American
Legion
Minnesota Division I
State Tournament
GAZETTE
| Volume 10, No. 2 | Excelsior, Minnesota | Friday, August 4, 2006 |
| Hopefuls reduced to 12 on 1st day | |
| Some large scores and close
games marked the first day's action in the Minnesota
American Legion Division I Baseball Tournament Thursday. Coon Rapids, West St. Paul, Eden Prairie, and Burnsville made it through the day without a loss and advanced to the semi-finals of the winners' bracket. The Tenth District and the Third District each had two teams in the ranks of the undefeated. St. Paul Park, Bemidji, Excelsior, Richfield, Hopkins, St. Paul Hamline, Moorhead, and the Rochester Redhawks remained alive with one loss and one victory and will face off on Friday in the losers' bracket. Hermantown, New Ulm, Westphal Armstrong, and Willmar lost both games in the first day and went home. Play will begin on Friday at Bennett Field in Minnetonka at 9 a.m. with Excelsior taking on Richfield. Other games at Bennett include Moorhead and Rochester at noon, and the winners of the two earlier games at 3 and 6 p.m. |
Other early games i the
losers' bracket will be St. Paul Park at B emidji at 10
a.m. and Hopkins against St. Paul Hamline at 1 p.m., with
both games at Big Willow. The games between the undefeateds will be at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Big Willow, with Coon Rapids taking on West St. Paul in the early game and Eden Prairie playing Burnsville in the nightcap. Six teams will survive to Saturday, with all the games played at Big Willow. The final games will be played on Sunday at Big Willow at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. This year's tourney is hosted by Excelsior Post 259, with Jim Peck and Mabel Roher serving as co-chairs of the host committee. The Division II Tournament will begin on Saturday in Willmar. Two teams will advance from the Division I tourney, with one traveling to Aberdeen, SD., for a national regional, and the other heading east to Evansville, Inc. The World Series is in Cedar Rapids, IA, August 19-23. |
| Cobra strikes a
dramatic walk-off homer by John Sherman Carter Sacket is known for his home-run swing
and he unveiled it for all to see as the Burnsville
Cobras scored a dramatic 13-12 win over the Rochester
Redhawks in their state tournament opener. |
Hitting has been a major
component in Burnsville's success this summer, and
Sackett is only one member of a potent lineup. Catcher
Ben Braaten leads the club with a .485. Billy Stitz has a
.421 average, while several others, including Sackett,
are above the .300 mark. Burnsville also has a couple of ace pitchers, Josh Threlkeld (8-0) and Phil Solynjes (9-1). Solyntjes proved effective in beating the host team, Excelsior, 8-2 in the winners' bracket Thursday eveing at Big Willow Park. He hurled seven and one-third innings, allowing only four hits. Sackett flexed his muscles with anothe home run, while Bratten and Threlkeld also hit homers. Burnsville pounded 14 hits to four for Excelsior. Braaten had three hits to lead a balanced effort. Will Stituz, Sackett and Matthew Trocke each had two hits. Ben Mattson, Marcus Traetow, Threlkeld and Dubanoski each had a hit. The big RBI man was Sackett with three. Although Burnsville didn't need much help, the Cobras benefitted from three Excelsior errors. Burnsville is capable of putting together a string of wins. In fact, the Cobras opened the summer with 16 straight victories. Going into Friday's action, three more wins would give Burnsville its first-ever State American Legion Baseball championship. After coming through the Third District Tournament, Burnsville is anxious to make a statement in the state tourney. The statement was followed by an exclamation point in the state opener. |
|
| Stars
of the Day Carter Sackett's walk-off home run gave Burnsville a 13-12 victory over the Rochester Redhawks. Phil Haig pitched five scoreless innings as West St. Paul dominated in a 16-0 victory over Westphal. Jake Krause of Moorhead went six for six in an 11-10 victory over Richfield. Moorhead had 18 hits in the game. Jason Kickhafer of St. Paul Park pitched a complete game to beat St. Paul Hamline 5-4. Charles Dubanoski of Burnsville hit a grandslam homer in his team's win over the Rochester Redhawks. Steven Fischer of Richfield had a total of eight hits in his team's first two games. |
First
Day Statistics BATTING SLUGGING % RUNS BATTED IN |
