St. Cloud Crush Baseball All Set For State Tourney

The St. Cloud Crush baseball team captured the Section 8-4-A title last Thursday when they beat Moorhead 9-1 in the section final in Cold Spring.  The Crush is a co-op team that includes both Tech and Apollo athletes.  St. Cloud will play top seeded Wayzata at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at CHS Field in St. Paul.  Hear the game on AM 1390/93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

Crush head coach Chris Koenig joined me on WJON.  Koenig says he's excited for the kids and families that they will have this experience.  He explains they were a much different team 3 months ago but they've really turned themselves into a team.

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Koenig says they were concerned about their offense early this season but they've developed into a good offensive team.  He indicates it took some time, hard work and commitment.  Koenig felt their pitching would be strength and that has been the case.  He says the team worked hard to improve in areas they needed to.  Koenig explains the hitting has become contagious with this group and they've received contributions from up and down the lineup.

St. Cloud's top two pitchers this season have been Drew Leiser and Kadyn Mork.  Koenig isn't sure who will start Thursday on the mound for them against Wayzata.  He says they are still analyzing the matchup but one of the two will start.  Koenig expects to use both Parker Schulz and Joe Hess on the mound in the State Tournament as well.

The top hitters for the Crush this season include Jaxon Kenning, Joe Hess, Parker Schulz, and Ben Schmitt.  Koenig says their goal is to keep the line moving and put up game changing crooked numbers when possible.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Chris Koenig, it is available below.

Crush Roster