| Volume 9, No. 4 | St. Cloud, Minnesota | Sunday, August 7, 2005 |
| Three Remain in D1 Title Hunt | ||
| The field that started with
16 teams three days ago, now has three teams vying for
the state title. The Minnesota Division I State Baseball Tournament entered its final day with Woodbury Blue as the final undefeated team. The Blue will automatically advance to the title game at 2 p.m. at Putz Field in St. Cloud. Eden Prairie and Rochester A's will play at 11 a.m. for a chance to play in the title game. (There is no double elimination for the championship.) Woodbury, by advancing to the final game, earned a berth in a national tournament. During action on Saturday, Bloomington Blue continued its march through the losers' bracket with a 15-12 win over a hard-hitting Brainerd team. |
Rochester also advanced in
the losers' tier by eliminating Apple Valley 19-9 as the
long tournament began to take its toll on pitching. Rochester then took on Bloomington Blue in a game that was close through five innings until the A's put up a six-spot in the sixth. The A's went on to win 14-3. The winner of the 11 a.m. game, like Woodbury, will automatically qualify for national regional play. The Minnesota Champion will likely play in the regional at Mandan, N.D., beginning Aug. 11. The loser will probably play in the regional at Moline, Ill., this coming week. The winners of the regional advance to the World Series in Rapid City, S.D. In Division II play at LeSueur, Jordan and Pipestone advanced to |
today's championship game.
Jordan topped LaCrescent 6-4 and Pipestone advanced to
today's championship game. Jordan topped LaCrescent 6-4
and Pipestone defeated Holdingford 3-1. Nashwauk-Keewatin defeated LeSueur 18-3 and Warroad 5-4 to win the consolation title. Warroad earlier had defeated Sacred Heart 13-6. Both games in Division I will be at Dick Putz Field today, with teh championship tilt at 2 p.m. The average score for the winning team on Saturday was 15.25 runs. |
| Woodbury
Pitcher Waits Patiently to Win By John Sherman |
|
| When you’re the No. 1
pitcher on an American Legion Baseball team, you probably
think you’ll pitch the first game of the state
tournament…Or maybe the second. Bryan Kloetzke, Woodbury Blue’s ace, waited patiently without taking the mound in either of the first two games. Then he didn’t pitch in the third game either, yet Woodbury kept winning. Finally, in the fourth game of the tournament, the winners’ bracket final against Eden Prairie Saturday night at Dick Putz Field, Kloetzke got the call. It was worth the wait for both Kloetzke and the team as he checked a hard-hitting Eden Prairie club with only one run over seven innings. “This was definitely one of the biggest games I’ve ever pitched,” said Kloetzke, who has a 5-3 record this summer. “I didn’t prepare any differently than I usually do. I jogged and took my warm-ups.” |
Kloetzke said he glanced at
the Putz Field speed-o-meter that clocks the speed of
every pitch a couple of times. “The fastest speed I
saw as 81,” he said. “What I try to do is
locate my fastball. That’s what I did tonight. My
catcher, Tyler Kipke, called a great game and my defense
played a great game behind me. “I didn’t think I’d go seven innings tonight because most of the time we split the games 3-3-3 [innings] or 4-3-2. I didn’t even think about a complete game. I was just taking it one out at a time.” Coach Cary Kipke said, “We’ve used Bryan in our toughest games this year. He throws games like this all the time, but usually we split the games up between three pitchers. If we let Bryan pitch like this more often, he’d probably have more than 10 wins.” |
| Rochester
A's Keep on Battling Back By John Sherman |
|
| The Rochester A’s
haven’t been able to do anything the easy way this
summer. It was a struggle just to get through the losers’ bracket of the First District American Legion Tournament and qualify for state. The A’s defeated the Rochester Redhawks twice at the end of district play, 9-2 and 4-3, to earn their way back to state. In state tournament play this week, Rochester is again in the losers’ bracket – and again a threat to win a championship. The A’s opened state play with a 7-3 victory over East Grand Forks as pitcher Lee Anderson hit two home runs. The A’s followed with a 10-2 second-round victory over Holy Angels with Kale Olson pitching eight innings and the A’s executing a triple play. Following a 10-9 loss to Eden Prairie, the A’s bounced back on Saturday with a 19-9 eight-inning victory over Apple Valley. First baseman Tom Lyons, who had a grandslam homer and a three-run homer in the loss to Eden Prairie, came back with another grandslam in the win over Apple Valley. Anderson added a three-run homer. The A’s blew the game open with nine runs in the sixth inning – all with two outs. “We’re probably swinging the bat as well as we have all year,” said Rochester coach Keith Kangas, following the Apple Valley game. “We’ve hit more homers in our district and state games than we did during the season.” Kangas said pitcher Mike DeBolt, a 15-year-old, gave Rochester a big lift against Apple Valley. “Mike is a fighter and he pitched very well,” said Kangas. “His fastball was moving.” Apple Valley coach Bruce Young, whose team finished second in the state tournament last season, was philosophical about the loss to the Rochester A’s, adding that he was happy with his team’s 31-16 season. “Unless you win the World Series, you don’t win your last game,” said Young. “We gave Rochester too many extra outs. They’re well-coached and they’ll take advantage of mistakes almost every time. The Rochester pitchers were hittable, but we didn’t hit as well as we’re capable of hitting.” “We hit the ball early, but
couldn’t stay with Rochester,” said Apple
Valley assistant coach Jeremy Engen. “What did they
get today, 18 hits? Rochester is definitely one of the
best teams we’ve played this season.” |
“My hitting started to
heat up in the district tournament,” said Lyons.
