Eagles prepare for 19th state appearance

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- New Ulm High School baseball coach Jim Senske will be taking his Eagles' team to their 19th state tournament appearance which ties Austin for most appearances in a state baseball tournament.

New Ulm, the Section 2-3A (24-3) champions, begin play on Thursday afternoon at Midway Stadium when they tangle against St. Francis at 12:30 p.m.

Senske said that the Saints, who are 17-8 and play in the North Suburban Conference and captured the Section 7-3A title, are " a good defensive team."

"They are three deep in pitching. And very likely a kid named Cory Branton, a righthander, will throw against us," said Senske. "He is about 6 feet tall, 250 pounds and throws in the 80's and has a good curveball. We know what we need to know and that is that everybody that gets (to the state tournament) is always decent. They have good defense, good pitching - they don't score a lot of runs but they win a lot of games 3-2, 2-1, 4-3 -- that kind of thing. They are not an offensive powerhouse but they are pretty tight with what they give up."

This year, the Eagles hold the honor of being the only team in Class 3-A that has returned to the state tournament from last year.

"That does not give us any kind of an advantage," commented Senske."You go in with different players each year - you have got to do the things well and probably better than what you did to get you there. You know that you are going to run into a horse yourself - everyone has one top pitcher. Last year, we played Brainard tough (in the first round). We gave up only one run but we did not score in that game and lost 1-0. Then we scored one and five (as the Eagles took the consolation title). You need all three things to come together - hitting, pitching and defense regardless of where they are from."

St. Francis was the third seed in Section 7-3A behind Chisago Lake and Forest Lake (coached by former New Ulmite Brian Raabe). "Forest Lake got beat in the first round and were out because they (Section 7-3A) are the only section that does not play double-elimination in the first round."

And the Eagles may well have also been eliminated had a routine fly ball, with two outs, the bases loaded and New Ulm down by a run, been caught against Hutchinson. But it was dropped and two New Ulm runs scored to win the game. The rest is history.

"I think that they feel very fortunate but I think that they also feel that they have made a very good accomplishment as well," said Senske. "They came back through the loser's bracket and done by not just one or two players but by many. Bob Wellmann had a hand in getting us into a position to be there and then Jamie Hoffmann, Chris Cariveau - the bench, Pete Meier all stepped up as well as the bats. This was a team-type of a thing. "

Senske said that his team has made progress with the bat in tournament play.

"We have really come around.," Senske said. "And as long as you do not run into someone who completely overpowers you, we will make contact and will score runs. We have some power for the first time in a few years' we have three or four people who can hit the ball out of the park. We need to get some people in scoring position and get those 3-4-5-6 hitters up who have been hitting the ball hard for us all year."

Senske feels that his team is going in confident, having had to fight through the loser's bracket to get where they are now.

"It shows that we have a little bit of depth and a lot of tradition going for us and I hope that it builds the confidence."

If the Eagles win, they will play Thursday at 5:30 at Midway Stadium against the winner of the Northfield./Fergus Falls game. A loss sends them to Siebert Field against the loser of that game, also at 5:30 p.m.

There is also another New Ulm connection to the state tournament as Park Center, coached by former Eagle Jeff Stoll is also in the state 3-A tournament. The Pirates will play North High School at 10 a.m. at Midway Stadium.