No. 6 St. Paul baseball thumps No. 22 Union/Cove in second-round playoff

No. 6 St. Paul baseball scored 11 runs in the first inning against No. 22 Union/Cove in the second round of the 2A/1A baseball state playoffs at St. Paul High School on Wednesday, May 22, ultimately winning 19-4 in five innings.

The Buckaroos totaled 12 hits and 14 RBIs. Clay Smith led St. Paul with four hits and two RBIs. Bricen Britten finished with three hits and three RBIs. Ralph Pohlschneider added two hits and two RBIs, while Sullivan Grott had one hit and two RBIs.

Brett Knutson started on the mound the Buckaroos, surrendering three runs on two hits, striking out one. Grady Wolf threw three innings in relief, allowing one run on three hits, striking out two.

Despite being apart for the majority of the last two weeks — with five athletes devoting time to track and field district and state championships — the Buckaroos didn't miss a step.

"Finally, we had all our kids the last couple days — everybody's rested. We got all our arms back and the kids are just believing," St. Paul head coach Dwayne Nowlin said. "The whole team hit well. We played defense well. … For us to come out and score 11 in the first inning was pretty amazing. And Brett Knutson and Grady Wolf, what a great job on the mound they did."

The first-inning avalanche all but sealed the game for St. Paul, as the Bobcats could never get within nine runs the rest of the game. After Knutson was walked, Smith singled. Pohlschneider proceeded to get walked, which was followed by an 2-run RBI-single to center field from Grott. A catcher's interference sent Elijah Bonham to first, while Britten drove in another run off a single.

Grott stole home to give St. Paul a 5-0 lead. Wolf was then walked, loading the bases. Diego Medina brought Bonham home on a ground out to second, while George Pohlschneider reached first on an error, scoring Wolf.

Knutson smacked a line drive to left field in his second at-bat of the frame for an RBI-double. Smith added an RBI-double of his own, pushing the lead to 9-0. After Ralph Pohlschneider struck out, Grott reached first on an overthrown ball to first, scoring Smith and advancing to second on the same error. Britten drove in the final run of the first off a fly ball.

"We always expect great things. When we come out here we always try to be positive, get the job done," Knutson said. "But we got the job done fast. It was a good atmosphere to play in."

Union/Cove didn't quite roll over after the initial onslaught. They outscored the Buckaroos 4-2 over the next two and half innings, which included a three up, three down second frame. Before entering the bottom of the fourth, Nowlin spoke with the team, refocusing the group.

"I've been doing this for 27 years, and I don't care what sporting event it is, no matter what the score is, teams go on runs," Nowlin said. "They got some hits and you could see the momentum swinging and I let my boys know this is where they are ready to play. They're going to chip at our lead. We need to get our momentum back."

The Buckaroos responded, rattling off six runs in the fifth and preventing further runs from the Bobcats to seal the victory. Although St. Paul advanced to the semifinals last season, Wednesday's win marked the first playoff victory for nearly the entire roster aside from Knutson and Smith, the only returnees.

"It's kind of awesome to see that we only have two people who have played in the field last year and we made it this far," Knutson said. "Nowlin's favorite saying is we don't rebuild, we reload. … I think we just buy into the system, and when we buy in, we expect great things. The young guys are great."

St. Paul (21-6) will look to continue its winning ways in the quarterfinals against No. 3 Blanchet Catholic (26-1) on Friday, May 24. The Cavaliers were the runner-ups in last year's championships and were voted the No. 1 spot in the final coaches poll. It's a challenge St. Paul isn't taking lightly.

"We got to play perfect. We got to hit the ball," Nowlin said. "Ninety percent of baseball is between the ears. You'll see a lot of teams get off the bus and they're already beat. We got to get off the bus over there and be ready to go."

"I think mentality is the biggest thing right now, because we can't go in the game with a losing mindset. That's just a recipe for disaster," Knutson added. "If we're on top of that, I think all will be good, and we'll be in for a good game. We'll see what happens."