Owatonna, Medford Legion Teams Close Seasons; Aces Win Another
Playoff losses over the weekend ended the summer season for the Owatonna and Medford American Legion baseball teams.
Owatonna Post 77 bowed out after a 9-5 loss to Albert Lea on Saturday afternoon at Fuller Field at Dartt's Park. Post 77 went 11-8 overall and 7-2 in the district to earn the No. 2 seed. Owatonna recorded several come-from-behind victories and lost a thrilling 1-0 game to Omaha Burke during the Gopher Classic among the season highlights.
The sixth-seed Rochester Patriots, who pushed Owatonna into the loser's bracket last Thursday, won the Sub-State 1 title on Monday night at Fuller Field, beating the Rochester A's 11-7. The Patriots, John Marshall during the school season, will open the Division 1 state tournament on Friday at 10AM against Ham Lake at Toni Stone Field. The Mankato Nationals (Mankato West) also qualified for state and will play host team Tri-City Red on Friday at 1PM at CHS Field in St. Paul.
Medford's Legion team had a strong finish to their season by taking second place in the sub-district and advancing to the District 1 final four. They were eliminated 7-3 by St. Charles on a walk-off grand slam. Caledonia and Pine Island will represent southern Minnesota at the state Division 2 tournament.
The final week of the regular season is a busy one for the Owatonna Aces amateur team. They beat Stewartville-Racine 8-6 Monday, according to their Twitter account.
The Aces host Pine Island on Wednesday, July 26, at 7:30PM at Dartt's Park, travel to Winona on Friday at 7:30PM and host the Rochester Roadrunners on Sunday at 5PM in a makeup game.