Randolph (A), Fairmont (AA) are first-time State Baseball champions
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Randolph pitcher Jacob Weckop threw a complete-game three-hitter to help his Rockets claim their first-ever State Baseball Championship. Randolph held off defending Class A champ Hayfield 2-1 at Target Field on Friday.
It’s Randolph’s first-ever state baseball championship. it comes one year after the Rockets softball team won the first team title in any sport in school history.
Weckop’s gem included 13 strikeouts, while his adversary Nolan Klocke of Hayfield also threw a complete-game three-hitter with 15 strikeouts.
Randolph’s Collin Otto scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the fifth inning.
The teams’ 28 combined strikeouts in an MSHSL baseball championship record.
In the Class AA final, pitching was also paramount between Fairmont vs. Roseau.
Fairmont senior Zach Jorgensen pitched what surely stands as the game of his life, striking out seven and giving up only two-hits in a 7-0 shutout win.
“I felt really good coming into the game. I’ve only pitched in three other games all season so to have the game I did was extra special,” Jorgensen said.
“Zach is so valuable for us as a catcher he doesn’t get many opportunities to pitch, but he did a heck of a job giving us a chance to win. I’m so proud of him and the rest of the team,” Fairmont head coach Don Waletich said.
Fairmont’s ten prior State appearances had seen them finish as runners-up three times (1975, 1993, 2014) and in third place three more, but they finally break through for their first-ever state title.
Click the video box on this page to watch extended highlights of the 2022 Class AA State Baseball Championship between Fairmont and Roseau
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CLASS AA RECAP, COURTESY MSHSL:
It took the Fairmont High School baseball team a while to get their offense in gear on Friday, June 17, 2022.
Once the Cardinals did, however, the floodgates opened. On their 11th trip to the Minnesota State High School League’s Baseball State Tournament, the Cardinals will take a championship trophy home for the first time after defeating Roseau 7-0 in the Class AA championship game of the Prep Championship Series at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. After being held scoreless for five innings, the Cardinals (27-3) erupted for seven runs – all of which were unearned — in the sixth inning.
That was plenty for senior righthander Zachary Jorgensen, who wriggled his way out of trouble on several occasions while holding the Rams to two hits. Jorgensen walked five and struck out seven to earn the win.
This was a matchup between two schools located roughly 428 miles part who took diverse routes to Target Field. The Cardinals, who finished third in this tournament in 1964, 1971 and 2001, won their first game of the season April 4 and then reeled off 17 more wins before taking a defeat. The Rams (19-7) didn’t even play their first game until May 5. They started their season slowly and stood 3-5 overall at one point. They caught fire and won 16 of their next 17 games prior to the title match.
On a beautiful day for baseball, Jorgensen and his opposite number, senior righty Blake DeMars, battled evenly for most of the game. The Cardinal defense helped Jorgensen, turning a pair of double plays. In another inning, Jorgensen worked out of a bases loaded jam, the only time a Ram runner got as far as third base.
Meanwhile, DeMars surrendered just one hit in the first five innings, using an efficient 63 pitches with no Fairmont runner advancing past second base.
Things changed in a hurry in the sixth inning. Jorgensen started the outburst with a walk. Sophomore shortstop Nate Soelter dropped down a bunt. A throwing error by Roseau senior third baseman Tyler Bjerk allowed Jorgensen to score and Soelter advanced to third base. Jack Kosbab, a junior first baseman, walked. Senior centerfielder Gavin Rodning singled to score Soelter. A throwing error on a bunt produced another run. Later, senior catcher Eli Anderson tripled to left center to send two more runs home. Jorgensen batted a second time and drove in Anderson with a single. In all, 12 batters came to the plate for Fairmont.
Jorgensen, who threw 115 pitches, retired the Rams in order in the seventh to clinch the title and set off a rousing celebration for the Cardinals.
Roseau appeared in its ninth state tournament (and first in a decade) played in participating a championship game for the first time. The unseeded Rams had won just two games total in this tournament prior to this year.
CLASS A RECAP, COURTESY MSHSL:
For the second consecutive season, the Gopher Conference can boast a Class A baseball champion.
Senior Jacob Weckop threw a three-hitter to lead No. 2 Randolph to a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Hayfield in the Class A championship game on Friday, June 17, 2022 at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. It was the first championship for Randolph (25-1) while Hayfield (24-3) was seeking its second consecutive crown.
Weckop, a righthander, walked five and struck out 13 as the Rockets finished the season on a 12-game winning streak. During the conference season, Randolph posted a 6-5 victory over Hayfield in eight innings on May 3. It came during a streak when the Rockets opened the year on a 13-game winning strek.
Hayfield senior Nathan Klocke was equally dominant and nearly matched Weckop, walking nobody with 15 strikeouts.
The pitchers dominated from the start. Hayfield, the top seed and defending champion, grabbed an early lead. In the second inning, sophomore Aidan Nelson walked, moved to a second on a groundout and raced home on sophomore Zander Jacobson’s single. The Rockets, however, responded quickly. In the top of the third, junior Collin Otto led off with a single, but was forced at second base by sophomore Brayden Olsen. Senior Andrew Jenkins then drilled a double down the left field line.
Two innings later, a trio of miscues paved the way to the Randolph scoring the deciding run. Otto’s hard hit ball eluded Jacobson’s glove and headed to the right field corner where it bounced away from right fielder Aidan Nelson. Otto then scored on a passed ball to complete the scoring.
But there was still plenty of drama remaining. In the bottom of the sixth, Nelson and Ethan Pack hit back-to-back two out singles. Weckop induced a fielder’s choice grounder to end the threat. In the seventh, Easton Fritcher drew a two out walk and promptly stole second base. Klocke lined out to shortstop Andrew Jenkins to end the game. Randolph was fourth in the 2021 tournament.
Randolph’s journey to a state championship included a 10-0 victory over MACCRAY in the quarterfinals, followed by a 4-3 win over No. 3 New York Mills in the semifinals.