“And it just carried over into the state tournament.
It’s not anything I’m eating or anything like
that.” “We’re just taking these games one at a time,” said Anderson, the star pitcher and shortstop for the A’s. Anderson, who has four home runs in the state tournament and 12 on the season, said, “We’re known for our defense; that’s how we win games.” Tom Sheehan, who had three hits for the A’s in their victory over Bloomington Blue, said, “This was probably my best game of the tournament. I’ve had a lot of opportunities for RBIs this week.” What about Sunday? “We just have to
win the first one,” said Sheehan. “That’s
all we’re thinking about right now.” By winning
the first one, the A’s can accomplish one of their
biggest goals – a trip to the regionals.
|
| Brainerd Bluegills Go Down Swinging By John Sherman |
|
| Although
Brainerd went down swinging in a losers’ bracket
game with Bloomington Blue 15-12 on Saturday, the
Bluegills left quite an impression. They got to Bloomington’s pitchers for 19 hits and were threatening when the game ended in the top of the ninth. “It’s a pretty unusual feat to get 19 hits and lose a ballgame,” said Brainerd’s head coach, Mark Germain. “We had one bad inning, and it kind of put us behind the eight ball.” The big inning Germain referred to was Bloomington Blue’s seven-run outburst in the bottom of the second. In the top of the seventh, Brainerd scored four runs to cut Bloomington Blue’s lead to 11-10, but that was as close as the Bluegills could get. “Our batting order from top to bottom hit the ball throughout the tournament,” said Germain. “We hit the ball all season and had good pitching, too.” Carl Sneep led the Bluegills with a regular-season batting average of .441. Close behind were Justin Huether and Kyle Holbrook at .433 and Zach Heidmann at .432. Brady Prince led the way in RBIs with 26, Adian Kummet had 21 and Huether and Blake Eller each had 20. Fans looking for an early favorite in next year’s state rankings might want to take a look at the Brainerd ballclub. “We have two college-age players this year and only one of our high school players won’t be eligible to come back,” said Germain. Brainerd has been one of the most consistent teams in the state the last two years. The Bluegills made it to the final four at the 2004 State Legion Tournament in Northfield. This season they made the top six and finished with an overall record of 33-4. |
|
| Goeltz Recalls Legion Days By John Sherman |
Stars of the Day!! | ||
| When Dave Goltz first
started playing baseball in Rothsay in the early 1960s,
he was the catcher on his Little League team. He was also the biggest boy in town and it wasn't long before he outgrew the catcher's gear. "I started throwing hte ball back to the pitcher harder than he threw it in to me," said Goltz. "So they decided to try me as a pitcher." Goltz, who was named Minnesota American Legion Baseball Graduate of the Year at Wednesday evening's state tournament banquet, said his move to the mound was the pivotal movement of his career. Although he continued to play other positions, namely first and third base and catcher, he made his mark as a pitcher. "By the time I was 15, I was already being scouted," said Goltz, who eventially signed with the Minnesota Twins and spent 12 seasons in the Major Leagues. "There was a scout from the Atlanta Braves, Jerry Flatman, who was on vacation in battle Lake. He wanted to see an American Legion game and he ended up watching me."As Goltz's reputation spread in northwest Minnesota, other big-league scouts grabbed state maps in search of Rothsay. "When I had a chance to sign with the Twins, that was it," said Goltz. "Playing for the Twins was ideal for a hometown kid." Goltz's Major League debut at New York's Yankee Stadium was most memorable. The small-town kid from Rothsay peered into the stands and saw waves and waves of partisan Yankee fans. "I was pretty much in awe," he |
said. "I came in in
relief of Ray Corbin, and we won the game. I didn't get
