Minnesota high school baseball state tournament: New Prague contains Mahtomedi in Class 3A title game
Minnesota high school baseball state tournament: results, recaps, stat leaders from the semifinals
Brackets
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The No. 1-seed New Prague Trojans defeated the No. 3-seed Mahtomedi Zephyrs 5-3 in the Class 3A MSHSL Baseball championship on Friday at CHS Field.
Nolan Eischens led the charge with three RBIs, and he pitched 1.1 innings to close out the Zephyrs.
"[Eischens] was outstanding once again," senior Kyle Carlberg said. "There's a reason he got all tournament team. Much deserved, and he's a great ball player and a great teammate."
Eischens hit an RBI single to drive in Carlberg to give New Prague a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Mahtomedi tied the game the next half-inning when Carter Schmidtz hit an RBI single after pinch runner Nicholas Rollinger ran for Joshua Donna.
The Zephyrs had two runners in scoring position later in the inning, but Jacob Johnson hit a fly out to leave them stranded.
Mahtomedi pitcher Max Streker, in for Donna, walked Nick Giesen with the bases loaded to give New Prague a 2-1 lead after four innings.
Mahtomedi had an opportunity with runners on second and third with two outs, but Donna flew out, and the Zephyrs once again left runners stranded.
New Prague scored three runs in the fifth inning. Eischens hit a 2-RBI single to extend the Trojans lead to 4-1. Jake Lundquist added another run with a single to right field.
"To be able to get over that hump, get a few extra runs, some insurance for our guys on the mound, it was big," Carlberg said.
The Zephyrs got the runs they needed in the sixth inning to keep the game close. Jacob Johnson hit a double to drive in two runs as Mahtomedi cut the lead to 5-3.
Eischens needed three outs for the save, and he had three up and down, and the Trojans were state champions.
"For us to go out on top like that, it's one of the best feelings I've ever felt," Carlberg said.
Photo by Jack Butler
