Class 1A State Baseball Championship
St. Albert 7
Kee, Lansing 5
For the first time since 1999, the St. Albert Falcons are Class 1A state baseball champions, defeating Kee-Lansing by a close score of 7-5.
For a majority of this game, St. Albert seemed to be in control. Kee got runners on first and second in the top of the first, but a popup to St. Albert’s Colton Brennen ended the offensive inning for Kee. St. Albert’s first offense inning included Cy Patterson getting 2 RBI while being tagged out at third, giving the Falcons the 2-0 lead early. Kee’s offense in the top of the second started to gain momentum as they cut down the St. Albert lead to 2-1 with a run scored by Jonah Reinke.
St. Albert started to pull away more and more with each inning. The Falcons scored twice more in the bottom of the second where Daniel McGrath got an RBI single, as did Jeff Miller, giving St Albert the 4-1 lead. Kee’s Chance Colsch got to second, but was stranded there in the top of the third. St. Albert scored another two runs in the bottom of the third, with Brett Klausman and Jaxson Lehnen scoring, giving St Albert a lead of 6-1. St. Albert’s final score in the game came in the bottom of the fourth where they got Colton Brennen home off a pair of wild pitches from Kee, giving them a strong 7-1 lead.
Kee’s offense struggled for a majority of the game, unable to get runners past second base, but things started to click. Kee left St. Albert’s Jeff Miller stranded at third and Colton Brennan stranded at second after getting a strong double play from pitcher Tyson Cota and a pop fly to Dalton Dibert, keeping the Falcons scoreless in that inning. Kee was able to ride that wave of momentum to four runs scored in the top of the sixth. Lanson Reams reached first on an error, but was able to get two runners home. He was later brought home to cap off a strong inning for Kee, where they cut down the St. Albert lead down to 7-5.
St. Albert left another runner stranded at third in the bottom of the sixth, and was down to the defense to close out a close game. A flyout to center field, a strikeout brought the Falcons to the final out they needed. Kee’s Reinke reached first off an error, but a fly out to Carter White was what St Albert needed to end the game and win their first state championship since 1999.
Kee-Lansing’s season comes to an end with a final record of 35-10. St. Albert’s championship season ended with a final record of 35-8.
St. Albert Stats
Colton Brennan: 3-4, 2B, 2 RS
Isaac Sherrill: 1-3, BB, RS
Cy Patterson: 2-3, 2-2B, HBP, 2 RBI; Pitching: 1 2/3 IP, 2 K
Jaxson Lehnen: 1-2, HBP, RS
Brenden Monahan: BB
Carter White: 1-4
Brett Klusman: 2-2, HBP, 2 RS
Daniel McGrath: 1-3, 2 RBI, RS
Jeff Miller: 2-3, 2B, RBI
Luke Hubbard: Pitching: 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 RA, ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Eric Mathai: Pitching: 0 IP, BB, K
Kee-Lansing Stats
Dalton Dibert: 1-3, BB, RS
Landon Reams: RS, BB, RBI
Chance Colsch: 1-4
Jonah Reinke: 1-4, RS
Cameron Lind: 1-3, BB, RS
Brayden Mathis: RS, HBP
Buddy Hill: BB, SB, HBP
Tyson Cotta: SB; Pitching: 6 IP, 13 H, 7 RA, 5 ER, 2 BB, K
