After finishing the regular season with a 6-14 record, the Henry Sibley baseball team was seeded sixth in the Class 3A, Section 3 playoffs.

Fast-forward a week and the Warriors are one win away from a trip to the state tournament after forcing a second game in the championship series with a 20-1 win over top-seeded South St. Paul on Monday night at Red Haddox Field in Bloomington. 

“Sometimes that’s what happens in baseball,” Henry Sibley coach Greg Fehrman said. “Games get away from you and before you know it …that’s just the way it is.”

The game got away from the Packers (18-6) early on, with the Warriors tacking on six runs in the first inning in the five-inning, mercy-rule shortened game. 

“(We’re) a sixth-seed, and nobody really expected anything of (us),” Fehrman said of his team. “We’ll just continue to play the game and see what happens.”

South St. Paul was ranked No. 6 in the latest Class 3A coaches’ poll entering the playoffs, but it's Henry Sibley playing the role of a team getting hot at the right time.

This marks the second consecutive game in which the Warriors have hung a 20-spot on opponents, after downing Simley 21-7 in the section semifinals. 

“They’re hitting the ball well and giving us good at-bats,” Fehrman said of his team's lively offense.

Leading the barrage Monday was junior Sam Gantman, who went 4-for-4 and drove in two runs for Henry Sibley (11-15). 

Gantman said that the Warriors have found new life after the regular season. 

“It’s crazy,” Gantman said of his teammates’ playoff enthusiasm. “The energy level on the bench has been great, and we’re just playing some good baseball right now."

Senior pitcher Sam Pressman, Henry Sibley's Most Valuable Player in 2015, cruised on the mound on Monday, efficiently scattering four hits and frustrating the Packers with his pitch location. 

“We came out with a game plan to throw my fastball, and if I felt like it, my off-speed (pitches),” Pressman said.

Pressman and Gantman both agreed that the low seeding and lack of expectation has helped the team take a more relaxed approach to games. 

“I think that’s been our mentality,” Pressman said. “Connecting our at-bats and just playing until tomorrow.”

Junior Sam Gantman went 4-for-4 with two RBI, and senior Sam Pressman drove in three in addition to getting the win on the mound as Henry Sibley thumped South St. Paul 20-1 in five innings Monday to force a second game in the Class 3A, Section 3 championship.

The No. 6-seeded Warriors (11-15) scored five runs in the first inning, six in the second, four in the fourth and five in the fifth to hit the 20-run plateau for the second time in consecutive games after beating Simley 21-7 in the semifinals.

The top-seeded Packers (18-6), ranked No. 6 in Class 3A in the latest coaches' poll, totaled an uncharacteristic six errors in the loss. 

The teams meet again tomorrow at Red Haddox Field at 6 p.m. to decide who advances to the state tournament.

Spotlight Game Coverage