Former Zephyr shuttles between Giants, Sacramento

BY BRUCE STRAND CONTRIBUTING WRITER

against Colorado in September.

At a college with a national following and 34 NCAA championships, lacrosse is a big deal, said Hagstrom. “Lacrosse received a great deal of attention on campus, especially since we were near the top of the rankings. Every weekend, our home games were packed. We had tremendous support and energy from our fans.”

A finance major, Hagstrom said the Notre Dame student-athlete experience is everything he hoped for.

“I get to be part of something bigger than myself, and a member of a great, close-knit community. I get to compete at the highest level. I am pushed to be better every day. Notre Dame has one of the richest sports traditions in the country and I am glad to be part of it.”

Hagstrom helped power Mahtomedi to state lacrosse tournaments in 2018 (they placed fourth) and 2019 (they placed fifth). He made the coaches association all-state team both years and was a three-year team captain. For all that, his prep highlight was delivering the state hockey championship to the Zephyrs in 2020 with the overtime gamewinning goal against Warroad. A forward and co-captain, he got the tournament’s Herb Brooks Award. Upon graduation, he was named the school’s Senior Scholar and Athlete of the Year.

Hard to top a high school career like that, but winning an NCAA championship does the trick.

Sean Hjelle of Mahtomedi, pitcherin the San Francisco Giants organization, has appeared in 11 games with the major league club while spending the bulk of the season so far with their top minor league club in Sacramento.

The 26-yearold righthander had his best MLB outing on June 22, throwing four shutout innings and getting credit for the win as the Giants beat San Diego 4-2 in a “bullpen game" with relief pitchers going all nine innings. The leadoff man got aboard each inning off him but he left them all on base as he struck out five.

The article noted that Hjelle had an “encouraging spring training with added velocity to his fourseam fastball.”

ERA over 49 innings in 12 starts, with 41 strikeouts while giving up seven home runs.

Hjelle, in two stints with the Giants, has posted a 2-1 record but had some rough outings, compiling a 7.79 earned-runaverage in 17 1/3 innings, with 21 strikeouts. Meanwhile, he’s struggled at times at Sacramento with a 1-4 record and 5.66

Hjelle, who at 6-foot11 ties Jon Rausch (a pitcher for six teams from 2002-13) as the tallest player in MLB history, has appeared in a total of 19 Giants games over two seasons, posting a 3-3 record, 6.59 ERA, and 49 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings. His best outing last year was a four-inning stint allowing one run to get the win

This assessment of Hjelle recently appeared in a Giants fan website, aroundthefoghorn.com. “San Francisco has used him in a bulk innings role, which can be tough for any pitcher, especially one who is looking to establish himself in the majors. The innings can be sporadic at times. In addition to this, he has been shuttled to and from Sacramento as well.” The article noted that Hjelle had an “encouraging spring training with added velocity to his fourseam fastball.” Hjelle, also a basketball player at Mahtomedi High School, pitched at the University of Kentucky for three seasons. He was Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore in 2017, and was drafted by the Giants in the second round in 2018. The sixth-year pro is married with two children.