Apple Valley’s Jaryn Pipkins (center) will run track and field at Dartmouth College. Photo by Brian Nelson

Apple Valley senior Jaryn Pipkins was named the female winner of the St. Paul Downtown Lions Club Amateur Athlete of the Year Award at a banquet Tuesday at the Prom Center in Oakdale.

Pipkins is the third Apple Valley High School student and the first female from AVHS to win the award. The St. Paul Downtown Lions Club started the awards program in 1943. Since 1988 it has honored one female and one male athlete each year.

Trevor Laws (2003) and Destin McCauley (2011) are previous St. Paul Downtown Lions award winners from AVHS.

Pipkins has earned three all-conference awards in basketball and four in track and field. She has served as a captain in both sports. She also was named Apple Valley’s Athena Award winner.

She was part of Apple Valley’s state Class AA championship 4×100-meter relay team at the 2011 state meet. In 2012, she ran on an Eagles’ relay that finished second in that event. She was the basketball team’s scoring leader in 2012-13, averaging 11.6 points.

Pipkins will attend Dartmouth College and compete in track and field.

Other female St. Paul Downtown Lions award finalists included Eagan distance running star Danielle Anderson.

Jake Short of Simley, a four-time Minnesota state wrestling champion, won the award for male athletes. The field of six finalists included Eastview lacrosse and hockey standout Ryan McNamara.

Previous award winners include Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, who was honored while a three-sport athlete at Cretin-Derham Hall, and Eagan’s Natalie Darwitz, who starred in hockey at Eagan High School and the University of Minnesota, and later became captain of the U.S. women’s Olympic team.

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Eastview’s Ryan McNamara (left) and Apple Valley’s Collin Trankel try to gain possession during the Lightning’s 13-6 victory Tuesday night. Photo by Rick Orndorf

Eastview didn’t need to create a new identity as much as it needed to return to its old one.

The Lightning lost back-to-back boys lacrosse games last week – the first time that had happened in two years. That, not surprisingly, caused the players and coaches to do some soul-searching. Specifically, coach Tim Roche said, they needed to remember what they did well and how to get back to it.

After the reevaluation, Eastview defeated Rosemount 11-8 on Monday and Apple Valley 13-6 on Tuesday to earn a share of the South Suburban Conference championship. Eastview and Eagan both finished 8-1 in SSC play. Eastview won the head-to-head matchup, which could be a factor when the Section 3 tournament is seeded Saturday morning. The No. 1 seed gets a first-round bye, something Roche said he wants.

Losses to Prior Lake (6-5 on May 16) and Blake (13-11 on May 18) were eye-openers for the Lightning, 10-2 overall.

“We’d gone 25 games in a row without allowing 10 goals before Blake scored 13 against us,” Roche said. “Our defensive play in that game, that wasn’t like us. We also went 21 minutes without scoring against Blake, and against Prior Lake we scored only five. That isn’t us, either.”

The coaches and players concluded that there was too much individual play, especially on defense, where a coordinated effort is essential. When the defense didn’t move as a unit, opponents found appealing places from which to shoot.

This week, the Lightning held a high-powered Rosemount offense to eight goals. It was only the second time this season the Irish have scored fewer than 11. Apple Valley (6-6 overall, 4-5 SSC) trailed Eastview 12-2 after three quarters Tuesday night before scoring four goals in the fourth.

Tanner Hamill had four goals and Ryan McNamara three in Eastview’s victory over Rosemount. Sophomore goalie Jeremy LeClaire made 10 saves.

Nine different players scored against Apple Valley, led by McNamara with three. Sophomore midfielder Joel Iverson picked up nine ground balls.

Apple Valley sophomore attack Calvin Leong scored three goals and junior attack Tim Toavs had four assists. Sophomore goalie Max Chlan made 11 saves.

Roche said finishing first in the South Suburban Conference means something to the defending state champion Lightning.

“We’ve tried to pull back from thinking about winning the state championship and focus on one game at a time,” he said. “A conference championship is a big thing to the school. The players appreciate it too because they get their picture on the wall.”

