jaxon Groenhoff, Ty Rangaard and Cody Stoll accounted for the four Lancers’ runs, and Abrahamson led the team going 2 for 3 at the plate.

Cash Antony and Jace Sigler each had one RBI as well.

Rangaard pitched the entire game for Canby, and finished with four strikeouts and two walks.

LQPV was aggressive offensively with nine hits and no errors, to Canby’s three hits and two errors.

Canby ends its season 5-9 overall, and graduates seniors Eli Greenman, Groenhoff, Cooper Pesek and Bryant Hansen.

No. 2 YME 9,

No. 7 Lakeview 2

GRANITE FALLS — Gunnar Fagen had a strong offensive performance in No. 2 Yellow Medicine East’s 9-2 win over No. 7 Lakeview in the Section 3A first round Saturday afternoon going 4 for 4 at the plate with a team-high three RBIs.

Fagen also led the Sting with four runs, and hit a double in the sixth inning on a fly ball.

Following Fagen, Drew Monson and Jacob Peterson also had a pair of hits.

YME finished with 12 hits and two errors, while Lakeview had nine hits and two errors.

The Sting brought in a trio of runs in each the first and fifth inning to help build their lead, and the Lakers scored its two runs in the top of the third inning from Kyler Post and Braylon Breyfogle.

Logan Herrick also had a good day at the plate, leading Lakeview with three hits off his three at-bat appearances and a two-run RBI. Post and Breyfogle followed with two hits apiece.

For YME, Eric Jimenez pitched the first four innings for four strikeouts, one walk and seven hits, and Braden Nelson finished the final three innings with another four strikeouts, one walk and two hits.

Post started on the mound for Lakeview for the first two innings, and finished with three strikeouts and four hits.

Breyfogle went in as relief for 3 1/3 innings, and threw for one strikeout, three walks and seven hits.

Lakeview finishes its season 0-15, and graduates Dylan Caron, Post, Dakota Cowell and Jace Danielson.

No. 2 YME 4,

No. 3 MACCRAY 3

GRANITE FALLS — Facing a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning in the Section 3A subsection semifinals, No. 2 Yellow Medicine East’s Braden Nelson hit a single fly ball to center field to send home Kian Christianson for a 4-3 walk-off victory against No. 3 MACCRAY Saturday afternoon.

In YME’s final at-bat, Christianson hit an infield single to reach base, and advanced to third base off a Drew Monson single line drive to left field, putting him in scoring position at Nelson stepped up to the plate to deliver his hit.

The game was scoreless the first four innings until MACCRAY brought in a run in the top of the fourth inning, and YME responded in the bottom with two runs.

The Wolverines returned the favor with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, as did the Sting with one more to lock the game up 3-3 heading into the final frame.

Nelson led the Sting’s offense going 3 for 5 at the plate, and Eric Jimenez followed with two hits.

Gunnar Fagen pitched nearly the entire game for six innings, and threw seven strikeouts and three walks while allowing six hits and three earned runs.

Nelson stepped in for the final innings, and finished with one strikeout.

MACCRAY finished with two errors to its six runs, while YME tallied 10 hits and one error.

YME (11-5) will next face No. 1 Murray County Central (16-1) today at 5 p.m. at Yankee Field in Milroy for a section semifinal spot.

No. 1 MCC 4,

No. 8 Wabasso 3

SLAYTON — In an early-scoring game that didn’t see a run in the final four innings, the No. 8 Wabasso baseball team came close to upsetting the first-overall seed, but No. 1 Murray County Central prevailed defensively for a 4-3 Section 3A first round win Saturday afternoon.

Both teams scored a run in the first inning and went scoreless in the second, yet the Rabbits brought in two in the top of the third to take a 3-1 lead from Jayden Remiger and Caden Frericks off a Zach Skoblik and Jaxson Wagner RBI singles respectively.

But, MCC took the lead, and ultimately the final score, in a quick response in the bottom of the third with three runs.

Teague Meyer, Dugan Kluis and Gabe Tentinger accounted for the three runs, all off RBIs.

A Cayden Veldhuisen single line drive to right field scored Tentinger from third base for the winning run.

MCC finished the game with nine hits and two errors, to Wabasso’s eight hits and no errors.

