American
Legion
Minnesota Division I
State Tournament
GAZETTE
| Volume 11, No. 3 | Bloomington, Minnesota | Saturday, August 11, 2007 |
| Six battle into 3rd day of tourney | Play begins in Division II at Ely |
|
| Six teams went home, and six teams
advanced, as day two of the Minnesota American Legion
Division I Baseball Tournament came to a close at Red
Haddox Field in Bloomington and Alimagnet Park in
Burnsville. While the battle of the unbeatens on Friday evening yielded two lopsided games won by perennial tournament powerhouses Eden Prairie and Apple valley, a game in the losers' bracket lives up to its billing, and then some. Heavyweights Burnsville and Coon Rapids, two of the best hitting teams in the state, dueled in a losers' bracket contest at Alimagnet that became a classic. After nine innings, the score was tied 16-16. In the extra frame, the total hits climbed to 49; Coon Rapids scored four, while Burnsville scored one, and the number one rated team in the State went home. It was the first time in the past three years that the Legion Baseball Poll did not predict the winner of the tournament. Other teams eliminated on Friday included Holy Angels, Lakeville North, the St. Cloud Chutes, the Rochester Patriots, and Tri-City Red of New Brighton. |
Eden Prairie and Apple Valley will meet
in the marquee winners' bracket final game at 7:30 p.m.
In the losers' bracket, Coon Rapids will play Cambridge
in the 10 a.m. game, and Willmar will face Centennial in
the 1 p.m. game. The winner of those games will face off
at 4:30 for a chance to play on Sunday. All four games
will be played at Red Haddox Field. Willmar and Cambridge are the two remaining non-metro teams in the tournament. The championship games will be played on Sunday, with the third place game at 12:30 p.m. and the championship game at 3:30 p.m. The winner of the early game will automatically join the winner of the 7:30 game o Saturday as Minnesota's two representatives in Regional play. The Central Plains Regional will be held in Marshall, MN, beginning on August 16, and the Great Lakes Regional will start in Menominee, Michgan the same day. The World Series will be held in Bartlesville, OK, starting Aug. 24. Eden Prairie is the defending state champion, having won the last three titles. |
The Minnesota American Legion Division II Tournament got underway at Ely on Friday. The eight-team single-elimination tournament features the top smaller schools in the state. In Friday's action: Red Lake Falls 4, Bertha-Hewitt 3 Fairfax 6, Nashwauk-Keewatin 1 Jordan 7, Adrian 1 Ely 4, LaCrescent 2 In Saturday's schedule, Red Lake Falls will play Fairfax and Jordan will take on Ely in the winner's bracket. Bertha-Hewitt will play Nashwauk-Keewatin, and Adrian will play LaCrescent. |
| EP's Miller swings hot bat by John Sherman | |
Eden Prairie Legion
standout, Danny Miller, has emerged as one of the stars
in the 2007 American Legion State Tournament. |
have been on the team for three years and
are unquestionably our leaders. They are consummate
leaders on the field and in the dugout." Miller's statistics back up Gagstetter's statement. The left-hander had a .587 batting average during the regular season, and his pitching record is 8-1 after his victory over Lakeville North. He leads Eden Prairie in home runs with 10. Lucas Skjefte is the second-leading hitter for Eden Prairie with a .521 average. Geason is batting .464, and Dan Fagerhaug is batting .463. "We only have three starters back from last year," said Gagstetter, "but we have nine players back. Every year, it seems like we run into teams like Apple Valley and Coon Rapids at the end of the season. With Apple Valley, we know we're going to get a good game, and they know they're going to get a good game." We're a team," said Miller. "When we need a big hit or a big play, someone steps up. Apple Valley is a really good team with a great pitching staff. It should be a tough game." |
| Local icon hosts state tourney By John Sherman | |
| A State American Legion
Baseball tournament worker gingerly approached Red Haddox
with Friday's weather report during a break in the
