Roseau Times-Region - Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper

Anything can happen at the big show, and the Royals have qualified to the Class C amateur baseball tournament this Friday evening, August 19, in Hutchinson.

Just a week ago, player-manager Nate Voll was hoping to break out of a minor slump.

"I'd like to get a big hit to help the team," he said.

He did just that against the Crookston Reds in Crookston last Saturday in a do-or-die-game.

In the bottom of the 5th inning after the Royals had taken a 2-1 lead, Mr. Voll teed off on a fastball and hit a 3-run homerun, which turned out to be the game winner.

In the top of the 6th the Reds would score 3 runs, but that was the ballgame as the Royals scored 2 more in the bottom of the 7th and another run in the bottom of the 8th to win, 8-4.

The victory qualified them to the state tourney, but there was at least one more game to play against the Bemidji Blue Ox.

Actually, there was still another game after that had the Royals defeated Bemidji to determine the top seed.

But the Blue Ox just dominated, scoring 11 runs in the first two innings to slam the door on the Royals, who will be the second seed from this region.

Still, it was the Crookston game that got them to state.

"We played pretty well," said Voll, mentioning that T.J. Erickson didn't have his best stuff.

"But he battled through it and kept us in it just long enough for our bats to come alive," he said. "And once we got the lead, we didn't let up."

The 13 & 6 Roseau Royals would enjoy nothing more than having a great first game against the Winstead Wildcats of the Crow River Valley League this Friday evening in Hutchinson.

If they win, they will play next Saturday, August 27, against the winning team from the other bracket.

"There are 48 teams in the Class C tournament, and it takes 3 weekends to determine the state champion," said Voll, who noted that they would have to win 6 games to achieve that distinction.

But first things first.

"We played the Winstead Wildcats four years ago in the state tournament in St. Cloud, and we lost 3-2," he said.

The Royals, who lost the opening game a year ago, are ready for the return trip.

"It's a good time, it's a fun atmosphere, and it's fun to play in front of a bigger crowd," he said. "We've had close games down there."