Maple Grove Resumes State Baseball Title Quest Thursday

The baseball team treated its Section 5AAA championship matchup with Coon Rapids like a state title game. Now, the Crimson hope to earn the right for the real state crown.

Maple Grove begins its state quest for the Class AAA championship on Thursday at 3 p.m. against Bloomington Kennedy. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Midway Stadium.

The Cardinals put Maple Grove in a precarious position during the section tournament by beating the previously undefeated Crimson squad in the third round of the section tournament.

But Maple Grove (24-1) battled back, beating Irondale 8-4 before defeating Coon Rapids twice on June 8 for the section title.

Now, the Crimson get a shot at realizing the dream they’ve held all season of finishing their fairytale year with a state championship.

It would be the first in school history despite five previous trips to state. Maple Grove won four straight section titles from 1998-2001 and again in 2007.

Kennedy (10-11) is making its eighth trip to state in school history. The Eagles haven’t been to the state tournament since 2000, and the last of their two state championships came in 1975.

This season, Kennedy lost eight of its first nine games before turning its season around. The Eagles won five games in a row from April 29-May 9, then lost four straight before sweeping through the Section 6AAA tournament with a perfect 5-0 record. They beat Hopkins 25-7 in the section championship game.