SSC baseball: Tigers heat up; Irish, Cougars rebuild

Farmington wins its first seven games

It was a banner season in 2023 for South Suburban Conference baseball as two of its teams reached the state tournament – and one of them came within a run of the Class 4A championship.

Rosemount and Lakeville South shared the SSC championship and took experienced teams to the state tournament (where Rosemount finished second), but both are filling the lineup with new starters after losing a lot of key contributors to graduation. Farmington, which reached the state championship game in back-to-back years (winning in 2021 and finishing second in 2022), won its first seven games of the 2024 season and could be poised to return to the top of the conference. The Tigers are long on experience, with 12 players coming into the season who had seen time in varsity games.

A look at how the season has played out so far for teams from the Sun Thisweek and Dakota County Tribune coverage area:

Apple Valley

Coach: Jeremy Hendrickson.

Last season: 7-14 overall, 6-12 South Suburban Conference; 0-2 in Class 4A, Section 3 playoffs.

Record through Monday: 3-4 overall, 3-4 conference.

Next game: at Eagan, 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Eagle notes: Hendrickson is in the first season of his second tour of duty as Apple Valley baseball coach. There’s talent to work with, notably sophomore Ryan Christiansen, one of the state’s top-ranked players in the class of 2026. He’s the Eagles’ top starting pitcher. The Eagles had lost three consecutive games, each by 10 runs, before defeating Lakeville South 9-4 on April 18. Outfielder Joe O’Brien was 2-for-3, including a three-run homer, in the victory over South. Jackson Thornburgh and Benjamin Jackson drove in two runs each.

Burnsville

Coach: Justin Banitt.

Last season: 11-12 overall, 8-10 conference; 1-2 in Class 4A, Section 3 playoffs.

Record entering this week: 4-3 overall, 3-3 conference.

Next game: vs. Eastview at Alimagnet Park, 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Blaze notes: Banitt, who has been an assistant coach in the Burnsville program for 10 years, takes over for Mick Scholl, who had been head coach since 2003. Scholl, who led the Blaze to a state championship in 2011 and second place in 2010, remains with the program as B-squad coach. The varsity cooled off a bit after a fast start but defeated Rosemount 3-0 as starting pitcher Jacob Neutz allowed two hits and struck out 11 over the first six innings. Neutz also was 1-for-3 with one run batted in. Darren Einberger reached base twice on a single and walk, and scored once.

Eagan

Coach: Steve Butler.

Last season: 8-15 overall, 5-13 conference; third in Class 4A, Section 3 playoffs.

Record entering this week: 2-5 overall, 1-5 conference.

Next game: vs. Apple Valley, 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Wildcat notes: Eagan picked up its first victory of the season April 20, defeating non-conference opponent Grand Rapids 7-6 at home. The Wildcats haven’t been blown out in any game; all five losses are by three runs or fewer. The Wildcats had four conference games scheduled this week, three at home, and will look to turn things around with the help of returnees such as outfielder Tate Gage and pitcher Danny Lachenmayer.

Eastview

Coach: Pat Strey.

Last season: 17-9 overall, 11-7 conference; Class 4A, Section 3 runner-up.

Record entering this week: 4-4 overall, 4-3 conference.

Next game: at Burnsville, 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Lightning notes: Eastview hit a rough patch a couple of weeks ago with back-to-back losses to Lakeville North and Farmington, but consecutive victories over Lakeville South, Prior Lake and Rosemount put the Lightning back in the upper half of the South Suburban standings. Eastview’s victory over Prior Lake was the Lakers’ only loss in their first six games. Trailing Prior Lake 1-0 after five innings, Eastview scored nine runs in the top of the sixth and went on to win 9-3. Louis Rogers hit a two-run double and Nick Brandt a three-run homer in the big inning. Luciano Maccarone was 2-for-3 with two runs batted in as Eastview defeated Rosemount 7-5 on April 20.

Farmington

Coach: Jon Graff.

Last season: 13-11 overall, 10-8 conference; third in Class 4A, Section 1 playoffs.

Record entering this week: 7-0 overall, 7-0 conference.

Next game: at Rosemount, 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Tiger notes: The Tigers are off to a fast start with a roster that Graff says probably is deeper than the one that brought Farmington a state championship in 2021. The depth is evident on the mound as Farmington held four of its first six opponents to two runs or fewer. Tigers junior Joe Baldus threw a no-hitter against Burnsville, then in his next start had a four-hit shutout against Shakopee. Tanner Renzy’s single in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in Farmington’s run in the 1-0 victory over Shakopee on April 20. Ethan Bombardier pitched a one-hitter as Farmington defeated Lakeville North 10-1 on April 18, while Brandon Lund drove in three runs and Kelin Rasmussen knocked in two.

Lakeville North

Coach: Tony Market.

Last season: 11-11 overall, 10-8 conference; 1-2 in Class 4A, Section 3 playoffs.

Record entering this week: 4-4 overall, 4-3 conference.

Next game: at Prior Lake, noon Saturday.

Panther notes: The Panthers have been led by dual threat Cal Schmelze, a senior committed to Augustana University. Schmelze has a 1.08 earned-run average in two pitching starts with 18 strikeouts in 13 innings. He’s also one of the Panthers’ top hitters with a .304 average. Junior Teddy Juaire has a 1.40 ERA in 10 innings, and junior Logan Campbell (.421), senior Kutter Herzig (.333) and sophomore Ethan Mrnak (.286) have had good starts at the plate.

Lakeville South

Coach: Brent Goracke.

Last season: 18-9 overall, 12-6 conference (tied for first); won Class 4A, Section 1 championship.

Record entering the week: 2-5 overall, 2-5 conference.

Next game: at Rochester John Marshall, 5 p.m. Friday.

Cougar notes: Goracke, who was head coach at Jordan High School for 10 years, succeeds Bill John, who retired after leading South to back-to-back winning seasons (the first two in program history) and a 2023 state tournament appearance. The Cougars are re-tooling after graduating 13 seniors from last year’s roster. Junior Coltin Smith returns at catcher. Carson Walker was the winning pitcher in Lakeville South’s 2-0 victory over Rosemount in the season opener and also has produced at the plate; he was 2-for-5 with three RBIs in a 6-4 victory over Eagan. Gaven Dean was the winning pitcher in the Eagan game.

Rosemount

Coach: Chris Swansson.

Last season: 19-7 overall, 12-6 conference (tied for first); Class 4A, Section 3 champion; state Class 4A runner-up.

Record entering this week: 0-7 overall, 0-7 conference.

Next game: vs. Farmington, 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Irish notes: Much like South Suburban Conference colleague Lakeville South, the Irish reached the 2023 state tournament with a senior-dominated lineup and now have new starters in a number of places. Rosemount hasn’t had an easy time scoring runs; the Irish were shut out in two of their first six games and held to two runs in two others. The bats stirred a little in a 7-5 loss to Eastview on April 20 as Rosemount’s Landon Boisen had two hits, including a double, and drove in a run. Dane Roback had a hit and two RBIs.