Stillwater Baseball Begins Quest For State Title

The Stillwater Area baseball team will make its fourth consecutive trip to state on Thursday, when the Ponies will begin the quest for their first championship since 1991.

Stillwater faces Forest Lake at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at Midway Stadium in St. Paul.

The Ponies have won seven straight games, including an 8-2 win over Mounds View on June 7 to win the Section 4AAA championship. Their last loss came May 13 to Cretin-Derham Hall.

Stillwater hopes that momentum will carry into the state tournament, where they’ve spent each of the past three years but have yet to take home a title. Stillwater (19-5) went 0-2 last season at state, falling to Forest Lake 2-0 in the quarterfinals before losing to Rochester Mayo 4-3 in the consolation semifinals.

This year, the Ponies hope to get a better result against the Rangers. Forest Lake went 5-1 in the Section 7AAA tournament, losing to St. Francis in the third round before sweeping the Saints in the section championship. Forest Lake took fourth place last year, losing to eventual-champion Eden Prairie in the semifinals and Coon Rapids in the third place game.

Stillwater will be making its seventh trip to the state tournament.