Against Watertown-Mayer, the Otters were down 0-2 after 3 innings but showed their resiliency by scoring 4 runs in the top of the fourth. Jace Kremeier led off with a walk, Chase Johnston followed that with a single, and Gus Proudfoot walked to load the bases. Landon Noon walked, which scored Kremeier. Kai Ebert followed that up with an RBI single. Not to be outdone, Beau Schlosser singled and scored Proudfoot and Noon. The Otters tacked on two much needed runs in the top of the fifth with Weston Youngberg reaching on an error and Kremeier reaching on a fielder’s choice. They both came around to score on Johnston’s single. Watertown-Mayer had the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth with only one out when the batter hit a hard ball to second, Dexter Felstul fielded it, flipped it to Isaac Jenc for the force at second and Jenc threw to Proudfoot at first who made a great scoop to end the game on a beautiful 4-6-3 double play. Jenc, Johnston, and Hayden Heruth combined to pitch a great game for the Otters.

Next up for the Otters were the Austin All-Stars for an 8:00 a.m. game on Saturday morning. The Otters scored twice in the top of the first with Felstul singling and coming around to score on Johnston’s single. Proudfoot scored Johnston on a single to wrap up the scoring. Austin went up 2-3 after two innings but the Otters took the lead in the top of the 3rd. In that inning, Jenc walked and came around to score on a wild pitch. Felstul singled and scored on Johnston’s ground out. Austin tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd. The score remained tied going into the top of the 5th. In the 5th, Felstul led off with a double, and moved to third on Kremeier’s ground out and scored on Proudfoot’s ground out to take the lead. Proudfoot started for the Otters and pitched 2 solid innings and Jenc came in and shut the door on Austin by pitching the last 3 innings.

In the first round of bracket play, the Otters faced off against Upsala-Swanville. The Otters were the visiting team and wasted no time jumping to a 5-0 lead in the first. Jenc lead off with a walk and went to third on Felstul’s single. Jenc scored on a passed ball and Felstul scored on Kremeier’s fielder’s choice. Kremeier came around to score on an error in the inning. Hayden Heruth walked and came around to score on Ebert’s single. Noon also scored on Ebert’s single. The Otters tacked on 3 more in the top of the second to make it 8-0. In the 2nd, Youngberg walked, Jenc singled, Felstul walked, and Proudfoot walked with the bases loaded scoring Felstul. Heruth laced a double down the left-field line scoring Kremeier and Johnston. The Otters added another in the top of the third with Cade Johnson singling and coming around to score on Jenc’s single. In the 5th, the Otters tacked on another run with Schlosser walking and Johnson walking. Youngberg moved Schlosser up to third with a ground out. Schlosser scored on Jenc’s ground out. For the Otters, Felstul got the nod on the mound and pitched 5 outstanding innings, giving up only 1 run and striking out 5. Heruth came in and shut the door on Upsala-Swanville by pitching a scoreless 6th with help from a great 6-4-3 double play from Jenc to Felstul to Kremeier.

With the win against Upsala-Swanville, the Otters faced New London-Spicer in the quarterfinals. Jenc toed the rubber for the Otters and kept a great hitting team in check for 4 innings. Unfortunately, the Otters were unable to get anything going offensively as the NLS pitcher kept the Otter hitters off balance for the majority of the game. Down 0-7 in the top of the 7th, the Otters mounted a rally to put some pressure on NLS as Johnson and Youngberg led off with singles, and Jenc singled in Johnson. The Otters weren’t able to push any more runs across. Until the loss against NLS, the Otters had won 7 games in a row.

The young Otters finished the season with a solid record of 18-9-1. They improved throughout the season and played their best baseball in the state tournament. Head Varsity Baseball Coach Shane Thielke was reached for comment after the tournament and stated: “I am proud of how the 12u team competed and played in the MSF State Tournament. The future of Otter Baseball looks very bright with this group of players.”

Coach Chad Felstul said after the tournament: “I am so proud of how the boys played and competed this weekend. The three wins in the state tournament are a testament to the hard work and dedication this group has put in throughout the season. The wins were true team wins and each and every player contributed, whether it was timely hitting, great pitching, or excellent defensive plays. The boys should be very proud of their season.”

The Otters were coached by Chad Felstul, Brian Jenc, and Dick Felstul.