Willmar rolls

Gold, 14-0

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- The great game of baseball is really a simple game. If you make the plays defensively, you usually win. But if you don't make the routine plays, you lose.

The New Ulm VFW Gold committed eight errors that lead to 11 unearned runs as Willmar rolled by New Ulm 14-0.

Despite the loss, New Ulm advanced to the semifinals Sunday.

Darin Ditterich was the winning pitcher for Willmar as he allowed only two hits -- a first-inning Brett Burgau single and a second-inning base hit by Scott Knisley --to record the shut-out win.

Nick Olson took the loss for New Ulm, permitting five runs-- three earned -- and the only earned runs of the game. Adam Nilson and Mikale Gustafson also saw mound duty for New Ulm.

Matt Sagedahl, Matt Hoekstra and Tim Seedorf all had two hits for Willmar with Seedorf collecting two doubles. Seedorf and Jason Guevarai each doubled.

"Pitching sets the tone of the game and our pitchers could not hit the strike zone consistently and when they did the ball was up," commented VFW coach Bob Weier. "They hit the ball well and we made a ton of errors. We got what we deserved."

Willmar plates two runs in the first inning, which started with the first of eight boots in the field when Kyle Reinarts dropped a Lane Kleist fly ball. Jason Guevarai followed with an RBI double and Matt Hoekstra's single scored Guevarai.

They pushed three more runs across in the second when Andrew Stern reached on an error by third baseman Joey Geistfeld. After two were out, Guevarai walked and Hoekstra singled in a run. A balk on Olson sent runners to second and third and Seedorf's double made it a 5-0 lead.

An error by Geistfeld, a Sagedahl double and an error by first baseman Jeremy Penkert upped the lead to 7-0.

"When we have those errors --they just seem to snowball," said Weier. "That is what happens to young baseball players. They have to learn how to stop the flood. We did not do that and I think that it goes back to the pitchers falling behind in the count and walking batters."

Willmar salted the game away in the bottom of the fourth with seven runs that resulted from four Willmar hits and four more New Ulm errors.

An error, a second Seedorf double, two singles and an error by shortstop Scott Knisley made it 9-0. A walk, two singles and the eighth error of the game made it 14-0.

VFW GOLD 000 00-- 0 2 8

WILLMAR 232 7x--14 9 1

WP: Ditterich. LP: Olson.