Know Bull
More state tourney info than you can shake a stick at
A fair number of amateur baseball teams in Minnesota have been done playing for more than a month as postseason play started in the middle of July.
There were 276 registered amateur baseball teams in Minnesota this year, 60 in Class B and 216 in Class C.
Fewer than one in three teams (29 percent to be exact) were still playing when the weekend started. There were 48 teams in the Class C state tournament and 32 in Class B.
That makes it special for the teams that are still playing in mid-August, trying to survive and advance for some late August games with the goal of playing baseball in September.
The Jackson Bulls are one of the teams still playing. They’ll face St. Joseph at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Mini Met in Jordan.
Evan Olesen has been around the Bulls long enough to become fond of extending each year as long as possible.
That was on his mind last Sunday prior to Jackson hosting Windom in Game 3 of a Region 13C playoff series. The winner was guaranteed one more week of baseball. The loser would be done for the season.
And Olesen wasn’t ready to see his season be over.
“A lot of these guys we don’t see outside of the summer too often,” he said in the Wacker Field outfield after taking a team picture to mark Jackson’s 14th trip to a state tournament.
“I was thinking before the game on my way over here that I don’t want to be done seeing these guys until next summer. We have a really good team here and have good team chemistry. Everybody gets along really well and that’s part of the motivation. Everybody likes each other and we have each other’s back.”
Olesen went the distance on the mound in the 6-5 victory over Windom. He allowed 12 hits, walked two and struck out seven. He also had two hits at the plate including a double and two runs batted in.
Olesen is in his sixth season with the Bulls. He had long hair when his career started. Now, not so much.
Sunday’s winner advances to play vs. Buffalo in the second round at 7:30 p.m. at Tiger Park in Belle Plaine.
Veteran managers
Scott Bahr has been around amateur baseball for a long time as a player, coach under Tyrone Wacker and then manager of the Bulls.
As far as length of service though, he’ll take a back seat to the skipper in the other dugout on Sunday.
Pat Schneider played high school baseball at St. Cloud Cathedral and then played amateur baseball in St. Joseph from the 1960s until the early 90s. He’s been managing the Joes (they did change their name to the Saints for a few years in the early 2000s) for 50 years. He was inducted into the Minnesota Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Schneider's family has been involved in baseball for more than a century. His grandfather, Mike Pfannenstein, helped start baseball in St. Joseph in the 1920s.
This year’s St. Joseph team has a 15-10 overall record. Jackson is 16-6.
The Joes tied with the Sartell Muskies for the Sauk Valley West League title with a 9-3 record and the teams split their regular-season games. Sartell defeated the Joes in the Region 11 C championship game.
State tournament appearances
St. Joseph is playing in its 22nd state tournament. Jackson is making its 14th trip.
St. Joseph (22): 1940, 1946, 1954 B 2nd, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2024.
Jackson (14): 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2023, 2024.
Back in Jordan
The Bulls will be playing in a state tournament at the Mini Met in Jordan for the second time.
They played there in 2014, losing 6-5 to former Jackson Bull Bill Dunker and the St. Patrick Irish.
State tournament scores
Results of state tournament games played by the Jackson Bulls. Jackson has won 12 games and lost 14 in state tournament play.
1993
At Cold Spring: Forest Lake Brewers 9, Jackson 6
1995
At Wadena: Jackson 11, Midway 2
At Wadena: Jackson 10, Starbuck 1
At Perham: Glyndon 14, Jackson 4
1996
At Brownton: Jackson 8, Fort Ripley 7
At Glencoe: Jackson 10, Glencoe 3
At Glencoe: Union Hill 7, Jackson 1
1997
At Delano: Jackson 9, Richmond 8
At Delano: Jackson 7, Watkins 5
At Maple Lake: St. Michael 12, Jackson 3
1998
At Hamburg: Jackson 9, Waite Park H.R. Pesty’s 5
At Chaska: Jackson 6, Perham 5
At Hamburg: Glencoe 2, Jackson 0
1999
At Marshall: Jackson 10, Union Hill 6
At Granite Falls: Jackson 6, Sleepy Eye 5
At Granite Falls: Sauk Centre 9, Jackson 8
At Granite Falls: Montgomery 11, Jackson 7
2000
At Fairfax: Jackson 5, New Munich 1
At Fairfax: New Ulm Brewers 8, Jackson 5
2005
At Hutchinson: Plato 7, Jackson 2
2008
At Chaska: New London-Spicer 6, Jackson 2
2012
At St. Cloud Putz: Winsted 8, Jackson 5
2014
At Jordan: St. Patrick 6, Jackson 5
2018
At Shakopee: Jackson 3, Lake Henry 2
At Shakopee: Sobieski 2, Jackson 0
2023
At Delano: Green Isle 4, Jackson 3
All-tournament team
Jackson has had a player named to the Class C all-tournament team three times.