TOTAL BASES Nate Hanson, Eden Prairie ................. 20 Lee Anderson, Rochester A's ............. 13 Mike Mahoney, Duluth Lakeview ....... 11 Blake Eller, Brainerd .......................... 10 Kevin Johnson, Coon Rapids ............... 9 EARNED
RUN AVERAGE BATTERS STRUCK OUT WINS RUNS ALLOWED |
Nick Le saves the day
for Coon Rapids Coon Rapids came into the
2006 Minnesota Division I American Legion Baseball
Tournament as one of the favorites, but it was Willmar
that looked like a champion early in a first-round game
Thursday morning at Bennett Park in Minnetonka. |
"We wanted
to start Andrew Kinney, but he has had a chronic elbow
problem for the last few weeks and was't able to
pitch," said Yelle. "We playded Willmar the
first game of the season eight weeks ago and won a 2-1
ballgame. Willmar has improved vastly since then. They
have two really good pitchers." "We wanted to start Andrew Kinney, but he has had a chronic elbow problem for the last few weeks and wasn't able to pitch," said Yelle. "We played Willmar the first game of the season eight weeks ago and won a 2-1 ballgame. Willmar has improved vastly since then. They have two really good pitchers." Yelle used five pitchers in the first-round game. The patchwork pitching performance showed the importance of the depth on Coon Rapids' staff. "We wanted to start Andrew Kinney, but he has had a chronic elbow problem for the last few weeks and was't able to pitch," said Yelle. "We playded Willmar the first game of the season eight weeks ago and won a 2-1 ballgame. Willmar has improved vastly since then. They have two really good pitchers." Le, who has a 2.47 earned run average in 49.2 innings, plays third base when he isn't on the mound. He is one of the team's top all-around talents and a third-year Legion player. "I have been a starting pitcher this year," he said. "Last year my role was to close out ball games, so I went back to my old role today." Le explained his success as a reliever. "I base my slider off my fastball with the same arm motion," he said. "I was focused on the hitters." Next spring, Le said he plans to stick with coach Yelle, but at that time they will team up at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, where Yelle is head coach. Following the win over Willmar, Yell gave a brief talk with two main points of emphasis. "We can't let down and we have to believe in ourselves," he said. |
|
Game Summaries, Thursday, August 3, 2006:
Game 1
Coon Rapids 10, Willmar 8
Nick Le's two-run double provided the victory margin as
Coon Rapids defeated Willmar 10-8 in a first-round game at
Minnetonka's Bennett Park. Le's key hit came in the bottom of the
eitghth inning. He then pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom
of the ninth to record the save. Willmar outhit Coon Rapids 14-9.
Left fielder Josh Dahlke went three for three for Willmar and
Ross VanHauen was three for five. Kevin Johnson hit a home run
for Coon Rapids.
| Coon Rapids | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 2 | ||||||||
| Willmar | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 6 |
Nienaber, Frogner (2), Kraft (6), Baumgartner (8), Le (9) and Oberfoell. VanHauen, Brower (8) and Seedorf. WP Baumgartner. LP Brower. HR Kevin Johnson, Coon Rapids.
Game 2
Hopkins 11, Bemidji 1 (7 innings)
Matthew Brinda threw a three-hit complete game as
Hopkins won the opener 11-1 in seven innings. Brinda struck out
six along the way. Bryan Gentz, Thomas Wheeler and Nicholas Vavra
each had two hits for Hopkins.
| Bemidji | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |||||||||
| Hopkins | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | X | 11 | 11 | 1 |
Olson, Parker (5), Saccoman (6) and Lindseth. Brinda and Stearns. WP Brinda. LP Olson.
Game 3
Moorhead 11, Richfield 10
A six for six performance by Moorhead's Jake Krause led Moorhead
to an 11-10 victory over Richfield in a first-round game at
Chaska Athletic Park. Brock Gnadt added a three-run homer for the
winners and Mike Bormann also hit a home run. Richfield rallied
late in the game with four funs in the eighth inning and two more
in the ninth. Steven Fischer went four for six at the plate for
Richfield. The win was Moorhead's 40th of the season against 14
losses. Richfield fell to 16-18 overall.
| Richfield | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 3 | |||||||||
| Moorhead | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 18 | 3 |
Book, Gruetzmacher (7) and Bruley. Stone, Emmerich (8), Eldred (8), Gnadt (8) and Bormann. WP Gnat. LP Gruetmacher. HR Gnadt, Moorhead; Boorman, Moorhead.
