Three is a magic number for Chaska sophomore Reid Young.

The Hawks shortstop, who wears No. 3, hit a three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning to propel Chaska past Chanhassen 10-2 in a Metro West Conference matchup Monday  at Chanhassen High School.

Young said the homer was the finest hit of his career, but it didn’t come easy.

The Hawks were clinging to a 1-0 lead and had runners on first and second with one out when Young came to the plate in the fourth. 

He fell behind in the count 0-2 and lost some of his confidence. But after a deep breath, Young stepped to the plate with his focus on making contact with the ball. 

He got ahold of the next pitch from Storm senior starter Jack Schnetter, sending a ball so high into air over the field that it looked as if it would never come down.

The ball eventually did land. It cleared the fence in right-center field and dropped quite a memory on Young, who was playing in his first varsity game against local rival Chanhassen.

“That was the best hit of my life and that home run’s going to memorable because of the rivalry,” Young said.  

Hawks coach Craig Baumann said he was surprised by Young’s unexpectedly powerful swing.

“I don’t think I’ve seen him a hit a ball past where the outfielders were standing,” Baumann said. “But a blind dog finds a bone once in a while.”  

Young’s success may not stun those who know the history of Chaska’s No. 3.

This is the first season Young has donned the number after the previous owner, Taylor Murphy, graduated last year. Murphy also found some magic in No. 3, hitting a three-run homer is his first game at Chanhassen.

Thanks to this season’s No. 3, Chaska (9-0, 7-0) remained unbeaten and atop the league standings with a two-game lead on Bloomington Jefferson.

Despite Young’s blast, Baumann wasn’t sure his team could defeat Chanhassen.

“In this park, four runs isn’t always enough,” Baumann said. “We’re pretty confident in our pitching, but [the Storm] have some pretty talented hitters also, so we want to keep grinding our bats.” 

The Hawks’ hitting came through in the sixth and seventh innings, delivering three runs in each to help Chaska pull away.

Starting pitcher Luke Roskam earned the win after turning in a strong outing. He gave up eight hits and struck out six while walking four in six innings. The only blemish on Roskam’s night was allowing two runs in the fifth inning, but the junior said he wasn’t fazed by the missteps.

“We aren’t perfect, no one’s perfect, it’s baseball,” Roskam said. “Just keep pitching, keep throwing strikes, have my teammates make the play.”

Baumann said Roskam’s aggressive nature gives the three-year varsity pitcher the confidence to work out of tough situations.

“He’s a bulldog and he’ll compete,” Baumann said. “He’ll get after guys and he won’t give in; he’s a great competitor since he was a freshman.” 

This is Chaska’s third win in the last four games against Chanhassen, including a 8-4 victory in the first round of the Class 3A, Section 2 tournament last season. 

Baumann said the Chanhassen game was important to the rivalry, but it has little impact on whether Chaska deems its season a success. The Hawks will save that judgement for down the road.

“If we lose, it’s not going to define our season,” he said. “If we win, like we did, it’s not going to define our season. That’s the way we look at it and we’re going back to work tomorrow.”

Sophomore shortstop Reid Young's three-run home run helped send Chaska to a 10-2 victory over Metro West Conference rival Chanhassen Monday night at Chanhassen High School. 

The Hawks (9-0, 7-0), ranked No. 4 in Class 3A by Let’s Play Baseball, wasted little time taking a lead. 

Junior pitcher Luke Roskam laced a ball to right field, driving in senior second baseman Derek Annett to give Chaska a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The score remained 1-0 until Young blasted a pitch over the right-field fence in the fourth inning. His shot drove in senior catcher Carter Schmidt and sophomore third baseman Jacob Goraczkowski to help the Hawks' extend their advantage to four runs. 

No. 7-3A Chanhassen (7-2, 4-2) answered with two runs in the fifth inning. Senior shortstop Ty Denzer's sacrifice fly scored senior center fielder Cole Kirchoff, and then senior third baseman Chad Clute ripped a line-drive single down the left-field line to bring home senior second baseman Nick Smith.

Chaska pulled away in the sixth and seventh innings.

Senior right fielder Blake Tritch drove in two of the Hawks' three runs in the sixth, and senior center fielder Justin Arnold knocked in three runs in the seventh. 

Roskam allowed two runs on eight hits and finished with four walks and six strikeouts in six innings to earn the win. 

Senior Jack Schnettler took the loss, giving up four runs on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk in 3 2/3 innings. 

Conference play continues for both teams on Wednesday, as Chanhassen heads to Robbinsdale Cooper while Chaska hosts Bloomington Jefferson.          

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