The Fergus Falls 10u baseball team took second place at the MSF state tournament in Mankato over the weekend.  In pool play, the Otters tied the Austin All-Stars 5-5 and  dominated Maple Lake 16-0. With the win and a tie, the  Otters moved on to the AA championship bracket. In bracket play, the Otters beat Eastview 10-4, squeaked by Annandale  6-4, and ran over Long Prairie 12-4 in the semi-finals before falling to St. Michael-Albertville 9-3 in the championship.

In the opening game of the tournament, the Otters received  key pitching performances from Brody Krein, Josh Horgen,  Caleb Fronning, and Kadyn Zender. Zender pitched the  bottom of the 6th and kept the game tied. Offensive  leaders for the Otters were Jacob Jenc with two singles  two runs, Kellen Funkhouser with a triple and double,  Krein with a home run, Fronning with a single and a run, 
and Tanner Donaghue with a run.

Against Maple Lake, Nolan Felstul got the nod to start and  pitched a complete game shutout. Offensive leaders for the  Otters were Caleb Fronning with three hits and three runs,  Felstul with three hits (3b) and three runs, Krein with three hits, including a triple and home run, and two runs, Donaghue with two singles and two runs, Luke Johnson with one hit and one run, Funkhouser with one run, John Abrahams with a double and a run, Zender with two hits. Bennet Thielke with a run, and Josh Horgen with a run.

In the first game of bracket play, Krein toed the rubber to start for the Otters and went 2 and 2/3 strong innings. Fronning came in to relieve Krein and led the Otters past Eastview. The Otters came out flat in the game and  were quickly in a 3-0 hole after two innings. Easton Hanson led off the top of the 3rd against his former teammates and  singled to start a huge 6 running rally in the top of the third. Eastview seemed to have life in the 5th inning, but the mighty Caleb Fronning came to bat in the top of the fifth and launched a pitch over the left-field fence for a two-run home run. Offensive leaders for the Otters were Fronning with two hits and two runs, Felstul with three 
hits and one run, Krein with two hits and a run, Jenc with one hit and a run, Abrahams with a triple and a run, Hanson with a hit and a run, Thielke with two runs scored, and Horgen with a run scored.

In the quarterfinals, Horgen started for the Otters and pitched 3 strong innings. Fronning and Krein slammed the door shut to move the Otters on to the semi’s. Offensive leaders for the Otters were Fronning with a hit and a run, Felstul with a run, Krein with a double and single, Johnson with a single and a run, Jenc with two hits and a 
run scored, Donaghue with a double and a run scored, Funkhouser with two hits and a run scored, and Thielke with a single.

In the semi-finals, Felstul started on the bump and held Long Prairie in check for three innings and then Zender came in to close the door in the final three innings to send the Otters to the championship. The Otters were down 2-1 after one, but put the game away by scoring 5 in the 3rd and 6 in the 4th. Offensive leaders for the Otters 
were Felstul with two hits, two runs and a walk, Fronning with one hit, two runs, and a walk, Krein with one hit, two runs, and a walk, Johnson with a hit and a walk, Jenc with a walk and a run, Donaghue with a hit and a run, Funkhouser with a triple, Zender with two walks and a run, Hanson with one hit and two walks, Levi Budke with hit, 
walk, and a run, Thielke with a run, and Horgen with a double, walk and a run.

In the championship, Zender started and pitched one inning before mother nature intervened and caused a rain delay. After the rain delay, Thielke came on to throw 4 strong innings for the Otters. The Otters were led by Krein with two hits and a run, Fronning and a Felstul who each had a hit and scored a run, and Johnson and Jenc with singles.

Overall for the state tournament, Krein went an amazing 12-14 at the plate, Felstul went 9-15, and Fronning went 9-17.

With the second place finish, the Otters end their season at 25-7-1. The Otters were coached by Chad Felstul and Darren Krein with special help at practice from Dexter Felstul, Robbie Olson and Dick Felstul.

“The second place finish at state is a true testament to the hard work and dedication that these young Otters put in over the last 3 months,” said coach Chad Felstul. “I am so proud of each and every one of the boys on this team. Each player contributed to the second place finish.”