ROCORI Opens Section Playoffs With 11-1 Victory

COLD SPRING — The postseason is officially here, and the ROCORI Spartans opened up with a bang in front of their home crowd in Cold Spring on Tuesday, May 27.

ROCORI, as the No. 2 seed, hosted the seventh-seeded Detroit Lakes to open up the Section 8-3A Playoffs, blowing past the Lakers 11-1 in six innings to advance.

With the win, the Spartans advance in the winners' bracket and will play host to the sixth-seeded Willmar Cardinals on May 29 in Cold Spring for a chance to reach the semifinals.

In the victory over Detroit Lakes, ROCORI exploded for five runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. The Spartans added one run in each of the second and third innings, followed by three runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to 10-run rule the Lakers.

Noah Olmscheid finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, one RBI and three steals, Jake Stalboerger went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored and Zander Folkerts added one hit, three runs scored and four steals to lead ROCOIR at the plate. Caleb Maddox, Max Fredin and Cal Heying each tallied one hit and one RBI.

Nolan VanLoy threw a complete-game gem on the mound, pitching all six innings to pick up the win while giving up just one hit, one run, three walks and striking out eight.

To view the full Section 8-3A Playoff bracket, click here.