Baseball 2025: Cretin-Derham Hall claims 12th state championship with standout defense and baserunning

The ball hung in the air down the left-field line. Cretin-Derham Hall third-baseman Blake Bullis gave chase. He glanced at the tarp in Target Field foul territory, then the ball and the protective netting in front of the stands.

And he dove.

Falling in between the tarp and the wall, he extended his arm enough to prevent the ball from hitting the net, secured it and showed the umpire proof of the first out of the top of the seventh inning.

"Seventh inning, state championship, do or die. Dive for it," Bullis said. "I feel it in my glove and just black out from there."

Two outs later — including another Bullis web gem — Cretin-Derham Hall (23-4) had claimed its 12th state championship and first since 2007 with a 3-2 victory over No. 3 Minnetonka (17-10) in the final game of the Minnesota State High School League's 2025 Baseball State Tournament and Prep Championship Series in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday, June 14.

Asked if he had ever made a play like that, Bullis said no. Coach Buzz Hannahan corrected him — and then thought better of it.

"He makes plays like that all the time," Hannahan said. "... But not like that. That was unbelievable."

Unbelievable and yet somewhat on brand for the Raiders. After falling behind 2-0 in the second inning, they stayed within striking distance with outfield assists from center fielder Jack Drieman. He threw out a runner tagging from third on a flyout for an inning-ending double play in the third, then caught another trying to score from second on a base hit up the middle in the fifth.

"As a pitcher, that is the one thing that will kind of make you flip a switch, go out there and know you have guys out there who can win you the game," said Cretin-Derham Hall starter John Henry Kohorst. "It's a huge faith builder, for sure."

The Raiders got on the board via Davon Castro's fourth-inning sacrifice fly, then took the lead in the fifth on another hustle play.

With one out and the bases loaded, Brady Stoeklen hit a grounder to first. The Skippers got an out at second but couldn't turn a double play. Watson Fleming caught the defense off guard and raced home for the go-ahead run.

"Determination. Focus," Hannahan said. "These guys have a passion for the game and are just bulldogs and compete. You can't teach that."

They're guys who embraced the pressure of returning a proud program to the top of Class AAAA.

"It took a special group of individuals to carry that burden," Hannahan said.