Proud Eden Prairie coach salutes De Vries

For all the family support Cole De Vries had at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago for his major league debut last week, dozens more in the Twin Cities were glued to their television sets. The Eden Prairie native and former Gophers standout got the start last Thursday against the White Sox. His performance -- six runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings pitched -- wasn't exactly a memorable way for the 27-year-old to remember his entrance to the big leagues.

But ...

"He made it to the ultimate, and that's pretty cool," Eden Prairie High School coach Mike Halloran said.

De Vries is the second of Halloran's players to don a major league uniform. Neil Wagner, also a pitcher, made his debut with Oakland in August.

"They've defied the odds," a papa-proud Halloran boasted last week. "I'm just so fired up for Cole. I'd love to see it on a regular basis."

Halloran, Eden Prairie's coach for 18 seasons, said he regularly keeps in touch with former players via e-mails and text messages. Last summer at the wedding of another former player, Halloran bumped into De Vries.

"We got to talking and talked about how this was going to be his year," Halloran said. "I knew he was going to put up some numbers, and it finally worked out for him. Hopefully he takes advantage. I'd love to see him pitch on a regular basis."

Eden Prairie is the No. 3 seed (behind Shakopee and Minnetonka) in the Class 3A, Section 2 tournament, which continues play this week.

Millers finish undefeated

Josh Pierce was masterful on the mound in the regular-season finale Twin City Game last week at the Metrodome. He pitched a complete game for Minneapolis Washburn, giving up four hits and striking out 15 as the Millers beat Highland Park 4-1.

The Millers finished the regular season 20-0 and earned the No. 1 seed in Class 2A, Section 4.

Adapted softball at state

Brackets are set for the cognitively impaired and physically impaired divisions of the adapted softball tournament on June 1-2 at Coon Rapids High School.

In the CI bracket, Osseo (9-1) received the No. 2 seed out of the North Division and drew Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville(7-2), the No. 3 team out of the South Division, in the opening round. Minneapolis Roosevelt (4-5), the No. 4 team in the North, gets a tough opening match with South No. 1 Dakota United (9-0).

In PI, Robbinsdale/Hopkins/Mound Westonka (7-1) is No. 1 in the North and takes on South No. 4 South Suburban (4-5) in the opening round. The winner will face either Minneapolis South (No. 2 South; 4-4) or Wayzata/Minnetonka (No. 3 North; 5-3).