Amateur baseball: Willmar Indians have a young ace

Aug. 12—RAYMOND — On Aug. 7, Jaciel Cardenas celebrated his 17th birthday. On Aug. 8, he pitched the Willmar Indians amateur baseball team to its biggest win in the young franchise's history.

Cardenas tossed eight innings, allowing one run, to help the fifth-seeded Indians beat the fourth-seeded Willmar Rails 3-2 in a Region 8B playoff game at Lilleberg Field.

After a 14-1 loss to Raymond, the Indians face an elimination game at noon Saturday at Raymond against the Bird Island Bullfrogs. The winner plays the Marshall A's at 3 p.m. Saturday. At stake is the second of two berths awarded from 8B into the state tournament.

The state tournament begins Aug. 21 in Chaska, Jordan, New Prague and Shakopee. Plays continues through Sept. 7, when championships in Class A, B and C are determined.

The Indians were formed in 2025 with most of their players having hispanic/latino backgrounds and most having never played organized ball before. That wasn't the case for Cardenas, a 2026 Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City High School graduate who played baseball and also wrestled for the Falcons.

"I'm glad we have him back," said Indians player/manager Jean Carlos Morales, who spearheaded the Indians' formation.

Cardenas missed a month of playing time with tendinitis in his right elbow. He has been a key cog for the Indians' success. When he pitches, Willmar has its best chance to win.

"He's steady and he's worked hard," Morales said.

Cardenas struck out five and walked four. Changing speeds and using a curve ball to keep batters off balance.

"I feel pretty good," Cardenas said, explaining he first noticed arm issues at the beginning of the summer.

He said he picked up his curve ball when he was about 12 years old, working with Atwater's Mike Kingery. He then refined it.

"I was trying different grips by myself," he said.

Cardenas isn't sure about his future, besides playing for the Indians. He's talking about getting a business degree at Ridgewater College and continuing his baseball career with the Warriors.

As for Bird Island, it's a tall task for the Indians. The Bullfrogs are the second seed and were upset by third-seeded Marshall 7-6. Marshall then lost to Raymond, 11-1. Raymond has sewn up the first state berth in Region 8B.

Bird Island beat Willmar 9-6 on June 27 in Bird Island and 17-2 July 26 in Willmar. The Bullfrogs aim for their eighth straight state tournament appearance. Like the Indians, they need two wins Saturday.

A look at other regions involving area teams:

The Starbuck Stars and Elrosa Saints have huge games Saturday in Regal. Starbuck plays New Munich at 1 p.m. and Elrosa faces Farming at 3:30 p.m. The winners clinch state Class C tournament berths. The losers are done for the summer.

Atwater and Richmond play for the 8C championship and a top seed in the state tournament at 6 p.m. Saturday. Atwater is back in the state tournament for the first time since 2024. Before that, it made state in 1994 and 1932.

The Starbuck/New Munich winner and the Elrosa/Farming winner play at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The winner of that game then plays the Atwater/Richmond loser at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Four teams advance to state from 8C.

The Litchfield Blues play the Cold Spring Rockies for the Region 6C championship at 5 p.m. Saturday at Saints Field in Dassel. The winner is the top seed from the region at state. The loser is the No. 2 seed.

Litchfield returns to the state tournament for the third straight year. The Blues also made state 14 other times from 1950-2002, winning a state title in 1951.

Still alive for one of four state berths are Howard Lake and Pearl Lake, who play at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and St. Nicholas and Luxemburg, who play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. There's a game between the winners at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Dawson Drakes have an elimination game with the Morris Eagles at 2 p.m. Saturday in Appleton. The winner plays the Clinton Cards at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in a state-qualifying game.

The Dumont Saints already are in the state tournament after beating Clinton on Sunday, 7-3 in 10 innings. The fourth-seeded Saints play whoever comes out of the Clinton/Morris/Dawson bracket at 1 p.m. Sunday in Rosen for the top seed at state.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →