Sports
Cadets Roll On in Baseball Playoffs
St. Thomas Academy tops Eastview, 5-3, in the Section 3AAA Final Four Tournament on Friday.
The St. Thomas Academy baseball team remained unbeaten in the Section 3AAA Tournament by means of a 5-3 defeat of Eastview Friday night.
The matchup was the first game of the "Final Four" round of tourney play at Alimagnet Field in Burnsville.
After taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Cadets increased their edge to 3-0 in the third inning and held on to the advantage until the Lightning knotted the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
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The deadlock did not last long, as Ryan McManus hit a leadoff home run in the top of the sixth inning to give STA the lead for good.
The Cadets tacked on one more run in the top of the seventh before shutting down Eastview in the home half of the frame as A.J. Reid earned a one-out save in relief of starting pitcher Houston Droel, who worked 6 2/3 innings for the victory.
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STA takes on the section's top seed, Burnsville, in the winner's bracket final at 10 a.m. Saturday morning at Alimagnet.
A Saturday win advances the Cadets into the sectional final, to be played on Tuesday. A loss drops STA into the one-loss bracket semifinal to be played immediately following Game One on Saturday afternoon.