ROCORI Blows By Fergus Falls To Reach Section Championship

ST. CLOUD — With a strong showing in the postseason thus far, ROCORI set its sights on Fergus Falls on June 2 at the Municipal Athletic Complex with a trip to the Section 8-3A Championship on the line.

And as we've seen from the Spartans multiple times this year and most recently in the playoffs, the offense showed up and the pitching shut the opposition down to come away victorious.

With the game tied 2-2 going into the fourth inning, ROCORI took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, bringing home three runs to take a 5-2 advantage. In the fifth frame, the Spartans blew the game open, bringing home seven runs to come away with a 12-2 win in five innings.

As a result, ROCORI advances to the Section 8-3A Championship out of the winners' bracket, meaning the Spartans would have to lose twice in the section title series to be held back from reaching the state tournament a 10th time.

Nolan VanLoy led the way for the Spartans, finishing 2-for-4 with four RBI and a home run. Reece Kalla went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored, Cal Heying went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI and Caleb Maddox went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Zander Folkterts and Blake Kelly also tallied one hit and one RBI, with Kelly scoring three times.

VanLoy also led the way for ROCORI on the mound, earning a complete-game win while pitching all five innings and giving up just three hits, one earned run, three walks and striking out two.

With the victory, the Spartans now face off against Willmar — which came out of the elimination bracket — in the Section 8-3A Championship on June 4 with a trip to the state tournament on the line. ROCORI has to beat Willmar once to advance, while Willmar needs to beat ROCORI twice.