Baseball 2025: Thirty-two teams seeking state crowns this week

Thirty-two teams in four enrollment classifications remain in the hunt for championships when the Minnesota State High School League’s Baseball State Tournament is played this week at various venues across the state. The end destination is Target Field in downtown Minneapolis where eight teams hope to qualify for a spot in four championship games on Saturday, June 14. 

Weather permitting, the quarterfinals are Wednesday, June 11 and the semifinals are the following day.

Here is a look at the seedings, quarterfinal pairings and a snapshot of each qualifying team: 

Class A

At Joe Faber Field, St. Cloud

• No. 7 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (19-7) vs. No. 2 New Ulm Cathedral (21-2), 10:30 a.m.
• No. 6 Hayfield (16-9) vs. No. 3 South Ridge (19-5), 1 p.m.
• No. 8 Frazee (15-10) vs. No. 1 Parkers Prairie (22-3), 4 p.m.
• No. 5 Red Lake County (22-5) vs. No. 4 Legacy Christian Academy (15-6), 6:30 p.m.

Spotlight:

• In three of its four previous state tournament trips, Parkers Prairie has concluded the season as either the Class A champion (2017) or runner-up (2016, 2024). The Panthers are top-seeded and on a 16-game winning streak. New Ulm Cathedral, the No. 2 seed in Class A, is on a 15-1 run. The Greyhounds last won a Class A title in 2005. South Ridge, located in Culver, is making its sixth state tournament trip since 2018. The Panthers are on a nine-game winning streak since May 14. Eighth-grade infielder/pitcher Silas Kardell leads Legacy Christian Academy with a .309 batting average. Red Lake County returns to the state tournament for the first time since 2015. The Rebels were 6-1 during the Section 8A tournament. Hayfield was the Class A champion in 2021 and the runner-up in 2022. While the Vikings finished the regular season 1-3, they are on a five-game postseason winning streak. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton is a state tournament newcomer. Midway through the Section 3A tournament, the Knights lost 7-6 to Yellow Medicine East. A week later, needing two victories over Yellow Medicine East, the Knights outscored them 33-8 in those contests. This is Frazee’s first state tournament trip in the 2000s. Other qualifying years were in 1985, 1991 and 1999. The Hornets are on a five-game winning streak during the postseason. Frazee lost to Parkers Prairie, its quarterfinal opponents, midway through the season. 

Class AA

At Dick Putz Field, St. Cloud

• No. 7 Maple River (19-6) vs. No. 2 Perham (21-2), 10 a.m.
• No. 6 Pierz (15-9) vs. No. 3 Pine Island (19-5), 12:30 p.m.
• No. 8 Concordia Academy (13-9) vs. No. 1 Marshall School, Duluth (21-2), 3:30 p.m.
• No. 5 Luverne (22-4) vs. No. 4 Glencoe-Silver Lake (20-4), 6 p.m.

Spotlight: 

• From 2017-2019, Marshall School, Duluth played in the state tournament each of those three seasons. In the latter two seasons, the Hilltoppers were the Class AA runner-up in 2018, and a year later, captured the championship. Senior pitcher/outfielder Owen Marsolek powers the Hilltoppers with a .478 batting average. Perham, the Section 8AA champion, is hopeful of winning a trophy for the third consecutive season. In 2023, the Yellowjackets were the Class AA runner-up. A year ago, they won the consolation final. With one loss, the Yellowjackets are a formidable force. Their only loss this season was to Anoka, a Class AAAA school. Pine Island returns for the first time since 2016. Senior Brandon Week has a .458 batting average and 71 strikeouts on the mound. In 2021, Glencoe-Silver Lake was the Class AA champion in its last state tournament trip in 2021. Can the Panthers do so from the No. 4 seed this season? They have won 13 consecutive games, and in that span, have scored double digits in runs six times. Luverne was the Class AA runner-up in 2001. The Cardinals ended the regular season on a 10-game winning streak. Pierz lost two games to end the regular season, but found new life in the Section 6AA tournament going 5-1 with a shutout victory over Albany in the final. Did you know that Rick Grammond, the play-by-play voice of the Pierz Pioneers, was selected this school year’s recipient of the League’s Outstanding Media Service Award? Maple River, which last qualified in 2006, played Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial five times this season and lost three of them. The two victories, however, came during the Section 2AA playoff which paved the way to a state tournament berth. Concordia Academy is making its state tournament debut. The Beacons have won five of their past six games.

