Senior Charlie Turch pitched a four-hit shutout and St. Agnes scored at least one run in all but two innings as the Aggies beat Blackduck 7-0 on Friday, June 15, at Athletic Park in Chaska and earn a berth in the state Class 1A championship game.
St. Agnes (22-6) advances to play La qui Parle Valley (18-9) at 12 p.m. on Monday at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Blackduck (23-4) plays Browerville (23-4) in the third place game Friday at 5 p.m. at Athletic Park.
Known more for his hitting prowess, Turch had pitched just 17 innings entering the state tournament, but he was 3-0 with a .790 ERA. Those numbers improved with his sterling effort against the Drakes, whose best chance to score came in the fourth when they loaded the bases on two hit and a walk. Turch escaped the inning on a groundout by Blackduck’s Jacob Krabbenhoft.
Evan Morehead and Mitch Knippenberg each went 2-for-4 for St. Agnes, and Knippenberg scored twice.
Aaron Nissen had two of the Drake’s hits.
Blackduck starter Cody Bergquist was tagged with the loss and gave way to a pair of relievers.
-- Loren Nelson, MN Baseball Hub staff