the win; Ray did." "When I was in ninth grade, I played for the Barnesville American Legion team, along with my lassmate Mike Jorgenson," said Goltz. "His dad and my dad got tired of carting us to Barnesville all the time, and for our sophomore year, they started a Legion team in Rothsay. Our whole club was pretty much had good hitting. I batted cleanup." During his high school career, Goltz won every possible honor in all three of his sports. He won all-state honors in football and basketball and scored more than 1,000 points in basketball. He was an all-district pick in baseball. "A lot of colleges told me I could play all three sports, but I settled on playing baseball," said Goltz. "Before I signed with the Twins, I played a season here with the St. Cloud Rox, and we won the championship by beating Duluth the last day of the season. I was back in Duluth not long ago and I went back to Wade Stadium. I hadn't been on that mound since 1968." Now living in Fergus Falls, Goltz has given back to the sport he loves. He coached youth baseball for seven years and even put in a two-year sting as head baseball coach at Fergus Falls Community College. Goltz said he would love to see the Twins playing in an outdoor stadium sometime in the near future. However, his preference - as an outstate fan - is a stadium with a retractable roof. "I enjoy watching outdoor baseball with my two sons more than anything," he said. |
Mike DeBolt
pitched six innings of three-hit relief as the Rochester
A’s topped Apple Valley 19-9. First baseman Tom Lyons of the Rochester A’s clubbed his second grandslam homer of the state tournament against Apple Valley. Apple Valley’s Pat DeLaHunt was his team’s top performer against the Rochester A’s with a two for three day and four RBIs. First baseman Bryan Garven hit a pair of home runs as Bloomington Blue outlasted Brainerd 15-12. Center fielder Rob Leath went three for five with five RBIs in Bloomington Blue’s victory over Brainerd. Justin Huether of
Brainerd went three for six with three runs scored and
two RBIs against Bloomington Blue. |
|
| Website
is a "Hit" By John Sherman |
Stat Leaders thru Saturday | |
| Gail Kalata started out like
most baseball fans. She loved coming to the ballpark and
she had a favorite American Legion team Tri-City Red,
because one of the coaches was her brother Mark. As Kalata watched more ballgames, she became more and more passionate about Legion Baseball and its benefits for kids. She came to the conclusion that she could help the program by starting a website for Tri-City Red baseball and one for the Legion Post, too. One thing led to another, and she became heavily involved in Legion ball at the state level. “Five years ago [Excelsior Legion manager] Jim Peck asked me if I would take over the statewide Legion poll,” said Kalata, who has designed and coordinated the statewide Legion Baseball website: www.mnlegion.org. This week alone, the website has had more than 4,000 visitors, who are hungry for information on the Division I and Division II Legion State Tournaments. “Those 4,000 visitors have viewed a total of 24,000 pages,” said Kalata, who updates the website hourly with new information and graphics from the mezanine pressbox at Dick Putz Field. “I’m not really a computer wizard,” said Kalata. “When I first started doing this, I knew nothing about websites. I bought a book that explained how to set one up.” While Kalata has been working at the State Legion Tournament for the past four years, she has a new ally this year, statistician Dave Petroff, the former assistant athletic director at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Petroff has a stats program that calculates everything from ERA to batting averages with runners in scoring position to stolen base percentages. The stats are posted daily on the Legion Baseball website and are also posted at Putz Field right next to the main bracket board. “It’s been a blast working here,” said Petroff just after 11 p.m.n Saturday, as he completed another long day at the ballpark. “I have good people to work with and I enjoy being the youngest one on the staff.” Petroff’s statistics help the various media that cover the tournament. Newspapers throughout Minnesota have access to his stats on the website and he also provides printouts for radio announcers. “I think having all of the statistics gives the tournament a professional feel,” he said. Petroff’s stats will also help college scouts in their recruitment of Legion players. “A lot of scouts are here, but there are a lot of scouts who aren’t here too,” he said. |
