COLD SPRING — The St. Cloud Crush baseball team has played all season with a social media hashtag: #whynotus. Second-year head coach Chris Koenig and his players, who are in just the third year of a prep baseball affiliation between St.
Cloud Apollo and St. CLoud Tech High Schools, is going to try to answer the question they've posed at the Class 4A state tournament. The Crush — the top seed in Section 8-4A — are headed there for the first time after Thursday night's 9-1 over third-seeded Moorhead at Cold Spring Ballpark.
Senior left-hander Kadyn Mork fashioned a complete-game five-hitter, striking out seven and nearly mirroring the effort junior right-hander Drew Lieser had Wednesday night in a 6-0 win over the Spuds in the semifinals. "I believe in these guys and I've believed in them since day one," said Koenig, after the players monkey-piled behind the mound in a hail of scattered gloves. "Did I think we were going to be 19-5 and section champs? I'd be lying if I said that.
But it's rewarding." The Crush received their first-place medals and section title trophy and still partied on the right field grass more than a half-hour after the game was over. They will learn their opponent and game time for the state quarterfinals after the eight participants are seeded Saturday.
They will play June 13 at CHS Field in St. Paul, home of the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins — the St. Paul Saints.
It's the first time since the state instituted four classes for baseball in 2016.