Aggressiveness at the plate has the Park Rapids baseball team one win away from playing for the Section 8AA championship.
The Panthers, who are the No. 1 seed in the north, joined Perham as the only undefeated teams in the double-elimination tournament by following a 12-2 five-inning victory over Roseau with a 7-6 victory over East Grand Forks at Crookston Thursday.
“The boys have simply been excellent competitors and have persevered through tough situations. The guys have also had a great approach at the plate and we are hitting the ball very well. It’s nice to see them attack every pitch with some aggression,” said Park Rapids head coach Zach Holsman. “As we continue to be effective on the mound and hit the ball like we have all season, we’ll be tough from here on out.”
Park Rapids carried a 21-2 record and 16-game winning streak into Tuesday’s game at Perham, the No. 1 seed in the south. The winner of that game advances to the title game, which will be played Thursday at a site to be determined.
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Panthers rout Roseau
A 13-hit attack propelled the Panthers past Roseau.
After Roseau scored a run in the first, the Panthers used two errors, a single by Josh Severtson, a two-run single by Drew Bade and an RBI single by Jon Burlingame to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of that inning.
Jordan McCollum’s two-run home run, two errors and Derek Porozinski’s RBI single extended the lead to 8-1 in the second.
Roseau scored a run in the third before the Panthers ended this game early via the 10-run rule by scoring twice in both the fourth and fifth innings.
In the fourth, a triple by Bade, a sacrifice fly by Rilee Johnson, a triple by Burlingame and an RBI single by Tyler McCollum made it 10-2 before a single by Chase Brand, a double by Jordan McCollum, a sacrifice fly by Bade and an RBI double by Johnson ended the game.
Jordan McCollum went 3 for 4 with three runs and earned the win by allowing two runs on two hits with four strikeouts. Bade went 2 for 2 with two runs and three RBI while Burlingame went 2 for 2.
Roseau, the No. 4 seed in the north, fell to 12-9.
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Roseau 101 00…2 2 4
Park Rapids 350 22…12 13 3
Player AB R H RBI
J. McCollum 4 3 3 2
Severtson 4 1 1 0
Bade 2 2 2 3
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Johnson 3 2 1 2
Porozinski 3 1 1 1
Burlingame 2 1 2 1
T. McCollum 3 0 1 1
Eischens 3 0 0 0
Brand 2 2 2 0
Totals 26 12 13 9
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J. McCollum (5IP, 2R, 1ER, 2H, 4K, 3BB, 1HBP). W-J. McCollum. L-Krahn. 2B: J. McCollum 1, Johnson 1. 3B: Bade 1, Burlingame 1. HR: J. McCollum 1. SB: Bade 1, Johnson 1.
Panthers edge East Grand Forks
In the second game of the season, East Grand Forks rallied to score three runs in the seventh inning for a 3-2 win over the Panthers.
The Panthers avenged that loss with a 7-6 win in the third round of the section playoffs.
Bade singled and scored in the first to tie the game at 1-1 before EGF used two errors to take a 5-1 lead in the second.
In the bottom of the second, singles by Brad Eischens, Jordan McCollum and Severtson, a double by Bade and a sacrifice fly by Johnson pulled the Panthers to within 5-4.
After EGF scored in the fourth for a 6-4 edge, the Panthers tied the game at 6-6 on Bade’s two-run homer.
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The Panthers scored the game-winner in the sixth on Severtson’s triple and Johnson’s RBI single.
Severtson went 2 for 3 with two runs and Bade went 3 for 3 with two runs and three RBI to lead the Panthers’ 10-hit attack.
EGF, the No. 3 seed in the north, fell to 14-7.
E. Grand Forks 140 100 0…6 8 2
Park Rapids 130 201 x…7 10 7
Player AB R H RBI
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J. McCollum 4 2 1 0
Severtson 3 2 2 1
Bade 3 2 3 3
Johnson 2 0 1 2
Porozinski 3 0 1 0
Burlingame 2 0 0 1
T. McCollum 3 0 1 0
Eischens 3 1 1 0
Brand 2 0 0 0
Totals 25 7 10 7
Bade, T. McCollum. W-T. McCollum. L-Brierley. 2B: Bade 1. 3B: Severtson 1. HR: Bade 1.
