Sports
Maple Grove Faces Burnsville For State Baseball Title
The Crimson play the Blaze on Wednesday, June 22 at 6 p.m. at Target Field for the Class AAA crown.
Update: As of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 22, the Minnesota State High School League is saying all championshop games scheduled at Target Field are on as scheduled.
June 20: Editor's note: After this article was written, the Minnesota State High School League issued a statement delaying the state championship baseball game until Wednesday, June 22. According to the MSHSL, "the weather forecast for Tuesday, June 21, the scheduled date for the games at Target Field in Minneapolis, indicates that rain is likely to make it impossible to play all three games." The league said officals will reasses the weather situation June 21. The following article has been corrected since it was initially posted on Maple Grove Patch.
The baseball team has never won a state championship, but that could change Wednesday, June 22 as the Crimson face Burnsville for the Class AAA state title.
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Maple Grove’s fairytale run, which included a perfect 19-0 regular season, will end with a 6 p.m. state championship matchup against the Blaze at Target Field in Minneapolis.
The Crimson (26-1) played in their only other state championship game in 1999, when they lost to Hastings 4-2. Burnsville, on the other hand, played in this game a year ago and lost 7-5 to Eden Prairie.
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Wednesday’s matchup will be a clash of two teams capable of putting up big offensive numbers while shutting down the opposition with strong pitching and consistent defense.
The Blaze (25-3) entered the state tournament outscoring their opponents 204-73. That boils down to a 2.68 team earned-run average on the mound and a .365 batting average at the plate.
In the state quarterfinals, Burnsville pitcher Quinn Johnson threw 4 1/3 innings of perfect baseball against Bemidji, and he finished the game with a two-hit shutout.
But Maple Grove is just as capable of handling the opposition.
The Crimson batted .330 as a team this year, and in their run to the state tournament they outscored opponents 195-77. Maple Grove belted 18 home runs as a team this year, the most in school history.
Their lone loss came in the Section 5AA semifinals to Coon Rapids, but Maple Grove rebounded and defeated the Cardinals twice in the section championship to earn a trip to state.
It is the Crimson’s sixth trip to state overall.
