Rivals Face Off In MAAA Baseball Semis

May 3, 2018 @ 9:30am

(STE. GENEVIEVE) – As the MAAA baseball tournament reaches the semi-final round, two sets of rivals will square off at Yanks Field in Ste. Genevieve Friday for a spot in the conference championship game.

The top-seeded Ste. Genevieve Dragons will face the fourth-seeded Valle Catholic Warriors in a renewal of the Old Settlement Rivalry. These two teams met a week ago, with the Dragons prevailing by a score of 3-1. Now with a 14-5 overall record, Dragons head coach Mike McDaniel says they will need to once again calm the Warriors’ offense that put up 14 runs on Tuesday.

Valle Catholic comes in with a record of 16-7 and is looking to reach the MAAA championship for the seventh time in eight years. Head coach Nathan Gegg says they will have their hands full with the Dragons, but his team is focused.

In the second semi-final, the 2-seed North County Raiders will take on the 3-seed Central Rebels. North County is 15-7 on the year and currently riding a five-game winning streak. Head coach Chris McLain says they will look to avenge two earlier losses against the Rebels this season.

The Rebels are winners of eight of their last 11 games and are 14-6 overall. Head coach Ronnie Calvird says North County’s powerful offense will be his team’s main concern.

Pregame coverage of the MAAA baseball semi-finals begins at 4:15 p.m. Friday afternoon on AM-800 KREI.