Class AAA

At Mini-Met, Jordan

• No. 7 Hutchinson (17-9) vs. No. 2 Totino-Grace (20-7), 10 a.m.
• No. 6 Simley (15-7) vs. No. 3 Mahtomedi (16-7), 12:30 p.m.
• No. 8 Stewartville (11-11) vs. No. 1 Mankato East (21-3), 3 p.m.
• No. 5 Grand Rapids (17-7) vs. No. 4 Delano (19-4-1), 5:30 p.m.

Spotlight: 

• Mankato East was the No. 2 seed a year ago but was upended in the quarterfinals by unseeded Grand Rapids. The Cougars bounced back to win two games, including the consolation final. Totino-Grace is the defending Class AAA champion. The Eagles opened the Section 5AAA tournament 1-1 but then rattled off five consecutive victories. Mahtomedi has been a state tournament mainstay with 10 trips since 2014. In that span, the Zephyrs are a two-time state champion and a three-time runner-up, including the past two seasons. Mahtomedi’s quarterfinal with Simley is the third this season. The previous two games were victories during the Metro East Conference schedule. This is Delano’s first state tournament trip since 2014. The Tigers have assembled winning streaks this season of five games, seven games and five games that spanned the end of the regular season and into the Section 6AAA tournament. The Tigers are 6-1 in their past seven games. Grand Rapids, which placed third in 2024, is on a five-game winning streak. State tournament rookie Simley, the Section 3AAA champion, is on an eight-game winning streak. There are plenty of smiles in Hutchinson this week. The Tigers’ last state tournament trip was In 1960. Hutchinson opened the Section 8AAA playoffs with a lopsided loss to Fergus Falls. They turned it around, though, and defeated Fergus Falls twice by a combined 13-5 margin. Stewartville lost to Kasson-Mantorville twice during the regular season but flipped that script by winning consecutive games in the postseason to capture the Section 1AAA title and qualify for the state tournament for the first time.

Class AAAA

At CHS Field, St. Paul

• No. 7 Champlin Park (16-8) vs. No. 2 Andover (19-6), 10 a.m.
• No. 6 Moorhead (14-10) vs. No. 3 Minnetonka (15-9), 1 p.m.
• No. 8 Rosemount (12-11) vs. No. 1 Cretin-Derham Hall (20-4), 4:30 p.m.
• No. 5 Edina (17-7) vs. No. 4 Farmington (19-5), 7:30 p.m.

Spotlight: 

• Cretin-Derham Hall has been top-ranked in the big-school class for much of the season, so its top billing here is no surprise. The Raiders hit .339 as a team and are led by junior Davis Fleming, who bats .436. Cretin-Derham Hall has used 12 pitchers this season. Senior Blake Bullis leads the balanced pitching staff with 35 strikeouts. Andover is making its third state tournament trip since 2021. The Huskies are led by Wyatt Myers, who is batting .359. Andover’s quarterfinal with Champlin Park is a rematch of a game it won 6-3 early in the Northwest Suburban Conference schedule. Minnetonka’s Paul Twenge is in his 50^th season of coaching, including the past 20 with the Skippers. He has more than 1,000 career victories. The four most recent were a run through the Section 2AAAA tournament. In 2024, the Skippers won the consolation final. Farmington was the big-school champion in 2021 and the runner-up the next year. The Tigers, a state tournament entrant a year ago, are one of the hottest teams in the tournament with an eight-game winning streak. Edina is also on an eight-game winning streak. In fact, the Hornets are 13-2 since April 30. Moorhead returns for the first time since 1990. Since a six-game skid midway through the season, the Spuds are 10-2. In qualifying for the first time since 2017, Champlin Park had to play Maple Grove, a rival in the Northwest Suburban Conference, three times during the Section 5AAAA tournament. The Rebels came out on top in two of those to keep their season alive. Rosemount is battle tested regularly in the tough South Suburban Conference, which also features Farmington. Senior Gavin Hartley leads the Irish with a .389 batting average.