The seven-team Section 3 playoffs are scheduled to begin Tuesday with three games at the home fields of the higher-seeded teams. The top seed – likely to be Eastview or Eagan – will be off until the semifinal round May 31. The championship game is June 4 at Burnsville High School.

Apple Valley, Bloomington Kennedy, Burnsville, Prior Lake and Rosemount are the other teams in the section.

AV girls win

Tuesday’s lacrosse doubleheader at Eastview High School wound up a split as Apple Valley defeated Eastview 14-10 in the girls game.

Apple Valley moved above .500 at 6-5. Eastview has struggled after a strong start. The Lightning, which won four of its first five games, fell to 5-7 overall. The teams tied for fifth place in the South Suburban Conference at 4-5.

Apple Valley junior midfielder Katie Larson scored nine goals in Tuesday’s game. Marina Gabor and Reagan Roelofs scored two each.

Rachel Munos and Sarah Pellicci each had two goals and an assist for Eastview. Christine Leikvold also scored twice.

The Section 3 playoffs are scheduled to begin Wednesday, May 29. The section consists of eight South Suburban Conference teams: Apple Valley, Bloomington Jefferson, Bloomington Kennedy, Burnsville, Eagan, Eastview, Prior Lake and Rosemount. Burnsville (11-1 overall) is the likely No. 1 seed.

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Tuesday was a day of mixed results for the Burnsville and Eastview baseball teams. After not quite getting what they wanted during the day, both got some good news in the evening.

Good news first: Both received byes in the first round of the Section 3AAA playoffs. Not only do both teams avoid the single-elimination phase of the tournament, they don’t have to play until Monday. That means they get a chance to rest, practice and set up their pitching for the playoff grind ahead.

The bad news: Eastview closed its regular season with a loss after falling 4-1 to Burnsville on Tuesday at Alimagnet Park. As for the Blaze, it had a split on Tuesday, losing to Bloomington Jefferson 4-3 at Burnsville High School before going to Alimagnet to play Eastview. Burnsville’s loss to Jefferson, combined with Lakeville North’s doubleheader sweep of Rosemount, wiped away the Blaze’s chance of winning the South Suburban Conference.

But, with the regular season jammed into about 3 1/2 weeks, both the Blaze and Lightning welcomed some time off.

“We’ve had one practice outside the whole season,” Eastview coach Tom Strey said following his team’s 4-1 loss to Burnsville on Tuesday afternoon at Alimagnet Park. “We’re hoping the weather gives us a chance to do a little work outside before Monday.”

South Suburban Conference champion Lakeville North (14-3) received the No. 1 seed in Section 3AAA. Burnsville (14-4), Eastview (12-7) and Henry Sibley (11-7) are the second through fourth seeds.

The top four seeds bypass Friday’s first round of the playoffs and advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament beginning Monday. Burnsville takes on Eagan or Lakeville South at 7 p.m., while Eastview faces Rosemount or Simley at 4. All games in the double-elimination portion of the tournament take place at Alimagnet Park in Burnsville.

Eastview and Burnsville, the last two state Class AAA champions, felt good about their playoff chances. One benefit of the compressed schedule is it forced teams to develop pitching depth. With the double-elimination part of the section tournament expanded to eight teams, a team might have to play more games just to get to state.

That would be fine with Burnsville, which saw senior Cooper Maas shut down Eastview on four hits Tuesday afternoon. Tyler Hanson, Aaron Rozek, Zach Smith and Maas make up a formidable group of pitchers. Setting up the rotation is a challenge, though.

“We’ll have to sit down with all the pitchers, find out how they feel, look at the matchups and figure something out,” Burnsville coach Mick Scholl said. “We have a really strong left side of the infield with Tyler and Cooper when Rosey (Rozek) is pitching. But when Aaron’s not pitching, he does a nice job for us at first base.”

Eastview’s rotation is led by junior left-hander Marcus Frederickson, who was 2-1 with a 0.29 earned-run average in four starts. Eastview held opponents to fewer than three runs a game during the regular season.

