​Jul. 13—EXCELSIOR — The 2026 Minnesota Gopher Classic Legion Baseball Tournament welcomes 70 teams from around the Midwest and Canada to the Twin Cities.The Bemidji American Legion baseball team made it all the way to the quarterfinals before bowing out. The Centaurs won their first six games in the tournament to extend their winning streak to 13. Ultimately, they lost to Manitoba’s 18U team by a score of 10-2 in six innings in the quarterfinals to end their run.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn pool play, Post 14 (20-4) went 4-0. It beat Huron 9-4, Chaska 8-1, Manitoba 4-3 and Coon Rapids 8-3.Against Huron, James Garrison went 3-for-4 wth a double and three RBIs. Brennen Brower also went 1-for-4 with two RBIs in the wins.In the Centaurs’ 8-1 triumph over Chaska, Lawson Berg went the distance on the mound. He allowed just seven hits and one earned run in seven innings with six strikeouts. Berg got it done at the plate, too, going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. He and Jack Zellmann each doubled in multi-hit games.In Post 14’s first bout against Manitoba, Bemidji tallied just four hits — two singles from Brower, a double from Gunner Ganske and a single from Zellmann. The Centaurs walked six times in the 4-3 win. Wyatt Tverstol was tough to hit on the mound, throwing all seven innings and allowing just one earned run on five hits with nine strikeouts.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBemidji cruised past Coon Rapids in its final game of pool play. Berg went 2-for-5 with an RBI. J.D. Wood went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, while Zellmann and Reece Dokken each went 1-for-3 with a double.In the first game of bracket play, Bemidji beat Rock Island 4-3. Zellmann led the way at the plate with a pair of home runs in a 2-for-3 day with three RBIs. The Centaurs had just three hits in the win.Post 14 ran out of gas in their second game against Manitoba on Sunday. Zellmann homered again while Wyatt Tverstol doubled as a pinch hitter. Brower, Ganske, Berg, Garrison, Kash Rasmus and Heaton Brodina singled in the loss.Bemidji has one more doubleheader — July 17 at home against Ferfus Falls at 4 p.m. at the BSU Baseball Field — before the Sub-State 12 postseason tournament commences next week.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBemidji 9, Huron 4BEM 040 320 0 — 9-7-3HRN 100 210 0 — 4-6-3WP: Zellmann (2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K)Bemidji 8, Chaska 1CSK 100 000 0 — 1-7-0BEM 100 043 X — 8-8-0WP: Berg (7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)Bemidji 4, Manitoba 3MAN 001 000 2 — 3-5-1BEM 001 021 X — 4-4-3WP: Tverstol (7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K)LP: Bachart (4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K)Bemidji 8, Coon Rapids 3BEM 005 100 2 — 8-9-2CR 000 200 1 — 3-2-6WP: Dokken (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)Bemidji 4, Rock Island 3BEM 300 001 0 — 4-3-0RI 100 000 2 — 3-7-0WP: Gankse (7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)LP Curry (5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)Manitoba 10, Bemidji 0 (F/6)BEM 100 100 — 2-8-2MAN 100 612 — 10-