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The Adrian Dragon baseball team punched its ticket to the state tournament on Thursday, June 9, in Milroy.
The Dragons won the Section 3A baseball title when the team defeated Canby twice on the same night.
Adrian reached the championship game by defeating Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (KMS) in elimination bracket play on June 7.
The Dragons, with a record of 19-7, will open the state tournament today (Thursday) at 5:30 in Chaska when they face Ely.
Ely, with a record of 20-5, is seeded third in the tournament. Adrian enters the state tournament unseeded.
Adrian 6, Canby 1
After Adrian defeated the Canby Lancers in the 5 p.m. game Thursday, each team had one loss in the Section 3A tournament, forcing a 7 p.m. game to determine which team would go on to the state tournament.
Adrian bats came alive early in the second game of the night.
Michael Preuss opened the first inning with a single. He scored the Dragons’ first run of the contest when Zach Loosbrock singled with two out.
The Dragons then loaded the bases when Alex Loosbrock reached base on a Canby error and Mitchell Wagner earned a walk.
Ryan Wieneke then hit a line drive down the left field line that went all the way to the wall for a three RBI triple that gave Adrian a 4-1 lead.
In the fifth inning, Jake Stamer scored off a Zach Loosbrock sacrifice fly.
Adrian capped its scoring in the game when Mitchell Wagner scored after a sacrifice bunt by Wieneke and a single by Zach Hendel to make the score 6-1.
Sophomore pitcher Landon Rogers started the second game on the mound, just as he did the first game of the night.
Landon Rogers pitched four and one-third innings, allowing one run on four hits while walking none and striking out one Canby hitter.
Senior ace pitcher Logan Rogers replaced his brother on the mound in the fifth inning. He allowed no runs on one hit to earn the save and send his team to the state tournament.
Adrian 5, Canby 3
Adrian needed to defeat Canby in the first game of the night Thursday in order to force a second game between the two teams to determine a trip to the state tournament.
The Dragons did just that by coming out on top of the Lancers 5-3 in a game played in 95-degree heat in Milroy.
Landon Rogers was the starting pitcher for Adrian. He went one and two-thirds innings allowing two runs on no hits and walking one batter.
Alex Loosbrock and Preuss followed Landon Rogers on the mound, pitching a combined one and a third inning and allowing one additional Canby run.
Senior Logan Rogers then pitched the rest of the game to pick up the win. He gave up no runs, issued no walks and struck out three batters.
Offensively for the Dragons, Jake Stamer was two for four with a double that scored two runs in the fourth inning.
Preuss scored twice for Adrian, once in the third inning and once in the fourth inning, while going two for three at the plate.
Adrian 8, KMS 1
The Dragons reached the Section 3A championship game by defeating the Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Fighting Saints 8-1 in Milroy June 7.
Adrian senior Logan Rogers produced another strong pitching performance.
Rogers pitched the first six innings for the Dragons. He allowed just one run on two hits and struck out eleven KMS batters.
Stamer entered the game in the seventh inning in relief of Rogers, but the bases were quickly loaded after two walks were issued to the Saints and one KMS batter was hit by a pitch.
With the bases loaded and one out, Adrian Coach Kevin Nowotny chose to return Rogers to the pitcher’s mound.
The senior stuck out the last two hitters to end the game and continue his team’s season.
The Dragons scored first in the game when a sacrifice fly by Logan Rogers scored Preuss who had hit a double before being bunted to third by Stamer.
Adrian added two more runs in the second inning with Landon Rogers and Hendel scoring unearned runs when a slow roller to third base by Preuss was thrown into the dirt at first base by a KMS player.
In the top of the seventh inning, Preuss and Stamer both walked and Logan Rogers reached on an infield single to load the bases.
A fielder’s choice by Zach Loosbrock, singles by Alex Loosbrock, Wagner, and Wieneke, and a double by Hendel led to a total of five more runs scored by Adrian in the inning.
Wagner and Hendel were both two for three at the plate in the contest.