SFMSports High School

The Pioneers season came to an end against the #1 seeded Wildcats with a 28-6 loss on a bright, sunny and warm Saturday afternoon at New London-Spicer.  The Pioneers scored in the 1st quarter on a QB sneak by Garrett Cummings to take a 6-0 lead and the game was tied 6-6 at halftime.  But the Wildcats scored 22 unanswered points in the 2nd half to advance to the 6AAA Championship.  The Pioneers ...

The 12th seeded Pioneers saw their season come to an end against the 5th seeded Wolves with a 3-1 loss. The Pioneers staged a big rally in the 1st set to win 26-24, but then Milaca swept the next 3 sets by scores of 20-25, 23-25, 21-25.  Pierz ends the season with a record of 7-20.  It was the final match for 8 outstanding Seniors: Ashley Kimman, Sydney Suska, Kendra Cekalla, McKayla Smude, Add...

The 4th seeded Pioneers opened the Section 6AAA Playoffs with a 27-14 win over the Dutchmen. Kirby Fischer ran for 167 yards and 3 touchdowns on the offensive side while also leading the team with 15 tackles and recovering a fumble on defense. Jacob LeBlanc ran for 90 yards with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion run. Derek Stangl had an end zone interception and Max Barclay recovered a fumbl...

The Pioneers closed out their regular season with a 22-14 road loss to the Royals. Kirby Fischer ran for 2 touchdowns and booted a pair of extra points and Jacob LeBlanc ran for 110 yards but a Connor Carlson 29 yard touchdown run with 3:30 left in the game broke a 14-14 tie and lifted Royalton to the win.

For the second time this season, the Pioneers and Flyers played a thrilling 5-set match, and just like the previous meeting in Pierz, Little Falls came out on top 3-2 by scores of 16-25, 26-24, 25-12, 25-27, 14-16.  This match wrapped up the regular season for the Pioneers with a record of 7-19.

The Pioneers closed out the home portion of their season schedule with a 3-0 setback at the hands of the Silverstreaks by scores of 17-25, 19-25, 22-25.

The Pioneers lost 38-7 to the undefeated Eagles on Friday night. The game turned late in the 1st half when the Pioneers were trailing 20-7 but had the ball inside the EVW 10 with less than :30 to go.  But instead of a touchdown for Pierz, the Eagles got a 95 yard interception return for a touchdown with :06 left to make it 26-7.  Jacob LeBlanc ran for 96 yards and the Pioneers only touchdown in...

The Pioneers lost 3-0 to the Huskies in Albany by scores of 17-25, 14-25, 19-25.  Leading the Pioneers were Ashley Kimman with 15 kills and 10 digs, and Kendra Cekalla with 22 assists.

The Pioneers beat the Royals 3-1 by scores of 25-23, 26-28, 25-20, 25-15 to earn their 7th win of the season.  Ashley Kimman had 15 kills and 21 digs, Kendra Cekalla had 30 assists, Maddie Lochner had 17 digs, Alyssa Sadlovsky had 15 digs and 9 kills and McKayla Smude had 10 kills to lead the Pioneers.

The Pioneers beat the Dutchmen 34-14 to improve to 5-1, using a strong rushing attack led by Reese Young with 184 yards and a touchdown, Kirby Fischer ran for 100 yards and scored 3 times and Derek Stangl added 82 yards on the ground.  Caden Knutson picked off his 3rd pass of the season and Gene Skiba, in his first game, registered 5 tackles.

The Pioneers, tied for 6th place in the Granite Ridge Conference, pushed the Conference-leading Crusaders to 5 sets in Pierz on Thursday.  The Pierz were serving for the match at 14-13 in the 5th, but the Crusaders managed to score the final 3 points to win 16-14 and avoid the Pioneers bid for a major upset.  Game scores were 16-25, 25-22, 11-25, 25-21, 14-16.

The Pioneers were unable to hold a 2-1 lead as the Thunder rallied for a 3-2 victory in Granite Ridge Conference action on Tuesday in Zimmerman.  Game scores were 24-26, 25-22, 25-21, 10-25, 9-15.

The Pioneers lost their Homecoming game 26-24 when the Tigers scored 2 touchdowns and added a 2-point conversion in the final 8 minutes to rally. Jacob LeBlanc ran for 2 touchdowns while Derek Stangl and Garrett Cummings also scored rushing touchdowns.  Kirby Fischer rushed for a season-high 108 yards for the Pioneers.