“Marcus has been great all year, and Grant Martinson and Lucas Anderson have pitched really well for us, too,” Strey said. “I like that we have some pitching depth. Last year we got through the section tournament with two pitchers, but I don’t think we’ll have to do that this year.”

Shortstop Derek Scheibel (.389, 14 RBI) and outfielder Josh Chatfield (.426, 11 RBI) led the Lightning at the plate, but Strey said he’s hoping to see the offense as a whole heat up during the playoffs.

Burnsville’s offense might already be running at a high temperature. Going into Tuesday’s games, Hanson (.432) and Maas (.416) were the hitting leaders, and each had 16 RBI to share the team lead.

“I think our pitching and defense have been pretty good all year, and now we’re starting to hit,” Maas said. “Our confidence is very high going into the playoffs.”

One other thing to consider: Although Burnsville is the No. 2 seed in the section, it owns two victories over No. 1-seeded Lakeville North.

The Blaze outscored Lakeville North 21-4 in those two games, prompting Strey to say, “I think Burnsville’s the team to beat.”

Playoff matchups

Section 3AAA pairings were set Tuesday night. Teams seeded fifth through 12th will play single-elimination first-round games Friday (the top four seeds received byes into the double-elimination portion of the tourney).

Sixth-seeded Rosemount (8-10) faces No. 11 Simley (5-13) at 4:30 p.m. Friday, with the winner playing Eastview at 4 p.m. Monday at Alimagnet Park.

Eighth-seeded Apple Valley (7-11) will be home Friday against ninth seed Prior Lake (7-13). The winner advances to face Lakeville North at 7 p.m. Monday.

Eagan (10-10) received the seventh seed and plays host to 10th-seeded Lakeville South (3-13) on Friday. The winner plays Burnsville at 7 p.m. Monday.

The Section 3AAA championship game is scheduled June 4 at Alimagnet Park.

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The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League is bringing its fourth session of the regular season to the High Performance Academy, offering wall-to-wall basketball from Friday night through Monday morning.

The EYBL attracts many of the nation’s top boys high school players, including the three regarded as Minnesota’s top recruits in the Class of 2014 – Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones, De La Salle’s Reid Travis and Robbinsdale Cooper’s Rashad Vaughn. Jones and Travis are teammates on the Howard Pulley Panthers 17-and-under team. Vaughn plays for Wisconsin Playground, based in Milwaukee.

Apple Valley junior Tyus Jones will play in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League session this weekend in Eagan. Photo by Mike Shaughnessy

Games start at 6 p.m. Friday on five courts. Howard Pulley does not play Friday night but opens against ICP Elite at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The Panthers also play Travelers Basketball (Kentucky) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Seattle Rotary at 8 a.m. Sunday, Team United (North Carolina) at 2 p.m. Sunday and All Ohio Red at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

This weekend’s tournament closes the regular season for the Nike EYBL. Previous sessions were in Los Angeles, Hampton, Va., and Dallas. Twenty-four of the 40 teams will advance to the EYBL Finals at the Nike Peach Jam starting July 10 in North Augusta, S.C.

Howard Pulley was 7-6 through the first three EYBL sessions and is tied for second place in its division. Through the team’s first nine EYBL games, Jones led the team in scoring with a 22.1 average. Travis was the second-leading scorer (17.6) and leading rebounder (8.7).

For more information about the event, visit www.howardpulleybasketball.com or www.nikeeyb.com.

Where will King end up?

Eastview High School graduate and 2012 Mr. Basketball Award finalist Joey King is looking for a new school after leaving the Drake University men’s program earlier this month. The departure was described as a surprise in a Des Moines Register story.

Locally, speculation immediately turned to whether he would land at Minnesota, which needs big men (King is 6-foot-9), is reportedly looking for players with three-point shooting range and has scholarships available. A thread about whether King would be a good fit at Minnesota has reached 10 pages at www.gopherhole.com, a website devoted to University of Minnesota athletics.

