DIAMOND KINGS — Members of the Fairmont Cardinals qualifying for the 2022 Minnesota State High School League’s Class AA state baseball tournament’s quarterfinals on Tuesday at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud include, front row: Brayden Koch, Lincoln Becker, Cooper Steuber, Levi Pooley, Eli Anderson, Jacob Crissinger, Preston Vaughn, Nate Soelter, Joseph Hackett and Cameron Schmidtke. Back row: Assistant coach Matt Lytle, Zach Jorgensen, Brendan Schmidtke, Landen Meyerdirk, Skyler Aukes, Jack Kosbab, head coach Don Waletich, Gavin Rodning, Nolan Anderson, Ben Moeller, assistant coach Levi Becker and Cole Wiemers. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — The six degrees of separation concept will be prevalent when the No. 1-seeded Fairmont Cardinals (24-3) face the unseeded Sibley East Wolverines (17-5) in Tuesday’s 10 a.m. Class AA state baseball quarterfinal at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud.

Fairmont will make its 11th overall state appearance, but first since capturing runner-up Class AA honors to St. Cloud Cathedral in 2014. Ironically, Cardinals’ current pitching coach Matt Lytle was a member of that second-place roster.

“We put together a good run, starting in 2010,” current head coach Don Waletich said in reference to Fairmont’s most recent state bids in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.

The Cardinals also captured second place in the 1993 Class A state tournament to complement previous state appearances in 1963, 1964, 1968, 1971 and 1975.

Sibley East, which is comprised of Gaylord, Green Isle and Arlington, will make its fourth overall appearance, but the first in 24 seasons. The Wolverines qualified for state in 1993, 1994 and 1998.

“The last time we played Sibley East was during their regular-season tournament in 2013,” Waletich, who was an assistant on then-mentor Todd Sukalski’s coaching staff, said in reference to the Cardinals’ 8-2 win over the Wolverines on May 18 nine years ago.

The irony of the two baseball state quarterfinalists’ prior meeting? Current Fairmont varsity assistant Levi Becker was an integral cog in the Cardinals’ lineup in 2013.

“I don’t know much about Sibley East from a first-hand perspective, but I’ve heard from some coaches they’ve got a good left-handed pitcher (senior Jake Schmidt), they steal a lot of bases, are a good fastball-hitting team and play good defense, so they’re similar to us,” said Waletich.

While neither Waletich nor Sibley East head coach Brian Jenneke has settled on a starting pitcher for Tuesday’s opener, Schmidt is likely considered the ace of the Wolverines’ staff after having compiled a 6-0 record with a 1.71 ERA. Schmidt has recorded a team-leading 57 strikeouts in 45 innings of work this spring.

Devon Jenneke also has an unblemished record — 4-0 — to go with a 1.61 ERA on the strength of 24 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched. Brody Serbus has notched 42 strikeouts in 35 innings en route to a 4-2 mark and 2.94 ERA for Sibley East, while Hunter Stearns has produced a 2.05 ERA, 3-3 record and 34 strikeouts in 27 innings of work.

In the opposing dugout, senior right-hander Jacob Crissinger tops the Cardinals’ pitching rotation with an 8-1 record to complement a 1.46 ERA. Crissinger, who’s generated a team-high 72 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings of work, has produced two shutouts this spring.

Senior Eli Anderson enters the state quarterfinals with a team-low 0.99 ERA and 4-1 record to go with 26 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings pitched. Anderson was primarily used as a closer during the regular season for the Cardinals, but has stepped into a starter’s role in the sectional playoffs.

Sophomore Nate Soelter has logged the third-most innings (27 2/3) for Fairmont en route to a 4-0 record, 2.02 ERA and 25 strikeouts this season.

“It’s a short turnaround (five days), but everybody’s in the same situation and probably pitching on adrenaline at this time of the year,” said Waletich. “We should be OK with our arms since we have a lot of pitching depth.

“Every team at state has to be good or they wouldn’t still be playing, and a little luck doesn’t hurt either. We’re not taking anybody for granted and taking it one game at a time.”

Eli Anderson will look to set the early offensive tone for the Cardinals from his traditional leadoff spot in the batting order. The fleet-footed third baseman leads the team in stolen bases (21), batting average (.422), runs scored (30), triples (6), HRs (2) and RBIs (28).

Zach Jorgensen, Landen Meyerdirk, Gavin Rodning and Soelter follow closely in the Cardinals’ high-octane offense, with all four batting in the .340 range.

Soelter hits at a .346 clip with 29 runs scored, 19 RBIs and 16 stolen bases, while Jorgensen smacks deliveries at a .343 pace to complement 27 RBIs and a team-best nine doubles.

Meyerdirk and Rodning each are hitting .342, with Meyerdirk having scored one more run (27) than Rodning this season. While Rodning has one more double (6) than Meyerdirk, the two flip-flop again in RBIs (21-17).

Across the diamond, Schmidt seems a mirror image of Eli Anderson, by also topping Sibley East from an offensive perspective. Schmidt hits at a team-best .586 clip with eight doubles and three triples, while also producing 30 runs scored, 21 stolen bases and 17 RBIs.

Stearns hits at a .325 pace with 24 runs scored, 19 RBIs and 14 stolen bases for the Wolverines, while Caden Willmsen has collected 17 RBIs and 14 runs scored. Sophomore centerfielder Riley Drexler produced two RBIs on two hits during Sibley East’s 4-3 Section 2 championship victory over New Ulm last Thursday.

No. 4 seed Wadena-Deer Creek (23-4) faces No. 5 seeded Rochester Lourdes (18-4) in Tuesday’s Class AA quarterfinal at 12:30 p.m., followed by No. 2 seed Watertown-Mayer (20-5) against St. Agnes (21-4) at 3 p.m. No. 3 seed Duluth Marshall (17-4) caps opening day by facing Roseau (17-6) in a 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal in St. Cloud.

The winner between Fairmont and Sibley East plays next at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Dick Putz Field, while the loser travels to the Orthopedic Sports Field in Sartell for a 10 a.m. consolation semifinal Wednesday.

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NOTE: All tickets for the state baseball tournament must be bought prior to the game by going ONLINE at: www.mshsl.org/tickets.

Select the ‘Purchase’ button on the far right for Tuesday, June 14, Class AA quarterfinals.

Tickets are $11 per adult and $7 per student.