The Prior Lake Lakers went down to the wire fighting for playoff seeding defeating the Chanhassen Storm 5-3 on Wednesday May 24 to complete their regular season then needing help with Edina losing to Minnetonka Friday May 26 11-3 and a tiebrake process kicking in to propel the team to the #3 seed in Section 2AAAA with an overall regular season record of 12-8 and Section record of 3-1. The Lakers finished 4th in the 10 team South Suburban Conference with and 11-7 mark trailing Eastview 12-6, Lakeville North 14-4 and 2017 SSC Champion Burnsville 14-4.
Section 2AAAA, which features teams from the South Suburban, Lake & Metro West Conferences uses the “QRF Rankings” formula to determine seeding for the Section Tournament. According to Shakopee Sabers Coach Tom Schleper, if teams are within a margin, that creates the tiebrake which is then broken by head to head (if applicable), overall record and Section winning %. The PL Lakers were seeded over Eden Prairie (11-9) and Edina (11-9) in Section 2AAAA seeding based on overall record having faced neither team in the regular season. The 2017 Lakers were 3-1 in Section games although that did not factor in with the tiebrake process that was initiated due to the margin that separated PL, EP and Edina.
In 2016, the Lakers finished 13-10 overall, 12-8 in the regular season defeating Eden Prairie 3-0 before losing 10-5 to Shakopee and 4-1 to Chanhassen to end their season.
The PL Lakers will face the Shakopee Sabers Tuesday May 30 7:00PM (Admission $7 Adult, $5 Students) in game 1 of the double elimination 8 team beacket. Shakopee who finished 11-9 and won 4 straight to conclude their regular season defeated the Lakers 3 times in 2016 including a 10-5 score in playoffs. Prior Lake, 6-4 in its last 10 games compiled an 8-3 home record in 2017 and defeated Shakopee 4-1 on April 17 at Joe Schleper Stadium and 3-2 at Prior Lake Veterans Field of Memorial Park on May 8. The Winner faces the Winner of #2 Chaska VS #7 Bloomington Jefferson at highest seed on Thursday 6/1. The losers will play with highest seeds hosting eliminations games, also 6/1. Section playoffs are scheduled to continue Saturday 6/3, Tuesday 6/6, Wednesday 6/7 and Thursday 6/8 (if needed).
Seed-QRF Rank, SCHOOL, Overall Record (2017 Section 2AAAA)
1-1 Minnetonka 15-5
2-10 Chaska 16-4
3–21 PRIOR LAKE 12-8
4-18 Eden Prairie 11-9
5-17 Edina 11-9
6-29 Shakopee 11-9
7-48 Bloomington Jefferson 10-10
8–49 Chanhassen 9-11
5/31 UPDATES & Results:
#3 Prior Lake loses 3-0 to #6 Shakopee, #2 Chaska loses 3-0 to #7 Bloomington Jefferson
#1 Minnetonka 3-2 #8 Chanhassen, #4 Eden Prairie 2-1 #5 Edina
LOSERS BRACKET (Elimination Games):
Thursday June 1: Prior Lake Lakers at Chaska Hawks (Athletic Park) 7:00PM
Thursday June 1: Chanhassen Storm at Edina Hornets (Braemar) 7:00PM
WINNERS BRACKET:
Thursday June 1: Eden Prairie Eagles at Minnetonka Skippers (Minnetonka Veterans/HS) 7:00PM
Thursday June 1: Bloomington Jefferson at Shakopee (Schleper Stadium-Tahpah Park) 7:00PM
*Play continues Saturday June 3rd. Consult bracket below for game times at High Seed.
6/1 UPDATES & Results:
#3 Prior Lake loses to #2 Chaska 3-2 (PL Eliminated), #5 Edina beats #8 Chanhassen 10-0(6 inn, Chanhassen eliminated), #4 Eden Prairie beats #1 Minnetonka 2-1 (9 inn), #6 Shakopee Sabers beats#7 Bloomington Jefferson 10-4
WINNER FINAL:
Saturday June 3 12:00PM: #4 Eden Prairie HOSTS #6 Shakopee (Round Lake Park Stadium)
LOSERS BRACKET (Elimination Games):
Saturday June 3: #5 Edina HOSTS #7 Bloomington Jefferson (Braemar Park)
Saturday June 3: #1 Minnetonka HOSTS #2 Chaska (Veterans Park/Minnetonka HS)
*Play continues Saturday June 6th at high seed. Consult bracket link below to confirm all game times and locations.
PLAYOFF HOTLINKS:
MINNESOTA SCORES.NET (click here) -Complete Class AAAA QRF/Seedings and results
2017 SECTION 2AAAA Baseball Bracket (click here) –MSHSL Section 2AAAA bracket.
Prior Lake Lakers Baseball TWITTER (Click to Link) -Official PL Lakers Baseball Twitter @PLLakerBaseball
Prior Lake Activities TWITTER (Click to Link) – Your official home for everything Prior Lake High School activities.
Good Luck Teams and Check Back for Updates!