Trojans put 2023 playoffs in memory bank to beat Edina

Coach DeWitt says Wayzata has might mix going into state action

Wayzata High baseball coach Bobby DeWitt was taking nothing for granted as his boys warmed up to play Edina in the Section 6AAAA championship round June 5 at Edina’s Braemar Park.

DeWitt was right in his assessment of Edina as a dangerous foe. He remembered last season when - in the same situation - the Trojans lost to straight to the Hornets in the section finals.

The Trojans had to wait 365 days exactly to mend the pain of that memory, and they did it in the finals opener with junior righthander Noah Filer starring on the mound.

Leatherman has been rock-solid all year and is the Trojans’ co-leader in pitching victories with eight. Junior righthander Noah Filer is also. Since Wayzata is 24-0 overall, everyone else is also undefeated. Other key pitchers are lefthanders Brady Lash, Gaard Swenson and Matthew Welk, all seniors.

“From 2008 to now, we have always been built on great pitching,” DeWitt observed. “It really helps to have consistent starters like Leatherman and Filer.”

Although he was confident that Filer’s 90-mile-per-hour fastballs and sharp-breaking pitches would ground Edina’s offense, DeWitt watched four innings of scoreless baseball to open the championship round. Filer held Edina scoreless on a one-hitter until he retired in the top of the seventh. Lash allowed one run in a relief appearance.

“I like the way we competed, but we didn’t get the key hits we wanted early in the game,” Edina head coach Tom Nevers said.

Spencer Yeamen pitched 5 and 1/3 innings for the Hornets. “Spencer has had a really good year,” coach Nevers said. “Jackson McGrath went three-for-three against a really tough pitcher [Filer].”

Nevers’ crew had a productive section tournament with a 5-2 record. The playoff success gave Edina a .500 season at 13-13.

Pitching carried Wayzata in the section title game, but coach Dewitt was also pleased with the offense. Matthew Berkland went three-for-four with two runs scored and an RBI,” DeWitt said. Swenson was also three-for-four with a run scored and an RBI. Other Wayzata hits were by Tyler Gullickson, Adam Deselich, Elias Leach, James Hansen, Kieran Leatherman and Leach.

For Edina coach Nevers, his seniors earned half the loaf this year. Edina won the state hockey title by beating Chanhassen 2-1 in the state Class AA title game. A state baseball championship would have been a nice addition for the Hornets, but this week they’ll be watching as Wayzata tries to complete its perfect season at CHS Field in St. Paul.