Game 4
West St. Paul 16, Westphal Armstrong 0 (7 innings)
West St. Paul pitchers Phil Haig and Brent Oppegard
combined for a two-hit shutout, as their teammates played
errorless ball in the field. Haig, Tim Shows and Peter Usset each
had two hits for the winners.
| Westphal Armstrong | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||
| West St. Paul | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | X | 16 | 11 | 0 |
Schuld, Hutt (3), Jaster (5) and Vathing. Haig, B. Oppegard (6) and Usset. WP Haig. LP Schuld.
Game 5
Eden Prairie 13, New Ulm Gold 1 (7 innings)
Danny Miller pitched a complete game for the defending
state Division I champions, striking out nine and allowing eight
hits in seven innings. Eden Prairie pounded out 15 hits to win by
the 10-run rule in the seventh. Kyle Geason had a double and two
singles for Eden Prairie, while teammate Justi Milo homered and
Jake Leitch had three hits. Nate Van Roekel led New Ulm Gold with
three hits.
| Eden Prairie | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 0 | |||||||||
| New Ulm Gold | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
Miller and Anderson, Mohn (7). Nilson, Trullinger (7), Hoffmann (7) and organ. WP Miller. LP Nilson.
Game 6
St. Paul Park 5, St. Paul Hamline 4
Jason Kichafer pitched a complete game, striking out
eight in St. Paul Park's win over St. Paul Hamline.
| St. Paul Hamline | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 8 | |||||||||
| St. Paul Park | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
Kickhafer and Marks. Shrewsberry, Punch (8), Salmen (8) and Kelly. WP Kickhafer. LP Shrewsberry.
Game 7
Burnsville 13, Rochester Redhawks 12 (10 innings)
Carter Sackett's walk-off home run in the bottom of the
10th inning ended an exciting first-round game at Big Willow Park
in Minnetonka. It was a game of timely home runs. Chales
Dubanoski hit a grandslam for Burnsville, while Mitchell Anderson
and Aaron Senne homered for the Rochester Redhawks. Sackett, Will
Dahlgren and Ben Braaten each had three of Burnsville's 16 hits.
Tyler Rank had three hits for Rochester. Justin HAckett was the
winning pitcher for the Cobras, who raised their season mark to
29-8.
| Rochester | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Burnsville | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 0 |
Threlkeld, Siegfried (4), Hackett (8) and Rank. Senne, Becker (5) Ferschweiler (7) and Braaten. WP Hackett. LP Ferschweiler. HR Mitchell Anderson, Rochester; Aaron Senne, Rochester; Charles Dubanoski, Burnsville, Carter Sackett, Burnsville.
Game 8
Excelsior 6, Hermantown 4
Excelsior scored three unearned runs in the fourth, and
then plated the winner in the seventh when Jacob Bandy doubled
and scored on Christopher Hoeschen's single. Hermantown brought
the tying run to the plate in the ninth. Daniel Gastuch had four
hits, and Patrick Deppa and Hoeschen had three each to lead the
Excelsior attack. Travis Teran and Ray Hernesman had two hits for
Hermantown.
| Excelsior | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 0 | |||||||||
| Hermantown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
Patterson, Reid (7) and Kriegeer. Teran and Baker. WP Patterson. LP Teran.
Game 9
Bemidji 12, Willmar 6
In a losers' bracket game Thursday evening, Bemidji
outlasted Willmar 12-6. Joey Lindseth led Bemidji with a four for
five performance, while teammate Justin McKee went three for five
and Nate Brown went two for five with four RBIs. One of Brown's
hits was a three-run homer.
| Willmar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 3 | ||||||||
| Bemidji | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | X | 12 | 13 | 3 |
Ditterich, Lotthammer (6), Elkjer (7) and Seedorf. Anderson, Saccoman (4), Parker (7) and Bauer. WP Saccoman. LP Ditterich. HR Brown, Bemidji.