action. "What do I need this for?" Haddox asked. "I've run 40 tournaments and never been rained out yet." That's the spirit and bravado that made the 2007 State Tournament Host Committee Chairman a legen in Bloomington. When all is said and done, Haddox will be able to look back and say, "I did it my way." Those who work closely with Haddox say, even though he might seem gruff at times, he has a heart of gold. "Red is a great baseball man," said Bloomington Gold Legion coach Jerry Olerud. "He knkows all the rules, even the odd-play rules. He's well-respected in the baseball community, and has become an icon." Haddox is one of a handful of former Legion coaches, who not only has a field named after the, but a tournament, as well. Every summer, Bloomington hosts the Red Haddox Wood Bat Classic at Red Haddox Field. People in Bloomington know Haddox's coaching background, but he doesn't talk about his achievements too often anymore. Haddox coached Bloomington Gold to a second-place state tournament finish and his claim to fame is that he coached and mentored Twins World Series hero Kent Hrbek for three summers back in the 1970's. I learned a lot from Red," said Olerud. "He taught me, don't bend a rule for one kid. Red is very good at dealing with parents. If there is a problem, you set up a meeting and get it resolved, he said. If I can't solve the problem, then he gets involved." Haddox could not doubt write a book on how to run a Legion Baseball program. This week, he has been at the ballpark, showing his expertise as a tournament director. It has not been an effortless task by any means. Haddox has been undergoing medical treatments recently, so he doesn't have as much energy as usual. "He had a treatment this morning, then he took a nap before he came to the ballpark," said State American Legion Baseball Director, Darwin Berg. "Not everybody could do that. What it tells you is how much he loves the game of baseball." Jim Peck, state 16-year-old Legion Baseball director, has known Haddox since 1974 and praised |
the longtime Bloomington
Legionnaire for his dedication to youth. "American Legion Baseball has always been a big part of Red's life," said Peck. "He loves the game, and there isn't anything he wouldn't do for the kids in the program." In adddition to coaching the Gold Legion team, Olerud has had his share of administraive tasks. While the parents and Legion volunteers have been instrumental in running the tournament, Haddox is the man who has put his personal stamp on the event. He is, indeed, an American Legion Baseball icon.
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| Sackett
has a knack for the clutch hit By John Sherman |
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| Apple Valley was one out
away from the Third District Legion Baseball title Aug.
4, but unfortunately for the 76ers, that out was Carter
Sackett. As he has done so many times in the past, Sackett came up with the big hit. His single tied the score 2-2, then Charlie Dubanoski doubled in two more runs as Burnsville went on to a 5-2 win. At the state tourney, Sackett has once again supplied plenty of key hits. Burnsville stood 2-1 state, after pounding Holy Angels 16-5 Friday morning at Red Haddox Field. Sackett had a triple and a sacrifice fly against Holy Angels. In a 14-12 win over Grand Rapids Thursday, Sackett was even more productive, going four for five. The wins followed a 6-5 loss to St. Cloud Chutes in the tournament opener. Bunsville head coach Greg Nesbitt said that losing the first game of the tournament only made his team more determined. "Therre are no lame ducks in this tournament," said Nesbitt. "St. Cloud is a good team. Now our goal is to go as far as we can, one game at a time....we're not going to worry about Sunday, when it's Thursday or Friday." Sackett, Burnsville's 6-foot-2, 195-pound catcher, said the |
victory over
Holy Angels was big for two reasons. "We know a lot of the guys on their team, so it was nice to beat them," he said. "And a win over a rival like Holy Angels is good for our confidence." Nesbitt said he feels Sackett is the best player in the state. "If they had a player of the year, I'd put Carter up for it," he said. "He is the most coachable kid I've ever lad. He makes my job a lot easier." "Carter, Charlie [Dubanoski] and Matt Trocke have been with me all three years I have coached the team," Nesbitt continued. "They know what I want and what I don't want, and they're very mature for their age." Sackett, who will play at Iowa Central Community College next season, batted .458 during the regular season, with 51 RBIs and a team-leading 14 home runs. Billy Stitz was close behind, with a .456 average and 9 home runs. Trocke batted .406, John Means hit .400 and Dubanoski finished at .392. Phil Solyntjes (8-4) and Ben Meacham (4-2) lead the pitching staff. Success is nothing new for the Burnsville 18-year-olds. "Coming up through youth baseball, we won five state championships," Sackett noted. "Some of us have been toghether since we were 10 years old, and now we're finishing up together." |
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||
 Stars of the Day |
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| Ross Van Hauen
of Willmar threw a three-hitter, as his team cruised to a
10-1 victory over St. Cloud Chutes in an elimination game
