High school baseball championship games are postponed, but they’ll stay at Target Field

Will Haas was looking forward eagerly to taking the mound for Rockford in the Class 2A state championship game Monday at Target Field. Waiting four days won’t diminish that feeling.

The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) postponed the four championship games scheduled for Monday because of rain. Target Field becomes available when the Twins end their homestand Thursday, so the MSHSL chose to reschedule for Friday at Target Field instead of attempting to play earlier in the week at other locations. Rain is forecast all week.

“We were anxious to play Monday,” said Haas, a junior lefthander who will start for the Rockets. “We are still very excited because we get to play at Target Field. I will be soaking it all in. It’s a very big deal for us.”

Rockford is making its first state tournament appearance.

“I think it’s going to feel pretty surreal,” said Haas, who has committed to Tennessee for college. “It’s going to be pretty cool. If we should win, Target Field would be like the cover of our book.”

The championship games remain on the same time schedule as was planned for Monday. Parkers Prairie (25-1) and Springfield (24-2) will begin the Class 1A final at 10 a.m.; Rockford (25-5) and Foley (23-4) will start the 2A final at 1 p.m.; Mahtomedi (22-4) will take on Totino-Grace (18-8) in Class 3A final at 4:30 p.m.; and two Suburban East Conference teams, East Ridge (20-6) and Mounds View (20-8), will start the Class 4A final at 7:30 p.m.

Parkers Prairie and Springfield, the teams in the earliest time slot and each with a commute of more than two hours, made the drive to Minneapolis on Sunday, staying overnight near Target Field. Both head coaches said fan buses left their schools in the 6 a.m. hour and were en route when the game was postponed.

Both teams planned to return to Minneapolis on Thursday night to avoid a necessary 5 a.m. departure Friday morning.

After teams got final word the games would be Friday, Springfield loaded up the bus and headed home — but not until after the players enjoyed the hotel pool.

“We kind of had an idea, with looking at the radar, that we probably weren’t going to end up playing,” Springfield coach Brandon Wilhelmi said.

It’s clear the MSHSL satisfied participants by working to keep the games in Target Field. Rockford coach Cody Hallahan joined the crowd elated about that.

“This is a whole new experience for our team and community,” Hallahan said. “Playing on a pristine field like Target Field adds to the whole experience.”

Similarly, Mounds View senior first baseman/pitcher Tyler Guerin, the Star Tribune’s Metro Player of the Year, got what he wanted even though he didn’t get to play Monday.

“I get it, the weather is terrible,” Guerin said. “We can’t be upset about that. We are still playing at Target Field.”

The decision to wait days to play influences more than travel and location. The gap between last Friday’s semifinals and the coming Friday’s finals means every pitcher is fresh. Mounds View can use Guerin, a righthander committed to Iowa, and East Ridge can use Max Arlich, a lefthander headed to Texas A&M.

“Each team will be at their very best,” Guerin said.

Totino-Grace coach Mike Smith said spectators will benefit as much as anybody.

“There are going to be some high-level pitchers throwing in these games,” he said. “I think the fans are going to see some great baseball.”

For a few of the players, the rescheduled state title games bump into the Baseball Coaches’ Association All-Star Series, scheduled for June 20-22 in Chaska.

“We’re looking at it like we’re fortunate,” Parkers Prairie coach Derek Denny said. “There’s only [eight] teams in the state that are in this predicament. Everyone else is done.”