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Cubs-Kilowatts, Lakers-Tigers set for state qualifiers

By Travis Rosenau 7 min read

NEW ULM/SLEEPY EYE -- This Saturday will feature two Class C Amateur Baseball State Tournament qualifier games in Region 2C as the Courtland Cubs take on the Granite Falls Kilowatts at Johnson Park and the Hanska Lakers battle the fifth-seeded Springfield Tigers at Sleepy Eye Ballpark.

All four teams won their way to Saturday's state qualifiers with 2-0 starts to the tournament, which began Aug. 1. A guaranteed state berth will be awarded to the winners, while the losers fall to the elimination bracket for a second chance at state.

The winners of Saturday's winners bracket games will play at 6 p.m. next Saturday, Aug. 15, in Sleepy Eye for the No. 1 state seed from Region 2C. The losers from Saturday's winners bracket games will each play an opponent to be determined Friday night in New Ulm, with a state berth on the line to determine the final two Region 2C teams to earn a state tournament berth.

COURTLAND VS. GRANITE FALLS, 1 P.M., JOHNSON PARK

The second-seeded Cubs (19-6) will meet an unfamiliar new foe Saturday as they take on the third-seeded Kilowatts (16-8) of the Corn Belt League.

The Tomahawk East League Cubs, who made it to the Class C state tournament the past three seasons, made a deep run in 2024 and made it to the final eight. Last season the Cubs fell in the second round of the state tournament and will be looking to get back to 2024 form, which could start against a tough Kilowatts crew.

The Kilowatts are also no stranger to the state tournament, having gone 28 times, third most in Minnesota amateur baseball state history. Despite that historic number, however, the Kilowatts haven't been to the state tourney since 2007 and will be looking for a little extra power this year to get there.

The Cubs enter the game led by a host of powerful bats. Jaden Drill is hitting .394 with five homers and 26 RBIs, while his older brother Nolan Drill is hitting .333 with five homers and 35 RBIs. Teddy Giefer leads the team in round-trippers with seven while hitting .354 with 30 RBIs. Carter Lang also has three homers and 22 RBIs for the Cubs, while Chase Meyer is hitting .423 in 26 at-bats with two homers.

As a team, the Cubs are hitting .312 with 28 home runs and 61 doubles.

With a team-high 36 1/3 innings pitched, Nolan Drill has a 1.93 ERA and 38 strikeouts. He's allowed 31 hits and 16 walks. Meyer has also been one of the Cubs' go-to pitchers this season with a 1.14 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings, along with Jackson Bode (3.98 ERA, 41 Ks, 31 2/3 innings), Teagan Kamm (0.33 ERA, 13 Ks, 21 1/3 innings), Ansen Dulas (1.36 ERA, 10 Ks, 20 2/3 innings) and Giefer (2.80 ERA, 24 Ks, 20 innings).

Top to bottom, the Cubs have shown they're a force again this year, but the Kilowatts want to make them wait a little longer to try and earn a state berth.

The Kilowatts have been led this season by Drew Almich, who had a .368 batting average in 12 CBL games. Bennett Knapper provides a jolt of power in the lineup with four home runs, 12 RBIs and a .264 batting average in 15 CBL games this season, while Nikson Knapper hit .250 with a homer in league play.

On the mound, Granite Falls has gotten the majority of its success from Bennett Knapper, who pitched 63 2/3 innings in CBL play with a 2.12 ERA, 74 strikeouts and a 4-4 record. He also allowed 45 hits and 21 walks in league play. Bryce Sneller was 3-1 in league play with a 2.00 ERA, 20 strikeouts, 24 hits allowed and five walks allowed in 27 innings. Nikson Knapper finished league play by pitching 21 innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out 15 and allowed 11 hits and three walks and went 2-0.

HANSKA VS. SPRINGFIELD, 7 P.M., SLEEPY EYE BALLPARK

The fifth-seeded Tigers (12-8-1) will be looking to knock off the Lakers (16-5-1), the top seed and second-ranked team in Class C, to get back to the state tournament for the first time since 2024, when they ended a six-year state drought. Hanska, meanwhile, will be looking to return to the state tournament for the third year in a row.

Springfield did get a win over Hanska this year on June 21 in Springfield, a 9-2 win, but the playoffs are a different animal. That win also saw one of the Tigers' aces Jordan Milbrath pitch 5 2/3 innings and allow one hit while adding two hits and two RBIs at the plate.

Milbrath is out for the postseason with a broken ankle, giving the Tigers an added challenge. The Tigers still have plenty of firepower at the plate, but the Lakers have been ranked all season and for a good reason. With a solid balance of contact and power at the plate and an all-around solid pitching rotation, highlighted by Sam Knowles, Aaron Portner and Colin Anderson.

Sam Knowles is posting a 1.39 ERA and 2-0 pitching record, while Portner has a 2.35 ERA with a 7-0 mark and Anderson has a 3.00 ERA and 5-2 record in his first year with the team.

Looking to counter that pitching will be the Tigers' offense, led by Decker Scheffler, Tyler Hach and the young Madden Lendt. Scheffler is hitting .386 with a team-high 27 hits in 13 games, while Hach is hitting .351 with a team-high 26 RBIs. While he's played in just nine games, the 16-year-old Lendt turns heads when he plays and is hitting .417 in 36 at-bats.

Leading the Springfield pitching staff is the veteran Brandon Wilhelmi. The 40-year-old right-hander has pitched 26 innings with a 1.73 ERA and 27 strikeouts. He'a allowed 24 hits and nine walks.

Losing Milbrath from the rotation is a big loss for Springfield, but the Tigers have a handful of other reliable arms to keep them competitive, such as Justin Haugo, Noah Neperman and Tyler Dick. Haugo has a 3.97 ERA in 22 2/3 innings, while Neperman has a 4.30 ERA in 29 1/3 innings. Dick leads the team in innings pitched with 29 while posting a 5.28 ERA.

The Lakers can create a lot of problems for pitchers also. Chris Knowles leads the team at the plate with a team-high .473 batting average in 68 at-bats, 21 games, while Jake Finstad is hitting .458 in 48 at-bats, 12 games. Sam Knowles (.361 BA), Sawyer Olson (.353 BA) and Brady Mosenden (.343) are just three other hitters hitting over .300 for the Lakers, who have nine players total hitting over the .300 clip for a team average of .317.

Chris Knowles also leads the team in homers with 11, while Tanner Olson leads the team in RBIs with 21, just ahead of Brock Wellmann and Mosenden, who have 20 RBIs apiece.

ALSO ON SATURDAY

There will also be eight Region 2C teams looking to keep their seasons alive on Saturday in elimination play.

In New Ulm, the sixth-seeded Lamberton Long Sox will play the 12th-seeded St. James Athletics at 4 p.m. at Johnson Park, while the seventh-seeded Leavenworth Orioles follow with a 7 p.m. game against ninth-seeded Gibbon Reds. The winners of these two games will play Sunday in Sleepy Eye at 4 p.m. for a chance to play in a state qualifier game Friday at Johnson Park.

Meanwhile in Sleepy Eye, a 1 p.m. elimination game between the eighth-seeded Stark Longhorns and 10th-seeded Sleepy Eye Indians will open play at Sleepy Eye Ballpark on Saturday, while the fourth-seeded Milroy Yankees take on the 14th-seeded Essig Bluejays in a 4 p.m. game. The winners of these games will meet in a 1 p.m. game in Sleepy Eye, with the winner there moving on to a state qualifier game Friday night at Mueller Park in New Ulm.

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