King averaged 6.9 points and 2.9 rebounds last season at Drake and was named to the Missouri Valley Conference all-freshman team.
All-American

Apple Valley High School senior Danny Woiwor recently was named to the USA Wrestling All-American team.

Woiwor is the 2013 state Class AAA champion at 160 pounds. It is his second state championship to go with his 130-pound title as a freshman. He finished second at 145 as a sophomore and sixth at 182 as a junior. He also helped lead Apple Valley to four state team championships. Woiwor’s high school career record is 215-40

He signed a National Letter of Intent with Iowa State University and will join the Cyclones this fall.

Clay target league thrives

This is the final week of competition for the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League, a trapshooting league that has grown to 114 teams and more than 3,300 participants this spring. Teams from Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Eastview, Farmington, Lakeville North, Lakeville South and Rosemount high schools belong to the league.

The league’s state tournament will be June 7-9 in Alexandria. The tournament, open to all league members, offers novice, junior varsity and varsity competitions.

Trapshooting is a club sport, but in December the Minnesota State High School League voted to become a “presenting partner” of the state tournament beginning in June 2014. That makes Minnesota the first state with a trapshooting tournament sponsored by a state high school association.

The MSHSL-sponsored tournament will be for the state’s top shooters, but the clay target league will continue to run its own tournament in June in which novice and JV-level shooters can compete.

Trapshooting allows scheduling flexibility, making it possible for boys and girls to work it in around another spring sport or a club sport.

The presenting partnership agreement allows the MSHSL to support the sport without completely taking over its supervision. Some teams shoot on Sundays because that’s when they can get access to gun clubs. Sports under direct MSHSL supervision cannot have competitions or practices on Sundays, but the clay target league wanted to keep Sunday competition as an option.

The sport has boomed in Dakota County high schools. Apple Valley’s team nearly doubled in size from 30 to 54. Lakeville North and Lakeville South started teams this year and they attracted almost 150 students combined.

For more information about the clay target league, visit www.mnclaytarget.com.

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Eastview’s Mckenzie Hanegraaf puts the ball in play during the Lightning’s 2-0 victory over Eagan on Saturday. Hanegraaf has returned to the Eastview lineup after sitting out last season because of two back surgeries. Photo by Mike Shaughnessy

The softball playoffs haven’t started yet for Eastview High School, but Mckenzie Hanegraaf already knows she will enjoy them more than she did last year.

That’s because she will step out of the dugout and onto the field, instead of off the field and into the dugout.

Hanegraaf was a spectator as the Lightning finished third in the 2012 Section 3AAA tournament. Two back surgeries cost Hanegraaf her sophomore season.

She played this season with no ill effects and helped the Lightning to a 10-4 record and the No. 2 seed in the section tournament. Eastview earned a first-round bye in the playoffs and advanced to the double-elimination portion of the tourney. The Lightning will play Apple Valley or Rosemount at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Dred Scott Fields in Bloomington. The section tournament runs through May 28 at Dred Scott.

Hanegraaf, a junior captain, splits time between pitcher and first base and is one of three pitchers available to the Lightning. Eastview coach Trevor Monroe said he wouldn’t hesitate to use any or all of them.

Hanegraaf said she’s up for whatever Monroe decides. “I know it will be a lot more fun than sitting on the bench and keeping the (score)book,” she said.

A stress fracture in a vertebra required the first back surgery. Pins were inserted to stabilize the area. Shortly before softball season was to start, Hanegraaf had more discomfort and a second procedure was done, this time to remove the pins. That washed out her 2012 season, but Hanegraaf said she has had few problems with her back since.

Monroe said he has tried to keep his team from focusing too much on its record – but still, it’s pretty good. Eastview, ranked ninth in Class AAA, has a one-run loss to No. 1 Lakeville North and a one-run loss to No. 2 Maple Grove. Monday, the Lightning lost 4-2 to Prior Lake on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning. The victory allowed the Lakers to jump over Eastview into second place in the South Suburban Conference.

