Rockford has reached the Class AA state baseball championship game in their first state tournament appearance and you can hear it on Friday, June 21st at 3 PM right here on AM1360 KRWC at krwc1360.com and on our app. with a 2:45 pregame show. Below is a preview for the state championship game. Good luck Rockets!
What: 2024 Class AA State High School league state championship baseball game.
Who: Rockford Rockets vs. Foley Falcons.
State Championship Game appearances: First for both. Rockford is in their first state tournament appearance in school history.
Where: Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins in downtown Minneapolis.
Day/Date: Friday, June 21st.
Time: 3 PM, 2:45 PM Pregame.
Radio Station: AM1360 KRWC, krwc1360.com and on our app.
Broadcasters: Jamie Broman on the pregame, Kendell Kubasch on the call, with Jake Leiter in the studio.
Follow the state championship game at AM1360 KRWC, at krwc1360.com and on our app.
The Teams:
Rockford Rockets.
Season Results: 25-5.
Conference: Wright County.
How they got here: Won section 5AA championship over Breck, 9-2.
State Seed: #2
Key Players: Will Haas(Signed with Tennessee. 9-1 with a 1.00 ERA on the mound, with a .408 BA with 2 HR and 23 RBI at the plate.), Aiden Smith(Signed with Iowa Western CC. .490 BA with 4 HR and 40 RBI at the plate, and 6-2 with a 1.29 ERA on the mound.), Colton Lundberg(.312 BA, 3 HR, 28 RBI.)
Season Recap: The Rockets got off to a slow start, going 3-2 over their first five games, including three games with scoring one run or less. The Rockets then got hot winning six straight and in a four game stretch outscored their opponents 49-2. After another rough spot losing two of the three, the Rockets won 17 of 18 coming into today’s state championship game. In that eighteen game span the Rockets gave up two runs or less in 16 of those 18 games. In Sections Rockford lost their third game to SW Christian 6-5, but rallied to win five straight to reach state, including a sweep of Breck, 7-2, and 9-2 to advance to state.
Aiden Smith, above, is a threat at the plate and on the mound for the Rockets.
State Recap up to this point: Rockford made their tournament debut at the state baseball tournament this year receiving a #2 overall seed. Their opponent in the first game was unseeded Blake at 10 AM on Thursday morning. Blake scored first after a double by Willie Nelson, and then a two out single by Pauley Natheson in the 4th inning. Rockford had a chance to tie it in the fourth with two on and two out when Will Haas was robbed of an extra base hit by a Willie Mays type catch at the 380 mark in right center field by Drew Dillon. Finally in the 7th the Rockets broke through. After a leadoff walk to Patrick Binobose, the Bears took out their starter Natheson for Freshman Noah Russeth. Edwards reached on an error by Russeth while trying to sacrifice putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. The Bears walked Aiden Smith intentionally but got the first out on a pop out by Jake Eisentrager. Will Haas tied the game with a bloop single to left, then Colton Lundberg won the game with a fly ball to medium deep left that was dropped by the left fielder allowing the winning run to score. Will Haas struck out ten in the complete game win for the Rockets, and also went 3-4 at the plate with an RBI. Colton Lundberg went 2-3 at the plate with the game winning RBI for the Rockets. Friday, Rockford will take on LeSeaur Henderson, a 9-1 winner over Perham in the state semifinals.
Semifinals.
Rockford in their first state baseball tournament in school history advanced to their first state championship game on Friday with a win over LeSeaur Henderson 7-3 at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. The Rockets scored two in the first on a two-run home run by Aiden Smith. Rockford led 3-0 going into the third, but the Giants also in their first state tournament rallied for three runs to tie it going into the fourth. After that it was all Rockets. The Rockets scored the final four runs, and after a groundout to second base with two outs in the 9th by the Giants it was on to the state championship for the Rockets! Aiden Smith pitched a complete game three hitter, while striking out eight, and also hit a two run home run. Jacob Eisentrager, Riley Moran, Will Haas and Owen Schuster each collected two hits as the Rockets pounded out thirteen overall. Next up for the Rockets is number four seed Foley, who knocked out the defending state champs from Esko on Friday 4-0.
