Baseball 2025: Road to the Prep Championship Series

Four championship games will conclude the Minnesota State High School League’s Baseball State Tournament on Saturday, June 14 at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. The Prep Championship Series is the annual crescendo to the baseball season that features four title games in four enrollment classes. In case of inclement weather, the Rain Date is Monday, June 16 at Target Field. 

Here is a snapshot of each championship game: 

Class A

No. 2 New Ulm Cathedral (23-2) vs. No. 5 Red Lake County (24-5), 10 a.m.

Meet New Ulm Cathedral

• Coach: Alan Woitas
• Mascot: Greyhounds
• Section: 2A
• State tournament appearances: 7
• State championship game appearances: 2005 (Class A champion)
• Road to the Prep Championship Series: Defeated No. 7 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 6-2 in the quarterfinals; def. South Ridge 8-1 in the semifinals.

Did you know? 

• Senior pitcher Jake Finstad didn’t surrender a hit to South Ridge in the semifinals until the fourth inning.
• In a 6-2 victory over No. 7 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in the quarterfinals, Finstad was the Greyhounds’ shortstop. He had two hits, including a triple in the sixth inning.
• New Ulm Cathedral is on a six-game winning streak in the postseason. The Greyhounds had a 10-3 loss to Lake City in the regular season finale, which snapped an 11-game winning streak. 

Meet Red Lake County

• Coach: Mike Gullingsrud
• Mascot: Rebels
• Section: 8A
• State tournament appearances: 2 
• State championship game appearances: First
• Road to the Prep Championship Series: Defeated No. 4 Legacy Christian Academy 10-4 in the quarterfinals; def. No. 1 Parkers Prairie 4-3, 9 inn. 

Did you know? 

• Red Lake County’s semifinal victory over Parkers Prairie was played at two fields on Thursday. After a weather delay in St. Cloud suspended play in the eighth inning, the game was moved to Knute Nelson Field in Alexandria. 
• Junior Colin Taggart was 4 for 4 with a run scored and three runs batted in to power Red Lake County past Legacy Christian Academy in the quarterfinals.
• Rebels head coach Mike Gullingsrud is a high school and college basketball official.

Class AA

No. 3 Pine Island (20-5) vs. No. 4 Glencoe-Silver Lake (22-4), 1 p.m.

Meet Pine Island

• Coach: Dan Drazan
• Mascot: Panthers
• Section: 1AA
• State tournament appearances: 5
• State championship game appearances: First 
• Road to the Prep Championship Series: Defeated No. 6 Pierz 1-0 in the quarterfinals; def. Perham 6-2 (9 inn.) in the semifinals.

Did you know?

• Late-inning dramatics spurred the Panthers in both the quarterfinals (a walkoff) and semifinals (a four-run ninth inning).
• The Panthers are on a nine-game winning streak. 
• In seven games this season, Pine Island has scored at least 11 runs.

Meet Glencoe-Silver Lake

• Coach: Dean Schwirtz
• Mascot: Panthers
• Section: 5AA
• State tournament appearances: 13
• State championship game appearances: 1947 (runner-up); 2007 (Class AA runner-up); 2021 (Class AA champion)
• Road to the Prep Championship Series: Defeated No. 5 Luverne 5-4 in the quarterfinals; def. No. 1 Marshall School, Duluth, 2-1 (8 inn.) in the semifinals.  

Did you know?

• Ninth-grade pitcher Trevor Engelman pitched a complete game in the Panthers’ upset win over Marshall School, Duluth, in the semifinals.
• After loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning against Luverne in the quarterfinals, senior Landon Stifter scored on a wild pitch to send the Panthers to the semifinals. 
• Glencoe-Silver Lake has not lost a game since May 2 when it dropped a doubleheader to Rockford, the defending Class AA champion. That winning streak is at 15 games, which includes a victory over Rockford in the Section 5AA tournament. 

Class AAA

No. 3 Mahtomedi (18-7) vs. No. 1 Mankato East (23-3), 4:30 p.m.

