MINNEAPOLIS — Red Lake County baseball added another trophy to its shelf.
The defending Class A state champions ended their second-straight tournament run with a second-place finish. They fell to No. 1 Madelia in the championship Monday, June 15, at Target Field.
In the first round, the Rebels held off a three-run surge from Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton in the seventh inning to win 4-3.
To advance to the final, Red Lake County defeated fellow Northland team South Ridge in another 4-3 game.
South Ridge lost a close third-place game to Murray County Central 5-4, bringing home a fourth-place finish.
The Panthers started the tournament with a definitive 7-0 win. Senior Benjamin Pretasky led the team, scoring three runs against Brandon-Evansville.
Rebels' Will Gieseke and Ben Gullingsrud made the all-tournament team, as did South Ridge's Pretasky. This was Gieseke's and Gullingsrud's second year making the team.
Also representing the Northland at the state tournament were Aitkin and Grand Rapids.
In their sixth-straight state appearance, Grand Rapids lost a close first game to No. 2 Mahtomedi. Tied after the seventh inning, Mahtomedi scored in the extra inning to win the game.
The Thunderhawks went on to beat Northfield, advancing to the Class 3A consolation championship. They came away from the tournament as consolation runners-up after a 2-1 loss to Rocori.
Aitkin exited the tournament after losing in the first two rounds of the Class 2A tournament.
