Shakopee Indians Gear Up For A Third Straight Title Run

The Shakopee Indians baseball team understood the 2011 road to state wouldn’t be easy. Reigning as the two-time defending Class B state champion ensured that.

That’s why the Indians beefed up their schedule. Playing in more difficult tournaments and focusing on Class A and B opponents didn’t necessarily pad their win total, but it just might be what Shakopee needs to get through the postseason tournaments.

“It’s definitely been a little bit of an adjustment,” assistant manager Curt Hartfiel said. “There hasn’t been any easy games so far.”

It hasn’t fazed the Indians. Shakopee entered the final week of regular season play with an 18-12 record, including wins in three of its past four games. Three losses this season came in extra innings this season, and eight defeats came by two or fewer runs.

Shakopee begins its Section 3B postseason tournament on Friday, July 29, against Jordan in a best-of-five series. First pitch for Game 1 is at 7:30 p.m. The teams know each other well—Shakopee beat Jordan 6-5 on July 17 and 8-0 on July 22 before falling 10-7 on July 24.

The Indians won the Class A state title in 1940 and the Class B title in 1959, then went into a 50-year title drought. But the 2009 squad, while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the last championship, came through and won one of its own.

That was a big step for Hartfiel and the Indians squad, who since then have picked up another title and are gunning for a third straight championship.

“It was kind of a milestone in itself that we were playing for the 50th anniversary,” Hartfiel said. “We had a bullet on our back being the two-time state champs, but we also have a lot tougher schedule this year.”