College baseball: Ridgewater earns a fitting split

WILLMAR — The Ridgewater College baseball team came into its four-game series with Alexandria Technical & Community College knowing it already was in the Region 13 tournament.

Friday’s doubleheader with the Legends was mostly for pride with the possibility of a No. 2 seed in the regional.

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Ridgewater freshman right-handed pitcher Dominic Rose fires off a throw during Game 2 of an MCAC doubleheader against Alexandria Tech on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Klemmetson Field in Willmar.

Ridgewater freshman right-handed pitcher Dominic Rose fires off a throw during Game 2 of an MCAC doubleheader against Alexandria Tech on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Klemmetson Field in Willmar.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

Alex, meanwhile, is playing for its playoff life. The Legends need to win 3 of 4 from the Warriors to advance.

Friday at sunny and mild Elsie Klemmetson Field, they played to a draw.

Alex won Game 1, 6-3 in eight innings. Ridgewater scored three in the bottom of the fifth to win Game 2, 3-2.

Ridgewater sophomore first baseman Andrew Prieve snags the ball at first for an out during Game 2 of an MCAC doubleheader against Alexandria Tech on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Klemmetson Field in Willmar.

Ridgewater sophomore first baseman Andrew Prieve snags the ball at first for an out during Game 2 of an MCAC doubleheader against Alexandria Tech on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Klemmetson Field in Willmar.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

The teams conclude the series beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday at Alexandria’s Knute Nelson Field.

“It’s a long shot, but we still have a chance to win the conference,” said head coach Tyler Hebrink. “But we’d need some help from Central Lakes College (which plays St. Cloud Technical & Community College this weekend).”

Ridgewater is 14-4 in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference and 17-13 overall. Alexandria is 11-7 in the MCAC and 23-13 overall and coached by former Lac qui Parle Valley star Brandon Hill.

Alexandria Tech freshman and Montevideo grad Cooper Dack races home for a run during Game 2 of an MCAC doubleheader against Ridgewater on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Klemmetson Field in Willmar.

Alexandria Tech freshman and Montevideo grad Cooper Dack races home for a run during Game 2 of an MCAC doubleheader against Ridgewater on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Klemmetson Field in Willmar.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

The teams played two entertaining games Friday. In Game 2, Dominic Rose got the complete-game victory, striking out four, walking one and scattering eight hits. He’s a freshman right-hander from Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop.

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“He did an outstanding job,” Hebrink said.

Max Athmann, the sophomore shortstop from Payneville, went 2-for-2 with a double, a run and a walk for the Warriors.

Connor Davis was 3-for-4 with a triple, a run and an RBI for Alex Tech.

In Game 1, the Warriors’ Andrew Prieve went 3-for-3 with a triple, a run, two RBIs and two stolen bases. He’s Ridgewater’s No. 3 hitter and a sophomore from Hutchinson. Athmann went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and a run.

Davis, a sophomore from Wadena-Deer Creek, went 2-for-5 with a triple, a run and four RBIs. Cooper Dack, a freshman from Montevideo, went 1-for-2 with a run, a walk and a stolen base in Game 2 for the Legends. In Game 1, the Alex Tech second baseman was hit by a pitch, stole a base and also scored a run.

Hebrink is excited about his team’s prospects in the regional, which begins Friday, May 9 in St. Cloud.

“This is a fantastic group of guys,” Hebrink said. “They compete their butts off and tonight, they’ll all be together hanging out.”

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Ridgewater 3, Alexandria Tech 2

Alexandria 100 010 0-2 8 1

Ridgewater 000 030 x-3 5 3

Hitting – Alexandria: Connor Davis 3-4 3b r rbi, Jaden Drill 1-4 rbi, Devin Gutierrez 1-3 sb, Hunter Brodina 1-3 sb, Cooper Dack 1-2 r bb sb, Jack Majerus 1-2 … Ridgewater: Max Athmann 2-2 2b r bb, Jayce Olthoff 0-3 r rbi, Andrew Prieve 1-2 sb, Garrett Kelly 0-2 rbi bb, Blake Morris 1-2 rbi sf, Kael Nelson 1-3 2b r

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) – Alexandria: Isaac Hamann (L) 6-5-3-1-3-5 … Ridgewater: Dominic Rose (W) 7-8-2-2-1-4

Alexandria Tech 6, Ridgewater 3

Alexandria 100 200 03-6 11 0

Ridgewater 003 000 00-3 7 0

Hitting – Alexandria: Connor Davis 2-5 r rbi-4 3b, Jaden Drill 1-4 rbi bb, Devin Gutierrez 1-4 r bb, Gabriel Cabrera 2-3 bb, Jonah DeJong 2-4 rbi sb, Josmer Ortiz Aponte 1-3 r bb, Isaac Hamann 1-4 r, Hunter Brodina 1-1 r sb, Cooper Dack 0-3 r hbp sb … Ridgewater: Max Athmann 2-3 r bb, Andrew Prieve 3-3 r rbi-2 bb 3b sb-2, Garrett Kelly 0-3 bb sb, Blake Morris 0-3 bb, Sergio Fernandez 1-4 2b, Mason Macziewski 1-4, Kael Nelson 0-2 r bb

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) – Alexandria: DaShaun Robinson 7-7-3-3-4-5, Gutierrez (W) 1-0-0-0-1-1 … Ridgewater: Joe Liebl 7-8-3-3-4-6, Nelson (L) 1-3-3-3-0-0

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