MANKATO — Exactly two months ago, Mankato Twins amateur baseball manager Jay Nessler was beginning to wonder if the 2010 season was about to unravel.

The Twins were playing in the Red Wing Tournament and Ryan Greene, the team’s starting shortstop and ace pitcher had injured his arm. The team’s other ace, Kevin Dixon, wasn’t showing up to a lot of games and Nessler was unsure of what the future held for his team.

“That was probably our low point,” Nessler said. “It was only six or seven games into the season and I knew we were going to have to piece together a pitching staff.”

Greene’s arm came around well enough for him to resume his duties at shortstop but, as far as pitching goes, he was shut down for the season. One of the first guys Nessler turned to was Karl Regan, a talented thrower who had been used exclusively as a reliever in college and with the Mankato MoonDogs a few years ago.

Regan stepped up big time, pitching deep into games as a starter and stymieing just about every team he played. Nessler eventually made a call to Brett Fratzke, a Minnesota State pitcher, who wasn’t playing ball with anybody this summer. He also came through and delivered some superb outings for the Twins (20-2).

“Those two really solidified our staff,” Nessler said. “They’ve both done great jobs for us.”

The bulk of the bullpen duties fell to Trent Vedders and Joe Kern and they’ve also pitched admirably. In fact, they’ve pitched so well that usual closer Ben Kaus has not had to be summoned to the mound from his center field spot very often this summer.

Kaus leads the Twins offensively with a .482 batting average and 13 runs scored. Second baseman Nessler is next (.406, 13 RBIs, 4 home runs) and first baseman Dane Allen is right behind (.400, 14 runs). Newcomer Tony Konicek, a former Gustavus Adolphus standout, is hitting .371 with a team-high 13 RBIs and 14 runs scored.

The Twins open up state tournament play at 11 a.m. Sunday with a game against Cold Spring in Bird Island.

Mankato Mets vs. Belle Plaine

The Mets qualified for state in just their second year of existence. They begin play in the Class C tournament at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Spicer.

The Mets (19-10) are led offensively by Ben Smith (.386, 18 runs, 11 RBIs), Darin Hendley (.342, 14 runs, a team-high 21 RBIs), Nate Hawker (.338, 10 runs, 9 RBIs) and player/manager Josh Anderson (.323, 1 runs, 18 RBIs).

The pitching staff is paced by Ashton Dorris and Andy Stolt. Dorris was gone for part of the season but still managed to compile a 6-0 record with a 0.50 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 54 innings. Stolt is 8-1 with a 2.10 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 60 innings.

The Tigers of Belle Plaine have put together a 30-8 season. The Tigers went on a 6-0 run during the playoffs, outscoring their opponents 55-10. Belle Plaine has won 15 of its last 16 games.

Adam Johnson has been the team’s workhorse on the mound, compiling an 11-2 record. The Tigers have a 2.73 team ERA and a .298 batting average.

St. Peter vs. Blue Earth

The Saints, who are making their first state tournament appearance in 30 years, finished 7-2 down the stretch to improve their record to 15-14.

Manager Tom Lacina said the pitching of Jesse Anderson has been key. Anderson is 6-2 with a 1.19 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings. He has not given up a triple or a home run all season.

Billy Hanson is the team’s leading hitter with a .321 average. Ben Mikelson, who returned from a 2009 season that was plagued with arm problems, his hitting .310 with a team-high 17 RBIs.

St. Peter’s playoff run was bolstered by the return of shortstop Phil Holz, who missed six weeks with an injury. He returned in the final regular-season game to solidify the defense.

The Blue Earth Pirates have been to state nine times in the last 10 years, winning championships in 2004 and 2006. The team is 26-7 heading into Saturday’s 5 p.m. Class C game against St. Peter in Spicer.

Cody Sukalski leads the club with a .398 average. T.J. Schmidtke (.375), Trent Sonnicksen (.376), Kane Malo (.353, 4 HRs) and Lee Hodges (.349) have also had consistent bats.

Aaron Wendt leads the team in RBIs and is the ace of the staff with an 11-0 record, a 1.72 ERA and 117 strikeouts. Hodges is No. 2 with a 7-4 record and a 3.17 ERA.

“Our defense has been excellent,” coach Schmidtke said. “We made two errors in a game in the regional finals on Sunday; that was the first time that’s happened in 20 games.”

New Ulm Brewers vs. Sobieski

A year removed from winning just five games, the Brewers have compiled a 20-10 season to qualify for state. They take on Sobieski at 11 a.m. Sunday in a first-round Class C game at Willmar.

New Ulm qualified by reaching the region finals and then finishing second to Essig. Head coach Al Flor says the offense has played consistently well throughout the season.