The Pioneers beat the Mustangs 3-1 to pick up their 2nd Conference win of the season.  Game scores were 24-26, 25-10, 25-20 and 26-24.  Ashley Kimman delivered 23 kills and had 13 digs, Alyssa Sadlovsky added 10 kills and 11 digs and Kendra Cekalla dished out 37 assists in the victory.

The Pioneers beat the Thunder Hawks 35-21 at Jacob LeBlanc ran for a career-high 224 yards and 2 touchdowns, Garrett Cummings added 2 scoring runs and Reese Young also found the end zone.  Kirby Fischer was a perfect 5-5 on extra-point kicks as Pierz improved to 3-0.

The Pioneers road to a 4-0 record wasn't a smooth one as they won a tight 12-7 battle with the Rockets.  Jacob LeBlanc ran the ball 30 times for 184 yards and both Pierz touchdowns.  But the lead trimmed to 12-7 late in the 4th quarter and the Rockets driving, Caden Knutson intercepted a pass at the Pierz 13 with under a minute left to play to seal the 12-7 victory for the Pioneers.

The Pioneers drop an exhilarating 3-2 match to the Flyers by scores of 19-25, 25-14, 26-24, 17-25, 16-18.  In the decisive 5th set, both teams had potential Match Point opportunities twice before the Flyers prevailed with an 18-16 win in Set 5.

The Pioneers beat the Lakers 43-14 to improve to 2-0. Garrett Cummings ran for 3 touchdowns while Jacob LeBlanc and Derek Stangl also rushed for touchdowns. The Pioneers also got a defensive score when Reese Young scooped up a fumble and raced 33 yards for a 3rd quarter score as Pierz won on the road for the first time this season.

The Pioneers fall 3-1 to the Falcons in Granite Ridge Conference action despite 21 kills from Ashley Kimman.

The Lightning capped off a dream season by beating their Victory League rival from Buckman 12-3 in the Class C State Championship in Faribault on Labor Day.  Brett Kramer, a draftee from Fort Ripley, earned the Win in relief.  After the Billygoats scored 3 in the top of the 1st, it was all Nisswa after that, as the Lightning plated 12 unanswered runs to win the first State Title in team history...

The Billygoats beat the Red Devils 6-4 in the Class C State Tournament Semifinals in Faribault on Sunday.  Nathan Ehnstrom, a draftee from Aitkin picked up the Win with Matt Tautges earning a Save.  The Goats defense was outstanding, turning 3 double plays including one to end the game.  Noah Boser went 3-5 with a double and 3 rbi, Lane Girtz went 2-2 with 2 walks, Andrew Rueckert was 2-3 with ...

The Billygoats beat the Saints 13-4 in the Class C Quarterfinals in Faribault behind the veteran pitching combination of Todd Robinson and draftee Mike Beier of Foley.  Noah Boser had 3 hits including a double and drove in 3 runs, Lane Girtz had a pair of hits and 2 rbi, Jack Suska had 2 hits including a double and 2 rbi, Andrew Rueckert had a 2-hit game and Aaron Weber belted a 3-run Homer to ...

The Pioneers lost 3-0 to Class AA's #1 ranked team, Pequot Lakes on Tuesday at the MAC. Game scores were 25-9, 25-19, 25-11.  Ashley Kimman led the Pioneers with 5 kills and 4 assists.

While the Avon Lakers were dropping a heart breaker to St. Patrick on Saturday in Dundas, the Nisswa Lightning were taking on the New Ulm Brewers at the same time in Faribault.  I picked up the broadcast of the final few innings of the Lightning's 4-2 win over New Ulm that propelled Nisswa into the State Quarterfinals against the Jordan Brewers.

The Lakers season came to a heartbreaking end with a 5-4 loss to the Irish in Dundas in the State Tournament Sweet Sixteen. Matt Meyer went 5-5 for Avon and Reese Gregory and Riley Voit had a pair of hits.  With Avon leading 4-3 going to the bottom of the 9th, St. Patrick's Jack Friedges led off with a double, followed by a walk-off 2-run Homer from Ryan Friedges to send the Irish to the Quarte...

The Billygoats beat the Lakers 8-5 in Dundas on Saturday in the Class C Quarterfinals. Buckman trailed Waconia 5-1 after 3 innings but then the Goats bats woke up, erasing that lead by scoring in 6 consecutive innings.  Noah Boser had 3 hits, including a double and Homer, Matt Tautges had 3 hits including a go-ahead 2-run triple, Lane Girtz added 3 hits and Andrew Rueckert doubled and Homered t...

