Minnetonka’s town baseball team, the Monarchs, is set to challenge for the State Class A Tournament title on Labor Day weekend after passing one of its toughest tests of the season Aug. 29 in Jordan.
The Monarchs were flawless in the field and on time at the plate in winning 4-0 over the St. Paul Mudhens, a team that entered Saturday’s round with a 20-5 season record.
The Monarchs came into Saturday with a 28-10 record and left the field 29-10. Pitcher Jake Marsh set the tone with one of his best games of the season, going all the way on a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts.
Defense was solid all the way around the infield with Max Pederson behind the dish, Reid LaFrenz at first base, player-manager Mike Davis at second, Will Koeppen at shortstop and rookie Jacob Musgjerd at third base. In the outfield from left to right were Blaine Rutledge, Kyle Boutwell and Nick Thimsen. Eli Charney, usually one of the infielders, took swings as the designated hitter.
“Puck [Mike Davis] has assembled a great group of players,” Marsh said after the win. “Coming into the game, we really didn’t know much about the Mudhens, except that they have two good pitchers.”
The Monarchs don’t hit as many home runs as their Minnetonka town team predecessors, the Millers. But what they don’t show in power, they make up for with solid contact.
Rutledge, one of the Millers’ old guard and a former State Class A Tournament MVP, was pleased to be in the lineup for the state game on Saturday. With the Monarchs leading 3-0 in the top of the fifth, he hit a 360-foot sacrifice fly to right-center to bring home an insurance run. In another at-bat, he drew a walk.
“I found a barrel, but didn’t elevate the ball enough to hit it our of the park,” Rutledge said. “I had not played left field since 2009 or 2010.”
That didn’t stop Rutledge from going all-out. In the seventh inning, a Mudhens batter lofted a hump-back liner into short left field. Rutledge got a good jump and dove for what might have been the catch of the day. “I wasn’t that close to the ball,” he said afterword. “But I thought to myself, why not?”
The two other left-handed hitters in Minnetonka’s lineup, other than Rutledge, led the team at the plate. Boutwell and Musgjerd each had two hits. Four weeks ago, Musgjerd was still playing American Legion baseball for Excelsior. His team won state and had a victory over the eventual Legion World Series champion, Lincoln, Neb. during the regionals with Musgjerd getting a key hit and also saving the win on the mound.
Hits were hard to come by on Saturday. In addition to the hits by Boutwell and Musgjerd, the Monarchs had only three more – one each from Charney, Koeppen and LaFrenz. Pederson, Davis and Koeppen each reached base with a pair of walks.
The Monarchs are young this season after adding a batch of new players to the mix. Davis, Rutledge, Thomas Skoro and Ben Hughes are veterans who have played on multiple state Class A championship teams. Their experience in winning games the last weekend of the state tournament could be advantageous as the Monarchs seek their first title.