After waiting 18 years to return to the state baseball tournament, Cretin-Derham Hall waited four innings to get its offense in gear Wednesday. Once the top-seeded Raiders (21-4) did so, they had enough to hold off eighth seeded Rosemount, 7-5, to move to the Class 4A semifinals.

“We’re battle-tested now,” said CDH coach Buzz Hannahan after the back-and-forth game.

Davis Fleming went 3 for 3 and scored twice, but it was the big stick of senior first baseman Brady Stoeklen that swung the game in Cretin’s favor.

The Irish came out swinging, scoring twice in the first inning and adding another in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. The Raiders responded in their half of the fourth with six straight hits to grab a 4-3 lead.

Fleming led off with a single and Stoeklen doubled high off the right field wall. Devon Castro followed with a double for two runs, and three straight singles produced two more for a one run lead.

Rosemount came right back for two in the top of the fifth as six straight batters reached base. CDH escaped further damage when shortstop Joe Fenlon started a nifty 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.

In the fifth, Fleming singled, and Stoeklen drilled a ball over the right field wall to give CDH the lead for good at 6-5.

The Raiders added a seventh inning run to seal the deal and moved to Thursday’s 2 p.m. semifinal matchup against the winner of the Edina-Farmington game that was still in progress as this edition went to press.