Barnesville would open the tournament in Battle Lake with a 12-8 win over tournament favorite New York Mills on Thursday, and followed up with a come from behind 5-4 win over Blackduck later that day.  Albany Purple would hand Barnesville their only tourney loss with a 5-0 shutout on Friday, however Barnesville’s 2-1 record was good enough to qualify as the second seed from the Ruth Pool. 

Playing at Tony Kawlewski Field in Henning against the host OTC Bulldogs on Saturday, Barnesville would rally back from a 2-0 deficit with a dramatic 2 out, 2 strike double off Asher O’Brien’s bat to tie the score in the final inning.  Another double off the bat of draftee Tommy Slette (Hawley) plated two runs in the first extra-inning and Barnesville would eliminate the hosts with a 4-2 victory.  Andrew Ehlert (5 Innings; 3 H; 2 R; 6 BB; 5 K) and Slette (3 Innings; 1 H; 1 BB; 4 K) held the Bulldogs to just 4 hits, while Barnesville pounded out 10 hits in the game.

Draftee Greg Noel (Moorhead) and O’Brien would team up on the mound to down number 1 seed Parkers Prairie in the semifinal game on Sunday by the score of 6-5.  Barnesville plated 4 runs in the opening inning and added two more in the third, but Parkers Prairie rallied for 5 runs in the fourth to make it a game.  O’Brien relieved Noel in the fourth and would allow 3 hits, however 3 strikeouts and good defense secured the win and advanced Barnesville to the final.  Colin Morey (2-3; 1 RBI) had some nifty base running which allowed Barnesville to score 2 runs on double steals.  Slette (2-3; 3 RBI) had two doubles in the game for Barnesville, which had 11 hits in the game. 

In the Championship game against Wadena-Deer Creek, Barnesville would score single runs in the first, second and fourth inning, only to have WDC score twice in each of the fourth and fifth innings to take a 4-3 lead.  Ehlert would beat out an infield hit with one out in the sixth before Ethan Larson smashed a hard single into left that got by the outfielder, allowing Ehlert to score from first and tie the game.  With O’Brien in relief of Slette (6 Innings; 4 H; 4 R; 3 BB; 5 K), WDC would advance a runner into scoring position, but O’Brien (1 Inning; 0 H; 2 K) would fan the final batter to set up the thrilling finish. 

Batting in the bottom of seventh, Peyton Amundson would get first base when he was hit by a pitch with one out.  Jay Tschumperlin lined a single into right and Amundson would speed around to third with Tschumperlin taking second on the throw.  With Wadena – Deer Creek playing in shallow with the hopes of cutting down Amundson at the plate, O’Brien promptly smashed a long fly ball single over the head of the left fielder, plating Amundson to score the winning run and setting off the championship celebration. 

The Championship reverses a second place finish by the Barnesville 15U Babe Ruth team in the 1992 State Tournament, where Wadena-Deer Creek took home top honors. 

“A big Thank You to the OTC Baseball club for running a great state tourney, specifically Evan Meece, Ryan Hendrickson and Randy Misegades and all the volunteer help in Henning, Battle Lake and Parkers Prairie,” commented Barnesville Team Manager Craig Samuelson.  “The tournament ran as smooth as the infield grass!  We played at Dick Buntje Field in Battle Lake and Tony Kawleski Field in Henning and the facilities and field conditions were absolutely terrific.  The tournament committee and volunteers provided a great experience for all the players and fans.”