New Ulm Legion Gold takes frustration out on Sleepy Eye

Gold puts down Apple Valley in game two

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- There is an old baseball adage in southern Minnesota that states that you do not want to be playing an angry New Ulm baseball team.

Saturday afternoon, New Ulm Legion Gold -- after losing their first two games of the Upper Midwest Classic on Friday -- took out a lot of frustration from those first two losses.

Gold scored three runs in the first inning before adding six more in the second as they cruised by Sleepy Eye 13-0 Saturday afternoon.

The game was halted after five innings because of the 10-run lead rule.

Nick Breu picked up the win for New Ulm Gold, going four innings and scattering four hits.

Riley Jensen took the loss for Sleepy Eye going 1 1/3 innings and yielding seven runs.

Jeff Dolan and Jamie Hoffmann each had three hits for Gold, with Keith McClellan, Eric Austvold and Blake Thorson colleting two.

Austvold drove in three runs -- two on a first inning home run. Hoffmann also drove in three runs, two coming on a second inning triple. McClellan and Austvold also both doubled as New Ulm outhit Sleepy Eye 15-5.

"We were really anxious to show people what we could really do," Dolan said. "We did not impress anyone yesterday (Friday).We did not play our best baseball. We just wanted to be focused and hit the ball this game."

That happened from the get-go for New Ulm. McClellan beat out a bunt single before Dolan gathered the first of his three singles in the game with a base hit to left field. McClellan then stole third base and Dolan stole second. When Sleepy Eye shortstop Matt Mathiowetz took the throw from catcher Andy Cook in an attempt to get Dolan at second, McClellan broke for home and scored when Mathiowetz' throw got by Cook. They then had a 1-0 lead with Dolan on third. Riley Jensen then got Austvold in the hole a 0-2 before Austvold hammered the next pitch deep over the fence in right field for a 3-0 lead.

New Ulm added six more runs in the second to take a 9-0 lead after 1 1/2 innings.

"I think that some of our frustration came out today from (Friday) and we hit the ball pretty well," said Gold coach Dave Kunz.

McClellan started the six-run inning when he reached on an error by Sleepy Eye second baseman Chris Reinarts -- one of five errors in the game by the Post 7 defense. A perfectly executed hit-and-run by Dolan put McClellan on third before Austvold drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Hoffmann followed by belting a 3-1 Jensen pitch to deep center field for a three-run triple and a 6-0 Gold lead.

Jake Deibele took over for Jensen and was greeted by Kyle Marti's RBI single to center. Tyson Anderson's infield single, an error on a Pete Meier ground ball preceded a two-run single by Blake Thorson, who saw his first game behind the plate. Thorson is playing with a torn ACL in his right knee.

New Ulm added a single run in the third inning when Austvold drilled a one-out double, Hoffman beat out an infield single to shortstop and an error on a Tyson Anderson ground ball made it 10-0.

An RBI double by McCellan and an Austvold sacrifice fly added two more runs in the fifth inning. New Ulm plated their last run of the game in the top of fifth on a fielder's choice.

"We stayed on the ball better today than we had in our last two games," Kunz said. "We used the whole ballpark for our hits today. We did not have any errors today and Nick did a good job on the mound for us."

NEW ULM GOLD 361 21 -- 13 15 0

SLEEPY EYE 000 00 -- 0 5 5

WP: Breu. LP: Jensen 2B: Austvold (NU), McClellan (NU). 3B: Hoffmann (NU), HR: Austvold (NU).

New Ulm Gold 11,

Apple Valley 8

NEW ULM -- For the second straight game, New Ulm Legion Gold jumped to a quick lead.

And for the second consective contest, Gold came away with a win.

New Ulm plated two first inning runs and then added six more in the second to top Apple Valley 11-8 in the Upper Midwest Classic.

Dusty Wilfahrt picked up the win for Gold, going the distance striking out eight including whiffing Mark Prestrud with two outs and the bases loaded.

Bryan Marschel took the loss for Apple Valley.

Jamie Hoffmann, Kyle Marti, Pete Meier and Adam Prochniak all had two hits for New Ulm, with Hoffmann and Marti both driving in three runs.

Kyle Barron had three hits with Jeremy Chlan driving in four runs.

'Whenever you beat a team like Apple Valley, the defending state champion -- we did not have to much to lose tonight other than our pride," said Gold coach Dave Kunz. "They were already in -- we played for pride. Our boys came out hot with the bats, were aggressive on the bases and played good defense."

New Ulm, as they did in their game against Sleepy Eye earlier in the day, jumped to a lead in the first inning, scoring twice. Keith McClellan walked and went to second on Jeff Dolan's sacrifice bunt. He went to third on Eric Austvold's groundout before Hoffmann walked.

Marti followed with an RBI single prior to Hoffmann trotting home on an error by 76er shortstop Chlan on a Tyson Anderson ground ball.

After Apple Valley scored a run in the bottom of the inning, Gold jumped on Apple Valley starter Bryan Ruff for six runs. Adam Prochniak singled and took second on Nate Carroll's sacrifice bunt. McClellan walked and both runners moved up on a Dolan groundout. Austvold followed with a two-run single for a 4-1 lead before Hoffmann drove a Ruff offering to deep center field for an RBI triple. Bryan Marschel relieved Ruff and was greeted by a run-scoring triple by Marti for a 6-1 New Ulm lead.

"We had more focus today than we did yesterday," said Marti. "We got knocked around -- the team came to play today. We lost to them in the state tournament last year. There was no revenge -- we just wanted to salvage something out of this tournament."

After Tyson Anderson drew a walk, Pete Meier delivered a two-run double and an 8-1 Gold lead.

Apple Valley countered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, but New Ulm matched that in the top of the third inning Carroll was hit by a pitch and McClellan singled. An error advanced Carroll to third and a Dolan groundout moved McClellan up a base. Hoffmann followed with a two-run single and went all the way to third on the throw home. He scored on a wild pitch for an 11-4 lead.

"It was nice to get that kind of a lead," said Dusty Wilfahrt. "That relaxed me a lot -- I was pretty nervous coming into the game because I knew that they were a good ballclub."

The 76ers plated a run in the home half of the third on Mike Haberman's single.

Apple Valley made it close in the seventh using a triple by Kyle Barron and a single by Kyle Svode. Two bases loaded walks scored the last two runs before Wilfahrt recorded the final out with a strikeout.

NEW ULM GOLD 263-000-0=11-11-2

APPLE VALLEY 131-000-3=8-11-4

WP: Wilfahrt.LP: Marschel. 2B; Prestrud (AV), Meier (NU), Lonmglais (AV).

3B: Hoffmann (NU), Marti (NU), Chlan (AV), Barron (AV).