The Pioneers opened the season with a 28-14 win at home over the Huskers, using 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to break a 14-14 tie.  Derek Stangl burst free for a 99 yard kickoff return, Kirby Fischer ran for a touchdown and caught a pass from Garrett Cummings for another and Reese Young cemented the victory with a 75 yard touchdown run with under 2 minutes left. For the Huskers, Drew Lange a...

The Pioneers edged the Wolves 3-2 in front of a large, energetic crowd at the MAC in the home opener for Pierz.  Game scores were 25-14, 18-25, 17-25, 26-24, 15-13.

The Avon Lakers edged the St. Martin Martins 2-1 in 11 innings in a suspended game played at 2 sites on 2 days.  After the Martins took a 1-0 lead in Faribault on Saturday night after an inning and a half, heavy rain forced a suspension of play.  The game resumed on Sunday afternoon in Meisville with that 1-0 score holding up until the top of the 7th when Elian Mezquita drilled an rbi double of...

The Buckman Billygoats blanked the Luverne Redbirds 4-0 in the 2nd round of the Class C State Tournament in Faribault as Matt Tautges fired a Complete Game 5-hitter for his 2nd Complete Game Win of the Tournament.  Jack Suska got the scoring started with a 3rd inning rbi double, followed by a run-scoring single by Matt Tautges.  Noah Boser led off the 4th with a long Homerun to make it 3-0, the...

The Nisswa Lightning staged a big late-game comeback to beat the Raymond Rockets 6-5 in the 2nd round of the Class C State Tournament in Faribault.   Trailing 5-1 entering the bottom of the 8th, Kody Ruedisili doubled home a run to make it 5-2, then Nic Nelson followed with a 2-run double of his own to make it 5-4.  In the bottom of the 9th, Nate DeChaine's 2-run double capped the Nisswa comeba...

The Buckman Billygoats defeated the Cannon Falls Bears 7-1 in the first round of the Class C State Tournament on Saturday night in Faribault.  Matt Tautges fired a Complete Game 4-hitter for the Win and Andrew Rueckert led a 10-hit Billygoats attack by going 3-4 with 2 rbi and a run scored.  Aaron Weber went 2-4 with a 2-run double and scored twice while Jack Suska had a pair of hits and scored...

The Pierz Lakers lost 6-5 to the Watkins Clippers in the first round of the Class C State Tournament in Faribault.  Paul Herman had 3 hits ad scored a run, Ryan Diers had a big 2-run single and Noah Cekalla and Brady Petron had 2 hits each and each man drove in a run.  But the Clippers, trailing 5-3 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, managed to rally for 3 runs to take a 6-5 lead and then ho...

The Avon Lakers beat the Fairmont Martins 4-3 in a thrilling 2-out game winning single by Ryan Janzen in the bottom of the 9th in Dundas in the first round of the Class C State Tournament.  Trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the 3rd, The Lakers Caleb Curry connected for a game-tying Homerun.  The winning rally was set up by a lead-off walk by Joe Dolan and a perfect sacrifice bunt by Cody Stic...

The Buckman Billygoats beat the Pierz Lakers 4-1 in the Region 8C 3rd Place game in Avon on Sunday.  Todd Robinson won his 2nd game of the Tournament with draftee from Aitkin Nathan Ehnstrom earning the Save in his first appearance. Chad Weiss gave Pierz an early 1-0 lead with a 3rd inning rbi single but the Billygoats took the lead in the bottom of the 4th on rbi singles from Aaron Weber and M...

The Nisswa Lightning captured their 4th Region 8C Championship in the last 7 seasons with a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the Avon Lakers on Sunday in Avon.  Trailing 4-3 going into the 9th, Nisswa got a 2-run double from Nic Nelson to take the lead, then added an insurance run on a sacrifice fly by Nate DeChaine.  Region 8C Tournament MVP Brett Kramer, draftee from Fort Ripley, hurled the ...

The Pierz Lakers came out of the gate with 5 runs in the bottom of the 1st and that was enough as Pierz clinched a spot at State with a 5-1 win over the Foley Lumberjacks on Saturday night in Avon.  1 run scored on an error, Peter Herman cracked a 2-run double, Brady Petron had an rbi double of his own and then Petron would score on a squeeze but play.  Preston Rocheleau and Noah Cekalla combin...

The Buckman Billygoats clinched a spot in the State Tournament with a 6-2 win over the St. Stephen Steves on Saturday in Avon.  Noah Boser had 3 hits including an rbi double and scored twice and stole a pair of bases.  Lane Girtz had a big 2-run single in the 2nd and finished with 2 hits.  Aaron Weber and Matt Tautges also had multi-hit games for the Goats.  Matt Tautges hurled a Complete Game,...

