American Legion
Minnesota Division I
State Tournament
GAZETTE

 

 

 

Volume 6, No. 2 Marshall, Minnesota Friday, August 9, 2002
Twelve Advance to Second Day
Twelve teams emerged from the first round of the 2002 American Legion Division I Tournament bgeing played at four fields in the Marshall area.
North St. Paul, Richfield, Alexandria, and Excelsior made it through the first round undefeated and stayed in the winners' bracket of the double-elimination tournament.
Apple Valley, Coon Rapids, Northfield, Marshall, Rochester A's, East Grand Forks, Hopkins and Tri-City each lost one game and will continue to play in the losers' bracket. Brainerd, Chaska, Hermantown, and New Ulm Gold were eliminated from the four-day tournament.
Play will continue Friday with four 		games each at Legion Field in Marshall and Southwest Sate University Field. The championship game will be held SUnday with two teams from Minnesota advancing to national regional play.
There were six shutouts during the day's action, and several close games.
Last year's second place team, NewUlm, was among the four who departed early. Last year's championship team, Coon Rapids, finished with a win and a loss.
Excelsior was ranked number one in the state Legion poll most of the year, and opened the tourney with two victories, including a 2-0 win over third-ranked Apple Valley.
Second-ranked North St. Paul also finished the day undefeated.


Photo by Gail Kalata.
Curtis Pierce of Chaska takes a mighty swing and miss on a fast ball as Tri-City Red catcher Drew Huber extends the mitt to meet the ball.
Marshall Your Forces:
Mudcats are a group of humble hometown heroes
There was no shortage of hometown heroes when Marshall upset Hopkins 6-4 Thursday afternoon in a first-round State American Legion Tournament game at Legion Field.

Photo by Gail Kalata
Sam Wiener, Adam Labat and Stephen Wiblemo emerged as hometown heroes in Marshall's 6-4 victory over Hopkins Thursday afternoon.

Stephen Wiblemo, Marshall's winning pitcher, got the first out in the bottom of the seventh, then reliever Nathan Deutz got the two biggest outs of the game on a groundball double play that was started by shortstop Sam Wiener.
"I flipped the ball to Drew [Weilage] and he made a great pivot," said Wiener. "We knew we were the underdogs. It was an awesome win. Stephen [Wiblemo] threw strikes. He pitched a great game.
Catcher Adam Labat said that he and Wiblemo stuck with

the fastball most of the game. "Stephen was hitting his spots with the fastball," said Labat, who sparked Marshall's offense with two hits. "We were psyched because we had been waiting for this game for awhile."
Marshall played in the district playoffs and made it to the finals against Alexandria. "We beat them the first championship game, then they beat us," said Labat.
Wiblemo said he wanted to finish the game against Hopkins, but after Hopkins strung together three hits in the seventh, coach Steve Fleck went to the bullpen.
Hopkins had been seeing mostly fastballs from Wiblemo and a change to a curveball pitcher was just the tonic Marshall needed to get them out of a jam. With the winning run at the plate and the score 6-4, Deutz threw a curve for the game-ending double play.
Several Hopkins hitters had big days at the plate. Center fielder Matt Borman had a double and two singles, while teammates Joe Abellera, Ryan Papke and Aaron Clark each had two hits.
Wiblemo is the pitcher Marshall looks to in big-game situations. "I was the co-ace of the pitching staff last season," he said. "I was ready to take over this year."
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander is not just a pitcher for Marshall. He is also one of the Mudcats' top hitters with a .347 average. Labat leads the team with a .446 average.
One thing that makes Labat an outstanding hitter is his speed. "I just try to put the ball in play," he said.
One of Marshall's biggest hits in the Hopkins game was an infield hit in the top of the seventh. It looked like a routine play, but all of a sudden Labat was crossing the first base bag before the throw. That will be one of the plays they'll talk about in Marshall for many years. It was a hustle play, typical of the Mudcats' style of play.
Hard-Hitting Hopkins Makes Statement by John Sherman

Photo by Gail Kalata.
The heart of the Hopkins Batting order includes, from left: Joe Abellera, MAtt Borman and Nate Hawes.