1996 – Lincoln Wacker
1997 – Pat Frank
1999 – Lincoln Wacker
Different look
Amateur baseball in the state will look a little different next year.
The Minnesota Baseball Association designed a system of criteria points to split its teams into three classifications.
There currently is no Class A for amateur baseball, only Class B and Class C. In 2023, teams that were Class A at the time were brought into Class B.
The criteria system utilizes these elements:
City population/school enrollment
Player level experience (professional, different levels of college baseball)
Postseason success for the last five years
Under the first/rough draft of the 2025 classes, two of the current Region 13C teams would play in Class B, while the remainder would play in Class C.
Fairmont and Luverne, who are the region’s number one and two seeds for this year’s Class C state tournament, will be Class B in 2025 if the current proposal is adopted. Teams that would want to opt up a class would need to make their request by the November meeting of the MBA board.
Teams may move up or down classes based on new criteria numbers based on roster changes and postseason success. Teams no longer must stay in a class for two years but must petition at a regular MBA meeting to be granted the move in classification.
Under the proposal, there would be 60 teams in Class A (24 in the state tournament), 70 in Class B (24 in the state tournament) and 146 in Class C (32 in the state tournament).
Here are the proposed region/district assignments for the current Region 13C teams. Ruthton does not have a team this season.
Region 10C
10 teams, 2 tourney bids
Fox Lake Foxes
Hadley Buttermakers
Heron Lake Lakers
Jackson Bulls
Lakefield Frogs
Milroy Irish
Pipestone A’s
Ruthton Royals
Windom Pirates
Worthington Cubs
District 8B
6 teams, 3 tourney bids
Bird Island Bullfrogs
Fairmont Martins
Luverne Redbirds
New Ulm Brewers
Raymond Rockets
Willmar Raildogs
Off to Cali
Gavin Jacobsen’s time with the Bulls this season was limited to pinch-running appearances, mostly for his dad, Blaise.
Earlier this week, Gavin and Blaise took off for California.
Gavin, who has played three seasons at NCAA Division III Bethany Lutheran College, will play his senior season at NCAA Division I Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
LMU plays in the 11-team West Coast Conference along with Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Seattle.
Gavin ranked among NCAA Division III leaders in strikeouts the past two seasons.
In 2024 he finished 10th in the country in strikeouts per nine innings as he fanned 60 batters in 39.2 innings, an average of 13.61. In 2023 he was first in the nation with 15.0 per nine.
For this past season, Jacobsen had a 4-1 record with a 2.27 earned run average. In 39.2 innings he allowed 16 runs (10 earned) on 31 hits, walked 21 and struck out 60. Opponents had a .212 batting average.
He also spent much of the summer of 2023 with the St. Cloud Rox of the Northwoods League.
Another state tournament
Andrew Boyum joined the Bulls a few weeks into the season and finds himself in the state tournament.
But state competitions aren’t exactly new to Boyum. The 2022 Jackson County Central graduate competed in four state events around his senior year.
He qualified for the state cross country meet in the fall of 2021, was on the wrestling team that won the 2022 state tournament in the winter, qualified in two events at the 2022 state track and field meet and was on the Jackson American Legion baseball team that played in the state tournament.
Games this weekend
The schedule for the first weekend of the state amateur baseball touanament.
