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More prep sports head for postseason

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 05/22/16, 10:21PM CDT

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Rather than the typical look at the week ahead, it seems like a good time to reflect on high school sports that have ended their regular seasons.


Park of Cottage Grove is the No. 1 team in Class 4A, not a surprise as the Wolfpack returned all but two players from a team that went 16-7 in 2015, including pitcher Hanna Mortenson.

Rather than the typical look at the week ahead, it seems like a good time to reflect on sports that have ended their regular seasons.

Softball

• Living up to expectations: Park of Cottage Grove is the No. 1 team in Class 4A, not a surprise as the Wolfpack returned all but two players from a team that went 16-7 in 2015, including pitcher Hanna Mortenson. ... Anoka (18-2) was the Class 3A state tournament runner-up in 2015 and has picked up where it left off. The Tornadoes also have a pitcher to be reckoned with in Amber Elliott. ... Bloomington Jefferson is 17-3, including 14-0 in the Metro West Conference, and boasts a top-flight junior battery in catcher Anne Miller (.470, 23 RBI, 1.204 OPS) and pitcher Hailey Martinez (13-2, 1.08 ERA, 130 strikeouts).

• Exceeding expectations: Not even coaches saw Eagan coming. The Wildcats (17-3) didn’t show up in 4A state rankings until May 11. They win with good pitching, sound defense, just enough hitting and a little good fortune: They were no-hit by Burnsville’s Megan Osterhaus on May 16 but won 1-0 on an unearned run. … This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Forest Lake, but first-year coach Sean Hall, who helped build winning programs at North St. Paul and Lakeville North, has the Rangers (14-6) rolling along by scoring 7.7 runs per game.

• Postseason pick-me-up? Two teams that have struggled more than expected are Spring Lake Park (12-8) and Rosemount (9-11). Both had high hopes based on elite pitchers (Halley Jones and Gabby Sprang, respectively) but haven’t reached the levels predicted.

 

Boys’ tennis

No four-peat coming: Blake had won the past three Class 1A team championships and was ranked No. 1 in 1A all season. But the Bears’ shot at becoming the first team to win four boys’ tennis state titles in a row came to an end Saturday when they lost for only the second time this season, falling to rival Breck 4-3 in the Section 2 finals.

Breaking through: There’s a good chance that a newcomer will break through amid the usual suspects in the Class 2A field. East Ridge, which has qualfied for the past two team tournaments, is ranked No. 1, largely due to having defeated No. 2-ranked Shakopee — a team that has never made a state appearance — twice.

Track and field

It’s a girls’ world: Sprinters Jedah Caldwell of Chanhassen, Brieasha Hobbs (formely Hunter) of Cretin-Derham Hall and Ruby Stauber of Wayzata, hurdler Karina Joiner of East Ridge and all-around athletes such as Ashley Ramacher of Eden Prairie and Anna Keefer of St. Michael-Albertville make this a year to pay attention to the girls.

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