State Tournament Awaits Hermantown VFW Baseball Team

Hermantown will open up against Owatonna next Thursday.

HERMANTOWN, Minn. – The Hermantown VFW baseball team is getting set for the state tournament next week.

The Hawks are coming off a thrilling come-from-behind win during the district tournament. And that momentum could be key as they’ll battle some stiff competition.

“We were kind of struggling going into the playoffs. We started out as the 5th seed. And that just brings our mentality up, just thinking we can do this. We can compete with the best of the best. They are really happy. They’re excited. You don’t really get to do this that often. To go to state, it’s an opportunity for these kids to show what they got,” head coach Taylor Absher said.

Some of the players on the team also play hockey. But even they admit how big it would be if the Hawks were able to win a state championship on the diamond.

“That would mean a ton. I don’t think Hermantown baseball has won one of those before. And it would be great. It’s going to be a lot harder than districts and stuff. There’s going to be teams down there that play all year round, not really like us, so we got to play hard,” said center fielder Evan Gunderson.

Hermantown will open up against Owatonna next Thursday. Grand Rapids will also be at the state tournament as they’ll face Sartell in their opening game.