Pitching often dominates the first day of the State American Legion Tournament, but Hopkins came to Marshall’s Legion Field with a different agenda on Thursday.
After pounding out 11 hits in a 6-4 first-round loss to host Marshall, Hopkins blitzed Brainerd 19-1 in a losers’-bracket game. Everyone in the Hopkins line-up shared in the hitting spree. Third baseman Matt Bouts went four for four. Catcher Nate Hawes went three for three with a home run. Ryan Papke also went three for four. Matt Borman, Joe Abellera and Brady Olson each had two hits. Hopkins had a total of 17 hits.
Borman, who had five hits in the first two games, also picked up the pitching win against Brainerd. He is Hopkins’ most heralded player. He made All-Classic Lake Conference, All-Metro and All-State teams during the high school season as a pitcher and center fielder.
Borman said part of his success this year is that he’s more disciplined at the plate. “I’ve walked three times more than I ever have before,” he said. “I’m seeing a lot of pitches.”
Three of Borman’s hits on Thursday were doubles. “My favorite hit was my double that got stuck in the vines against Brainerd,” said Borman. While Brainerd’s outfielders and one of the umpires searched for the ball, Borman jogged all around the bases before heading back to second base.

 Borman said that Hopkins’ loss in the tournament opener may be a sign of good things to come. “It seems to be a Hopkins curse that we can’t win the first game of a tournament,” he said. It happened in the Tenth District Tournament, then Hopkins won five in a row to earn a trip to state. It also happened in the South Hennepin League playoffs, as Hopkins lost to Edina before staging another comeback.
Borman, a .370 hitter, bats third in the Hopkins line-up with Abellera and Hawes immediately behind him. The heart of the Hopkins order is dangerous. Hawes has seven homers this summer and Abellera has hit four homers.
Talking about the homer he hit against Brainerd on Thursday, Hawes said, “The pitch was right in my wheel house.”
“The ball got out of here in a hurry,” said Borman. “Nate hit a line drive.”
Abellera, only a 16-year-old, has been a clutch hitter all season with a .380 average. “I just go up there and see it and hit it,” he said. “I hit pretty well in the district tournament. I’m just having fun playing ball with the boys.”
This is Hopkins’ first trip out of town this season. “The furthest we traveled before this was Red Haddox Field in Bloomington,” said Borman, who is in his fourth season of Legion ball.
Abellera said this has been a fun year for the team. “We get along great with our coach [Jake Swartout],” said Abellera. “He lets us play and he lets us be kids.”
Hawes said the best game of the season was a 2-1 victory over Bloomington Blue in the district tournament. Nate Melek struck out 15 batters that day.
Borman, the No. 1 pitcher for Hopkins each of the previous three seasons, has been slowed by a sore arm this summer. The fact Hopkins has won without him pitching is a bonus. “A lot of our other pitchers have really come through,” said Borman. “We’ve had good games from Melek, Hawes, Mark Nerenberg and Terry Gracyk.”
Coach Swartout was impressed by Hopkins’ pitching and hitting the first day of the tournament. “Why couldn’t we have had some of these hits the first game?” he asked, as he looked at the 17-hit total on the scoreboard after the Brainerd game.
Swartout said it doesn’t really matter who Hopkins will play Friday. “We’ll just try to do our best,” he said. “It has been a great summer. Just being with the guys and watching them succeed is the fun part of coaching for me.”
Hopkins has a 25-13 record this season. As long as the team hits like it did on the first day of the state tournament, it will be a very dangerous opponent for anyone.

Game Summaries, Thursday, August 8, 2002:

Game 1
North St. Paul 3, Brainerd 3
With three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, North St. Paul won an exciting first-round game at Marshall's Legion Field. Four of North St. Paul's 10 hits came in the last inning. Lefty Ryan Naughton pitched for North St. Paul, allowing four hits. Tim McLeod, Greg Tubbesing and Jordan Roering each had three hits for North St. Paul. Aaron Jenkins was two for two for Brainerd.

Brainerd     1 1 0   0 0 0     2   4   1
North St. Paul     0 0 0   0 0 0     3   10   1

Mertens and Tautges. Naughton and Horner. WP Naughton. LP Mertens.

Game 2
Marshall 6, Hopkins 4
The host team scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 6-2 lead, then held off a Hopkins rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. Stephen Wiblemo was the winning pitcher and Nathan Deutz got the save. Adam Labat and Thomas Kost each had three hits for Marshall. Matt Borman led Hopkins with three hits.

