Gold into overdrive, routs Sleepy Eye, 15-2

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- New Ulm Gold pounded out 23 hits and scored in every inning but the first as they ran by Sleepy Eye 15-2 Monday night in South Central Legion baseball.

Bob Wellmann was the winning pitcher for Post 132, allowing four hits while striking out three.

Randy Braun took the loss for Sleepy Eye (9-6) allowing 13 hits and seven runs in four innings of work.

Jace Marti paced the 23-hit attack with a 5-for-5 plate performance and drove in four runs. John Enter and Craig Spelbrink each had three hits with Enter belting his second home run in as many days.

Every Gold starters had at least one hit with Grossmann also driving in four runs.

Andy Konz smacked a solo home run for Post 7.

New Ulm (12-1) now has a few days off before traveling to Fergus Falls this weekend where they will play Fergus Falls, Anoka, Bismarck, N.D., Bloomington Gold and top-ranked Tri-City Red.

"They (Sleepy Eye) did not have a lot of pitching left after this weekend's (Upper Midwest Classic) tournament," said Gold coach Dave Kunz. "We were fortunate to have Bob (Wellmann) ready to go so it was a little mismatch that way."

"When your team has six errors and the opposing team has 23 hits, it makes it difficul" commented Post 7 coach John Hirschboeck.. "We will get it together and be ready to go."

Post 7 took a quick 1-0 lead off Gold in the bottom of the first inning when Andy Konz drilled a first-pitch offering from Wellmann over the fence in left-field.

But that lead evaporated just as quick as New Ulm scored in every inning, starting with four runs in the top of the second.

Spelbrink and Rob Geistfeld singled to start the inning and they both came home on Marti's triple down the rightfield line. Mike Grossmann, starting at third base, grounded out to plate Marti for a 3-1 lead. Two-out singles by Dan Kitzberger and Jamie Hoffmann and a Joey Schugel bloop single increased the lead to 4-1.

Gold touched Braun for two more runs in the third. Geistfeld reached on an error and Marti doubled him to third. Eric Austvold's double ballooned New Ulm's lead to 6-1.

Enter's two-out solo home run over the fence in right field moved New Ulm up 7-1.

Post 7 plated a single run in the bottom of the inning after two were out when Wellmann plunked Chad Armbruster. Singles by Braun and Joe Heiderscheidt cut the lead to 7-2.

Marti continued his hot night at the plate when he led off the fifth with a single to center off reliever Brian Gangelhoff. He went to second on a wild pitch, took third on a Grossman ground out and scored on Andy Stolt's base hit. A ground out and a Hoffmann RBI single saw Gold go up 9-2.

An error, the fourth of the game by Sleepy Eye, and singles by Brandon Reinarts, Marti and a two-run single by Grossmann moved New Ulm ahead 11-2.

New Ulm added four runs in the seventh after there were two out. Enter singled, Dusty Wilfahrt was hit by a pitch and Reinarts' singled home Enter with Wilfahrt and Reinarts moving up a base on an error. Marti's line-drive single just into center field made it 14-2 with Marti completing the scoring on a Grossmann single.

NEW ULM GOLD 042 122 4--15 23 2

SLEEPY EYE 100 100 0-- 2 4 6

NEW ULM GOLD: Bob Wellmann and Rob Geistfeld, Brandon Reinarts (5). SLEEPY EYE: Randy Braun, Brian Gangelhoff (5) and Joe Heiderscheit. 2B: Marti (NU), Austvold (NU),Spelbrink (NU). 3B: Marti (NU). HR: Konz (SE), Enter (NU).