The Foley Lumberjacks and Randall Cubs had their Elimination game on Sunday night in Freeport suspended by rain with Foley leading 3-1 in the 2nd inning. When play resumed Monday night, Lumberjacks veteran Mike Beier threw 5 shutout innings and Foley scored 3 in the 4th with Mitch Loegering delivering a 2-run single to make it 6-1.  Josiah Peterson's 2-run double in the 6th made it 8-1, then a ...

The Nisswa Lightning clinched a berth in the State Tournament with a 7-3 victory over the St. Stephen Steves on Sunday in Freeport at the Region 8C Tournament.  After both teams scored 3 runs in the 1st inning, it was the Lighting's pitching combo of starter Nate DeChaine and reliever Brett Kramer, a draftee from Fort Ripley, that blanked the Steves offense for the final 8 innings.  Jeremiah Pi...

The Avon Lakers claimed a spot in the State Tournament with a 2-1 win over the Pierz Lakers at the Region 8C Tournament in Freeport on Sunday.  Avon scored in the top of the 1st when Ryan Janzen raced home on a wild pitch, but Pierz tied it in the 2nd when Ryan Diers led off with a double, then scored on an rbi single from Chad Weiss.  In the bottom of the 2nd, Ryan Janzen added a 2-out rbi sin...

The Buckman Billygoats kept their season alive with a 6-0 win over the Freeport on Sunday morning at the Region 8C Tournament in Freeport. The star of the show was Billygoats 46 year old pitch Todd Robinson, who threw a Complete Game 1-hit shutout and allowed only 3 base runners all game! Robinson hit a batter and walked another in the 1st inning but after that, only Jake Braegelmann's lead-off...

The last game of the 1st day in Freeport during the Region 8C Tournament didn't end until 1:10 am but it turned out to be worth the wait as the Steves built a 5 run lead only to have the Lumberjacks rally to tie the game in the top of the7th.  But Jack Greenlun led off the bottom of the 7th with a Homer to break the tie and the Steves held on to win 7-6.  Greenlun had a monster game , going 4-5...

The Nisswa Lightning were down to their final strike in the bottom of the 9th and trailing 2-0 to the Randall Cubs when Kody Ruedisili doubled with the bases loaded to clear the bases and give Nisswa a 3-2 win over the Cubs in a first round Region 8C game in Freeport.

The Avon Lakers edged the Buckman Billygoats 3-2in a first round game in the Region 8C Tournament in Freeport when Reese Gregory belted a tie-breaking solo Homer in the bottom of the 8th.  Joe Dolan then made an outstanding running catch in deep right-center to start a game-ending double play for Avon.

The Pierz Lakers opened the rain-delayed Region 8C Tournament in Freeport with a 6-3 win over the Freeport Black Sox.  Ryan Diers belted a 3-run Homer in a 4-run 1st for the Lakers.  Bryce Flanagan, a draftee from Fort Ripley, earned the Win in relief for Pierz.

The Black Sox beat the Cubs 11-1 in 7 innings to claim the #3 seed in the South/West Division Playoffs as Mitch Reller threw a Complete Game 4-hitter.  Freeport had  5-run innings in the 2nd and 4th to seize control.  Bryan Benson, Nate Mettenburg and Brady Pesta all had 2-run singles in the game for Freeport.  Kyle Peterschick produced the Cubs only run with a 3rd inning rbi triple.

The Billygoats beat the Brewers 8-4 in a Region 8C Play-In game as Matt Tautges fired a Complete Game, striking out 11.  Jack Suska Homered and drove in 3 runs and Andrew Rueckert Homered and doubled to drive in a pair of runs to power the Goats to victory. For the Brewers, Ryan Stuckmayer and Preston Veith had 2 hits each.

The Lakers beat the Rebels 4-2 to advance to the Division Championship as Carter Petron worked 6 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits while striking out 11. Preston Rocheleau doubled and drove in 2 runs and Ryan Diers added a big rbi single in the 88th inning.  Alex Haapajoki went 2-4 with an rbi for the Rebels.

The Pierz Lakers edged the Pierz Brewers 5-4 in a first round Division Playoff game at Hellie Field.  Noah Cekalla came out of the bullpen to throw 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 8 to get the Win.  Carter Petron drove in a pair of runs for the Lakers with a single and a sacrifice fly. Ryan Diers doubled twice, walked and drove in a run with a squeeze bunt to help lead th...