Red Lake County Falls Short of Repeat Bid, Finishes Runner-Up in Class A State Championship
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (KVRR) – History was going to be made Monday afternoon at Target Field.
Either Red Lake County would become the first Minnesota Class A baseball team in more than a decade to win back-to-back state championships, or Madelia would capture the first state title in program history.
It was the Blackhawks who ultimately made history.
Madelia capitalized on Red Lake County mistakes and rode a dominant performance from pitcher Tate Becker to an 11-1 victory in six innings to claim the Class A State Championship.
The Rebels found themselves trailing 1-0 in the top of the second inning but quickly responded. Will Gieseke delivered an RBI single through the right side of the infield to tie the game at 1-1.
The momentum was short-lived.
Madelia answered in the bottom half of the inning, taking advantage of defensive miscues by the Rebels. Three runs crossed the plate as the Blackhawks regained control and never looked back. Red Lake County committed three errors in the contest, leading to several unearned runs. Gieseke allowed four runs over three innings on the mound, but only one of those runs was earned. He also finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and an RBI.
Despite the deficit, the Rebels had opportunities to get back into the game.
In the fourth inning, Red Lake County loaded the bases with one out, but Becker escaped the jam with consecutive strikeouts. An inning later, the Rebels again loaded the bases with one out, only to see Madelia turn an inning-ending double play.
Those missed opportunities proved costly. Red Lake County stranded 10 runners on base while Becker continued to dominate. The Southwest Minnesota State commit tossed 5 2/3 innings, allowing just four hits and one unearned run while striking out nine.
Madelia steadily added to its lead before entering the bottom of the sixth inning ahead 10-1. Needing just one more run to end the game via the 10-run rule, the Blackhawks delivered, securing an 11-1 victory and the first state baseball championship in school history.
For Red Lake County, the loss brings an end to a remarkable season that saw the defending champions return to the state title game and finish one win shy of another championship.
“We’re very proud of them. I mean, that’s the bottom line,” Rebels head coach Mike Gullingsrud said. “Everybody’s got a journey along the way, and there’s probably 112 other teams in Class A baseball that would love to have this type of journey to be where we’re at. A loss to Madelia is not anything to hang your head about. We have eight incredible seniors that, from last year’s team, have moved into this year’s team, and the memories that they have left for not only our coaching staff, teammates and the communities involved. It’s a very special team. I’m very proud of them.”
Red Lake County concludes its season as the Class A state runner-up after another memorable run that included a return trip to the championship game.
Congratulations to sophomore pitcher/CF Ben Gullingsrud (top row, second in from right) and senior Pitcher/INF Will Gieseke (top row, third in from right) on being named to the ALL-Tournament team.
