By Scott A. Kolb

Post-Bulletin, Austin MN 

ST. CLOUD -- A perfect weekend for the Riverland Blue Devils baseball team was capped off with the school's first state championship in 37 years.

The Blue Devils were the top-seeded team at the Minnesota College Athletic Conference State Tournament, and they lived up to the lofty billing over the two-day span.

After two impressive wins on the first day of the tournament, Riverland finished it off with a 6-2 victory over Fergus Falls on Saturday in the state championship game.

Ryan Palmer, a crafty left-hander, was the starting pitcher for the Blue Devils and he got the win.

Brian Voigt, who pitched for the Southland Rebels in last year's high school state title game, came on in relief to pick up the save.

"It's been a long time since Riverland won a state title in baseball, and everybody on the team is pretty excited," Riverland coach Scott Koenigs said. "We won the state championship with solid pitching and we got the big hits when we needed them."

Long ball display

Back in early March, the Blue Devils began their season by hammering home runs out of the fields at the Cocoa Beach Expo Center in Florida. That trend continued in the three games of the state tournament.

The Blue Devils bashed the ball around in their first two wins at state. Thus, it was no surprise when the offense once again came through with the long ball.

Chris Lindemann delivered the decisive blast with a three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning. This was part of a four-run rally in the inning, and it put the Blue Devils on top to stay.

In the initial rally, Andy Behnke started the fun with a leadoff double. After an out, Voigt broke the scoreless tie as he stroked an RBI single to plate Behnke with the game's first run.

Derek Emanuel then walked to set the stage for the big blow from Lindemann.

This was the second straight game in which Lindemann provided the hitting heroics for the Blue Devils. Lindemann also hit a two-run homer in Friday's win over Dakota County Technical College.

Late rally

More run production came in the bottom of the fifth for the Blue Devils.

Kyle Starkey drew a leadoff walk and Brandon Huhn followed with a double to put runners at second and third. After an out, Shane Lange hit a RBI single, then Voigt got another single to score Huhn for a 6-0 lead.

"The offense gave Ryan plenty of cushion and he did a good job until the top of the sixth," Koenigs said. "Ryan threw off speed and had some stuff with wrinkles, then he stuck the fastball in there to stay ahead in the count. Their rally started with a one-out single and then he started to struggle with his control."

Palmer walked the next batter to put two men aboard for Fergus Falls in the sixth. The opposition then got a double and erased the goose egg from the scoreboard.

Bullpen savior

Flirting with further trouble, Palmer next hit a batter and put another potential run on base. It was time to douse the fire and the call went out to the bullpen for Voigt.

"When he hit that batter, then it was time to bring Brian in and he closed it out," Koenigs concluded.

"Brian got the last out in the sixth and set the side down in order for the save in the top of the seventh. This was fun for the guys to bring a trophy back from state, and now we get ready to go back to work in preparation for the region."

Riverland (34-8) is the top seed from Minnesota in the upcoming Region XIII Tournament.

There will be three teams from Minnesota and one from Wisconsin vying for a shot at the JUCO World Series. The first game for the Blue Devils in the region will be at 11 a.m. Friday in Willmar.

MCAC STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

RIVERLAND 6, FERGUS FALLS 2

Fergus Falls 000 002 0 -- 2 5 2

Riverland 040 020 x -- 6 8 0

Riverland: Brian Voigt 3-3, 2B, run, 2 RBIs; Chris Lindemann 1-3, HR, run, 3 RBIs; Shane Lange 1-2, RBI; Andy Behnke 1-3, 2B, run; Brandon Huhn 1-4, 2B, run; Kyle Starkey 0-0, 3 walks, run; Zach Vlietstra 1-4, SB. WP: Ryan Palmer 5 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 HB, 2 BB, 4 K. SV: Voigt 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K.