SARTELL — The Willmar American Legion baseball team continues to live life on the edge.
Post 167 made the final three of the Division I Sub-State 11 playoffs after knocking off top seed Sartell 4-1 Thursday, July 23, at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field.
Since losing in the opening round to Cold Spring, fifth-seeded Willmar has gone 3-0. Now, they’ll be in the hunt for the Sub-State title.
That’ll get settled on Friday back in Sartell. Willmar has a rematch with fourth-seeded Cold Spring at 5 p.m. The winner plays Sartell for the Sub-State championship at 7:30 p.m.
Willmar struck first in the top of the first inning with an RBI double from Hudson Sjoberg that scored Alex Hoppe. Post 167 tacked on three runs in the top of the second. Gavin Evenson scored on a Tyler Madsen groundout. Hoppe came through with a two-run single that plated Jordan Ellingson and Aidan Paulson.
Logan Fagerlie was 2-for-3 with a run scored for Willmar. Paulson, Hoppe, Sjoberg and Madsen each had a hit.
Madsen also threw a complete game to claim the win. He struck out five with one run allowed on two hits and three walks.
Brady Thompson and Nolan Hemker both had a hit for Sartell Post 277. Hemker scored the team’s lone run in the bottom of the fourth. Trevor Schlangen took the loss.
Cold Spring 6, Sauk Rapids 5
SARTELL — Cold Spring’s Noah Olmscheid drove in the winning run in the top of the 11th inning to break a 5-all tie with Sauk Rapids in a Division I Sub-State 11 playoff elimination game on Thursday at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field.
Post 455 led 5-2 after the top of the 10th, but Sauk Rapids came back to tie it with three runs in the bottom half.
Cold Spring advances to play Willmar in another elimination game at 5 p.m. on Friday in Sartell.
Olmscheid went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI, Jace Griffin homered and finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and Nolan VanLoy tripled.
Cal Heying earned the win in relief for Post 455. Cold Spring had 10 hits and no errors. Post 254 had seven hits and four errors.
Payten Remer went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI for Sauk Rapids, Brody Sabin doubled and Carter Riedeman went 2-for-5.
At St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell
Elimination game
Willmar vs. Cold Spring, 5 p.m.
Championship game
Sartell vs. Willmar/Cold Spring winner, 7:30 p.m.
Note: Winner advances to Division I state tournament.
Andy Rennecke is sports editor for St. Cloud LIVE. He focuses on writing in-depth high school and college features for the St. Cloud metro area (including Sartell, Sauk Rapids and St. Joseph) and for the ROCORI, Albany, Foley and Holdingford School Districts. Send him story ideas or feedback at andy@stcloudlive.com.