In perennial fashion, April rain showers in Minnesota postponed games across the state, including the season openers for Kenyon-Wanamingo and Medford. 

Before the season started, Knights coach Randy Hockinson sought out a time slot to play at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to get his team a guaranteed game early in the season.

“It’s a thrill and a great experience for our kids” he said. “Our baseball association fought really hard to make this happen. There was some resistance by the Vikings for allowing baseball in here, and the legislature decided this is going to be ‘The People’s Stadium’ and it should be more than football in here, so I called on the first possible date.”

Kenyon-Wanamingo was efficient with its time on the plush turf, clinching a 14-1 five-inning win against Medford Tuesday night which left remaining time for the junior varsity teams to play several innings.

Under the stadium roof, the Knights’ Gavin Roosen made his first start on the mound while nursing a fractured toe he injured a month ago in his final high school basketball game.

Roosen was eager and started the game sporadically, walking his first two batters before closing the first with three strikeouts. He walked five of his first 10 batters.

“He was rushing his delivery. The harder he throws, the wilder he gets,” Hockinson said. “I was going to leave him out there til’ he figured it out, and he got his mechanics under control and pitched well.”

Roosen’s aggressiveness on the mound translated to the plate and his baserunning where he batted 2-for-4, drove in a run and scored twice himself. Roosen connected for Kenyon-Wanamingo’s first hit in the third inning, a drive down the left-field line that brought in Mitch Boyum.

With a two run lead, Roosen pieced together three strikeouts in the bottom of the third that galvanized his team. 

Sophomore Tyler Ryan, an individual state champion wrestler, kick-started the Knights with a lead-off double in the top of the fourth that triggered a three-run rally.

“We’re going to need guys like that. We lost six from last year, so we’re going to need young guys to step up and take a role,” Roosen said.

The Knight will have to replace five starters from last year’s team that repeated as Hiawatha Valley League Blue Division champions.

Ryan, Mathew Houglum, Dylan Craig and Peyton Hilke all wrestled for the Knights who won the team consolation championship at state. Hockinson said he thinks that prowess on the mat translates to the baseball diamond.

“They have competitiveness and confidence,” he said. “They’re not afraid of succeeding, they’re not afraid of failing. They’re going to put it out there and do what they can and that’s felt by the whole team.”

Houglum and Ryan both got on base in the fifth inning, which put pressure on Medford (0-1) and ultimately led to loaded bases. Alex Gengler walked in three consecutive runs with the bases loaded before Houglum hit a double-RBI single in his second at-bat of the inning, followed by an RBI single by Ryan.

Following Tuesday's trip to Minneapolis, Roosen said he hopes the win will ring in a new season of success for Kenyon-Wanamingo.

"We won quite a few games in football -- wrestling's always in state -- we're a winning program and we like to keep it that way by winning games on the baseball field too," he said.

Gavin Roosen threw six strikeouts in the first three innings to help Kenyon-Wanamingo establish an early lead before coasting to a 14-1 five-inning victory over Medford in its season opener at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The Knights used a three-run rally in the fourth inning to runaway with the lead, and Medford (0-1) folded in the fifth, surrendering nine runs after giving up three straight runs on walks with the bases loaded.

Sophomore Tyler Ryan kick-started Kenyon-Wanamingo (1-0) by crushing a lead-off double in the fourth, and finished the game batting 3-for-4, scoring two runs and driving in another.

Matthew Houglum had three RBIs for the Knights, while the Tigers’ Cole Volkmann drove in freshman Zach Wetmore for their only run.

The MN Baseball Hub polls are for entertainment purposes only. 

Spotlight Game Coverage