File photo by Ari Selvey Springfield’s Ryan Sturm bumps fists with Aiden Moriarty (22) after homering during a Region 2C playoff game against Hanska on Aug. 9 in Sleepy Eye.

By Travis Rosenau

trosenau@nujournal.com

SPRINGFIELD — After having their state tournament dreams spoiled the past two years at the hands of the Stark Longhorns, the Springfield Tigers redeemed themselves this year and got their paws back on a state berth for the first time since 2017 as a result.

The Tigers were eliminated from the 2022 and 2023 Region 2C tournament by Stark, both times in grueling 14-inning games. This year was a different story for the Tigers, however, as they got the redemption they were looking for after beating the Longhorns 9-6 on Aug. 4 in Sleepy Eye to qualify for the Class C Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament.

Tigers manager Steve Helget said getting back to the state level again has his team fired up.

“We were getting pretty consistent every few years, getting in there [state] and the guys are definitely fired up,” Steve Helget said. “And, yeah, the last two years of losing to Stark in 14 innings, we knew we were there, it’s just you’ve got to get a break when you get it or make a break, and finally things went our way.”

Springfield will be welcomed back to state in a first-round, 11 a.m. Sunday game in Belle Plaine at Tiger Park against the Raymond Rockets. Raymond, runners-up in Region 4, are 16-time state-goers, winning the Class C title in 2016. The Rockets made it to state the past two seasons also, falling to Monticello in the first round last year.

“Working on a scouting report … they’ve got Tyler Steen, I know he’s their big stud catcher and been there a while,” Steve Helget said. “They’ve got some veterans that have been through this grind for a long time. Raymond is Raymond baseball, they’ve got some good guys out of Willmar and they bring it and they play hard. … We’ve heard different reports that we may see an older fellow [on the mound] or we may see a kid draftee from Marshall, they drafted a Marshall kid that’s a pretty solid, top pitcher the way it sounds.”

According to the Corn Belt League website, Steen was hitting .333 heading into the postseason, while Caleb Ditmarson led the team with a .473 batting average. Raymond’s busiest pitcher heading into playoffs, John Sawatzky, pitched 55 1/3 innings with a sub-1.00 ERA (0.98) and 65 strikeouts.

Steve Helget said he believes Region 2C is getting stronger with younger pitchers taking over. While he knew it wouldn’t be a walk in the park to get back to state tournament this year, he said his son and fellow Tigers player, Tori Helget, was confident this summer would see better results for Springfield.

“Our league is getting better with some younger pitchers,” Steve Helget said. “I think we played veterans the last two years, last year we just didn’t get a break and this year, we, going in, my son [Tori] told me all summer, ‘Don’t worry, dad, we’ll take care of this, we’ll close this game out and we’re going to be there,’ [laughs]. So, he’s kind of got that kind of savvy.”

Tori Helget is just one of the younger, talented all-around players the Tigers bring to the table, hitting .273 with 11 stolen bases in 11 attempts. He’s also pitched 30 innings with a 3.60 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 30 innings.

The Tigers boast a solid group of hitters, highlighted by the middle of the lineup. Two of those top bats in that middle of the lineup belong to Decker Scheffler (.469 BA, 3 HRs, 17 RBIs) and Ryan Sturm (.400 BA, 2 HRs, 23 RBIs).

“This team has really come together, maybe a couple losses in the playoffs, but fortunately we’re probably averaging 13, 14 hits a game and we’re hitting up and down the lineup, and our middle is really smacking it around,” Steve Helget said. “I’m really excited about that part going in [to state]. We probably had the last two years where the bottom of our lineup wasn’t as solid as our top, obviously we miss Sam Baier … he unfortunately couldn’t [play] this year, but we’re going to go with what we’ve got and have fun with it.”

In addition to Scheffler and Sturm, 15-year-old slugger Aiden Moriarty has provided some added pop to the lineup with a .361 batting average, 13 RBIs and a homer. Jacob Poehler has also been solid at the plate with a .306 batting average and 16 RBIs.

Steve Helget also said the Tigers have been consistent on the basepaths this season.

“We have a lot of speed,” he said. “I looked the other day and we were 41 for 46 in stolen bases but we’ve had some injuries. Tori, he probably’s leading the team in stolen bases, but he was on a rolled ankle for quite a while early in the season or he’d probably have a lot more stolen bases. Scheffler, too, probably a little bit late start. Between him and [Ashtin] Johnson and Tori, they haven’t been thrown out yet. Not that they can’t be, but good speed in the lineup, through the lineup, kind of got it mixed up.

“I’ve got some youth, moved a kid down in the lineup and that Poehler kid has just tore it up in the playoffs. He’s probably hitting .550 or something in the playoffs and he seems to be real comfortable in that spot.”

Lefty Justin Haugo leads the Tigers in innings pitched this year (51) for a 4-2 record. He has a 3.71 ERA, allowing 44 hits and 16 walks while striking out 63.

Two other top arms for the Tigers this year are right-handed pitchers Brandon Wilhelmi and Jordan Milbrath. Wilhelmi is 3-0 in 34 innings pitched this season with a 1.06 ERA and 36 strikeouts. He has allowed 27 hits and four walks. Milbrath has a 3-3 record to go with a 3.23 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings of work. He has allowed 29 hits and 21 walks.

Steve Helget said he plans to start either Milbrath or Haugo on Sunday.

“I’m probably looking at Jordan Milbrath or Justin Haugo, one of them two are probably going to get the start,” Steve Helget said. “Milbrath’s been throwing pretty well lately, and Haugo’s probably had a two-week break now with not playing Saturday, so I feel very comfortable with either one of them on the mound.

“Jordan’s been really in the strike zone this year and he understands how to get hitters out, he’s been through a lot more than some of us have and Haugo’s pitched with Stark up there [at state] a couple times I believe. So, yeah, I think we’re very comfortable with them two and we’ll piece it together with them and maybe a draft [pick] and maybe Tori.”

After the Region 2C tournament completed this past weekend, the Tigers were able to draft Leavenworth pitchers Brandon Schmitz and Jevan Richert, along with Stark pitcher Dylan Klein.