Coyotes Win 6-3! Earn Berth in State

The Shakopee Coyotes beat the St. Benedict Saints 6-3 Thursday night to earn a berth in next weeks State Amateur Basball tournament in St. Cloud.

With the win the Coyotes ended a 10 year drought and will return for the first time since 2002. In those 10 years there have been plenty of ups and downs, but the real transformation came about three years ago when the Coyotes retooled and focused on building a competitive team using exclusively graduates.

Each year for the past 3 years they have added 2-3 players from Shakopee High in addition to the past graduates on their roster. The Coyotes also installed former Shakopee High graduates Josh Gregor as manager and Chris Lazzari as assistant coach to blend all these talented individuals into a cohesive and competitive squad.

Their hard work was was rewarded with the state berth that came with last night's win. In last night's game, the Coyotes jumped to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Andrew Boyce walked stole second and scored on Nate Roberts base hit. They stretched it to 3-0 in the third when Mike Moll walked, Josh Gregor attempted to sacrifice him to second and beat it out for a base hit.

Zak Hoffman followed with another bunt for a base hit, and Andy Lazzari sent a base hit up the middle to score a run. Alex Gregor followed with a deep fly to center to score his brother.

After the Saints cut the lead to 3-2 in the sixth, the Coyotes struck for two big runs in the 7th. Mike Moll led off and bunted for a hit. Josh Gregor bunted him over to second, then Cord Harguth delivered a big double scoring Moll. Andy Lazzarri followed with another run scoring single.

After trading runs in the 8th, Zak Hoffman nailed down the win, striking out the side around a hit, error and walk in the bottom of the 9th.

The Coyotes used a trio of pitchers effectively as they escaped jams all night. Andy Lazzari went the first five, allowing just one run, Cody Pamperin went the next three allowing two runs and getting some huge strikeouts to end a couple threats. And of course, Zak Hoffman's one inning in the ninth.

Next up for the Coyotes is the semifinals of the region – they will play St. Patrick Saturday Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. in St. Patrick.

Depending on the outcome they will be in Union Hill Sunday, Aug. 12 playing for the region championship or for third place in the region. Those results will determine where they will be seeded in the state tournament. Game times: Noon for 3rd Place, region championship game 3:30 p.m.