Eagles hoping

to repeat history

NEW ULM -- History has an uncanny way of repeating itself.

And if you are the New Ulm High Eagles baseball team, you hope that history does just that.

The Eagles will try to stay alive when they travel to Marshall to take on the Tigers in a Section 2-3A losers bracket matchup at 7 p.m. today. The losers will see their 2002 season end while the winners will travel to St. Michael Thursday for the Section 2-3A title game.

Back in 1999, the Eagles won their first game over Mankato West before falling to Mankato East. They then went into the losers bracket where they beat Marshall, Litchfield and Worthington before topping East twice for the section crown.

This year, the Eagles beat Willmar in their first game before losing to Chaska. Since then, they have beat Worthington, Hutchinson and Buffalo to remain in the hunt to repeat as section champions.

And you have to wonder if fate is not on the Eagles' side this year. In the game against Hutchinson, New Ulm was down 7-6 in the last of the seventh inning before loading the bases. But with two out, Jamie Hoffmann lofted a potential game-ending fly ball toward first that was dropped with the tying and winning runs scoring. Ninety-nine times out of 100, that ball is easily caught. But this time it wasn't.

"That was one of the most odd ways that we have ever won a ballgame," said veteran Eagles coach Jim Senske. "That ballgame was over and all of a sudden, we had won it. It was kind of a miracle win. Then we hit what pitching Buffalo had left to throw at us. Bobby Wellmann threw well. We are still alive and that is the encouraging thing."

Senske knows that his team will run into some strong pitching from Marshall today.

"We will see their top pitcher and if we win that, we will see St. Michael's top pitcher or pitchers," he said. "We will have to have some breaks. We will have to hit the ball and also get some pitching from some people that haven't gotten it done for us yet. But now we have that second chance to do it."

Senske said that this year they have rode the arm of Wellmann (back in 1999, it was Wellmann's older brother Ryan that pitched well). "He was strong last year - when the game is on the line, he wants the baseball one right after the other.

"This team has had to overcome a lot of things, but this team seems to keep handling them," Senske said. "I hope that they can handle about three more."

Another thing that the Eagles have going for them is their tradition of winning.

"We hope that the tradition preceeds us wherever we go," Senske said. "We have built that over a long period of time -- we are kind of proud of that -- and each group of kids seems to step up. While it is hard to duplicate the previous year sometimes, a lot of clubs manage to do that and let's hope that this is one of them."

WYCZAWSKI COACHES ALL-STAR GAME: Former New Ulmite Paul Wyczawski, who I mistakenly said coached at Hillcrest Lutheran Academy when it should be Hillcrest Christian, coached the South Class 4A team to a 7-2 win over the Class $A team in the Mississippi Private School Association All-Star game.

Hillcrest lost to Jackson Academy and finished ranked second in Class 4A.

PAY TO PLAY: This is just a little note to amateur baseball players around here. Be thankful for what you have. If you want to play for Redwood Falls in the Tomahawk East League, you have to shell out $400 each for that privilege.

TWO NAMED TO HALL OF FAME: Randy "Sam" Clyne, a 1973 graduate of New Ulm Cathedral and Bob Sellner, a 1987 alumnus of Cathedral, are the two new members of the Cathedral High School Athletic Hall of Fame. They will be inducted at a luncheon in their honor on Sept. 28 at The Kaiserhoff in New Ulm.

GET NOMINATIONS IN: Area high school baseball coaches are asked to send in their nominations for the 2002 All-Journal Area Baseball Team as soon as possible.

Nominations should include current and career stats, coache's comments and awards won, and anything else pertinent to the player.

THANK YOU HY-VEE: Once again a big thank you to HyVee and manager Tom Hobt of New Ulm for their food donations that made the New Ulm Junior Baseball Association Breakfast a great success again. They do a geat job for the community.