Baseball: Warriors Cannot Solve Panthers Puzzle, Fall in 1AA Title Game

It was a tough task from the start. Caledonia baseball (4-seed, 18-7) trekked to Hudson Field in Rochester to play Pine Island (3-seed, 19-5) for the 1AA title game needing to beat the Panthers twice to advance to state. It was the third meeting between the two teams. Like the first two, the Warriors could not solve the Panther puzzle. Pine Island played good baseball, as a Section champ should. In each of the first four frames, they got a guy on base early in the inning, got him in scoring position, and then drove him in. In the first, a one-out walk, stolen base, and RBI-single by Luke Sems made it 1-0. In the second, a lead-off single, stolen base, and RBI-single by Ben Grabau made it 2-0. Caledonia did cut Grabau down at home play on an infield grounder to prevent any further damage. In the third, after a lead-off walk and fielder’s choice out, Sems blasted an RBI-triple into the gap in right-centerfield. Brandon Week followed with a deep RBI sac fly to leftfield. After three, PI led 4-0. In the fourth, a lead-off single, sac bunt, and RBI-single by Tyler Applen made it 5-0. The Panthers consistently mounted threats against Warrior starting pitcher, junior Landon O’Heron, who left after 3 1/3 innings (6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, Loss). Reliever Reid Klug fared better (2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K). But the damage was done. And Week, a senior lefty on the mound for the Panthers, controlled the Warrior lineup. He faced just one big threat the first five innings. Caledonia had runners on second and third with two out trailing 2-0 in the top of the third, but Week struck out Klug looking to end the inning. All told, Week went the distance (7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB) for the complete game win, getting the last two outs in the seventh after the Warriors loaded the bases. He pitched a 12-strikeout shutout as the Panthers won the 1AA title game 6-0 and moved on to state. They gave up just four runs total in their 5-0 postseason, out-scoring foes 41-4. Sems (2-4, 3B, 2 RBI, R), Grabau (3-3, RBI, R), Nick Thein (1-3, RBI, 2 R), Week (1-2, RBI), and Applen (1-3, RBI) did the best offensive work for PI. The Panthers were four of five stealing bases, and three of those runners came around to score. Caledonia had just five hits, from Klug (2-3), Caden Hauser (1-1), Garrett Konz (1-3), and Tyson Ginther (1-3). The Warriors season ends as 1AA Runner-Up (18-8), a much better feeling than last year’s 19-game win-streak, and then 0-2 post-season. Caledonia graduates a senior group of starters Garrett Konz, Reid Klug, Ben Stemper, Tanner Ginther and Mason King. Over the past two seasons, Warrior baseball has won 37 games, won a TRC-East title (2024) and made the 1AA title game (2025), a strong run of baseball. Both Warrior baseball and softball teams were thus 1AA runner-up this year, and both their basketball teams made state in the winter, a strong season of athletics.