Meet Mahtomedi

• Coach: Rob Garry
• Mascot: Zephyrs
• Section: 4AAA
• State tournament appearances: 10
• State championship game appearances: 2018 (Class AAA Champion); 2021 (Class AAA Champion); 2023 (Class AAA runner-up); 2024 (Class AAA runner-up)
• Road to the Prep Championship Series: Defeated No. 6 Simley 10-0 (5 inn.) in the quarterfinals; def. No. 7 Hutchinson 6-5 in the semifinals. 

Did you know?

• Mahtomedi staged a five-run rally over the fifth and sixth innings to sidestep an upset bid by Hutchinson in the semifinals. 
• In the quarterfinals, Mahtomedi faced a familiar foe in Simley. It was the third meeting between the two schools that compete in the Metro East Conference. Mahtomedi swept the regular-season games as well. 
• Junior right fielder Cody Loida was 3 for 4 with two runs batted in while senior pitcher Wilson Wisely was 2 for 4 with two RBIs of his own to Mahtomedi past Simley in the quarterfinals.

Meet Mankato East

• Coach: Micah Degner
• Mascot: Cougars
• Section: 2AAA
• State tournament appearances: 4
• State championship game appearances: First
• Road to the Prep Championship Series: Defeated No. 8 Stewartville 8-2 in the quarterfinals; def. No. 4 Delano 2-0 in the semifinals.

Did you know?

• Mankato East advanced to the championship game while not recording a hit in its victory over Delano in the semifinals. But neither did Delano. In a true rarity, Mankato East sophomore lefty Keaton Wojcik threw a no-hitter, but so did Delano senior pitcher Jack Scanlon. 
• The Cougars pounded out plenty of hits in their 8-2 victory over Stewartville in the quarterfinals. 
• Senior Zachary Bosse stole home during Mankato East’s victory over Stewartville. 

Class AAAA

No. 3 Minnetonka (17-9) vs. No. 1 Cretin-Derham Hall (22-4), 7:30 p.m.

Meet Minnetonka

• Coach: Paul Twenge
• Mascot: Skippers
• Section: 2AAAA
• State tournament appearances: 15
• State championship game appearances: 1979 (Class AA runner-up); 2018 (Class AAAA runner-up).  
• Road to the Prep Championship Series: Defeated No. 6 Moorhead 8-4 in the quarterfinals; def. No. 7 Champlin Park 8-6 in the semifinals.  

Did you know?

• Minnetonka’s Paul Twenge is in his 50th season of coaching.
• Senior catcher Lincoln Heitkamp, the Skippers’ No. 9 hitter, had a three-run double in Minnetonka’s semifinal victory over Champlin Park. He was 2 for 2 with a walk.
• Junior shortstop had two hits, three runs scored and two runs batted in to help power the Skippers in their quarterfinal victory over Moorhead. 

Meet Cretin-Derham Hall

• Coach: Buzz Hannahan
• Mascot: Raiders
• Section: 4AAAA
• State tournament appearances: 20
• State championship game appearances: 1981 (Class AA Champion); 1982 (Class AA Champion); 1986 (Class AA Champion); 1989 (Class AA Champion); 1990 (Class AA Champion); 1992 (Class AA Champion); 1996 (Class AA Champion); 1997 (Class AA Champion); 1998 (Class AA Champion); 2001 (Class AAA Champion); 2003 (Class AAA runner-up); 2006 (Class AAA runner-up); 2007 (Class AAA Champion). 
• Road to the Prep Championship Series: Defeated No. 8 Rosemount 7-5 in the quarterfinals; def. No. 4 Farmington 7-2 in the semifinals.

Did you know?

• Cretin-Derham Hall is perhaps Minnesota’s most legendary high school baseball program with 14 appearances in a state championship game. 
• Senior Watson Fleming was 3 for 4 with a run scored and another batted in to power the top-ranked Raiders in the quarterfinals. 
• Senior first baseman Brady Stoeklen hit a two-run home run to the Home Run Porch in right field at CHS Field to help Cretin-Derham Hall sidestep a scare from No. 8 Rosemount in the quarterfinals.