Two years ago, the Maple Lake Lakers won their second state championship in Class C history, giving the North Star League a state championship. Last year, Waconia defeated Jordan at their home park to take home state. This year, Waconia is back, but the tournament is very different.
Major overhauls took place over the off season, so this season’s state tournament will be a brand new era at all levels of Minnesota Amateur baseball. One thing that never changes, is the North Star League is well represented!
Below is info on both the Class B and C State tournament, along with a preview for all the North Star League teams competing over the next couple weeks, along with a bracket for both B, and C. KRWC Radio will once again be your home to all the North Star League teams throughout the tournaments! Good luck to all the teams from the North Star League and congrats on reaching the state tournament.
2025 Class B, and C State Baseball Tournament Info:
Where: Brownton, Gaylor, Hutchinson and Glencoe will host.
Dates: First Round, August 15th-17th, 2nd Round, August 22nd-24th, and Quarters, Semis and Finals will take place between August 29th-September 1st.
Class B Finals: Monday, September 1st, 1 PM @ Hutchinson.
Class C Finals: Sunday, August 31st, 7 PM @ Brownton.
Where can I listen?: At AM1360 KRWC, krwc1360.com and on our app. of course! All pregame will begin about fifteen minutes before first pitch, Schedule subject to change. You can find our state schedule for Class C and B baseball at krwc1360.com in our sports section.
A view from up above Husky Stadium in Hutchinson, one of the host of this year’s Class B and C State Amateur baseball tournament.
The Matchups:
Friday, August 15th. Class C 1st Round. Howard Lake @ Brownton
7:30 PM on KRWC
Team: Howard Lake Orphans from region 6C, went 11-8-1 overall this season.
State Tournament History: 18th, first appearance since 2020.
Key Players: Garret Zander (.404 BA), Jake Gruenhagen (.355 BA), Jared Koch, P (3-3 with a 3.72 ERA.), Bennett Anderson (.317 BA), and Noah Bush.
Season Recap: After a slow start the Orphans went 8-3 down the stretch and have five hitters on the leaderboard for batting avg in the North Star League. Deep pitching staff may be aging a little, but still a tough out.
The Orphans are back in the state tournament for the first time since 2020.
Team: Brownton Bruins, from Region 7C, went 14-6 overall on the season.
State Tournament History: 11th, first appearance since 2022.
Key Players: Ryan Grams, (.286 BA.), Spencer Glaeser (.415 BA.), Taylor Schuette (.275 BA.), Seth Schuette, P (Avg. 9 k’s per game.), and Scott Finberg, SS.
Season Recap: The Bruins had an inconsistent year overall, but played well down the stretch. The Bruins are a very experienced team with three players over 35 years old. This could be a positive or a negative, guess we will find out Friday.
A Brownton players slides into second at the 2022 state tournament, the last time the Bruins qualified.
Sunday, August 17th. Class C First Round. Litchfield vs. Waterville@Hutchinson, 11 AM, on KRWC.
Team: Litchfield Blues, from Region 6C, went 10-6 overall on the season.
State Tournament History: 16th, 1951 AA state champs. Last season the Blues returned to state for the first time since 2002, and lost to Bemidji in the first round, 4-2.
Key Players: Avery Liestman, P (7-0 with a 1.00 ERA, and 63 K’s.), Owen Boerma, P, Winky Estrada, Inf, Bennett Lecher, .375 BA, and Besmer, .327 BA.
Season Recap: Another very consistent year for the Blues, clutch hitting and dominant pitching. Liestman dominated throughout the season, Boerma and Joey Hyde are great second and third starters. Waterville is a very tough first round opponent, but with Liestman on the hill they should have a great chance to advance.
Avery Liestman, above, dominated every pitching leaderboard in the NSL once again this season.
Team: Waterville Indians, from Region 5C, went 20-5-1 overall on the season.
State Tournament History: 13th, lost to Red Wing, 8-1 in the second round last season.
Key Players: Bladyn Bartlett, .450 BA, Nolan Grose, .375 BA, Sam Stier, .435 BA, Ben Boran, .320 BA, and Dallas McBroom, ace pitcher.
Season Recap: The Indians dominated their league, going undefeated at 14-0. They have hitters up and down the lineup and a true ace in McBroom. Waterville is ranked by most experts in the top five and considered a title contender. First round matchup with Litch should be a great one.
Waterville, above, celebrating a walk off win earlier this year is ranked #4 in the state in Class C coming into the tournament.
Sunday, August 17th. Class B First Round. Maple Lake vs. Ada, 4 PM.
Team: Maple Lake Lakers, from Region 6B, went 15-12 overall on the season.
State Tournament History: 35th, Class B Champs, 1931, Class A Champs, 1939, Class C Champs, 2012, and 2023. Last season lost to Farming in first round, 4-1 as defending state champs.
Key Players: Ben Clapp, .558 BA, 2 HR, 26 RBI, Nate Zander, .440 BA, 9 extra base hits, Donnie Mavencamp, .408 BA, 17 RBI, Logan Orazem, .301 BA, and Hayden Frank, P, 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA.
Season Recap: INJURIES! Losing do everything Hunter Malachek for the season and Ben Clapp for the beginning of the season set the Lakers back, but here we are in August and Maple Lake is back at state! Hayden Frank has been lights out down the stretch, including a shutout win over Maple Plain to get the Lakers to state and with him and the ML bats the Lakers will have a great chance to advance out of the first round.
Ben Clapp, above, led the Lakers in hitting with a .558 batting average.
Team: Ada Athletics, from Region 5B, went 13-7 overall on the season.
State Tournament History: 20th, first since 2022.
Key Players: Nick Johnson, OF, Sunny Resnick, 3B, Zepher Resnick, P, Ehtan Opsahl, P/1B, and Mike Erickson, 2B.
Season Recap: The A’s went 13-7 in the regular season and advanced out of Region 5B. The A’s ae a very young team with only three players over 30 on their roster (of course one being the 53 year old Keith Hanson!) Despite being a young team the A’s are anchored by two veterans in 34 year old Mike Erickson and 35 year old Ethan Opsahl.
The Ada Athletics are back in the state tournament for the first time since 2022.
2025 Class B State Amateur Baseball Bracket: https://minnesotabaseballassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025-State-Tournament-Bracket-Class-B-Class-B-2.pdf
