Setback costs Excelsior No. 1 Legion seed

An unexpected slip-up last week cost the Excelsior American Legion baseball team the No. 1 seed for this week’s Sub-State 4 Tournament.

Chanhassen ambushed the Fire Club for a 6-3 decision July 8. Meanwhile, Eden Prairie won three straight games against tough competition to gain the No. 1 seed.

Excelsior (22-5) and Eden Prairie (23-5) were almost identical record-wise at the end of the regular season. The coaches in Sub-State 4 gave EP the nod at the seeding meeting Saturday, July 21.

Only one team advances to state out of this sub-state tourney, and despite Eden Prairie and Excelsior having outstanding seasons, third seed Prior Lake and fourth seed Delano are also contenders.

“We have four of the best teams in the state in our sub-state,” Excelsior head coach Rob Hager said. “It will come down to who makes the plays in the field and who gets the big two-out hits. This will be a grueling tournament. Minneapolis Southwest comes in with a decent record and you can’t overlook St. Louis Park.”

“We have a deep team with five or six starting pitchers and two really good relievers. Our defense is good and we have a lot of hitting.”

Eden Prairie head coach Mike O’Brien likes the Eagles’ chances in the sub-state.

“We had outstanding pitching during the Gopher Classic,” he said. “We’re in a tough sub-state and we will need good pitching. Every team has injuries, sore arms, bumps and scrapes this time of year. You play through it and use your whole roster. When you play against tough competition, like you see in the sub-state, you need grit and hustle. We have worked hard to develop a good vibe this season.

Excelsior opened the playoffs against Armstrong July 23 and Eden Prairie opened against Minneapolis Northside. The other pairing that day were Prior Lake against St. Louis Park and Delano against Minneapolis Southwest. The tournament continues through Saturday, July 27, with all games at Veterans Field in Minnetonka.

Last week’s games

Eden Prairie beat three state-ranked opponents to wrap up the top sub-state seed.

The Eagles slipped past Mankato American 2-1 with a two-for-four performance by shortstop Joey Goetze and hits by teammates Hawken Hedlund, Haddon Anderson, Zach Peta, Josh Kelly, Zander Hemmesch and Ryan Holtz. Nick Macheledt pitched six strong innings in the nine-inning game and Aiden Keranen held Mankato American scoreless over the last three frames.

Eden Prairie’s dramatic 3-2 win over Mankato National July 18 kept an undefeated week alive. Parker Johnson’s double in the bottom of the seventh provided a walk-off victory. EP had six hits in the game - one each from Johnson, Nick Thompson, Dawson Miller, Goetze, Hemmesch and Hedlund. Nick Carlson was the winning pitcher.

Myken Anderson’s three-for-four night led the Eagles past Prior Lake 11-1 in their second game on the 18th. Thompson, Hedlund and Kelly each had two hits to go with one each by Goetze, Miller and Johnson. Winning pitcher Peta looked playoff-ready with his one-hitter. He walked two and struck out three.

Excelsior’s week began on a high notes with an 8-6 win over St. Louis Park July 17. Braden Storts and Will Koeppen combined for half of Excelsior’s 10 hits with three by Storts and two by Koeppen. The other hits were by Gus Berger, Nate Wheeler, Colten Benedict, Ethan Binder and Max Nelson. Andrew Simmons pitched six innings for the win. Wheeler had a scoreless inning in relief.

It was a game of fours for Excelsior against Chanhassen July 18. The Fire Club made four errors and had only four hits in a three-run setback. Storts, Koeppen, Matt Marceau and Nelson had hits. Max Borchert and Koeppen pitched.

Excelsior rebounded well with a 10-3 win over Waconia July 19. AJ Newell was the winning pitcher, working the first four innings. Benedict and Nelson came in from the bullpen to hold Waconia in check. Storts, Berger and Marceau led the Fire Club with two hits each. Lincoln Heitkamp, Tyson Mahady and Wheeler added hits.