“One fly ball to left field isn’t going to define our season,” Monroe said. “The wind was blowing pretty hard to left. If not for the wind we have a chance to catch it because we’ve got a good defensive team.”

Although Eastview has a fairly young team, expectations were high based on last year’s playoff finish. Monroe said there’s a danger in being fixated on results.

“We try not to look so much at wins and losses, but how we’re playing,” he said. “One thing we can control is our effort, and one thing we realize is it’s a team effort. It’s not just one player or one position.”

The players also had to get used to an almost-new coaching staff. An interim staff coached the Lightning last year before Monroe was named permanent head coach last summer. Monroe, a teacher at Eastview High, is a former head baseball coach at Rosemount and a former softball assistant at Farmington. He also has coached youth fastpitch teams in the Minnesota Irish program.

“Most of us knew who he was,” Hanegraaf said. “A bunch of us played against teams that he coached (in the summer).

“It was kind of cool to start over with a new staff. Our old coaches were phenomenal, but starting fresh is fun, too.”

Hanegraaf is hitting about .500 and belted a walk-off homer in the 11th inning of Eastview’s 2-1 victory over Bloomington Jefferson. That might have been the Lightning’s biggest victory of the regular season.

Center fielder Courtney Wissbaum was batting above .400, while Melissa Barry moved from the outfield to take over at shortstop. Both are sophomores, as are starting third baseman Julia Luciano and catcher Kara Sjostrom. Ninth-graders Jamie Reynolds (designated player) and Hailey Monroe (left field).

Kerrigan Hoshaw, another sophomore, has seen a lot of time in the pitching circle and likely will be the starter in the playoff opener.

Catcher Emily Larson, outfielder/pitcher Marissa Leners, and infielders Rachel Young and Christie Seaberg are the seniors on the roster.

With such a wide range of ages on the roster, Hanegraaf said the Lightning’s biggest improvement might be off the field, rather than on.

“Our team chemistry is much better,” she said. “We’ve had some battles in the past, but we’ve gotten stuff together off the field. We all talk, we’re together as a team and there are no cliques.”

That means Eastview can place its undivided attention on playoff opponents. Somewhere along the way, the Lightning could face No. 1-seeded Lakeville North. Last week North edged Eastview 4-3 in a South Suburban game.

“We had the bases loaded with two outs but couldn’t get them in. We played very well against them,” said Hanegraaf, sounding like someone who’s aching for another chance.

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Golfers throughout Minnesota had to wait impatiently for spring to arrive. Now, Eastview boys coach Mark Wanous has to deal with another waiting game – waiting for all his players to show up with good scores in the same tournament.

The Lightning has had four players break 80 in a tournament at one time or another this season, but going into Tuesday’s South Suburban Conference tourney at Brackett’s Crossing had not had more than two shoot in the 70s in the same event.

“We thought a good goal would be to finish in the top half of the conference,” said Wanous, whose team finished fifth and sixth in the first two SSC tournaments. “We’ve only played four tournaments, where at this time last year we’d already played 12. But everybody’s in the same boat.”

Plus, some of the rounds Eastview has played have been in miserable weather. Last weekend at the Detroit Lakes Northwest Classic, a 36-hole event, teams endured wind and rain the first day and 35-40 mph winds the second day. Eastview finished seventh of 11 teams in that tournament.

The Section 3AAA tournament is less than two weeks away, with the first round scheduled for May 28 at Goodrich Golf Course. “We have to take advantage of all the practice time we can get at Valleywood,” Wanous said. “There isn’t much room for off-days now.”

The Lightning has “some young kids, and some veterans,” the coach said. “It’s a good mix. And it’s a group with a lot of ability.”

Senior Kirby McPhee came close to reaching last year’s state tournament, losing in a playoff for a qualifying spot from Section 3. He has been one of the Lightning’s top players this year with a 76 at Creeksbend in the SSC season opener and a 79 at Perham Lakeside in the first round of the Detroit Lakes tourney.

