by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor

Red Lake County won its first-ever state championship in baseball Saturday, defeating New Ulm Cathedral 13-7 in the Class A championship game.

“It was a very veteran-experienced team coming back from last year,” said first-year head coach Mike Gullingsrud. “It was a team that had lost in the section championship game last year. Coming, it was obvious, the passion and determination, that the team wanted to make it to the state tournament. They are very competitive and very driven.

“Once we got going, the regular season was very successful. Four losses by a total of five runs. To achieve a state tournament and state championship, there have to be moments where individual players step up in big situations. Numerous guys get credit along the way.

The Rebels’ journey to a state championship is a true Cinderella story about a good team that became great. The team set a goal to go to state a the start of the season, but that goal was temporarily derailed when the Rebels suffered a 7-4 loss to Win-E-Mac in the Section 8A championship semifinal on Saturday, May 31.

“We were out-played that day,” Gullingsrud said. He noted that the team played really well in its win over Sacred Heart the previous round and came out flat.

Fortunately, section tournaments are double elimination, and the Rebels regrouped after that loss to reel off three straight wins to claim the section championship – 8-5 over Fosston in the elimination bracket semifinal on June 3, and back-to-back wins over the Patriots by scores of 8-0 and 11-1 on June 5.

The Rebels were seeded fifth in last week’s state tournament and, on paper, they were not favored to win any of the three games. All they did was win, however, starting with a 10-0 win over fourth-seeded Legacy Christian (15-6) in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round.

Will Gieseke, Gunnar Halverson (2), Kegan Schmitz, Brock Seeger (2), Owen Chervestad, Danny Lanctot, Riley Broden and Cain Cardinal scored runs for the Rebels, with Schmitz (2), Chervestad, Knott and Colin Taggart (3) batting in runners.

Gieseke threw six and two-thirds scoreless innings on just 73 pitches. He allowed just two hits, did not walk a batter and struck out seven. Ben Gullingsrud faced one batter and recorded a game-ending strikeout following a five-pitch at-bat. Staying under 75 pitches made Gieseke eligible to pitch again on two days rest, rather than the required three if he had gone over 75.

Next up for the Rebels was a semifinal game against top-seeded Parkers Prairie Thursday afternoon. The game began at Joe Faber Field and moved to Knute Nelson Field in Alexandria after heavy rainfall suspended the game after eight innings, with the teams tied 3-3.

The Rebels opened the semifinal scoring in the top of the first, with Gullingsrud scoring on a double by Kegan Schmitz.

The Panthers took a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Nolan Steidl doubled to center to lead off the inning and he scored on an RBI single by Joseph Johnson. Johnson would later advance to third on an error and score on an RBI fielder’s choice by Shane Hanson.

The Rebels tied the game with a run in the fifth and regained the lead with a run in the sixth. In the fifth, Taggart singled with one out and was replaced by courtesy runner Riley Broden. Broden moved to second when Dawson Erickson was hit by a pitch and scored on an RBI-single by Gieseke. In the sixth, Schmitz led off the inning with a triple and scored on an RBI single by Seeger.

The Rebels nearly won the game in regulation. Parkers Prairie’s Chavous Wendt singled with one out in the inning and advanced to second on a groundout by Gavin Boesl. A single by Mason Boesl pushed Wendt to third and kept the game alive. That brought Steidl to the plate, with Steidl singling to left to score Wendt.

Ben Gullingsrud, who went the distance up to that point, got the final out of the inning on a popout to send the game to extra innings.

The Rebels put two runners on base in the eighth inning but couldn’t answer the Panthers’ seventh inning run and the score remained 3-3 going into the bottom off the eighth. Gullingsrud pitched around a one-out single to send the game to the ninth.

What started out as a light rain turned into a steady rain as the game progressed. The field was tarped following the eighth inning and the game was suspended at 2:40 p.m. A decision was eventually made to move the game to Knute Nelson Field in Alexandria, which featured a an artificial turf infield. The drive to Alexandria took about an hour.

“The bus ride from St. Cloud to Alexandria was good,” Mike Gullingsrud said. “Very quiet.”
Gullingsrud said the players were cold and wet from playing in the rain. Most fell asleep during the bus ride.

Both teams warmed up again after arriving in Alexandria, with the game resuming at 4:30. With two outs in the ninth, Schmitz doubled to left and scored the go-ahead run when Seeger reached on an error.

Boe Nelson was tasked with getting the final three outs in what most would consider the biggest inning in program history. Nelson walked Wendt to lead off the inning. The Panthers’ Gavin Boesl sacrifice bunted to advance Wendt to second for the first out. Nelson hit Mason Boesl to put runners on first and second. With two on, Steidl hit a hard ground ball to third, with Chervestad fielding and stepping on third for a forceout, before firing to Schmitz at first for the 5-3 double play.

