JORDAN – It’s been 18 years since the Pierz Brewers made it to the Class C State Baseball Tournament.
That changed on Saturday, August 10, when the Brewers defeated the St. Wendel Saints 11-0 in an elimination game at the Region 8C tournament.
The win secured the Brewers their first appearance in the Class C State Tournament since 2006.
“We’ve been working for this all year,” said Mike Poser, manager and player for the Pierz Brewers. “It’s my first state tournament appearance in my 16 years in the league and all 16 years I’ve been with the Brewers. It means a lot to me and all the credit goes to the guys on the team and the bats came alive come playoff time.”
The Brewers are one of three amateur teams in Pierz, a town of 1,393 residents according to the 2020 census.
“We have a lot of support,” Poser said. “We have three Pierz teams and it’s good, friendly competition. We all get along and then there’s Buckman, which is always a strong team and it’s mostly Pierz people there too.”
The Brewers earned fourth place in Region 8C after a 13-1 loss to Nisswa Lightning in the third-place game of the Region 8C tournament.
The Brewers will play against the Carver Black Sox in Jordan on Saturday, August 17th at 4:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Class C tournament.
“I don’t know much about them,” Poser said. “We’ve done a little research over the last few days and it looks like they have a solid lineup. Their ace is a left-hander who is a solid pitcher and it sounds like their draftee is a good picture as well. We’re going to have our hands full, but the hitters have come more alive in the last few weeks. Everyone is hitting the ball well and hopefully it stays that way.”
The Brewers opened the Region 8C tournament with a 7-4 win in 11 innings over the Avon Lakers, who were ranked No. 1 in the West/South Victory League Division.
“We were down against Avon and Preston Veith and Phil Zynda hit two solo home runs in a row to liven up the dugout,” Poser said. “Then in the 11th inning, our best hitter, Gunnar Wicklund, hit a game-winning double with the bases loaded. Peter Schommer has been our ace all year and Jonah Prokott has been healthy in the playoffs and has thrown good innings for us.”
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The North/East Victory League Division grabbed all four tournament spots in Region 8C.
The Foley Lumberjacks secured the first seed by winning the Region 8C tournament with a 5-4 victory over the Buckman Billygoats on Sunday, August 11.
Foley has a bye into the second round and will face the winner of the game between the Luverne Redbirds and the Kimball Express on Saturday, August 24th at 4:00 p.m. in Jordan.
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Buckman is the second seed from Region 8C and will play against the Webster Sox on Saturday, August 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Jordan.
The Billygoats have been successful in recent Class C tournaments, finishing third in 2023, second in 2022 and third in 2020.
The Lightning are the number three seed in Region 8C and will play the Princeton Panthers on Sunday, August 18 at 11 a.m. in Jordan.
Nisswa has reached the Class C tournament for the third consecutive year, which includes the Class C championship in 2022.
“When you play in the same division as Buckman, Nisswa and Foley, I think those are three of the top 10 teams in the state,” Poser said. “We face tough competition week in and week out from state level teams.”
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Skis ready for the 1st Class B State Tournament
JORDAN – The Sobieski Skis won two Class C state titles in 2014 and 2021.
This season, Sobieski is seeking his first Class B state tournament title.
The Skis enter the Class B tournament as the top seed in Region 2B, which they won with a 6-3 victory over the Cold Spring Springers on Sunday, August 11.
“It’s very cool,” said Sobieski manager and player Matt Baier. “The current classification is very fluid and this is our fifth year overall in Class B. To see our kids improve enough to be able to compete consistently and win the crown is definitely a cool accomplishment for us.”
Sobieski opens the Class B tournament on Saturday, August 17 at 11 a.m. against the Hopkins Berries in Jordan.
“We don’t know much about these teams in Class B,” Baier said. “We just plan to go out there and play our brand of baseball. We feel like we’re going to be labeled as underdogs no matter what. We’re No. 1, but I feel like the state views us as underdogs.”
Sobieski plays its regular season in the Victory League before moving to Region 2B for the playoffs. The Class B tournament has 32 teams compared to the 48 teams in Class C.
“When we won the state tournament, we knew that on a good day, we were more than capable of beating any of those teams in the section,” Baier said. “We’re just taking one game at a time and trying to win.”
CONRAD ENGSTROM can be reached at 218-855-5861 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.
