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Top games: Can defending state champs Stillwater get back on track against Cretin-Derham Hall?

By Mike Randleman, SportsEngine, 04/24/23, 8:30AM CDT

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April 28: The red-hot Raiders are set to host the Ponies in an early Suburban East Conference game.


Photo by SportsEngine

We task our reporters with identifying several intriguing games throughout the state to assemble our Top Games of the Week. The matchups are presented in no particular order, and when there are additional games we want to highlight, we’ll include them with brief notes.

Stillwater vs. Cretin-Derham Hall

4:30 p.m., Friday, April 28

Cretin-Derham Hall has looked impressive under first-year head coach Buzz Hannahan. Can the Raiders prove it against the defending state champion?

That’s the question posed when they head to Stillwater this week for an important game in the Suburban East Conference race.

Cretin-Derham Hall is off to a 4-0 start overall and in conference. The Raiders are plowing through opponents by a combined score of 53-15, including a 19-8 drubbing at East Ridge, ranked No. 2 in the Class 4A preseason coaches poll.

The Raiders feature University of Minnesota commit Jake Quinn, a 6-foot-3 left handed hitting outfielder with all the tools. He and his teammates are seeking to improve from an 11-13 mark last year.

Stillwater beat Cretin-Derham Hall three times last year by a combined 24-6 margin, giving the Raiders added motivation to flip the script this week. 

Life hasn’t been easy for Stillwater, however, since winning the Class 4A state championship last season. The graduation of all-state senior Braydon Hellum was a big one.

The Ponies are off to a 2-3 start, a year removed from going 23-4. Stillwater's two wins are by a combined 24-2 margin, but stronger teams have gotten the best of them. No. 4-4A Mounds View took down the Ponies 8-1, and No. 9-4A Woodbury posted a convincing 7-2 win. 

The Ponies could very well likely improve as the season goes on with several key newcomers in the lineup.

Stillwater has a chance to get back on track with a win against a team that’s trending toward getting a number next to its name when the next poll comes out.


Providence Academy vs. New Life Academy

4:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 25

Providence Academy went 12-6 last year with a win over New Life Academy. The Lions are hoping to play spoiler once more against the ranked Eagles.

Providence Academy (1-0) has just one game under its belt entering the week due to weather postponing a couple games last week. The Lions won 4-2 on April 14 vs. Minnehaha Academy, and are coming off their second straight Independent Metro Athletic Conference championship in 2022. Five players graduated from that squad.

The Eagles (2-0), ranked No. 8 in Class 1A in the preseason coaches poll, have been unchallenged thus far, winning 6-0 at a No. 9-2A St. Agnes team that went to state last year and dominating Concordia Academy 12-2. 

Senior Samuel George went 4-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and driven in against St. Agnes. The Iowa Central Community College commit was a triple away from the cycle and pitched a complete game with 14 strikeouts and five hits allowed. Sophomore Noah Hahn allowed just one earned run against Concordia Academy.

New Life Academy hopes to have a team that can give Randolph a run in Class 1A, Section 4. Randolph won that matchup 6-4 in the section championship on the way to a state title.


Mahtomedi vs. White Bear Lake

11 a.m., Saturday, April 29

It’s hard for Mahtomedi to ask for a better to start to the season. The Zephyrs, ranked third in the Class 3A preseason coaches poll, blew out Two Rivers and Tartan to enter a key Metro East Conference game against No. 4-3A St. Thomas Academy. 

Mahtomedi (3-0) edged the Cadets 3-2 in the April 14 game, defeating a St. Thomas Academy squad that would go on to trounce defending state champion Benilde-St. Margaret's a day later. 

Mahtomedi is finding production even after losing all-state outfielder Jordan Hull to graduation among others who led the Zephyrs to a fifth-place finish at the Class 3A state tournament. 

Senior infielder Sam Garry is back. Based on 14 games inputted to Minnesota Baseball Hub in 2022, Garry led the team with 19 RBIs and hit .410.

Senior infielder/pitcher Tommy Muetzel is also back in the fold. In 16 ⅓ logged innings, he had a 1.29 ERA with just three earned runs allowed. He shutout Tartan in six innings of work this season.

Mahtomedi has a few games before meeting with White Bear Lake, but whether or not the Zephyrs are still undefeated or not, the Bears will still be up to play spoiler.

White Bear Lake finished 7-15 last year, marking its 11th straight losing season. It was an improvement from 4-18 in 2021, though. Early returns in 2023 show the program is still trending upward.

The Bears are off to a 3-1 start and are unbeaten since a 4-1 loss to No. 4-4A Mounds View in the April 10 season opener.

White Bear Lake proceeded to rattle off an 8-5 win over 2022 state tournament entrant Park of Cottage Grove, an 8-3 win at Irondale and a 4-1 win at No. 2-4A East Ridge.

Senior pitcher Noah Jacka pitched a gem vs. East Ridge, allowing just one unearned run off five hits through 6 ⅓ innings with nine strikeouts. 

Jacka may not go in this non-conference matchup, but the rest of the staff has done its part to make White Bear Lake a surprise threat in the Suburban East Conference.


Other games to keep an eye on

Chaska vs. Chanhassen, 7 p.m., Friday, April 28. This border battle pits preseason No. 7-4A Chaska (2-1) against No. 3-4A Chanhassen (0-2) under the lights. Both won at the other's ballpark by a 2-1 score in their two Metro West Conference matchups.

Prior Lake vs. Farmington, 4:30 p.m., Thursday, April 27. Prior Lake (2-0) has impressed in two opening blowout victories, but this will be the Lakers' toughest test thus far. Farmington, ranked No 8-4A, dropped a shocker in its season opener to Rochester Mayo on the heels of a trip to the state tournament last spring. The Tigers (1-1) bounced back with a blanking of Shakopee.


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