Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota left fielder Tate Walerius (right) slides into home plate during a Land O’ Ducks League baseball game against the Cottonwood Cardinals at K.P. Kompelien Field in Minneota on July 2. Minneota traveled to Dawson over the weekend for the third and fourth rounds of the Region 3C tournament, defeating Rosen 2-0 on Saturday before falling to the elimination bracket with a 7-0 loss to Dumont on Sunday.

DAWSON — The Minneota Mudhens weren’t able to clinch their spot in the Class C state tournament on the second weekend of the Region 3C tournament on Saturday and Sunday. The Mudhens’ pitching led them to a 2-0 win over Rosen on Sunday, but their bats continued to struggle in the tournament semifinals as they lost 7-0 to Dumont in a state qualifier game.

Still, the Mudhens still have much to play for in the elimination bracket. The Mudhens will take on the winner of Morris and Rosen in a state qualifier game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Ortonville. A win would send the Mudhens to the state tournament, while a loss would end their season.

The winnerof Minneota’s elimination bracket state qualifier would take on Dumont in the region finals on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Rosen. The championship round will determine seeding for the state tournament, with Dumont needing just one win to clinch the region’s top seed, and the team from the elimination bracket needing to win consecutive games in order to take it.

Ryan Dalager pitched a complete-game shutout for Minneota to earn the win in its first game of the weekend against Rosen, striking out 12 batters while limiting the Express to five hits and a walk. AJ Myhre led the team’s bats with two RBIs, a double and a walk.

Adam Dalager pitched two scoreless innings to start the game against Dumont, but Gillund was tagged for three earned and three unearned runs over 3 1/3 innings to get tagged with the loss.

The Mudhens finished with seven hits in the game, but struggled to get them with runners in scoring position and four defensive errors left them with the 7-0 loss.

Minneota 2, Rosen 0

The efficient pitching of Ryan Dalager set the tone for the Minneota Mudhens in their third-round matchup against Rosen on Saturday. Dalager threw the full nine innings on 119 pitches — 86 of which were strikes — to shut out the Express and help Minneota get one win closer to the state tournament.

The scoring drought was broken with two outs in the fifth inning. Brock Buysse reached base on a ground-ball error and Peyton Gillund and Austin Buysse were hit by pitches to load the bases. AJ Myhre capitalized with a two-run double, giving Minneota the game’s only runs.

Each team finished with five hits and two errors in the game. Minneota held a 7-1 advantage in walks drawn, however, with Brock Buysse and Dalager each getting on with a pair.

Kaden Mortenson was charged with the loss for Rosen after giving up a pair of unearned runs over 5 1/3 innings, while Davis Patzer pitched 2 2/3 scoreless frames.

BOX SCORE

MINNEOTA

K. Mortenson: L, 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 6 BB, 5 SO; D. Patzer: 2.2 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 SO.

Dumont 7, Minneota 0

A lack of offensive production left the Minneota Mudhens without an answer for the Dumont Saints in the state qualifier match between the two in the Region 3C semifinals. Dumont surged ahead with a pair of third-inning runs and pulled away with four more in the sixth.

Peyton Gillund was charged with the loss for Minneota after giving up three earned and three unearned runs over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out one batter while surrendering seven hits and a walk.

Brody Nachbor scored the go-ahead run for Dumont when he singled and scored on an Isaiah Sykora double. Sykora went on to score when Jordan Roose reached base on an error by Gillund.

Austin Buysse, AJ Myhre and Isaac Pohlen each singled twice to account for six of Minneota’s seven hits. Gillund also reached base twice with a single and the lone walk of the day for the Mudhens.

Adam Dalager pitched two scoreless innings to start the game for Minneota, giving up two hits and a walk. Brody Larson pitched the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on two hits and a trio of walks.

A Jacob Volker single and an Owen Deal walk put two runners on for the Saints with one out in the sixth.

Austin Ballhagen got the rally started with an RBI single and Eli Larson drove in another run with a double. Larson took over for Gillund from there, but Nachbor reached base on an error from Austin Buysse at third to drive in another pair of runs before a pick off and a fly out ended the inning.

Larson led the game with three hits while Nachbor drove in three runs with one hit. Dumont finished with 11 hits as a team.

Mason Lampe pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win for the Saints while Hunter Smith closed out the game with a scoreless final four outs.

BOX SCORE

MINNEOTA

M. Lampe: W, 7.2 IP, 4 H, BB, 5 SO; H. Smith: 1.1 IP, 3 H, SO.