Article: ON PREPS; high schools: baseball state tournament; CLASS 3A; Unlikely finalists enjoy success; Ordinary seasons for Coon Rapids and Bloomington Jefferson are turning extraordinary at state.(SPORTS)

Byline: JOHN MILLEA; STAFF WRITER

Back when spring snow was swirling, when every high school athlete in Minnesota was wondering if the weather would ever improve, when everything seemed lost, the baseball teams from Bloomington Jefferson and Coon Rapids were just about the last ones you would have picked to play in today's Class 3A championship game.

But here we are, after two rounds of play Thursday, with the Jaguars and Cardinals advancing to the biggest game of the season. They combined for a regular-season record of 20-20 (Coon Rapids 9-11, Jefferson 11-9), so maybe this is a fitting way to end one of the goofiest seasons anybody can remember.

"This has been ...

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