BATTING
AVG 1. Carl Sneep, Brainerd..................... .583 2. Leon Clark, Rochester A's ........... .579 3. Justin Milo, Eden Prairie .............. .571 3. Paul Matthews, Holy Angels.......... .571 5. Blake Eller, Brainderd................... .545 6. Nate Hanson, Eden Prairie........... .533 6. Pate DeLaHunt, Apple Valley....... .533 8. Tom Lyons, Rochester A's............ .526 SLUGGING PCT 1. Nate Hanson, Eden Prairie..........1.333 2. Lee Anderson, Rochester A's......1.158 3. Bryan Garven, Bloom Blue...........1.150 4. Mike Mahoney, Duluth Lakevw....1.100 5. Mike Johnson, Fergus Falls........ 1.083 6. Tom Lyons, Rochester A's.......... 1.053 7. Josh Swenson, Apple Valley...... 1.000 7. Justin Milo, Eden Prairie............. 1.000 ON-BASE PCT 1. Justin Milo, Eden Prairie............... .700 2. Tom Lyons, Rochester A's............ .679 2. Lee Anderson, Rochester A's...... .679 RUNS SCORED 1. Lee Anderson, Rochesster A's........14 2. Tom Lyons, Rochester A's............... 10 3. Joe Loftus, Holy Angels Stars............9 3. Blake Eller, Brainerd...........................9 5. Bryan Garven, Bloomington Blue.......8 6. 4 tied at ................................................7 HITS 1. Blake Eller, Brainerd........................ 12 2. Leon Clark, Rochester A's............... 11 3. Tom Lyons......................................... 10 3. Taylor Marx, Bloomington Blue........ 10 3. Lee Anderson, Rochester A's...........10 6. Bryan Garven, Bloomington Blue....... 9 7. 12 tied at .............................................. 8 RBIs 1. Tom Lyons, Rochester A's................15 2. Nate Hanson, Eden Prairie.............. 12 3. Bryan Garven, Bloom Blue................. 9 4. Lee Anderson, Rochester A's............ 8 4. Robert Leath, Bloom Blue.................. 8 6. 5 tied at................................................. 7 |
HOME
RUNS 1. Lee Anderson, Rochester A's ............4 1. Bryan Garven, Bloom Blue..................4 3. Toom Lyons, Rochester A's............... 3 3. Nate Hanson, Eden Prairie................ 3 5. 5 tied at..................................................2 ERA 1. Adam Nilson, New Ulm Gold..........0.00 1. Brandon Wagner, Wood Blue........0.00 3. Daniel Chenois, Hopkins................1.00 3. Jacob Wendland, Alexandria........ 1.00 5. Casey Kowalski, Fergus Falls....... 1.08 6. Bryan Kloetzke, Wood Blue........... 1.29 7. Andrew Fick, Fergus Falls............. 1.42 8. Justin Huether, Brainerd..................2.00 BATTERS STRUCK OUT 1. Josh Gow, Duluth Lakeview..............11 1. Bryan Ruff, Apple Valley....................11 3. Ben Heggestad, Duluth Lkvw............10 3. Chuck Lukanen, Apple Valley...........10 3. Adam Weber, Tri-City Red................10 6. Mike DeBolt, Rochester A's............... 9 6. Jeff Edlefsen, Bloom Blue.................. 9 6. Adian Kummet, Brainerd.................... 9 INNINGS PITCHED 1. Alan DeBolt, Rochester A's........... 11 2. Joe Loftus, Holy Angels Stars...........9.1 2. Josh Gow, Duluth Lakeview..............9.1 4. 8 tied at .............................................. 9 WINS 1. Cole Hytjan, Eden Prairie................... 2 1. Nathaniel Hanson, Holy Angels.......... 2 1. Mike DeBolt, Rochester A's............... 2 1. Kevin Zimmerman, Bloom Blue......... 2 5. 20 tied at .............................................. 1
|
Game Summaries, Saturday,
Aug. 6, 2005
Game 25
Bloomington Blue 15, Brainerd 12
Brainerd pounded out 19 hits, but lost to Bloomington Blue 15-12
in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon at St. Cloud's Dick
Putz Field. Bloomington Blue erased a 3-0 Brainerd lead with
seven runs in the bottom of the second inning. Bryan Garven
sparked Boomington blue's offense with two home runs. Rob Leath
and Taylor Marx each added three hits for the winners, who had a
total of 15 hits. Scott Williams and Justin Huether each had
three hits for Brainerd, while B lake Eller, Zach Heidmann, Tony
Hennen and Carl Sneep each had two hits.
