The Region 13C amateur baseball playoffs ended Saturday with Fairmont scoring six runs in the top of the ninth to beat Hadley 11-5 in Hadley and win the third-place series in two straight games.
Luverne closed out Jackson in the championship series on Friday. All four of those teams will play in the state Class C tournament that starts next weekend in Dassel, Delano and Litchfield.
On Saturday night those teams added two more draft picks to their roster for the state tournament. Each had made one selection after the first round of the regional. The teams selected players in the order they placed in the region playoffs.
The second-place Bulls selected Paxton Gravlin of the Fox Lake and Brett Rossow of the Lakefield Frogs.
Here is the complete list of each team’s drafted players:
Luverne
Collin Lovell, Windom
Kobe Lovell, Windom
Alex Fink, Windom
Jackson
Brandan Alfson, Pipestone
Paxton Gravlin, Fox Lake
Brett Rossow, Lakefield
Fairmont
Ross Ackerman, Windom
Derek Smith, Milroy Irish
Kenny Morris, Milroy Irish
Hadley
Luke Gilbertson, Windom
Tyler Peterson, Milroy Irish
Greg Quist, Pipestone
Larchwood loses
Larchwood, Iowa, a team the Jackson Bulls faced in a nonleague amateur baseball game this summer, won two games by shutout before losing in the quarterfinals of the South Dakota Class B (small towns) portion of the state amateur baseball tournament in Mitchell.
The Diamonds defeated the Wessington Springs Owls 10-0 and Crofton, Neb. Bluejays 13-0 before losing 7-6 to the Canova Gang, which would go on to win the state title today with a 4-0 win over the Lesterville Broncs.
What was the combined population of the two towns playing for the state championship?
204.
Canova, which has 92 residents, beat the big city boys from Lesterville, which has 112.
Jacobsen update
Jackson County Central graduate Gavin Jacobsen has been with the St. Cloud Rox of the Northwoods League since early July. The Rox are opening the league playoffs today (Sunday).
St. Cloud was 22-12 for a second-place finish in the second half in the Great Plains West Division standings, three games behind the 25-8 Willmar Stingers.
Gavin has pitched in four games (starting one) for the Rox and has a 1-1 record. In 7 2/3 innings he has allowed nine runs on 11 hits, walked seven and struck out eight.
St. Cloud defeated Willmar 4-3 in Game 1 on Sunday. Game 2 is in Willmar tonight (Monday) and if Game 3 is necessary it would also be in Willmar on Tuesday.
Anderson update
Fairmont graduate Eli Anderson joined the Mankato MoonDogs of the Northwoods League for the completion of their season after earning Most Valuable Player honors for the Mauesha River Rats of the Dairyland Collegiate League.
In six games with Mankato, Anderson hit .346 (9-26) with one double, two triples, five runs batted in and eight runs scored.
The MoonDogs, managed by Windom graduate Danny Kneeland, finished with a 19-16 second half record and a third-place finish in the Northwoods League’s Great Plains West Division.
Becker update
Fairmont grad Luke Becker had two hits Saturday for the Spire City Ghost Hounds in a 14-4 Atlantic League win over the Lancaster Barnstormers.
For the season, Becker is hitting .242 (76-314) in 85 games, with 15 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, 35 RBI and 61 runs scored.
The Ghost Hounds recently played the Atlantic City Ducks.
Former Twin and Baltimore Oriole Lew Ford is the pitching coach and is on the active roster for the Ducks. He’s played in 17 games, hitting .371 (16-55).
Long Island’s manager is Wally Backman, who played for the Mets (winning a World Series in 1986), Twins, Pirates, Phillies and Marlins.