Game 10
Coon Rapids 5, Hopkins 2
Kevin Johnson and Corey Johnson supplied the offense for
Coon Rapids with home runs, while Dylan Blake pitched a complete
game, striking out five. He helped his own cause by getting three
hits. Jonathan Ricco and Adam Dressel each had two hits for
Hopkins.
| Coon Rapids | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 1 | |||||||||
| Hopkins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 2 |
Devaan, Agneberg (6) and Stearns. Blake and Oberfoell. WP Blake. LP Devaan. HR Kevin Johnson, Coon Rapids, Corey Johnson, Coon Rapids.
Game 11
Richfield 17, Westphal Armstrong 15
Steven Fischer's second four-hit performance of the day
led Richfield to a 17-15 win in a slugfest at Chaska Athletic
Park. Alex Gruetzmacher added three hits for the winners. Andy
Duppler and Doug Molden hit home runs for Westphal. Shawn Eid was
the winning pitcher in relief for Richfield.
| Westphal Armstrong | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 6 | |||||||||
| Richfield | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6 | X | 17 | 16 | 3 |
Johnson, Hutt (7), Schuld (7), Walzer (8) and Jaster. White, Ermisch (4), Eid (7) and Bruley, Jarjula (8). HR Doug Molden, Westphal Armstrong, Andy Duppler, Westphal Armstrong.
Game 12
West St. Paul 9, Moorhead 7
After winning a game as a starter earlier in the day,
Phil Haig won in relief as West St. Paul upended Moorhead 9-7 in
a winners' bracket game. Tim Shows led the West St. Paul attack
with two hits.
| Moorhead | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 3 | |||||||||
| West St. Paul | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | 9 | 7 | 1 |
Bormann, Pieterick (7), Gnadt (8) and Weiss, Dahl (3). Gerten, Haig (8) and Usset. SP Haig. LP Pieterick.
Game 13
St. Paul Hamline 4, New Ulm Gold 3
Kyle Berg went eight innings on the mound to get the win
as St. Paul Hamline eliminated New Ulm Gold. Berg struck out six
and allowed five hits before turning the ball over to Sam Rinner,
who got credit for a save. Kinne had three hits to lead the
Hamline attack.
| St. Paul Hamline | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 4 | |||||||||
| New Ulm Gold | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
Berg, Rinne (8) and Kelly. Wilfahrt and Morgan. WP Berg. LP Wilfahrt. HR Tyler Morgan, New Ulm Gold.
Game 14
Eden Prairie 13, St. Paul Park 2 (7 innings)
Eden Prairie had 14 hits in an easy second-round win
over St. Paul Park. Madison Boer hit a home run and two singles
for the winners. Adam Vortherms and Danny Miller added three hits
each. Brian Olson had two of St. Paul Park's three hits against
winning pitcher Jay Anderson.
| St. Paul Park | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Eden Prairie | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | X | 13 | 14 | 4 |
Anderson and Thorney, Mohn (7). Ulb, Bahl (6) and Marks, Plemel (6). HR Madison Boer, Eden Prairie.
Game 15
Rochester Redhawks 10, Hermantown 9
Brett Feerschweiler and Shawn Palmer led the Rochester
Redhawks to a win with three hits each. Tyler Rank was the
winning pitcher for the Redhawks, working the first five and
two-thrirds innings. Hermantown's Justin Baker had three hits and
walked three times for a perfect day at the plate.
| Hermantown | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 3 | |||||||||
| Rochester Redhawks | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 19 | 3 |
Adams, Reid (3), Hanson (3), LeBlanc (5) and Anderson. Rank, Levison (6), Becker (7) and Morsette. WP Rank. LP Adams. HR Travis Taran, Hermantown.
Game 16
Burnsville 8, Excelsior 2
Burnsville used the long ball to defeat Excelsior in a
winners' bracket game Thursday night at Big Willow Field. Carter
Sackett, Ben Braaten and John Threlkeld went deep for the
winners. Adam Petterson had two hits to lead Excelsior.
| Excelsior | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |||||||||
| Burnsville | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | X | 8 | 13 | 0 |
Gastuch, Utoft (8) and Krieger. Solyntjes, Hacket (8) and Sackett. WP Solyntjes. LP Gastuch. HR Braaten, Burnsville, Sackett, Burnsville, Threlkeldt, Burnsville.
Additional Issues:
| The Gazette, Thursday, August 3, 2006 |
| The Gazette, Saturday, August 5, 2006 |
| The Gazette, Sunday, August 6, 2006 |
| 2006 State Tournament Homepage |
Last updated: 8/04/06
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