| Brainerd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 19 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Bloomington Blue | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | X | 15 | 15 | 2 |
Germain, Heidmann (2), Maaske (5), sneep (6) and Holbrook. Jagiela, Zimmerman (5), Swansson (7), Johnson (7), Harrison (8) and Valasquez. WP Zimmerman. LP Germain. Home runs: Bryan Garven (Bloomington Blue) 2.
Game 26
Rochester A's 19, Apple Valley 9
Tom Lyons hit his second grandslam home run of the tournament
Saturday afternoon. Rochester scored nine runs in the bottom of
the sixth inning and the game ended in the bottom of the eighth
via the 10-run rule. Mike DeBolt, a 15-year-old right-hander, was
the winning pitcher for the A's with six innings of three-hit
relief. Lee Anderson went four for four with a home run for
Rochester, while teammate Drew Zafft went four for six. John
Bauer, Josh Nelson and Pat DeLaHunt had two hits each for Apple
Valley, which finished the season 31-16.
| Apple Valley | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 7 | |||||||||
| Rochester A's | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 18 | 3 |
Buske, Lukanen (6), Pohl (8), Nelson (8) and Swenson. Sandifer, DeBolt (3) and Olofson. WP DeBolt. LP Lukanen. Home runs: Lyons, Anderson (Rochester.)
Game 27
Rochester A's 14, Bloomington Blue 3
First baseman Tom Lyons continued his hot hitting with
five RBIs in the Rochester A's 14-3 win over Bloomington Blue in
an elimination game at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. Lyons hit a
bases-loaded double in Rochester's six-run sixth inning. Tom
Sheehan had three hits for the A's. Bryan Garven of Bloomington
Blue was three for four with a homer, a double, and a single.
Peter Anderson, Luke Anderson and Rob Leath had two hits apiece
for Blue.
| Rochester A's | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 1 | |||||||||
| Bloomington Blue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 5 |
Sursely, DeBolt (5) and Olofson. Harrison, Edlefsen (6), Johnston (7) and Velasquez. WP DeBolt. LP Harrison. Home run: Garven (Bloomington Blue).
Game 28
Woodbury Blue 13, Eden Prairie 2
Woodbury Blue earned a regional berth by notching a 13-2 win over
Eden Prairie in the winners' bracket finals Saturday evening at
Dick Putz Field. The story of the game for Woodbury blue was the
pitching of right-hander Bryan Kloetzke, who allowed one run in
seven innings. Kirk Ingram finished the game on the mound for the
winners. Joe Bonfe's home run was the crown jewel in a 14-hit
Woodbury attack. Sean Wilson, Steve Englund and Steve McKeown had
three hits each for the winners. Jake Leitch and Brian Morgan had
two hits each for Eden Prairie.
| Woodbury Blue | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 14 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Eden Prairie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Kloetzke, Ingram (8) and
Kipke. Miller, Chatmas (4), Hytjan (7), Eicher (8), DeVries (9)
and Anderson, Walker (9). WP Kloetzke. LP Miller. Home run: Bonfe
(Woodbury).
Game Summaries, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005
Game 29 - SEMI-FINAL GAME (LOSERS')
Eden Prairie 4, Rochester A's 3
Minnesota's two national qualifiers were determined following
today's first game at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. Eden Prairie
defeated Rochester 4-3 in the semi-final game of the Minnesota
Division I State Tournament. Eden Prairie and Woodbury Blue, who
will play each other in today's 2 p.m. title game, will represent
Minnesota in national American Legion regional play. The winner
will likely play at Mandan, ND in a national regional starting
August 11th. The second place team will probably play at Moline,
Ill. starting the same day. The winners of those eight-team,
double-elimination regionals will advance to the American Legion
World Series, beginning August 19th, in Rapid City, SD.
Eden Prairie's win over Rochester A's ended when first baseman
Jusstin Milo of Eden Prairie hit a ball into the left-center
field gap that fell just beyond the reach of Rochester center
fielder Leon Clark. Adam Vortherms scored the winning run after
reaching base on an infield error and stealing second base. The
winning hit came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
"I was hoping Adam would steal second, " said Milo.
