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Fire blank Crusaders for title

By MN Baseball Hub and Star Tribune Staff, 06/18/12, 1:00PM CDT

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Holy Family Catholic's Kasey Ralston masterful against defending Class 2A champ SCC


Holy Family Catholic's Kasey Ralston, left, celebrates the Fire's state Class 2A championship victory over St. Cloud Cathedral with catcher Keller Knoll. Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune

Kasey Ralston’s best asset was on display Monday afternoon at Target Field.

It wasn’t the Holy Family senior’s 90-mph fastball or his biting slider or his plate presence, although all of those were significant.

Ralston’s biggest contribution to his team’s 5-0 victory over St. Cloud Cathedral in the Class 2A championship game was merely his presence.

With Ralston on the mound, a very good Holy Family team becomes nearly unbeatable. The Indiana University recruit put on his second commanding performance of the state tournament, shutting down St. Cloud Cathedral — a program with seven state titles highlighting its recordbook — on two hits, striking out seven.


Holy Family Catholic pitcher Kasey Ralson. Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii

 Ralston pitched complete-game shutouts in both state tournament starts. He gave up a total of six hits and struck out 13.

“We had so much confidence coming into this game,” senior leftfielder Tommy Hanson said. “Any time you have a pitcher like Kasey on the mound, you feel good about your chances.”

St. Cloud Cathedral coach Bob Karn, whose teams had won five straight championship games dating back to 1989, knew a sixth finals victory would be difficult considering the mound opponent.

“We felt that Ralston was the best pitcher we would see all season,” Karn said. “He threw harder and had better control than any other pitcher we’d faced.”

Ralston was as good as advertised on Monday. Mixing his fastball and curve with a slider rarely seen at the high school level, Ralston faced just four batters over the minimum and didn’t allow a runner to reach third base until two were out in the seventh inning.

“That was probably the most determined I’ve ever been,” said Ralston. “I wanted to give my best effort on the biggest stage I’ve ever played on.”

With Ralston in control, the Fire put pressure on the Cathedral pitchers, leaving four runners on base through the first three innings before finally breaking through in the fourth inning.

Keller Knoll and Connor Riddle started it with back-to-back doubles off Cathedral starter Eric Pelant for the first run of the game. Two batters later another double, this time by Jack Schliesman, drove in the second run. Hanson capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly.

With Ralston dealing zeroes, that 3-0 lead looked far bigger.

“I thought it was just a matter of time before we broke through,” said Holy Family coach Bryan DiLorenzo. “We were getting guys on base and our outs were hard hit.”

Holy Family (25-5) added two more runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth inning, giving Ralston breathing room he would not need.

“This is such an awesome feeling, it’s unexplainable,” Ralston said. “And doing it in a dream place to play, it’s probably the most joy I’ve ever had playing baseball.”

-- Jim Paulsen, Star Tribune Staff
james.paulsen@startribune.com 

Game Recap

Holy Family's Kasey Rolston was everything he was expected to be. The defending champion St. Cloud Cathedral team did not get their second hit of the game until the final half inning of play. The Fire finished off the Crusaders by a score of 5-0.

The game started out as the pitcher's duel everyone expected. Rolston and Eric Pelant locked in three scoreless innings before the Fire would break through. In the bottom of the fourth, they would get three doubles and one hit by pitch before chasing Pelant from the mound.
 
In the fifth they would add two more runs with two more doubles to get their last two runs of the game. The Crusaders would get two base runners in the top of the 7th but would not score. Rolston would pitch a complete game shutout.
 
This was Holy Family Catholic's third state tournament appearance and first championship. They also did not give up a run in their three state tournament games.
 
-- Jake Lunemann, MN Baseball Hub Staff

Three Stars

1. Kasey Ralston, Holy Family Catholic
The University of Indiana bound Ralston completely shut down the Crusaders, throwing a two hit complete-game shutout. He struck out seven and while hitting two, keeping St. Cloud Cathedral at bay the entire game. 

2. Conner Riddle, Holy Family Catholic
The Fire designated hitter sparked the offense, going 2-3 and driving in three runs. He helped break the game open in the 4th and 5th, drilling two doubles to the gap to help Holy Family create some separation midway through the game.

3. Tommy Hanson, Holy Family Catholic
Hanson had a grind it out type of performance, walking twice and knocking in a run on sacrifice fly. His ability to get on base helped set the table for his teammates, sparking the rallies that put them in the lead for good.

-- Alec Kinsky, MN Baseball Hub Staff
 

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