Burnsville Baseball Returning To State

Fifty weeks after finishing as the Class AAA runner-up, the Burnsville baseball team earned a chance to take care of its "unfinished business" by blitzing Eastview, 10-0, in the Section 3AAA championship on Tuesday night and punch its ticket for the 2011 state tournament.

"That's what it has been about since the kids walked off from Target Field last spring," said coach Mick Scholl of the Blaze's "Unfinished Business" motto. "We have a lot of the same guys on this year's team and they've been wanting another chance to win a title."

Burnsville emerged from the sectional tournament unscathed and completely dominated the South Suburban Conference rival Lightning from the start on a 90-plus degree evening at Alimagnet Park.

Blaze starting pitcher Brian Vanderwoude gave up a hit with one out in the top of the first inning; it was the final baserunner the junior hurler would allow in the contest.

"It was great to see Brian do so well on the mound," Scholl said. "He started off the season well, then struggled a bit in the mid-season, but he has gotten back to it and he pitched like a champion tonight."

With Vanderwoude tossing a gem, the only runs Burnsville would require to claim the victory came on a two-run home run from Matt Stemper in the bottom of the first inning.

Stemper's blast that sailed over the left-centerfield wall plated himself and Andy Lieser to give the Blaze a 2-0 advantage.

After going without a run in the second inning the Blaze broke the contest open with a five-run stanza that sent nine batters to the plate before Eastview extinguished the inferno.

Dan Motl started off the third with a solo home run, before the home side loaded the bases with Leiser being hit by a pitch and walks to Stemper and Justin Threkeld.

Lieser recorded his second tally of the contest on a balk before Tyler Hanson cleared the bases with a two-run double and scored himself on a fielder's choice by Bo Hellquist and subsequent Lightning error to make the count 7-0 in favor of the section's No. 1 seed.

Stemper drove home Lieser yet again on a hit-and-run single in the fourth to push the advantage to 8-0; with Vanderwoude stifling any Eastview hopes of a rally, the only variable seeming to remain was not whether the Blaze would win, but when.

Hanson promptly answered that question in the fifth after Threkheld singled as the sophomore swatted a walk-off two-run homer to the right of the scoreboard and clinch the ten-run triumph.

"It's the first time I've done that," said Hanson of his game-ending blast. "The first time ever."

Hanson hustled around the bases and into the waiting arms of his teammates, who gleefully mobbed their hard-hitting third baseman who had just delivered the section title.

"It feels so good," Hanson said. "I'm so happy for me and my teammates. The chemistry on this team is amazing and we've believed in ourselves all year."

While the Blaze—now 21-3 on the season—have returned to the state tournament, they will still have to win two games at St. Paul's Midway Stadium on June 16 and 17 before earning the right to return to Target Field, the site of the Class A, AA and AAA state finals.

"It would be great to get back to Target Field," Hanson said. "But, we have to get their first."