Class C
First round
Friday, Aug. 16
At Belle Plaine
Union Hill 9, St. Peter 3
At Green Isle
Waconia 10, Hanska 0 (7 innings)
Saturday, Aug. 17
At Belle Plaine
Wanamingo vs. St. Boni, 11 a.m.
Luverne vs. Kimball, 1:30 p.m.
At Jordan
Carver vs. Pierz, 4 p.m.
Buckman vs. Webster, 6:30 p.m.
At Green Isle
Farming vs. Maple Lake, 11 a.m.
Bemidji vs. Litchfield, 1:30 p.m.
Morris vs. Waterville, 4 p.m.
Courtland vs. Richmond, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 18
At Jordan
Princeton vs. Nisswa, 11 a.m.
St. Joseph vs. Jackson, 1:30 p.m.
Loretto vs. Atwater, 4 p.m.
At Belle Plaine
Raymond vs. Springfield, 11 a.m.
Perham vs. Cold Spring, 1:30 p.m.
Le Sueur vs. Madison, 4 p.m.
Class B
First round
Friday, Aug. 16
At Jordan
Lyon’s Pub 6, New Market 5
At Shakopee
Miesville 10, Minneapolis MudCats 0 (7 innings)
Saturday, Aug. 17
At Jordan
Sobieski vs. Hopkins, 11 a.m.
Air Freight Unlimited vs. Centennial, 1:30 p.m.
At Belle Plaine
Baseball 365 vs. Moorhead, 4 p.m.
St. Paul Mudhens vs. St. Michael, 6:30 p.m.
At Green Isle
At Shakopee
Chaska vs. St. Anthony, 11 a.m.
Champlin Park vs. St. Paul Hops, 1:30 p.m.
Stockmen’s Irish vs. Eagan, 4 p.m.
Cold Spring vs. Minnetonka, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 18
At Jordan
At Belle Plaine
At Green Isle
St. Louis Park vs. Dundas, 11 a.m.
Rochester vs. Minneapolis Angels, 1:30 p.m.
Andover vs. Highland Park, 4 p.m.
At Shakopee
Minneapolis Cobras vs. Elko, 11 a.m.
Burnsville vs, Stillwater, 1:30 p.m.
North St. Paul vs. Victoria, 4 p.m.
State champions
Champions from the state amateur baseball tournament:
1924
St. Paul Armour’s
1925
White Bear Lake
1926
St. Paul Armour’s
1927
Mora
1928
Mankato
1929
Albert Lea
1930
A: Fairmont
B: South St. Paul
1931
A: St. Paul Bohn Ref.
B: Maple Lake
C: Madelia
1932
A: St. Paul Milk Drivers
B: Chaska
C: Brooten
1933
AA: St. Paul EMBA
A: St. Peter
B: Harmony
1934
AA: Minneapolis Jerseys
A: Willmar
1935
AA: St. Paul J.J. Kohn
A: Red Wing
1936
AA: St. Paul Comm. Row
A: Windom
1937
AA: Minneapolis Heinies
A: Austin
1938
AA: St. Paul N. St. Env.
