Jun. 10—GRAND FORKS — Red Lake County baseball coach Mike Gullingsrud has had an eventful school year.
His son Ben Gullingsrud and his Red Lake County teammates won the Minnesota Section 8A basketball championship this winter on a team led by veteran coach Steve Philion, Ben’s grandpa and Mike’s father-in-law.
Now this spring, a strong core of the basketball team has helped the baseball program return to the state baseball tournament for the first time in 10 years.
No. 5 seed Red Lake County (22-5) plays No. 4 Legacy Christian Academy in the Class A state quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud.
For some with Red Lake County, it’s a change of roles from basketball to baseball.
However, junior Will Gieseke is a standout in both sports.
An all-conference basketball player who led the Rebels to a third-place finish at the state tournament, Gieseke enters the state baseball tournament with a .396 batting average with eight doubles and 25 runs batted in. On the mound, he’s 6-0 with 40 innings pitched. He has a 0.87 earned-run average with 54 strikeouts.
“Gieseke has been our guy,” coach Gullingsrud said. “He’s been our top pitcher and a tremendous shortstop. He’s really driven.”
Others like senior Owen Chervestad, though, have taken on a different role. One of the area’s top basketball players, the senior is back out for baseball after taking a few years off to focus on offseason basketball.
A Minnesota-Crookston basketball signee, Chervestad is batting .320 for the Rebels.
“He’s not going to dazzle you with proper footwork but he’s an athlete and a competitor,” coach Gullingsrud said. “He’ll give you whatever he can. He’s got better as the season has gone on and he gets back in baseball mode.”
Freshman Ben Gullingsrud and junior Gunnar Halverson, meanwhile, have transitioned from basketball role players to baseball standouts.
Halverson leads the team with a .400 batting average. He’s added 14 doubles and 27 RBI.
Ben Gullingsrud is batting .369 and 6-0 on the mound with a 1.21 ERA.
“What some guys do on the basketball court is different than what they do for us in baseball but the ultimate common denominator is competitiveness,” coach Gullingsrud said.
The Rebels ended one game short of the state tournament last season, losing to East Grand Forks Sacred Heart in the championship.
Coach Gullingsrud is in his first season as head coach and umpired games last spring, but he knew the history of his team.
“The group came in with a lot of experience,” coach Gullingsrud said. “I got a good idea of the mindset coming in. They were upset not getting a win to move on. A lot of those guys are back.”
Coach: Mike Gullingsrud.
Record: 22-5.
Top hitters: Jr. OF Gunnar Halverson .400, 14 2Bs, 27 RBI; jr. SS Will Gieseke .396, 8 2Bs, 25 RBI; jr. IF Kegan Schmitz .378, 8 2Bs, 1 HR, 34 RBI; fr. OF Ben Gullingsrud .369, 6 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 22 RBI; sr. OF Brock Seeger .359, 9 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 21 RBI; sr. IF Brock Knott .356, 6 2Bs; sr. OF Owen Chervestad .320; jr. OF Denny Lanctot .316; jr. C-OF Collin Taggart .271, 2 3Bs, 1 HR.
Top pitchers: Gullingsrud 6-0, 40.1 IP, 1.21 ERA, 43 Ks; Gieseke 6-0, 40.0 IP, 0.87 ERA, 54 Ks; Taggart 3-2, 27.0 IP, 2.33 ERA, 25 Ks; soph. Boe Nelson 4-1, 25.2 IP, 1.36 ERA, 28 Ks; Halverson 2-1, 19 IP, 2.57 ERA, 20 Ks
State tournament history: This is the first state trip for the Rebels since 2015 and eighth overall. The program went seven times as Red Lake County (1994, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2025) and once in 1982 as Red Lake Falls.