Marshall     0 0 0   0 2 0   3     6   8   1
Hopkins     0 0 0   2 0 0   2     4   11   2

Wiblemo and Labat. Melek and Hawes. WP Wiblemo. LP Melek. Home runs: None

Game 3
Richfield Reds 4, Chaska 0
Tony Garcia, an 18-year-old right-hander pitched a three-hitter to beat Chaska 3-0 in a first-round game at Southwest State University. Neither team scored in the first five innings, as Chaska's Dave Lane matched Garcia pitch for pitch. Richfield scored all of its runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Chaska     0 0 0   0 0 0   0     0   3   1
Richfield     0 0 0   0 0 4   X     4   5   0

Lane and Arnold. Garcia and Christian. WP Garcia, LP Lane. Home runs: None.

Game 4
Northfield 1, Tri-City Red 0
Northfield and Tri-City Red completed their first-round game at Southwest State University in only an hour and 20 minutes as pitchers Kory Foss of Northfield and Andy Peters of Tri-City Red dominated. Each pitcher had a three-hitter and Northfield scored the only run of the game in the fifth inning on a groundout by Travis Faust.

Northfield     0 0 0   0 1 0   0     1   3   2
Tri-City Red     0 0 0   0 0 0   0     0   3   0

Foss and Deden. Peters and Huber. WP Foss. LP Peters. Home runs: None.

Game 5
Excelsior 12, East Grand Forks 0, 5 innings
Excelsior dominated in a first-round game at Granite Falls, as Derek Mason pitched a shutout. He allowed three hits in five innings. Tom Policano had a two-RBI double in Excelsior's five-run third inning.

East Grand Forks     0 0 0   0 0     0   3   2
Excelsior     0 0 5   2 5     12   14   0

Malek, Molck (4) and Meier. Mason and Glover. WP Mason. LP Malek. Home runs: None.

Game 6
Apple Valley 2, Hermantown 1
Joe Nielsen of Apple Valley pitched the 76ers to a narrow win over Hermantown in the opening round at Granite Falls. Nielsen pitched a one-hitter and struck out seven. Dan Brosnan drove in both Apple Valley runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Hermantown     0 0 1   0 0 0   0     1   1   2
Apple Valley     0 0 0   0 0 2   X     2   6   1

Taran and Tafs. Nielsen and Dunivent. WP Nielsen. LP Taran. Home runs: None.

Game 7
Coon Rapids 11, New Ulm Gold 6
Joey Olson hit a three run homer to help Coon Rapids roll to a six-run first inning in an 11-6 first-round victory over New Ulm Gold. Olson went four for four. New Ulm scored five of its six runs in the third inning to close the gap to 6-5. Pat Thielke scattered nine hits to get the mound win for Coon Rapids, the defending state champion.

New Ulm Gold     0 0 5   0 1 0   0     6   9   3
Coon Rapids     6 0 1   0 3 1   X     11   12   4

Cariveau and Thorson. Thielke and Lindstrom. WP Thielke. LP Cariveau. Home run: Olson (Coon Rapids).

Game 8
Alexandria 4, Rochester A's 3, 11 innings
Keith Eckhoff's single in the top of the 11th inning decided the outcome as Alexandria nipped the Rochester A's in a first-round game at Milroy. Kevin Engebretson was the winning pitcher for Alexandria in relief of Mike Holscher, who pitched the first nine innings. Justin Grant went three for five for Rochester.

Alexandria     0 0 0   0 0 2   0 0 0   0 2     4   13   2
Rochester A's     1 0 0   1 0 0   0 0 0   0 1     3   9   0

Holscher, Engebretson (10) and Schmidt. Badger, Garry (7) and Smith. WP Engebretson. LP Garry. Home runs: None.

Game 9
Hopkins 19, Brainerd 1
Hopkins pounded 17 hits to win a losers'-bracket game over Brainerd at Marshall's Legion Field. Catcher Nate Hawes hit a home run for the winners. Matt Bouts went four for four for Hopkins and Hawes and Ryan Papke had three hits each and Joe Abellera, Matt Borman and Brady Olson had two hits each. Borman was the winning pitcher.

Brainerd     0 1 0   0 0     1   3   4
Hopkins     1 7 11   0 X     19   17   2

C. Weiss, Boland (2), Browning (2), Germaine (3), Tautges (3) and Tautges, Shepherd (3). Borman, Gracyk (4) and Hawes. WO Borman. LP C. Weiss. Home run: Nate Hawes (Hopkins.)

