The eight-team field is set for the Region 13C amateur baseball playoffs.
There were best-of-three series in the league playoff round.
Jackson, Heron Lake and Hadley all won their series in two straight games. Lakefield won its series in three games.
Fairmont and Windom had the byes out of the First Nite League, while Luverne and the Milroy Irish earned the Gopher League byes.
Region 13C is getting four berths to the state Class C tournament next month in Dassel, Delano, Litchfield and Waconia, so the winners of the four first-round series will advance to the state tourney. The playoffs will be played out to determine seeds 1-4.
Pairings will be determined tonight (Monday), with the regional playoffs starting Wednesday with Game 1 in each of four series. Game 2 is either Friday night or Saturday afternoon depending on the availability of lights and any Game 3s that would be necessary on Sunday.
The Jackson Bulls have long been a fixture in the region tournament, qualifying for the 31st time in the last 32 years.
Jackson will start the regional on the road Wednesday and will be the underdog against whoever they face.
But, while it’s cliché, Manager Scott Bahr and the Bulls know anything can happen during postseason play.
The tournaments of 10 and five years ago are proof that a No. 8 seed can beat a No. 1 seed.
Jackson was involved in each of those series. Once on the positive and the other….not so much.
In 2013, the Bulls were seeded first out of the First Nite League and were paired with Minneota, the No. 8 seed from the Gopher League, in the league playoff round. Pitching dominated the series with only six runs scored in two games.
The Mudhens upended the Bulls 3-2 in Game 1 of the series at Wacker Field.
In Game 2 at K.P. Kompelien Field in Minneota, the Bulls outhit the Mudhens 8-4 but wound up on the wrong end of a 1-0 game.
It should be noted that the exit in the league playoff round in 2013 was sandwiched between state tournament trips for Jackson in 2012 and 2014.
Turn the clock ahead five years and Jackson was the No. 8 seed for the region tournament with a 12-12 record and took on No. 1 seed Luverne.
That time, the Bulls won Game 1 by a 5-1 score at Luverne and then came home to Wacker Field to win Game 2 by a 5-4 margin and record the sweep.
That Bulls team wound up in the state tournament and won their first-round game 5-4 to Lake Henry, which had finished second in the state tournament the previous year.
Jackson then lost 2-0 in the second round to Sobieski, which would go on to finish second in the state tournament that year.
Overall, Jackson has played in the region tournament in 31 of its 39 seasons.
The Bulls had records under .500 in each of their first three years, going 6-10 in 1985, 7-10 in 1986 and 9-10 in 1987.
The first season Jackson was above .500 was in 1988, when the Bulls were 13-10. From there they slipped back, going 3-16 in 1989, 4-12 in 1990 and 5-10 in 1991.
Jackson went 19-10 in 1992 and made the regional field for the first time. In 1993, the Bulls went 20-8 and qualified for the state tournament for the first time.
Jacobsen update
Jackson County Central grad Gavin Jacobsen made his third appearance of the season with the Northwoods League’s St. Cloud Rox Tuesday in Minot.
He pitched two innings in relief, allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out two. Jacobsen has gone multiple innings in each of his appearances.
In his time with St. Cloud, Jacobsen has a 1-1 record with a 9-0 earned run average. In seven innings he has allowed seven runs on eight hits, walked four and struck out eight.
The Rox are in second place in the second half Great Plains West Division standings with a 10-7 record. Willmar is first at 12-5.
St. Cloud hosts Bismarck today (Sunday), goes to Willmar on Monday, is off Tuesday, hosts Willmar for three Wednesday-Friday, and then Bismarck comes back to Joe Faber Field for two more next Saturday and Sunday.
Legion baseball
Sleepy Eye and Mankato American will be southwest Minnesota’s representatives in this week’s state American Legion baseball tournaments.
Sleepy Eye won the Division II Southwest Sub-State tournament in St. James with a 2-1 victory in 13 innings over Windom.
Mankato American defeated New Ulm Gold 7-3 in New Ulm to win the Division I Sub-State 2 tourney in New Ulm.
The state Division II tournament will be held Friday-Sunday in Roseau.
Friday’s first-round pairings:
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton vs. Glenwood-Lowry, 10 a.m.
Eden Valley-Watkins vs. Watertown, 12:30 p.m.
LaCrescent vs. Proctor, 4 p.m.
Sleepy Eye vs. Roseau, 7:30 p.m.
The state Division I tournament is Thursday-Sunday on four fields in Rochester.
There are four pools of four teams each on Thursday and Friday. The top two teams in each pool advance to bracket play Saturday and Sunday.
Pool A
Northfield
Mankato American
Tri-City Red
Foley
Pool B
Bemidji
Eden Prairie I
Rochester Redhawks
Minneapolis Post Office
Pool C
Wayzata
Sartell
Hastings
Duluth
Pool D
Winona
Prior Lake
St. Michael
Delano
Anderson update
Fairmont graduate Eli Anderson is having a great summer with the Maunesha River Rats of the Dairyland Collegiate League. The DCL is a wood bat summer league for players with collegiate eligibility remaining.
Anderson, who has played one season at North Iowa Area Community College, is hitting .454 with 44 hits in 97 at bats.
Anderson has 11 doubles, three triples, walked 13 times, been hit by a pitch three times, scored 32 runs and has 16 runs batted in.
He is first on the team in hits, at bats, doubles, triples, and runs scored. Also, Anderson is second in RBI and third in walks.
The Rats, who play their home games at Firemen’s Park in Waterloo, are in second place in the DCL with a 15-12 record. The Lakeside Beach Bums, who play in Lake Mills, Wis., are first at 18-10.
Becker update
Another Fairmont grad, Luke Becker, is hitting .246 for the Atlantic League’s Spire City Ghost Hounds.
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's corporate headquarters is located in Lancaster, Penn.
The Ghost Hounds are based in Frederick, Maryland.
Spire City is third in the Atlantic League’s Southern Division standings with a 7-7 record. The Ghost Hounds finished fourth in the first half.