Meyer and Veldhuisen led the Rebels with two hits each, while Meyer had a team-high two runs.

For Wabasso, Frericks had a team-best two hits.

Kluis pitched for 4 2/3 innings for MCC, after relieving Kluis in the third inning, and threw a game-high 10 strikeouts with one walk.

Wabasso finishes its season 5-13 overall.

No. 4 Minneota 3

SLAYTON — After a competitive start in the Section 3A subsection semifinals that didn’t see a run until the fourth inning, No. 1 Murray County Central came out on top with an 8-3 win over No. 4 Minneota Saturday afternoon with runs in each of the fourth, sixth and sixth innings.

The loss drops Minneota to the elimination bracket, who can still compete for a spot in the section title game.

The Vikings first defeated No. 5 Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove 4-3 in the section first round prior to facing MCC, ending the Falcons’ season 11-5 overall.

All of Minneota’s three runs came in the top of the sixth inning, but despite the late push, the Rebels themselves scored three in each the fifth and sixth innings after two in the fourth to hold its cushioned lead.

Both teams tallied five hits, while the Vikings finished with two errors to MCC’s one.

For Minneota, Ryan Meagher, Eli Gruenes, Carson Javers, Kyson Arndt and Kellen Bradley each had one hit, while Javers led with a pair of RBIs. Javers hit was a double, the team’s biggest hit of the game.

Brody Larson pitched for five innings, and finished with six strikeouts and five walks, allowing three hits and six earned runs.

Bradley relieved for the final innings, throwing one walk with two hits and one earned run.

For MCC, Teague Meyer led offensively with a double as well and went 2 for 3 at the plate. Cayden Veldhuisen followed also with going 2 for 3, and two RBIs. Carter Hanson had a team-high three RBIs.

Dylan Kluis earned the win in the circle, pitching 4 2/3 innings and finishing with six strikeouts, one walk and one hit.

Meyer threw the final two innings for two strikeouts, four hits and three earned runs.

Minneota (13-8) will face the loser of No. 3 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and No. 2 Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian today at 5 p.m. at the Irish Yard in Milroy.

MCC (16-1) will take on No. 2 Yellow Medicine East today at 5 p.m. at Yankee Field in Milroy for a section semifinal spot.

No. 6 TMB 1 (12 inn.)

EDGERTON — Brayden Chandler’s RBI single was No. 3 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton’s game-winning hit in the bottom of the 12th inning to score Gabe Elton for the walk-off victory against No. 6 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in the Section 3A first round Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers and Knights were tied 1-1 with each other after RTR scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning on the brink of elimination after TMB initially took a 1-0 lead in the fifth.

After playing four scoreless extra innings and heading into the 12th with RTR up to bat, TMB quickly made two outs with an outfield pop fly catch and a force out at first.

Elton came to the plate and hit a hard ground ball and reached first off a TMB defensive error.

With the Panthers looking to get another opportunity at bat with a final out, Chandler stepped up and singled on a line drive hit out to center field as Elton charged all the way home safely to end the game.

RTR finished with 10 hits and three errors, and TMB tallied five hits and one error.

For the Panthers, Taylor Squires led offensively with two hits, while Griffin Zick, David Schuh and Aiden Sanow also each had a hit.

Trevor Smith had a strong pitching performance, going for 9 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts and one walk. Connor Lanoue relieved for the final 2 1/3 innings, and also pitched a trio of strikeouts.

For RTR, Eli Determan pitched for seven innings with six strikeouts and one walk, while Tyler Wichmann spent the final five innings in the circle for seven strikeouts and one walk.

Offensively, Chandler, Determan, Chase Christianson and Tyson Burns all shared a team-high two hits.

RTR will resume its subsection semifinal game against No. 2 Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian today at 3:30 p.m. at Milroy’s Irish Yard in the top of the fourth with the Knights down 3-2. The winner will meet the Blackjacks at 7 p.m. at Yankee Field after.

The game was suspended Saturday evening due to lack of daylight with the RTR and TMB game going long.

TMB ends its season 9-10 overall, and graduates seniors Alex Munson, Smith, Kevin Vasquez and Noah Knakmuhs.