Game 10
North St. Paul 9, Marshall 1
In a winners'-bracket game at Marshall's Legion Field, North St. Paul pounded out 12 hits to beat the host team 9-1. North St. Paul had four straight hits and scored six runs in the second inning. Nick Peters went three for three for the winners, while teammates Cling Bradley, Jordan Roering, Jay Horner and Nick Biagini each had two hits.

North St. Paul     0 1 6   0 2 0   0     9   12   1
Marshall     1 0 0   0 0 0   1     1   9   2

Smith and Horner. Deutz, Drager (3) and Labat. WP Smith. LP Deutz. Home runs: None.

Game 11
Tri-City Red 8, Chaska 0
Tri-City Red scored six runs in the first inning and three Tri-City Red pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout. Only two Chaska runners got as far as second base. Leading Tri-City Red's attack with two hits each were Josh Schultheis, Brandon Rehkamp, Andy Peters and Drew Espeset.

Tri-City Red     6 0 0   1 0 1   0     8   11   0
Chaska     0 0 0   0 0 0   0     0   4   1

Peterson, Montgomery (5), L. Johnson (7) and Huber. Tollackson, Nelson (1), C. Pierce (7) and Kohls. WP Peterson. LP Tollackson. Home runs: None.

Game 12
Richfield Reds 6, Northfield 2
Richfield advanced to the final four of the winners' bracket with a win over Northfield at Southwest State University. Six-foot-eight right-hander Rhett Gunderson pitched a four-hitter for the Reds, while striking out 10. Mike Mee paced Richfield's attack with two doubles. Mee and Kris Pulford each drove in two runs.

Northfield     0 1 1   0 0 0   0     2   4   0
Richfield     1 0 5   0 0 0   X     6   8   0

Taggart, Amy (3) and Deden. Gunderson and Christian. WP Gunderson. LP Taggart. Home runs: None.

Game 13
East Grand Forks, 8, Hermantown 4
East Grand Forks stayed alive in the tournament with 13 hits against Hermantown. Shawn O'Neil drove in two runs with a double in the third inning. In the fourth, East Grand Forks got solo home runs from Gary Molck, Tom Dostal and Tom Solem.

Hermantown     1 0 2   0 1 0   0     4   6   0
East Grand Forks     0 0 2   3 2 1   X     8   13   3

Anderson, Olson (4) and Tafs. Kaiser and Marek. WP Kaiser. LP Anderson. Home runs: Gary Molck (East Grand Forks), Tom Dostal (East Grand Forks), Tom Solem (East Grand Forks).

Game 14
Excelsior 2, Apple Valley 76ers 0
Zach Peterson of Excelsior pitched a three-hit shutout to beat Apple Valley. Nick Hetland pitched a strong game for the 76ers, allowing only four hits. Jeff Engel had the key hit for Excelsior, a home run in the fourth inning.

Apple Valley     0 0 0   0 0 0   0     0   3   2
Excelsior     0 0 0   1 1 0   X     2   4   1

Hetland and Klefsaas. Peterson and Glover. WP Peterson. LP Hetland. Home runs: None.

Game 15
Rochester A's 3, New Ulm Gold 0
Peter Zblewski pitched 6 and 2/3 innings for the Rochester A's and Mike Badger got the last out, Jay Kasner had a home run and a run-scoring single to lead the A's attack.

New Ulm Gold     0 0 0   0 0 0   0     0   8   0
Rochester     0 1 0   0 1 1   X     3   5   0

Hetland and Klefsaas. Peterson and Glover. WP Peterson. LP Hetland. Home runs: None.

Game 16
Alexandria 8, Coon Rapids 1
Defending state champion Coon Rapids ran into a buzzsaw in the final game of the day at Milroy. Andrew Rajkl pitched a four-hitter for Alexandria. The only Coon Rapids run came on a homer by Pat Thielke. Brandon Smith went two for three for the winners. Keith Eckhoff hit a double for Alexandria.

Alexandria     1 2 2   1 1 0   1     8   8   0
Coon Rapids     0 0 0   0 1 0   0     1   4   0

Rajkl and Schmidt. Tucker, Netsch (3) and Ewell. WP Rajkl. LP Tucker. Home run: Pat Thielke (Coon Rapids).

Additional Issues:

The Gazette, Thursday, August 8, 2002
The Gazette, Saturday, August 10, 2002
The Gazette, Sunday, August 11, 2002
2002 State Tournament Homepage

Last updated: 8/09/02
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