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.

New Prague vs. Benilde-St. Margaret's

7 p.m., Tuesday, May 2

New Prague (8-0, 4-0) is taking the state by storm, undefeated thus far and outscoring foes by a combined 61-11.

The Trojans are one of the oldest teams in the state, listing 14 seniors, three juniors and no underclassmen on the varsity roster after graduating 11 players from the 2022 squad. 

New Prague is off to a dream start in 2023, but its opponents are 16-30 through April 29.

The rubber hits the road this week when the Trojans, ranked No. 5 in the April 24 Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A poll, travel to No. 3-3A Benilde-St. Margaret's.

The Red Knights (6-1, 3-0) will look to gain the upper hand over the Trojans in the Metro West Conference, with both teams sitting in poll position. 

Like the Trojans, Benilde-St. Margaret's lost a lot of talent from that 2022 state championship team. Fifteen seniors to be exact.

There have been some growing pains for the Red Knights, but they overcame a 12-7 loss at No. 4-3A St. Thomas Academy in the second game of the season to win five in a row by a combined 47-20 score.

The Red Knights feature senior outfielder and Arizona- commit Easton Breyfogle.

Randolph vs. Hayfield

5 p.m., Thursday, May 4

A rematch of the 2022 Class 1A state title game is on the way this week when Randolph meets Hayfield on Thursday. The Rockets beat their Gopher Conference bretheren 2-1 last year at Target Field.

It's tight when Randolph and Hayfield meet. The Rockets also won a 6-5 game in Hayfield in the regular season.

Nine players graduated from that Randolph squad, including all-state pitcher Nathan Weckop.

The Rockets, ranked No. 1 in the preseason 1A coaches poll, are still rolling with a 5-1 record and 2-1 mark in the Gopher Conference heading into a May 1 conference matchup with Blooming Prairie. Each win came by three runs or more with the lone blemish coming against United South Central.

Randolph features outfielder/infielder Brayden Olsen, a third team all-conference selection last year as a freshman.

While Hayfield lost the head-to-head matchup last year, it split the Gopher Conference title with Randolph.

Hayfield graduated five seniors from last season, including all-state performers Easton Fritcher, Karver Heydt and Nolan Klocke 

Back is Aidan Nelson, who was third team all-conference as a sophomore.

No. 2-1A Hayfield is 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Gopher Conference heading into a Monday game at New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva.

The Vikings are averaging 11.25 runs per game and have been held under nine runs just once.

Edina vs. Wayzata

6:30 p.m., Friday, May 5

After a 2-2 start to the season in which Edina scored just four combined runs in its two losses, the Hornets are on a three-game win streak through April 26.

That includes a 6-4 road win April 24 to hand Lake Conference leader Minnetonka its only loss.

The Hornets have a balanced lineup led by outfielder Jack McCoy, who’s leading the Hornets with a .389 batting average entering a May 1 game at Robbinsdale Armstrong. He’s also tops in on-base percentage (.542) and RBIs (seven).

Lewis Meyer allowed one unearned run and four hits in six innings in Edina’s 2-1 win against Duluth East.

As of April 30, Edina (5-2, 2-1) and No. 6-4A Wayzata (5-2, 3-1) are tied with Minnetonka in the loss column for the conference lead. All three teams finished below .500 in conference in 2022.

Edina and Wayzata split last year’s meetings with Edina winning 1-0 on the road and Wayzata winning 6-3 on the road.

Current senior Luke Vitt pitched a two-hit, complete game shutout in Edina’s win.

In Wayzata’s win, the Trojans were led by a 3-for-4 day with two runs scored by current senior Jake Berkland. 

Kimball vs. Foley, 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 2. This could be a battle of unbeatens if Kimball gets by Royalton the day prior. Foley is off to a 3-0 start and is No. 3 in the April 24 Class 2A coaches poll.

Prior Lake vs. Rosemount, 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 3. Prior Lake, No. 9 in Class 4A, is off to a 3-3 start against a difficult schedule that doesn't let up at Rosemount. The Irish sit at No. 9 in the April 24 Star Tribune metro top 10 and own four wins in a row after a season-opening loss at Eastview.

The MN Baseball Hub poll is for entertainment purposes only.