Foley Falcons.
Season Results: 23-4
Conference: Granite Ridge Conference.
How they got here: Defeated Albany 10-6 in Section 2AA finals.
State Seed: #4
Key Players: Josiah Peterson(.550 BA, ace pitcher.), Trey Emmerich(.475 BA, #2 pitcher), and Reed Hermanson(.429 BA.)
Season Recap: Like Rockford, the Falcons got off to a slow start, only going 4-3 over their first seven games. Just like Rockford they got hot after their slow start in one stretch over four games the Falcons outscored their opponents 67-4! Foley enters the state championship game on a twelve game winning streak. In Sections the Falcons went undefeated, including defeating their bitter rivals from Albany 10-6 in the section finals. It was their fourth straight win over the Huskies this season, including a 19-17 slugfest during the regular season.
Josiah Peterson, above, was the leading hitter this year for the Falcons.
State Recap up to this point: In the quarterfinals the Falcons took on the #5 seed Zumbrota Mazeppa and it came down to the wire. ZM lead 5-3 going into the bottom of the seventh, but the Falcons scored three runs to walk off ZM and advance to the state semifinals. Josiah Peterson had a big day at the plate with a Home Run and two RBI’s.
State Semifinals:
In the state semifinals, the Falcons took on the #1 Seed and defending state champs from Esko. The Eskimos entered as the favorites with a powerful lineup, but Trey Emmerich was up to the task, going 6 and 1/3, striking out thirteen as the Falcons shut out the defending state champs 4-0. Emmerich, who picked up the win in relief in the quarterfinals, has won both games for the Falcons coming into the championship. Emmerich also added a double in the win, and Peterson added a double as Foley found enough offense to advance to the championship.
Prediction.
Anxiety! Because of rain, and the Twins hosting a three game series vs. Tampa Bay this week, the two teams have had to wait eight days to play this game, and that’s if the weather holds! Baseball is a game that has a rhythm and is meant to be played almost daily, so no idea how both teams will come out after such a long layoff? Good news is both teams will have all their pitchers at there disposal for the championship. That favors Rockford! Haas is going to the best conference in College Baseball, the SEC where he will pitch for the Tennessee Volunteers who are in the College World Series championship series this weekend in Omaha, Nebraska. Not only do the Rockets have Haas, but they also have Aiden Smith, who pitched in the state amateur class C championship game for the Maple Lake Lakers last Fall, helping them to the state championship. If they need anymore help, Patrick Binobose is also an outstanding pitcher that missed most of the year for the Rockets with arm issues, but is healthy now. For Foley they have a very deep lineup, and should be a challenge for even Rockford’s pitchers. Foley also has Peterson and Emmerich to go to on the hill, but they aren’t at the level of Rockford’s pitchers. Rockford also has a deep lineup, with a lot of power in Haas, Smith and Lundberg. Both teams are just happy to be here after both needed to comeback in the seventh inning to survive their quarterfinals matchups with walk off wins. This time of year, pitching and defense carry the day. By tonight, or Saturday or Monday, or whenever the weather finally allows them to play, I think Rockford will lift their first state championship trophy up over their heads at the Target Field, home of the Twins.
Will Haas, above, will start today’s state championship game for Rockford.
Other State Championship Games at Target Field.
Class A: Friday, June 21st. #2 Parkers Prairie vs. #4 Springfield, 12 PM.
Class AAA: Saturday, June 22nd. #3 Mahtomedi vs. #4 Totino-Grace, 11 AM.
Class AAAA: Saturday, June 22nd. #3 East Ridge vs. #5 Mounds View, 2 PM.
