Belle Plaine at St. Peter
5 p.m., Friday, April 8

St. Peter and Belle Plaine renew their rivalry on Friday.

The Tigers defeated the Saints 5-0 in last year's regular season matchup, but St. Peter eliminated Belle Plaine from the playoffs with a 9-1 victory in the Class 2A, Section 2 semifinals. The Saints lost to Le Sueur-Henderson in the title game, but they seemed primed to challenge for a section title with eight seniors returning from a team that finished with a 16-8 record last season. 

That group includes infielder Sidney Welp, who hit a two-run home run in the section semifinal victory over the Tigers.

Kelli Hanson is back in the pitcher's circle for the St. Peter. The junior gave up just five hits and walked no one to record a complete game victory over Belle Plaine in the postseason.

The Tigers ended last year with an 18-5 record and finished second in the Minnesota River Conference standings behind Le Sueur-Henderson. Belle Plaine, however, defeated the Giants 1-0 to hand Le Sueur-Henderson its only league loss.