Northfield Baseball Opens State With Top Team

(Editor's Note. The A and AAA Games have been moved to Friday at the same times. AA will play as scheduled, Target Field Games will be Monday)

The Northfield Raiders didn't get a top five seed in the Class AAA State Baseball Tournament. and didn't have much luck in the blind draw for the seeded team's opponents either.

The Big Nine Conference champions will play top-rated and top-seeded Mounds View at CHS Field in St. Paul. The Mustangs are the two-time defending state champions and have 11 seniors on this year's team.

Mounds View is 22-2 and the Raiders are 20-4. Northfield's strength all season has been their hitting. They come into the state tournament with a team batting average of .341 and have clubbed 18 homers. The Raiders are averaging about 8.9 runs per game. Since bringing sophomore Hunter Koepp to varsity, he has become their go-to pitcher with a 4-0 record, 2.51 ERA all in the playoffs.

Raider Head Coach Peter Maus and assistant Tony Mathison have coached together in Northfield for 30 years and are making their second trip to state. Their last appearance came in 2002.

Mounds View's team batting average is .308 and they are averaging 6.4 runs per contest.  The Mustangs have two pitchers with an ERA under 2. Their ace is senior Henry Decaster with a 8-0 record and 1.21 ERA. Decaster has 52 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched.  Mounds View has four pitchers on their staff with three wins or better and no losses. According to the stats they provided the State High School League, the Mustangs have just one homer this season.

The game will be broadcast on KDHL Radio 920 AM and at kdhlradio.com. You can also download the free RadioPup app and listen on your favorite mobile device. Coverage is scheduled to begin 9:45AM. I say scheduled because the forecast doesn't look good for Thursday.

Other games in Class AAA includes the 12:30PM clash between No. 4 seed Anoka and No. 5 seed Lakeville North. At 3PM, No. 2 seed Chanhassen faces St. Michael-Albertville and the 5:30 evening contest features No. 3 seed Mahtomedi going up against Robbinsdale Armstrong.

The Class AA tournament is held at Dick Putz and Joe Faber fields in St. Cloud. The 10AM game has unbeaten No. 1 seed St. Cloud Cathedral playing Cloquet. At 12:30PM, No. 4 seed Marshall plays No. 5 seed Glencoe-Silver Lake. At 3PM, No. 2 seed and unbeaten Rochester Lourdes goes up against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and the 5:30 evening game has No. 3 seed Minnehaha Academy battling with Providence Academy.

The Class A tournament games Thursday are at the Mini Met in Jordan. At 10AM, No. 1 seed and top-ranked New Life Academy of Woodbury plays Red Lake County. At 12:30PM, No. 4 seed Brandon-Evansville faces No. 5 seed Lewiston-Altura. The 3PM game has No. 2 seed Springfield facing Kimball Area. The Cubs enter the state tournament with a 13-14 record. At 5:30PM, another Cinderella team, Deer River, will play No. 3 seed New Ulm Cathedral.

All the defending state champions are back. Moundsview in AAA, St. Cloud Cathedral in AA and New Life Academy of Woodbury in A.