Eagles fall, join losers' bracket

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- If the New Ulm Eagles are to repeat as Section 2-3A baseball champions, they will have to do it through the losers' bracket.

Chaska's Blaine Rutledge two-out solo home run in the top of the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie, and Hawks' righthander Josh Thomes allowed only three Eagle hits as ninth-seeded Chaska edged top-seeded New Ulm 2-1 Saturday at Johnson Park.

The righthanded Thomes struck out four in improving Chaska's record to 9-13.

Dusty Fleck pitched well for New Ulm, allowing only five hits while striking out seven Chaska hitters.

Rutledge, a sophomore, had two of the Hawks' five hits -- a double and that eventual game-winning home run -- to pace Chaska which defeated Litchfield earlier in the day.

Jamie Hoffmann provided the Eagles' only score with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning. Keith McClellan's double and Brandon Rolloff's single were the only other hits for the Eagles.

New Ulm now drops down to the loser's bracket and will play Worthington on Tuesday. The site and time of the game have not yet been decided.

"We got a nice pitching performance from Dusty Fleck,' said New Ulm coach Jim Senske who saw his team advance to their meeting with Chaska by downing Willmar 2-0 earlier. "We hit the ball hard but it was right at Chaska. We never really got anything going. We had one inning (the fourth) where we hit into a double play after getting our number three hitter on to start the inning and had our number four hitter up who is a good hitter. He hits a shot and we get into a double play, Other than that, it was the only inning where we had a scoring opportunity. We did not hit this kid, and he should have been very hittable."

Willmar mounted a big scoring chance in the first on a two-out infield single by Tyler Wolff and a walk to Adam Wolf. Aaron Pierce followed with a single to right. Wollf, running with two outs, tried to score but was gunned down on a strike from rightfielder Brandon Rolloff to catcher Blake Thorson who made a nice tag on the play.

New Ulm then waisted little time in their half of the first inning as Jamie Hoffmann led off drilling the second pitch that he saw from Thomes over the fence in leftfield.

But after that, Thomes,despite allowing some shots off the bats of New Ulm hitters, did not permit New Ulm to score again.

Chaska tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third inning when the lefthanded hitting Rutledge led off with a double to rightfield. A wild pitch allowed him to take third before he scored on a Tyler Wolff groundout.

The Eagles mounted that scoring chance in the fourth when Brandon Rolloff led off with a single to center. But Dusty Fleck slapped a hard groundball to Chaska secondbaseman Andy Hoffer who started the 4-6-3 double play.

Chaska then scored the eventual winning run with two outs in the fifth inning when Rutledge went down and got an 1-0 Fleck offering and sent it over the fence in rightfield.

'"He (Rutledge) was a tough out -- we were well aware of him," Senske said. "The pitch that he did hit out of the park was a low splitter that he just picked up and shot out of here like a cannon. We were trying to stay away from him -- we knew that he could hit it -- and he did hit it."

Down 2-1, the Eagles would get only two more baserunners off of Thomes in the last three innings -- Keith McClellan would double with two outs in the fifth but be stranded there when Thomes got Isaac Forstner to ground out. And Jace Marti would reach on a two-out error in the bottom of the seventh but stay there.

'"I am concerned with our lack of hitting ( seven hits in two games Saturday)," said Senske. "This guy should have been hittable because he did not have the breaking pitch. We could sit and look for his fastball --we hit it hard but it was right at people. The first pitcher we saw - there are not to many teams that will hit him."

The Eagles could manage only four hits off Willmar's lefthander Billy Spieker, but they bunched three of them in the fourth inning to escape with a 2-0 win over the 16th seeded Cardinals.

Bobby Wellmann picked up the win for the Eagles, going the distance and fanning 10. He allowed seven hits. He was backed by a solid defense that turned two double plays in the game.

Lefthander Billy Spieker took the loss for Willmar (3-13) striking out seven.

"We knew that we were facing an outstanding pitcher," Senske said."He threw a no-hitter (against Rocori) in his last outing and he has been getting 12-13 strikeouts a game. He is an exceptionally good pitcher and we had just enough to get it done."

Willmar would threaten in the first inning before the first double play by the Eagles ended that and again in the second inning when an error and a single with two outs but a runner in scoring position. But Wellmann, who allowed a hit in each inning to the Cardinals, failed to score.

"Bobby was not at his peak today," Senske said. "But he pitched well in spots that he had to pitch well and we did the kinds of things that you have to do to win games."

Some of those things came in that fourth inning when Dusty Fleck off by getting the first hit of the game off Spieker with a single to left. A balk - one of two in the game by the lefthader -- moved Fleck to second before Dan Kitzberger drove Fleck home with a base hit to center.

A Jace Marti sacrifice bunt put Kitzberger on second and Blake Thorson followed with an RBI single to left for a 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals would put a huge scoring threat on the board in the sixth inning when Jordan Olson led off with a double to right. But Wellmann stuck out the next three hitters to end the threat.

"You like to give Bob the ball in these types of games," said Senske. "He has been there a lot of times from VFW to Legion."

"I just got a fastball up (to Olson),"said Wellmann who improved his record to 5-2 and broke a two-game losing streak. I just got that pitch up."

FIRST GAME

WILLMAR 000-000-0=0-7-1

NEW ULM 000-200-X=2-4-1

WP: Wellmann,LP: Spieker. 2B: Olson (W), Freeman (W).

GAME TWO

CHASKA 001-010-0=2-5=2

NEW ULM 100-000-0=1-3-1

WP:Thomes.LP: Fleck. 2B: Rutledge (C), McClellan (NU). HR: Hoffmann (NU), Rutledge (C).