The Nisswa Legion baseball team advances to the Division I state tournament after defeating Hermantown 10-0 in the Sub-state 10 tournament title game on Monday, July 28.
Nisswa, 16-0-1 overall, advances to state to face Delano at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 1, in Burnsville. Games will continue through the weekend.
Against Hermantown, Nisswa was led by pitcher Nate DeChaine's one-hitter. DeChaine struck out nine and walked only two while helping his own cause by going 2-4 at the plate with a triple and driving in a run. Mizuki Shumsky was also 2-4 and Taylor Streiff added a double for Nisswa.
Nisswa assumed a 3-0 lead in the second inning as Streiff doubled and advanced to third on TJ Graumann's single. Graumann stole second and an error by the Hermantown catcher allowed Streiff to score and Graumann take third. Matt Casperson's sacrifice fly scored Graumann. Logan Jones followed with a single to center and eventually scored on a single by Shumsky.
Nisswa added two more runs in the fourth on a pair of walks, a stolen base, wild pitch, error and single by DeChaine. They scored again on an RBI single by Tory Miller, who later scored on a groundout. DeChaine followed with a triple and scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-0. Evan Brecht and Clark Hickman added RBI singles to end the game on the 10-run rule.
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Nisswa 8, Grand Rapids 6
Nisswa advanced to the final by edging Grand Rapids 8-6 on Saturday, July 26. The championship game was originally scheduled for Sunday, July 27, but delayed by rain.
DeChaine drove in two runs, scored once and tallied two hits to help Nisswa beat Grand Rapids. Paul Augustinack relieved starting pitcher Logan Madsen and went 4 1/3 innings. He allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks to secure the win. Hayden Bukowski secured the final two outs for the save in a back-and-forth affair. Nisswa scored one run in the bottom of the first before relinquishing the lead in the third.
A four-run seventh inning by Nisswa proved too much for Grand Rapids. Miller finished 2-4 with two runs. Drew Sannes and Casperson each finished 2-4 with an RBI. Streiff , who hit a triple, and Bukowski also registered an RBI.
Nisswa 11, Duluth 10
Nisswa edged Duluth earlier on Saturday as Shumsky went 2-4 with a double, three RBI and scored twice and Logan Madsen finished 2-3 with five RBI and a run scored. Conor Gessell finished with two hits, including a double, and a run. Taylor Streiff also doubled, drove in a run and scored twice as he finished 2-3. Logan Jones collected two hits. Nisswa exploded for a seven-run first inning before losing the lead in the top of the seventh. A two-run bottom half allowed Nisswa to advance. Tory Miller pitched 6.1 innings. He allowed nine runs, four of them earned on eight hits and three walks.
Nisswa 6, Hibbing 1
Nisswa pitcher Dillon Solid scattered three hits and four walks to limit Hibbing to one run in sub-state action on Friday, July 25. Solid struck out two and allowed one unearned run. Augustinack pitched the final inning of relief. He allowed three hits, but no runs, and struck out one. Tory Miller collected two hits and a run while Conor Gessell, Grauman, Bukowski and Logan Jones each had an RBI for Nisswa.
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Nisswa 11, Proctor 10
Shumsky was 5-5 at the plate and Beau Janousek picked up the win in relief as Nisswa outslugged the Proctor Pirates in the first round of sub-state play on Thursday, July 24. Shumsky finished with five singles and four RBIs while Evan Brecht went 3-5 with four runs scored. Logan Madsen and Grauman each had a hit and pair of RBI. Nisswa scored six runs in the bottom of the third on a pair of singles, two walks, three errors and a hit batter to take the lead for good at 7-3. Nisswa led 11-7 going into the top of the ninth where Proctor threatened scoring three runs before Janousek got a strikeout to end the inning with two left on base.
