ROCORI Falls To Top-Seeded Totino-Grace In State Tournament

CHASKA — After rain pushed the start of the Class 3A State Tournament back a few hours, eighth-seeded ROCORI took the field against top-seeded Totino-Grace on June 11 in the opening round of the tournament.

In a back-and-forth battle, ROCORI fell to Totino-Grace in a close 5-3 contest, ending the Spartans' pursuit of a state title.

Totino-Grace got on the board first, only to have ROCORI respond with two runs in the top of the second inning to take a 2-1 lead. After the Eagles evened the game up at 2-2, the Spartans regained the lead in the top of the fifth, bringing home one run to grab a 3-2 advantage. From there, Totino-Grace went on to add two runs in the bottom of the fifth and one in the sixth to take a late lead and hold off ROCORI.

Caleb Maddox and Max Fredin led the way for the Spartans at the plate, each finishing with one hit and one RBI. Reece Kalla drove home one run, while Cal Heying, Nolan VanLoy, Zander Folkerts and Cooper Notch each added a hit.

VanLoy pitched the entire game on the mound for ROCORI, giving up six hits, five runs, three walks and striking out three.

With the loss, the Spartans move into the consolation bracket and will take the field at 2:30 p.m. on June 12 at Mini Met in Jordan for a chance to win the consolation championship.

View the full Class 3A State Tournament bracket