State championship
The Rebels had an off day Friday before taking the field early Saturday morning for the 10 a.m. Class A championship game.

Gullingsrud said the trip itinerary planned for four days, but nothing was set in stone for Thursday evening or Friday during the day.

“After that game in Alexandria , we had to reorganize,” Gullingsrud said. “We didn’t even have hotel rooms.”

The team ended up staying in Alexandria Thursday night. Several phone calls were made and the team eventually found an indoor practice site in Alexandria Thursday. Gullingsrud said Tuesday’s practice, which was at Albany High School on the way down to state, was one of the team’s worst of the 2025 season, but Thursday’s indoor practice may have been its best.

After practice, the Rebels headed to their hotel in the Cities. They arrived at Target Field bright and early Saturday morning.

The Rebels’ postseason roster has 18 players and one student manager. Gullingsrud asked the team how many have never been to Target Field. Only one player – Boe Nelson – raised his hand. Gullingsrud expected the number to be higher.

Watching a game at Target Field and playing a game there are two different things.
“We got there early enough that the guys could walk around and soak things up,” Gullingsrud said.

The Rebels’ offense was on full display in Saturday’s championship game in a 15-7 win against second-seeded New Ulm Cathedral. The Rebels scored five runs on two hits and two Greyhound errors in the top of the first.

The Greyhounds got a run back in the bottom of the first, but the Rebels went to work again in the top of the second, scoring four more runs on two hits to stake Gieseke to a 9-1 lead. The Rebels’ lead would eventually balloon to an 11-1 advantage.

The Greyhounds made it a ballgame with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the third to make the score 11-6.

The Rebels answered with two runs on three hits in the top of the fourth to make the score 13-6.

The Greyhounds would get one more run on one hit in the bottom of the fifth to round out the scoring.

Gieseke, Halverson and Ben Gullingsrud scored three runs apiece in the championship game. Also crossing the plate for the Rebels were Schmitz (2), Seeger, Chervestad and Erickson. RBI leaders for the Rebels were Schmitz, who tied a state championship game record with six RBIs, Halverson and Gullingsrud with two each, and Seeger, Chervestad and Knott with one each. Schmitz, 3-for-4, Gieseke, 2-for-4, Halverson, 2-for-3, and Chervestd, 2-for-5, recorded multiple hits in the championship game.

Gieseke went six and two-thirds innings to pick up the win in the championship game. He allowed four earned runs on nine hits, with a pair of walks and six strikeouts.

Nelson got the final out on a flyout to Gullingsrud in center.

Quarterfinal
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
RLC 0 0 0 1 5 0 4 – 10 13 1
Legacy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 2 4

Batting

Red Lake County AB R H RBI BB SO
Will Gieseke p/ss 5 1 1 0 0 2
Gunnar Halverson lf 4 2 1 0 1 0
Ben Gullingsrud cf/p 2 0 1 0 1 0
Marley Benoit pr 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kegan Schmitz 3b 5 1 2 2 0 0
Brock Seeger rf 4 2 1 0 0 0
O. Chervestad ss/cf 2 1 1 1 0 0
Brock Knott dh 3 0 1 1 0 0
D. Lanctot ph/dh 0 1 0 0 1 0
Colin Taggart c 4 0 4 3 0 0
Riley Broden pr 0 1 0 0 0 0
D. Erickson 2b 3 0 1 0 0 1
Cain Cardinal ph 0 1 0 0 1 0
Boe Nelson 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 32 10 13 7 4 3
Highlights – E: O. Chervestad; 3B: C. Taggart. HBP: B. Seeger, O. Chervestad; Sac: B. Gullingsrud 2, O. Chervestad; SB: G. Halverson.

Legacy Christian AB R H RBI BB SO
Solomon Kardell p 3 0 0 0 0 1
Cole Murphy p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daniel Minks p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Silas Kardell ss 3 0 0 0 0 1
Dean Raatz 3b 2 0 1 0 0 1
Gavin Pratt 1b 3 0 1 0 0 1
Josh Esboldt 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0
Carson Anderson dh 2 0 0 0 0 1
Winston Sanders lf 2 0 0 0 0 1
Caden Welna ph 1 0 0 0 0 1
Isaac Carlson c 1 0 0 0 0 0
Blake Turnquist pr 0 0 0 0 0 0
Andrew Mulvill cf 2 0 0 0 0 1
Nathanael Niska rf 1 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 22 0 2 0 0 8
Highlights – E: Si. Kardell, G. Pratt, I. Carlson, A. Mulvihill; HBP: D. Raatz, J. Esboldt, I. Carlson; SB: ; G. Pratt.

