Quantcast
skip navigation

East Ridge upsets No. 1 Stillwater 6-5 in 8 innings

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 06/15/19, 2:45PM CDT

Share

The Raptors had just four hits but took advantage of mistakes by the defending Class 4A champions to advance to their first baseball championship game.


East Ridge infielder Ben North (3) slid safely into home to score the go-ahead run in the decisive eigth inning as Stillwater catcher Logan Jordan (17) couldn't hold onto the ball. Photo: Shari L. Gross • shari.gross@startribune.com

Stillwater sent dominant starter Will Frisch to the mound in the Class 4A baseball semifinals. To score runs off the cannon-armed pitcher, the Raptors needed a few breaks to go their way.

They got more than a few, taking advantage of multiple Stillwater miscues en route to a 6-5, eight-inning victory over the 2018 state champs on Saturday at CHS Field.

East Ridge managed just four base hits but was the beneficiary of five hit batsmen, four errors, three walks, two wild pitches, and two throwing errors by Stillwater pitchers that allowed runs to score.

“When you play a team that has a guy like [Frisch] on the mound, it’s whoever makes the fewest mistakes,” East Ridge coach Brian Sprout said. “That’s your winner of the baseball game.”

East Ridge (20-6) got it first break in its first at-bat. Frisch walked the first two batters of the game. Roman Newinski drove in one of them with a single and another run scored on a wild pitch.

First report

East Ridge managed just four base hits, but the Raptors took advantage of plenty of Stillwater mistakes to defeat the No. 1-seeded Ponies 6-5 in eight innings Saturday at CHS Field.

The Raptors, playing in their first state tournament, advance to the Class 4A championship game next Thursday at Target Field.

East Ridge scored twice in the top of the eighth inning on two hits and two errors to take the lead after allowing Stillwater to tie the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh.

Stillwater scored one run in the bottom of the eighth, but Will Frisch flied out to deep center field to end the game.

Stillwater, the defending Class 4A state champions, committed four errors. Ponies pitchers had a particularly rough game. They hit five batters, walked three, threw two wild pitches and made two throwing errors that led directly to East Ridge runs.

Check back later for more on the game.

Baseball Hub Headlines