at Red Haddox Field. Kyle Birlkand of Willmar was three for four with a walk in his tea's victory over St. Cloud Chutes. Charlie Dubanoski of Burnsville went four for four with three RBIs i a 16-5 victory over Holy Angels. John Means of Burnsvile hit a double and a home run for four RBIs in the win over Holy Angels. Corey Johnson of Coon Rapids went three for five in a 12-2 victory over Lakeville North. Alex Nienaber struck out seven in throwing a five-hitter to beat Lakeville North. |
Mike
Kvasnicka, catcher for
Lakeville North, went three for four in the Panthers'
loss to Coon Rapids. Cory Eul of Apple Valley 76ers pitched a four-hitter in a 13-2 victory over Centennial. Andrew Stitt, second baseman for the Apple Valley 76ers, had four hits in the victory over Centennial. Erik Knutson of the Rochester Patriots went three for four with a home run, as his team fell to Tri-City Red 8-7. Nick Colwell of Tri-City Red hurled 5-1/3 innings of scoreless relief in the 8-7 victory over the Rochester Patriots. |
Brett
Cleveringa of Tri-City Red had three hits,
including a homer, vs. Willmar. Adam Heimer of Eden Prairie had four hits, as his team defeated Cambridge 14-4. Kyle Harrison hammered five hits and scored four runs, as Coon Rapids eliminated Burnsville 20-17. Jake Poehler of Coon Rapids had seven RBIs in the victory over Burnsville. Billy Stitz of Burnsville went five for seven and scored four times in the loss to Coon Rapids. Carter Sackett of Burnsville got to Coon Rapids' pitchers for four hits and five RBIs. |
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| Eul
be hurting when this guy is pitching By John Sherman |
|
| Corey Eul of Apple Valley
shut down Centennial on a four-hitter, as the 76ers
reached the winners' bracket final with a 13-2 victory
Friday at Red Haddox Field. The 76ers scored all 13 of their runs in the first three innings. "It's easy to pitch when you get off to a big lead," said Eul, who will be a senior at Eastview High School in the fall. "The offense realy took care of me." Centennial had bee pounding the ball throughout the Tenth District Tournament and in the first two games at state, but Eul said he was confident the 76ers would win. "You have to go into a game like you're going to win it." Eul, who has a 7-1 record, said the 76ers are a talented team with good chemistry. "We're deep in pitching, very versatile, and everyone can hit." When he is not pitching, Eul plays third base and carries a batting average of .416, which is tops on the team. Another key player in Apple Valley's offensive catalyst, but he scoffed at the idea. "I wouldn't say anyone's a catalyst," he said. "We hit in every spot, 1-9, and we get a great team effort every game." The 76ers will face Eden Prairie in a winners' bracket showdown Saturday at 7 p.m. at Red Haddox Field. The winner earns a regional berth. "We don't really worry about other teams," said Stitt. "We know Eden Prairie is a good team, but we'll play our games and just let things fall into place." Things have falle into place well for Stitt, who is going into his senior year at Apple Valley High School. He is second on the 76ers in hitting, with a .414 average and has 63 hits during the regular |
season. Cory Eul led the
team in hits with 65 and Jordan Buck had 59. Apple Valley head coach Bruce Young said he is looking forward to playing Eden Prairie on Saturday. "They're good," he said. "It is always a challenge against Eden Prairie."
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Division I
Game Summaries, Friday, August 10, 2007:
Game 17
Burnsville 16, Holy Angel Stars 6 (7 innings)
Burnsville stayed alive in a losers' bracket game at Red Haddox
Field. The Cobras ripped through Holy Angels pitching for 18
hits, while the Stars countered with 11 hits. Burnsville clean-up
hitter, Charlie Dubanoski, had a big game, going four-for-four
with three RBIs. John Means went three-for-five and drove in four
runs. Be Meacham was the winning pitcher. Catcher Ben Kelsey went
two-for-three to lead Holy Angels.
| Burnsville | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 2 | |||||||||
| Holy Angels | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 1 |
Zetah, Meacham (2) and Sackett. Jaede, Platisha (4) and Kelsey. WP-Meacham, LP-Jaede.
Game 18
Coon Rapids 13, Lakeville North 2 (8 innings)
Coon Rapids pitcher Alex Nienaber dominated, and his teammate
broke a close game open with nine runs in the top of the eighth
innings. Preston Ghizoni and Jake Poehler each had three RBIs for
Coon Rapids. Corey Johnson had three hit for Coon Rapids. Make
Kvasnicka led Lakeville North with three hits.
| Coon Rapids | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 1 | |||||||||
| Lakeville North | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
Nienaber and Oberfoell. Thomas, Lucious (8) and Kvasnicka. WP-Niebaber. LP-Thomas. HR-Ghizoni, Coon Rapids.
