CLASS 2A

• SECTION 4: St. Paul Johnson moved within one win of its first state tournament appearance since 2005, beating top-seeded St. Anthony 5-2 on Thursday in the winners’ bracket. Junior catcher Ashley Standley went 2-for-4 with a home run for the Governors. Katie Donahue threw a three-hitter for Johnson, and both runs were unearned.

CLASS 3A

• SECTION 4: Senior Cassie Bertelsen singled home Tabitha Bayers with the go-ahead run, and North St. Paul went on to beat East Ridge 4-2 in the Final Four. The Polars added an insurance run on junior Jamie Rubbelke’s RBI grounder. Taylor LeMay hit a two-run homer in the first inning for East Ridge.

CLASS 1A

• SECTION 4: Three-time state champion New Life Academy moved a step closer to having a shot at a four-peat, beating Maranatha 4-0 behind senior Rebekah Schmidt’s shutout with 18 strikeouts. Senior catcher Natalie Schad led the offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.