Alex Reller, also a senior, shot a career-best 71 (1 under par) last week at Bunker Hills in the Coon Rapids Invitational. Reller finished third individually, and Eastview shot a season-low 311 to finish sixth of 22 teams. Sophomore Adam Callies shot 77 at Bunker Hills. Jayson Gouette, another sophomore, shot 75 – seven strokes below his previous season-best – at Perham Lakeside.

Senior Brady Kelley and sophomore Matt Kratz also are playing regularly on varsity, and senior Alex King has seen time in the varsity lineup.

Wanous said one of the disadvantages of the shorter season is it gives junior varsity players less time to make a run at varsity spots. The Lightning’s top seven is likely to remain the top seven for the rest of the season, even though players such as freshman Jake Reller (Alex’s younger brother) have played well for the JV team.

Eastview’s players and coaches traveled to Arizona over spring break in late March, which seems like a long time ago considering the Minnesota weather kept them indoors for several weeks after they returned. Now, it’s a question of how to make best use of limited practice time.

Although Wanous said, “I’m sure the kids would like to be on the course or the driving range,” he has directed them to the practice green for short game work. Particularly in this shortened season, the teams with the sharpest short games are the ones most likely to advance to the state tournament. And that’s a goal the Lightning, which last qualified for state in 2011, still considers realistic.

Eastview will compete in the Dakota County Invitational on Saturday at Emerald Greens. The Lightning plays in the final South Suburban Conference tournament at Inverwood in Inver Grove Heights on Tuesday before going to Brainerd for a two-day event.

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Burnsville has cleared one hurdle before even playing its first game in the Section 3AAA softball tournament.

By winning four of its final five regular-season games, the Blaze moved above .500 at 9-8 and grabbed the fourth seed in the section tournament. The top four seeds receive byes in the first round, which is single-elimination, and move on to the double-elimination portion of the tourney.

Although avoiding the first round has its benefits, Blaze coach Aaron Vail said that’s not the biggest reason he was happy to see his team get a top-four seed.

“The main reason is we have three days to practice,” Vail said. “Before this week, we’ve had one outdoor practice all season.”

Once the weather allowed teams to get outside, the schedule was frantic. Team-building exercises that teams routinely do often were pushed aside. This week, the Blaze was trying to make up for lost time.

“We’ve been doing a lot of team-building stuff,” Vail said. “We’ll probably cap it off with a little Dilly Bar action at Dairy Queen.”

This week was a good time for the Blaze to catch its breath because once it begins the playoffs, it faces a difficult road. The Blaze will play at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Dred Scott Fields in Bloomington against the winner of a first-round game between fifth-seeded Lakeville South and 12th-seeded Bloomington Kennedy.

If Lakeville South is the opponent, Burnsville would be facing the only South Suburban Conference team to beat No. 1-ranked Lakeville North this season.

Burnsville beat Lakeville South twice during the regular season, but Vail said, “South is a really nice team with a couple of outstanding pitchers.”

If Burnsville wins Friday, its next opponent could be Lakeville North, the section’s No. 1 seed. That game would be 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, at Dred Scott. North was 18-2 during the regular season and won its second consecutive South Suburban championship.

The Blaze closed the regular season on an offensive rush, scoring 53 runs in its final five games. Burnsville beat Apple Valley 6-0 on Monday as Abby Schulberg and Alyssa Wroblewski homered in the seventh inning. Shannon Callanan pitched a four-hit shutout.

Burnsville also beat Apple Valley 14-4 at the Mankato West Invitational on Saturday. The Blaze won two of three games in that tournament, with the other victory coming against Waconia 19-0 in five innings. Chanhassen defeated Burnsville 10-6 in the first round.

Callanan pitched a five-inning no-hitter against Waconia. Claire Boatman was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI. Schulberg, Megan Threlkeld and Kelly Grove each had three hits in the Blaze’s game against Apple Valley at the Mankato tourney. Schulberg had three RBI and Threlkeld and Grove each scored three runs.

