Class 2A story lines

1 Crusaders karma

St. Cloud Cathedral is making its 17th state tournament appearance, largely because of the leadership of head coach/philosopher Bob Karn. The Crusaders have won seven state championships under Karn, who is in his 43rd year at the helm and is fond of saying “Baseball is about going home. And who doesn’t want to go home?” He had never lost in a state championship game until falling to Holy Family in the 2012 final. Top-seeded Cathedral has a stingy pitching staff that has given up just 32 runs in 25 games.

 

2 Return of the Tigers

Delano is making its fourth consecutive tournament appearance, having won the consolation title a year ago. Three Tigers starters — Toby Hanson, Zach Muckenhirn and Adam Schleper — also started for the basketball team that reached the Class 3A tournament in March. Hanson, a junior catcher, led the state with seven home runs during the regular season.

 

3 Repeat performance?

In 2012, Holy Family won the title largely on the arm of pitcher Kasey Ralston, who pitched two shutouts and gave up only five hits. Minnehaha Academy pitcher John Pryor is a candidate to repeat Ralston’s performance. The senior lefty, who has signed with Division I Lipscomb University in Nashville, is 7-0 with 94 strikeouts and a 0.26 ERA. Pryor also played point guard for the Redhawks’ Class 2A championship basketball team.

 

4 Battle of the newbies

Thursday’s third quarterfinal game is a matchup of state tournament first-timers Watertown-Mayer and Minnehaha Academy. Watertown-Mayer lost five of its last eight regular-season games, then won six of its last seven games in the section playoffs. The Royals feature a formidable 1-2 punch in infielder Matt Elsenpeter (school-record 35 hits, .443 average) and pitcher Michael Herd (7-1, 0.47 ERA).

 

5 High expectations at Perham

In making its eighth state tournament appearance, Perham is following the lead of many other teams at the school. The Yellowjackets are the ninth team from the school to win a section championship in the 2012-13 school year. They have done it with depth on the mound. Three players have four victories each: Austin Erickson, Cameron Mulcahy and staff ace Eric Brauch, who has 52 strikeouts in 37 innings.

Jim Paulsen

SCHEDULE

Quarterfinals, semifinals at St. Cloud MAC

Thursday

Quarterfinals

• Luverne (20-4) vs. St. Cloud Cathedral (No. 1 seed, 23-2), 10 a.m.

• Kasson-Mantorville (No. 5, 23-6) vs. Hermantown (No. 4, 20-2), 12:30 p.m.

• Watertown-Mayer (16-8) vs. Minnehaha Academy (No. 3, 17-5), 3 p.m.

• Perham (16-5) vs. Delano (No. 2, 17-2), 5:30 p.m.

Friday

• Semifinals, noon and 2:30 p.m.

• Third place, 5 p.m.

• Consolation semis, 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m.

• Consolation final, 3 p.m.

MONDAY

Championship • Target Field

• Semifinals winners, 1 p.m.