A Rain‑Soaked Battle
The Champlin Park Rebels and the Andover Huskies met Thursday night in a Class AAAA quarterfinal that quickly turned into a test of endurance as a sudden downpour halted play in the seventh inning.
When the rain cleared, the Rebels clung to a 3‑2 lead, but the stakes had never been higher.
In the fourth, Jaden Oligmueller delivered a two‑run single that flipped the score to 3‑1, giving his team a cushion that would prove vital.
Andover answered in the fifth with Keaton Coe’s RBI single, narrowing the gap to a single run and stirring hopes of a comeback.
The top of the seventh saw the Huskies load the bases with no outs, turning the field into a pressure cooker before the rain intervened.
A brief hour‑long delay tested the nerves of both squads, but when play resumed the Rebels engineered a decisive double play, catching a flyball and tagging home to stifle the rally.
Josh Henchen capped the night with a strikeout, sealing a 3‑2 victory and sending Champlin Park to the semifinals.
Semifinals Loom
The Rebels will now meet Edina, a team that has marched through its own bracket with characteristic poise, in a match that promises another chapter of high‑stakes baseball.