Pitching

Red Lake County IP H R ER BB SO
Will Gieseke – W 6.2 2 0 0 0 7
Ben Gullingsrud 0.2 0 0 0 0 1
Legacy Christian IP H R ER BB SO
Solomon Kardell-L 6.1 11 6 6 0 2
Cole Murphy 0.1 1 4 2 4 1
Daniel Minks 0.1 1 0 0 0 0

Semifinal
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
RLC 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 4 11 1
PP 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 8 1

Batting

Red Lake County AB R H RBI BB SO
W. Gieseke ss 4 0 1 1 1 1
G. Halverson lf 5 0 2 0 0 2
B. Gullingsrud p 5 1 1 0 0 1
K. Schmitz 3b 2 5 3 1 0 1
B. Seeger rf 5 0 1 1 0 0
O. Chervestad cf 4 0 0 0 0 2
B. Knott dh 2 0 0 0 0 1
D. Lanctot dh 2 0 0 0 0 2
C. Taggart c 3 0 3 0 0 0
R. Broden pr 0 1 0 0 0 0
D. Erickson 2b 2 0 0 0 0 1
B. Nelson 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 37 4 11 3 1 11
Highlights – E: D. Erickson. 2B: K. Schmitz 2. 3B: K. Schmitz. RBI: W. Gieseke, K. Schmitz, B. Seeger; SB: B. Gullingsrud, B. Seeger, R. Broden 2; CS: G. Halverson, B. Seeger.
Parker’s Prairie AB R H RBI BB SO
M. Bosel rf 4 0 1 0 0 0
N. Steidel ss 5 1 3 1 0 0
J. Johnson 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0
T. Rounds dh 3 0 0 0 1 0
I. Ruckheim pr 0 0 0 0 0 0
S. Hanson c 4 0 2 1 0 0
B. Myers 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0
B. Wagner cf 3 0 0 0 1 1
G. Boesl lf 2 0 0 0 1 0
A. Woodworth p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 31 3 8 3 4 1
Highlights – E: N. Steidl. 2B: N. Steidl, J. Johnson; RBI: N. Steidl, J. Johnson, S. Hanson; GIDP: N. Steidl, B. Myers.

Pitching

Red Lake County IP H R ER BB SO
Ben Gullingsrud-W 8.0 8 3 3 3 1
Boe Nelson – S 1.0 0 0 0 1 0
Parker’s Prairie IP H R ER BB SO
A. Woodworth 6.0 8 3 3 0 8
T. Rounds – L 3.0 3 1 0 1 3

Championship
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
RLC 5 4 2 2 0 0 2 – 15 14 3
NUC 1 0 5 0 1 0 0 – 7 9 4

Batting

Red Lake County AB R H RBI BB SO
W. Gieseke p 4 3 2 0 1 1
G. Halverson lf 3 3 2 2 1 0
B. Gullingsrud cf 5 3 2 2 0 0
K. Schmitz 3b 4 2 3 6 0 1
B. Seeger rf 2 1 1 1 3 0
C. Taggart c 4 0 1 0 0 1
R. Broden pr 0 1 0 0 0 0
O. Chervestad ss 5 1 2 2 0 1
B. Knott dh 4 0 1 1 0 1
D. Erickson 2b 3 1 0 0 1 0
B. Nelson 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 34 15 14 14 6 5
Highlights – E: B. Gullingsrud, B. Seeger, O. Chervestad; 2B: W. Gieseke, G. Halverson, K. Schmitz 2, O. Chervestad; 3B: B. Gullingsrud; RBI: G. Halverson 2, B. Gullingsrud 2, K. Schmitz 6, B. Seeger, O. Chervestad 2, B. Knott; Sac: K. Schmitz; GIDP: B. Knott; SB: G. Halverson, B. Gullingsrud, O. Chervestad, D. Erickson.
New Ulm Cathedral AB R H RBI BB SO
J. Finstad ss 4 1 2 0 0 0
C. Forstner 3b 4 1 1 0 0 2
C. Anderson p 4 1 1 0 0 0
E. Schabert dh 3 1 2 4 1 1
R. Koopmann rf 0 1 0 0 0 0
A. Portner 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0
J. Schugel 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0
E. Anderson c 4 0 1 2 0 1
J. Forstner cf 0 0 0 0 0 0
E. Blekestad 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1
E. Rieser lf 2 1 0 0 1 1
Totals 32 7 9 6 2 6
Highlights – E: J. Finstad, C. Anderson, E. Schabert, A. Portner. 2B: E. Schabert, E. Anderson; RBI: E. Schabert 4, E. Anderson 2.

Pitching

Red Lake County IP H R ER BB SO
W. Gieseke – W 6.2 9 7 5 2 6
B. Nelson 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
New Ulm Cathedral IP H R ER BB SO
C. Anderson 1.1 2 5 4 1 0
J. Schugel 1.0 2 4 4 3 1
C. Forstner 4.2 10 6 6 2 4