St. Paul, Minn. -- The Farmington Tigers' hopes for a state championship came to an end in a tight MSHSL Class AAAA quarterfinal game against the Forest Lake Rangers. In a classic pitchers' duel, the Rangers edged out a narrow 1-0 victory on Thursday, sending the Tigers to the consolation bracket. Farmington will face a familiar opponent, the Eastview Lightning, tomorrow at 9:00 am at Palm Field in St. Anthony.
Both teams displayed exceptional skill on the mound, but Forest Lake managed to find the crucial edge at the plate. Joe Baldus delivered an impressive performance for Farmington, pitching a complete game and recording 21 outs. However, he took the loss despite allowing only one run on six hits, striking out seven, and walking one.
The decisive moment came in the third inning when Forest Lake's #8 tripled, bringing in the game's only run. Forest Lake's starting pitcher, #3, matched Baldus's effort by shutting down the Tigers' offense, giving up six hits and no runs over seven innings, while striking out six and walking two.
Farmington's offense was led by Joe Larson, who demonstrated the depth of the Tigers' lineup with two hits in three at-bats. Despite his efforts, the Tigers were unable to push any runs across. Forest Lake's #8 and #2 also contributed two hits each, with #8 driving in the game's only run.
Defensively, Forest Lake was flawless, not committing any errors. Their second baseman, #15, was particularly effective, making seven plays to support their pitcher.
The Tigers will now look to regroup and prepare for their next challenge in the consolation bracket, aiming to extend their season with a win against the Eastview Lightning.
