Not often will an amateur baseball game feature nearly 2,000 feet of home runs, but Chanhassen’s 12-2 win over Chaska in seven innings Aug. 13 in the Region 3B Championship came close.
Towering shots from Jackson Goplen and Ben Livorsi and two lasers over the fence from Brandon Arnold led the Red Birds to the No. 1 seed in the home finale.
Chanhassen, with a 18-1 record, is the No. 1 seed out of Region 3B.
Two-run homers from Arnold and Livorsi in the first inning erased an early Chaska 1-0 lead.
Arnold added a solo blast in the second inning with Goplen hitting a towering shot over the trees in left field at Storm Red Bird Stadium for an 8-2 lead.
Chase Hentges also hit a home run for Chaska, clearing the left-center field fence at the deepest part of the park.
The Cubs are the No. 2 seed out of Region 3B.
Goplen (four RBIs), Arnold (3-for-5, 3RBI) and Aaron Kloppner (2-for-2, two walks) were offensive leaders for Chanhassen. John Straka surrendered four hits and two runs with four strikeouts over six innings in the win.
Steve Edlefsen had a run-scoring single for Chaska in the first inning.
First-round match-ups pit Chanhassen against St. Michael at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21; Chaska draws 2019 state runner-up Dundas at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22; Victoria takes on Champlin in the 8 p.m. nightcap on Saturday, Aug. 22; with Prior Lake facing the Moorhead Brewers at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23.