“We have a lot of depth, which allows us to play a couple of different ways,” Vail said. “We have some girls with power, but we also have the ability to play small ball if we need to. I like that kind of flexibility.”

Callanan is likely to pitch most of the innings in the section playoffs, but seventh-grader Megan Osterhaus also has seen some time in the circle.

The double-elimination portion of the section tournament runs through May 28. Burnsville is trying to reach state for the first time since winning the Class AAA title – the school’s third overall – in 2010.

Eagan

The Wildcats were 9-7 overall after beating Henry Sibley 11-1 in the first round of the Section 3AAA playoffs Wednesday. They will play Bloomington Jefferson in the double-elimination portion of the tournament at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Dred Scott Fields in Bloomington.

Eagan finished 5-4 in the South Suburban Conference after beating Bloomington Kennedy 10-4 on Monday. On Saturday the Wildcats defeated Maple Grove 17-1 in five innings, scoring 12 times in the first. They lost to Eastview 2-0 in nine innings in the second half of their Saturday doubleheader.

Apple Valley

The Eagles lost 4-0 to seventh-seeded Rosemount in a first-round Section 3AAA game Wednesday afternoon. Rosemount advances to play No. 2-seeded Eastview at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Dred Scott Fields.

Apple Valley finished 3-12 overall. Its most recent victory was 9-3 over Rochester Lourdes on Saturday at the Mankato West Invitational.

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Opponents who yawn at the Apple Valley baseball team’s 5-7 record might want to take note of some of the teams the Eagles have beaten, such as South Suburban Conference leader Lakeville North and defending state Class AAA champion Eastview.

Of course, that begs the question of why the Eagles are below .500 if they have victories over highly regarded opponents.

Blame it on the ups and downs experienced by teenage athletes in a shortened season, Eagles coach Jeremy Hendrickson said.

“Some days our pitching hasn’t been what we needed it to be and other days our hitting hasn’t been there,” Hendrickson said. “Then we have days like last Friday, when we beat Lakeville North in what was almost a perfect game for us.”

Apple Valley beat Lakeville North 7-1 last Friday as Dusty Varpness pitched a complete game, holding the Panthers to five hits. “He didn’t strike out a lot of guys, but he didn’t walk many, either,” Hendrickson said. “He was around the plate the whole game.”

Sophomore infielder Cole Johnson had two hits and two RBI, and senior first baseman Andy Ostapowycz also had two hits.

The Eagles had another well-pitched game from Noah Ford in a rematch Saturday against North, but the offense couldn’t get going and Apple Valley lost 2-1.

Apple Valley likely won’t have a chance to win the South Suburban title, but the Section 3AAA playoffs – which begin May 24 – offer a chance for a fresh start.

“That is kind of nice,” Hendrickson said. “The games we’ve won and the close games we’ve had tell the guys we have a chance to beat anybody in our section.”

The Eagles are averaging about 3.5 runs a game and Hendrickson said he would like to see more from the offense. Ostapowycz and Doug Parks have been the most consistent hitters.

“Right now, Andy would be our MVP,” Hendrickson said. “He’s playing great defense and he’s made some real improvement at the plate. This has been a really nice season for him.”

Parks, a third-year starter, has hit a couple of homers and is the biggest power threat in the lineup. “He had the proverbial sophomore slump last year but is hitting the ball hard this year,” the coach said.

Dustin Fronk, who joined the baseball team late after helping the basketball team win the state championship, has settled in as the leadoff hitter and left fielder. Senior Brady Arthur and junior Jamil Dunbar have added depth to the pitching staff, something the Eagles will need is they are to make a deep run in the section playoffs.

Apple Valley has a split doubleheader against Burnsville on Friday, with the first game at 4 p.m. at Apple Valley High School and the second at 7:30 at Alimagnet Park in Burnsville. The Eagles close the regular season Monday with a doubleheader at Rosemount starting at 3 p.m.

The fifth through 12th seeds in Section 3AAA will play single-elimination games May 24, with the winners advancing to the double-elimination portion of the section tournament beginning May 27.

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