May 19—Asked about the impending Section 3AA-North playoffs and Tim Epema doesn’t mince words.
“It is so loaded,” the veteran
head baseball coach said. “It’s going to be an absolute gauntlet.”
Coaches will seed 3AA-North on Wednesday and it’s conceivable that five of the six teams could wind up winning it, regardless of the seedings.
Going into Tuesday’s games, three of the top eight teams in the state, according to the
QRF power rankings, reside in 3AA-North.
Leading the way is New London-Spicer. The Wildcats are No. 2 in the QRF and have a 17-3 record, including 3-1 in the section. Their lone loss is to Montevideo.
Paynesville is No. 4 in the QRF and 16-4 overall with a 2-3 section record. Among the Bulldogs’ losses are to Montevideo, New London-Spicer and Minnewaska.
Montevideo is ranked eighth. The Thunder Hawks are 15-4, including 7-0 in section play. That 3AA-North record and overall schedule is Montevideo’s best claim for No. 1.
But we’re not done yet. Next up is Morris/Chokio-Alberta. The Tigers are 14-6 and have a No. 33 QRF ranking. They also may have the best player in the sub-section in Riley Asmus, who is headed to Division I Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska on a baseball scholarship. The Tigers have lost twice to Montevideo, by scores of 4-3 and 3-2. Yes, it’s that close.
Next up is Minnewaska, which is 12-5 and has a No. 46 QRF. The Lakers have lost to Morris and beaten Paynesville, losing twice to Montevideo and once to New London-Spicer. They also play Morris again Wednesday.
And don’t dismiss Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The Falcons are 7-11 but no pushover. They average 6.3 runs a game and are 0-1 in sub-section games. They’re the kind of team that could upset one of the top dogs.
“It’s a toss-up, really,” Epema said.
Epema also pointed out that whomever gets out of 3AA-North isn’t assured of anything because 3AA-South is really good, too. That includes No. 12 Luverne (15-3), No. 13 Fairmont (16-4) and No. 23 Windom (15-5).
“And St. James is a good team, too,” Epema said of the Saints, who are 14-8.
Redwood Valley (9-10), Jackson County Central (5-12) and Pipestone (5-13) round out 3AA-South.
Let’s just get this out: Section 3AA is the best in the state this year.
Epema said he saw this coming last summer in American Legion baseball. New London-Spicer beat Montevideo for the Division II state title in Ely. Luverne took third. Legion ball is different from high school ball. But the state results demonstrated that the three top teams last August are from the same high school section and all three of them are really good this spring.
Epema said it’s one of the reasons he had Montevideo play such a difficult schedule. Included have been games against Duluth Marshall, Mankato East and St. Charles. There were easier non-conference teams to play a lot closer to home. But, Epema thought the Thunder Hawks needed the difficult competition in order to be ready for 3AA-North.
“If you told me before the season that we would be 15-4 right now I’d have said you were crazy,” Epema said.
But things have mostly worked out. Montevideo’s top-line talent is good and experienced. It’s led by shortstop/pitcher Griffin Epema, the coach’s son and a University of St. Thomas recruit. Seniors Brody Dack, Ben Gunlogson and Jackson Koenen are all having excellent seasons. Epema said Dack is having an amazing year. Gunlogson, the outstanding wrestler, is heading to the University of Chicago to continue that pursuit. Koenen is headed to Northwestern of Iowa to play basketball.
“We’ve had a lot of people doing a lot of the little things right and that has turned out to be big for us,” Epema said.
While it won’t matter in the seedings, Montevideo plays Luverne at 5 p.m. Thursday in Montevideo. If you’re a Thunder Hawk fan, you could make a case for that being a potential section final.
The 3AA playoffs begin Tuesday, May 26 with high seeds hosting early. It’s double-elimination, with eventually the North No. 1 playing the South No. 2 and the North No. 2 facing the South No. 1 in Marshall, with neutral locations the rest of the way.
The Class AA state tournament is June 11-12 in St. Cloud with the championship set for June 15 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Rest assured that whomever gets to state from 3AA will have earned it.
Buck up, 3AA fans.