"After that, I jusst wanted to stay calm. Their pitcher
[Kale Olson] left onje up in the zone, and I hit it the other
way. At first, I thought it was going to be in the gap, but clark
is very quick. He almost got it."
Milo came into the game with Rochester hitting .571 coming into
the game, but had problems against Olson early in the game.
"I was having kind of a bad day, but the hit made up for it,
he said. While Milo was the hero in the end, shortstop Nate
Hanson put Eden Prairie in position to win. He went three for
four and scored two runs, including the tying run in the bottom
of the eighth.
Brian Morgan pitched a complete game for Eden Prairie, allowing
five hits. It was his second pitching win of the tournament and
his second complete game.
The star of the game for the Rochester A's was shortstop Lee
Andeson, who had a double, a home run, and two RBIs.
| Rochester A's | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Eden Prairie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
Olson and Olofson. Morgan and Anderson. WP Morgan. LP Olson. Home run: Anderson (Rochester A's)
Game 30 - CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Eden Prairie 10, Eden Prairie 5
Eden Prairie won twice on Sunday to capture the 2005 Minnesota
American Legion Division I State Tournament at Putz Field in St.
Cloud. Eden Prairie won the semi-final game 4-3 over Rochester
A's. In the title game, Eden Prairie overcame an early 5-0
deficit to top Woodbury Blue. Both teams advance to national
regional play. Eden Prairie will play at Mandan, ND in a national
regional starting Aug. 11th; Woodbury will play at Moline, IL,
starting the same day.
Eden Prairie became the first team since 2000 to repeat as the
State American Legion Baseball champion. Gary Morgan' s team
needed a comeback to erase an early Woodbury Blue lead. The final
score was Eden Prairie 10, Woodbury 5. The win, Eden Prairie's
fifth of the state tournament, raised the team's record to 32-8
overall. The championship game was Woodbury's first loss since
July 8 in the Gopher Classic. The Blue team's final record was
31-7.
Woodbury opened the game with a bang, taking a 5-0 leaad, thanks
in part to a grandslam home run by Steve Englund in the bottom of
the third inning. From that point on, it was all Eden Prairie, as
the defending state champ scored six runs in the top of the fifth
inning, three more in the sixth frame, and one in the seventh.
Justin Milo had a two-run single and Nate Hanson added a two-run
double to key Eden Prairie's fifth-inning rally. In the sixth,
leadoff man Adam Vortherms cleared the bases with a three-RBI
double off the fence. Greg Laughlin's RBI single in the seventh
padded the lead to 10-5. Blake DeVries got the win on the mound,
working the first five innings, while teammate Jay Anderson came
in in the sixth inning and recorded the save.
"We put all of our effort into winning the first game today
[4-3 against the Rochester A's]," said Eden Prairie
shortstop and tournament MVP Nate Hanson. "We felt we had
momentum going into the championship game. Then Woodbury jumped
on us. In the fifth inning, we started ripping the ball."
"This is one day of baseball our kids should never
forget," said coach Morgan. "This is a special group of
young men. They've been together since they were 12 years
old." Assistant Coach Jeff Gangstetter said, "It seemed
like until today, we didn't play our kind of baseball. Today, we
played two clean defensive games and pitched well. We got
10-runned by Woodbury on Saturday. I have no idea if it affected
our team today, but some of the kids maybe took it to
heart."
In winning on Sunday, Eden Prairie became the first Minnesota
team to win back to back state titles since Tri-City Red last
accomplished the feat in 1999 and 2000. (Tri-City Red also
captured consecutive state titles in '93 and '94; Edina did so in
'82 and '83.) "It just felt great," said Brian Morgan,
who played second base in the championship game after pitching
the first game on Sunday. "We were clicking on the field and
there was a lot of adrenaline flowing throughout our
dugout."
| Eden Prairie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 3 | ||||||||
| Woodbury Blue | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
DeVries, Anderson (6) and Chatmas. Wagner, Ingram (6), McKeown (8) and Kipke. Home runs: Englund (Woodbury.)
| Back to Tournament Home Page |
| The Gazette, Thursday, August 4, 2005 |
| The Gazette, Friday, August 5, 2005 (Thursday's Action) |
| The Gazette, Saturday, August 6, 2005 (Friday's Action) |
Last updated: 8/7/05
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