The class A state tournament qualifiers are growing, with multiple teams already punching their ticket in addition to Miesville as the Mudhens go for a third straight state title. In section 1A, Miesville and Elko have both qualified and will compete for either the #1 or #2 seed in the section on Friday. On the other side of the bracket, Rochester and New Market will play on Friday in a qualification game, while New Ulm and Faribault will compete with the same stakes. The winners of those two games will qualify to state, and compete on Saturday for either the #3 or #4 seed in the section.
In section two, three of the the four state qualifiers have been decided through their qualification process, a five game series. Top seeded St. Patrick took down the Burnsville Badgers 3-0, with Burnsville forfeiting games two and three after a 14-1 defeat in game one. The Burnsville Bobcats swept the Prior Lake Jays to qualify, and Chaska swept Victoria. Shakopee and Waconia are still in the process of their series to determine the fourth and final qualifier.
Section three still features five teams battling for four spots which will be played this weekend, with Forest Lake already qualifying, and Coon Rapids, Elk River, Champlin Park, and Andover all still alive for the final three spots with a double elimination tournament starting on Friday.
In section four, all five state qualifiers have been determined, Minneapolis Cobras are the #5 seed, while the other four qualifiers, Baseball 365, Mac’s Industrial Warriors, Northwest Orioles, and the Minnetonka Monarchs are battling for section seeding this weekend.
The winner of Hibbing and Sartell on Friday will determine the #1 seed in section 5, with the winner qualifying to state, and the loser will have to play for the #2 seed on Sunday. On the other side of the bracket, Moorhead and Hinckley face off on Friday as well as Bemidji and Dillworth, the winners of those two games play on Saturday, with the final qualifier determined in the sunday contest.
And finally in section 6, the St. Paul Mudhens and St. Anthony Hogs earned an automatic qualification to state by winning their regular season leagues, and the final three bids will finish this week in a trio of three game series. Stockmen’s Irish take on Highland Park, Air Freight take on North St. Paul, and White Bear Township play the St. Paul Hops, with the winners of the three series rounding out the state tournament bracket.
The state tournament bracket show will take place this weekend, with full coverage of the Miesville Mudhens at state beginning later this month can be heard live on KDWA Radio.