Game 19
Willmar 10, St. Cloud Chutes 1
Ross VanHauen of Willmar pitched a three-hitter to
eliminate the St. Cloud Chutes Friday afternoon at Red Haddox
Field. He struck out six and walked three. Matt Seehusen and
Jason Scheffler led the Willmar attack with three hits each. Eric
Schwinghammer, Brace Hemmelgarn and Kevin Wenner had hit for St
Cloud.
| St. Cloud Chutes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||
| Willmar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 1 |
Imholte, Theis (7) and Peck; Schwinghammer (5). VanHauen and Malmgren. WP-VanHauen. LP-Imholte.
Game 20
Tri-City Red 8, Rochester Patriots 7
The Rochester Patriots jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in
the game, thanks to home runs by Erik Knutson and Jordan Rishavy,
but Tri-City Red put back-to-back 4s on the board in the sixth
and seventh innings for the 8-7 victory. Nick Colwell got the
win, with five strong innings of relief work. Brian Marshik and
Brandon Porten led Tri-City Red with two hits each.
| Rochester Patriots | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 2 | |||||||||
| Tri-City Red | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | X | 8 | 9 | 2 |
Brady, B.Moen (7) and Odegarden. Fiegel, Myers (3), Colwell (5) and Anderson. WP-Colwell. LP-Brady. HR-Knutson and Rishavy, Rochester Patriots.
Game 21
Coon Rapids 20, Burnsville 17 (10 innings)
In an old-fashioned slugfest, the teams combined for 49 hits.
Coon Rapids won it, thanks to four runs in the top of the 10th
inning. Kyle Harrison went five-for-seven to lead Coon Rapids,
and Billy Stitz of Burnsville also went five-for-seven. Carter
Sackett added four hits for Burnsville.
| Coon Rapids | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 25 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Burnsville | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 24 | 3 |
Baumgarden, McMahon (8), Schroer (9) and Oberfoell. Siegfried, Lassonde (7), Solyntjes (8), Stitz (9) and Sackett. WP-Schroer. LP-Stitz. HR-Sackett and Threlkeld, Burnsville.
Game 22
Willmar 12, Tri-City Red 7
Kyle Birkland sparked the Willmar attack from the
leadoff spot with three hits George Jacobson of Willmar hit a
two-run triple. Brett Cleveringa hit a three-run homer for
Tri-City Red.
| Tri-City Red | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 4 | |||||||||
| Willmar | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 12 | 14 | 0 |
Thompson, Fiegel (3), Peterson (4), Norgard (7) and Anderson.
D. Anderson, Lotthammer (5), VanHauen (7), Scheffler (8) and
Malmgren.
WP-D.Anderson. LP-Thompson. HR-Brett Cleveringa, Tri-City Red.
Game 23
Apple Valley 13, Centennial 2 (7 innings)
Taking advantage of five Centennial errors int he first three
innings, the Apple Valley 76ers jumped to a 13-0 lead on the way
to a 13-2 victory over Centennial. Steve McGuiggan had three RBIs
for Apple Valley, while teammate Andrew Stitt had four hits. Cory
Eul pitched a one-hitter for Apple Valley to improve to 7-1.
| Centennial | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||
| Apple Valley | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 13 | 11 | 1 |
K.O'Shea, Kubitschek (2), Lascotte (3) and Henry. Eul and Buck. WP-Eul. LP-K.O'Shea.
Game 24
Eden Prairie 14, Cambridge 4 (8 innings)
The defending state champ, Eden Prairie, was firing on all
cylinders in a 14-4 win over Cambridge Friday night at Red Haddox
Field. Matt Parrish got the win for Eden Prairie, working seven
innings. Second baseman, Adam Heimer, led Eden Prairie's offense
with four hits, while Scott Lindner had three hits and scored
four runs.
| Cambridge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Eden Prairie | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 2 |
Nelson, Durant (8), Auth (9) and Valentyn. Parrish, Stremke (7), T. Miller (8) and Dunleavy, Mohn (5).
Additional Issues:
| 2007 Tournament Home Page |
| The Gazette, Thursday, August 9, 2007 |
| The Gazette, Friday, August 10, 2007 (Thursday's Action) |
| The Gazette,
Sunday, August 12, 2007, (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday's action) |
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