A: Owatonna
1939
AA: St. Paul T.H. Shoe
A: Maple Lake
1940
AA: Albert Lea
A: Shakopee
1941
AA: Owatonna
A: New Ulm
1942
AA: Austin
A: Fairfax
1943
AA: Minneapolis Mitby Sathers
A: New Ulm
1944
AA: Albert Lea
A: Springfield
1945
AA: Albert Lea
A: Excelsior
1946
AA: Albert Lea
A: Springfield
1947
AA: Albert Lea
A: Chaska
1948
AA: Albert Lea
A: Winsted
1949
AA: Austin
A: Excelsior
B: Little Falls
1950
AA: Fergus Falls
A: LeCenter
B: Lester Prairie
1951
AA: Litchfield
A: Watertown
B: Soderville
1952
AA: Willmar
A: Cannon Falls
B: Soderville
1953
AA: Austin
A: Delavan
B: Rollingstone
1954
A: Benson
B: Milroy
1955
A: St. Peter
B: Cold Spring
1956
A: Minneapolis Teamsters
B: Bemidji
1957
A: Waseca
B: Braham
1958
A: Austin
B: Pipestone
1959
A: Fairmont
B: Shakopee
1960
A: Bloomington
B: Pipestone
1961
A: Minneapolis Twin City Federal
B: St. Bonifacius
1962
A: St. Paul Ganzers
B: Little Falls
1963
A: Minneapolis A&B Sports
B: Braham
1964
A: St. Paul Como Rec
B: St. Bonifacius
1965
A: Bloomington
B: St. Bonifacius
1966
A: Winona
B: Perham
1967
A: Columbia Heights
B: Arlington
1968
A: Columbia Heights
B: Dassel-Cokato
1969
A: St. Paul Sport Spec
B: Arlington
1970
A: Columbia Heights
B: Deer Creek
1971
B: Chaska
1972
B: Columbia Heights
1973
B: Cold Spring
1974
B: Red Wing
1975
B: Prior Lake
1976
B: Prior Lake
1977
A: Minneapolis Mr. Roberts
B: Bemidji
1978
A: Columbia Heights
B: Miesville
1979
A: West St. Paul
B: Arlington
1980
A: Richfield
B: New Ulm
1981
A: Winona
B: Cold Spring
1982
A: Brooklyn Center
B: Dundas
1983
A: St. Paul Stieichens
AA: St. Cloud
1984
A: St. Paul Frontier Bar
AA: Arlington
1985
A: Minneapolis Halek’s
AA: Arlington
1986
A: Columbia Heights
B: Cold Spring
C: Jordan
1987
A: Bloomington
B: Hammel
C: Chaska
1988
A: Minneapolis J. Botten
B: Dundas
C: Delano
1989
A: Columbia Heights
B: Miesville
C: Morris
1990
A: St. Paul Conquest Rooster
B: Red Wing
C: Bovey
1991
A: Minneapolis Angels
B: Rochester
C: Regal
1992
A: Minneapolis Angels
B: Miesville
C: Sartell
1993
A: St. Paul Highland Park
B: Red Wing
C: Granite Falls
1994
A: Minneapolis Angels
B: Jordan
C: Belle Plaine
1995
A: St. Paul Rosetown
B: Miesville
C: Sauk Rapids
1996
A: St. Paul Highland Park
B: Cold Spring
C: Plato
1997
A: Minnetonka
B: Hamel
C: St. Michael
1998
A: Minnetonka
B: Dundas
C: Glencoe
1999
A: Minnetonka
B: Dundas
C: Buckman
2000
A: Glynn Building
B: Cold Spring
C: Brainerd
2001
A: Minnetonka
B: Cold Spring
C: Watkins
2002
A: St. Louis Park
B: Austin
C: Granite Falls
2003
A: Minnetonka
B: Austin
C: Green Isle
2004
A: Minnetonka
B: Jordan
C: Blue Earth
2005
A: Wesley Homes
B: Mankato
C: Holdingford
2006
A: Minnetonka
B: Rochester
C: Blue Earth
2007
A: Minnetonka
B: Miesville
C: Plato
2008
A: St. Louis Park
B: Mankato
C: Elko
2009
A: Minnetionka
B: Shakopee
C: St. Cloud Orthopedic
2010
A: Minnetonka
B: Shakopee
C: Midway
2011
A: Stockmen’s Irish
B: Sauk Rapids
C: Isanti
2012
A: Minnetonka
B: Victoria
C: Maple Lake
2013
A: St. Paul Shamrocks
B: Sauk Rapids
C: Isanti
2014
A: St. Paul Capitals
B: Cold Spring
C: Sobieski
2015
A: Minnetonka
B: Dundas
C: Plato
2016
A: Minnetonka
B: Miesville
C: Raymond
2017
A: Minnetonka
B: Miesville
C: Kimball
2018
A: St. Louis Park
B: Chanhassen
C: Plato
2019
A: Minneapolis Cobras
B: Chanhassen
C: Jordan
2020
A: Minnetonka
B: Chanhassen
C: Fairmont
2021
A: Air Freight Unlimited
B: Chanhassen
C: Sobieski
2022
A: St. Louis Park
B: Rochester
C: Nissswa
2023
B: Air Freight Unlimited
C: Maple Lake