Gold ices Cold Spring

with last-inning heroics

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Johnson Park has had a lot of dramatic finishes in its 62-year history. Thursday night added another page.

New Ulm Gold scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning after two were out to down Cold Spring 3-2 in the Upper Midwest Classic.

Andy Stolt was the winning pitcher, allowing six hits while fanning six.

Jason Schlangen took the loss for Cold Spring. He gave up nine hits while striking out three.

Joey Schugel banged out three hits for Gold; his third single of the night scored the game-winning run.

Josh Porwoll and Ryan Fischer each had two hits for Post 455.

"'I told the team after the game that they are probably going to give me a heart attack," said Gold coach Dave Kunz, who saw his team win a game Monday night in the last of the seventh inning on a wild pitch. "It seems like anytime that we win a game, we do not score until the last couple of innings.'

New Ulm trailed a good Cold Spring team 2-1 going into the last of the seventh inning. Schlangen, who had held Gold bats to four hits through six innings, retired the first two hitters on a strike out and a popup. But Eric Austvold, who had reached base in his last two at-bats, lined a single to left to keep New Ulm alive. Brandon Reinarts doubled down the left-field line.

Schlangen then issued his second walk of the game to Craig Spelbrink on four pitches to load the bases.

He then plunked Jamie Hoffmann on the first pitch to force in Austvold with the game-tying run. Schugel then ended the game with a bouncing single to center.

"They stuck with it all game," said Kunz about his team's comeback. "They were getting frustrated, hitting the ball hard but at people. But they stayed in the game and they took advantage of it when they had the chance."

And a big part of the reason Gold stayed in the game was the pitching of Andy Stolt.

He gave up two first-inning runs on RBI singles by Josh Porwoll and Scott Ruegermer, but after that was almost untouchable.

The right-hander set down 14 straight Cold Spring hitters after that two-run outburst and allowed only two more hits.

"He was maybe up a little too pumped up before the game," commented Kunz. "He brought it down and was really tough the rest of the way."

COLD SPRING 200 000 0--2 6 0

NEW ULM GOLD 000 100 2--3 9 1

WP: Stolt. LP: Schlangen. 2B:Hoffmann (NU), Porwoll (CS), Reinarts (NU).