The Raider baseball season has witnessed a very young group of players take on starting roles after the team graduated 18 seniors in 2024. This group of young men are learning via the School of Hard Knocks after a 1-5 start to the season, but that has not deterred them in any way. These boys are full of heart and resilience in the face of having the odds stacked against them. The boys of spring came into last week at 1-2 with three Metro East Conference (MEC) games scheduled for the week.
First was a visit from Mahtomedi on Apr. 15, the Zephyrs won 11-1. Apr. 16, North St. Paul came to town and left with a win, defeating Hastings 4-3. Finally, the Raiders made a trip to Mendota Heights to take on Two Rivers. The Warriors won 10-0 knocking the Raiders to 1-5 on the season and eighth place of nine in the MEC.
Versus Mahtomedi
The game against Mahtomedi saw Cole Karnick take to the mound for the Raiders. Karnick threw well, but he was no match for the Zephyr batters who logged 11 runs off 13 hits in five innings. Mahtomedi did a great job stringing hits together while holding the Raiders to one hit, a solo home run by new catcher Collin McGuire in the bottom of the fifth.
Karnick faced 31 batters in the five-inning complete game, throwing 109 total pitches, 61 strikes and 48 balls. In the outing, he had six strikeouts and five walks. All 11 runs were earned meaning the one Raider error did not affect the score.
Versus North St. Paul
Hastings had less than 24 hours to forget the game against Mahtomedi because another MEC team was coming to town, the North St. Paul Polars. The Polars, like Hastings, have had their issues this season winning games early in the season. The story of this matchup was passed balls/wild pitches for both teams.
The first inning was wild with four passed balls, and the passed balls allowed runs to be scored. The Polars first four batters reached with one scoring on a passed ball that also moved the runner from first to third before eventually scoring. With that much offense, the Raiders escaped what could have been a catastrophic first inning with only two runs allowed.
Cole Werner led off for Hastings and he crushed a double to right center. Two passed balls later and he scored the first Raider run cutting the Polar’s lead in half. Hastings held the line in the top of the second and the Raiders lead off batter Charlie Meyers walked to start things for Hastings. Meyers advanced to second on another passed ball and then stole third on a double steal with Colton McKnight who was also walked to reach first. With runners on second and third, McGuire grounded out to third allowing Meyers to score and McKnight to advance to third. The inning ended with the game tied 2-2.
Hastings had a smattering of hits throughout the game but could not string enough together to push the score ahead of North St. Paul, stranding nine baserunners. North was able to push one more run over the plate on two less hits for the 4-3 win.
Chuck Wagner had a 4-for-4 performance with four singles and one run scored. Carter Lundstrom and Charlie Meyers went 2-for-4 on the day with Meyers logging an RBI and a run. Hastings tallied three runs on nine hits with no errors and nine left on base.
Matt Sherry earned the start going five innings where he faced 31 batters. He struck out five and walked three on 82 pitches, 52 strikes and 30 balls and he was responsible for three earned runs. McKnight came in to relieve him going two innings, striking out four and walking one on 37 total pitches, 23 strikes to 14 balls and one earned run.
At Two Rivers
Hastings digressed at the plate, only managing three hits over six innings. With the limited offense and efficient pitching by the Warriors, Hastings was unable to push any runs across the plate resulting in a 10-0 loss.
Lundstrom earned the start on the bump for Hastings going three innings where he faced 16 batters. He threw 53 pitches, 34 strikes and 19 balls with three strikeouts and two walks. He was responsible for four earned runs. Drew Gillespie relieved Lundstrom and he faced 15 batters throwing 59 pitches, 29 strikes and 30 balls while striking out two and walking five. Three Raider errors kept Gillespie’s earned runs allowed to two.
The Raiders have opportunities up and down the lineup both offensively and defensively. With younger players, the learning curve can be all over the place and frustrations can compile quickly. Part of being in academic based athletics is learning how to manage those ups and downs to be able to improve from the mistakes. These kids will make that improvement because they have the heart needed to keep moving forward and they have the coaches to guide them through it. The coaches also have the knowledge to teach the skills needed to succeed at this level, but will the proverbial lightbulbs come on at the same time? We will see.
At 1-5, winning the conference is not impossible, but it will be an uphill battle. Winning the section and going to state can still happen since everyone starts the playoffs with a 0-0 record, but until that point, Raider fans will have to enjoy the ride and trust the process.
Up Next
The boys travel to South St. Paul on Apr. 23 and then host Simley on Apr. 25 and Hill-Murray on Apr. 28 before travelling to St. Thomas Academy on Apr. 30. All games are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. first pitches.