Freeman tosses 4-hitter

to lead Willmar by Gold

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Three Willmar hitters pounded out two hits each and right-hander Jeff Freeman held the New Ulm VFW Gold bats to four hits as Post 1639 scooted by Post 1648 6-1 Friday night in the Junior Upper Midwest Classic at Johnson Park in New Ulm.

Freeman got the win for Willmar, going six innings and allowing one run on four hits while striking out four.

Tony Mielke was touched for the loss for VFW, going the distance and fanning two.

Jordan Olson, Mike Hanning and Matt Sagedahl each had two hits for Willmar .Hanning drove in three runs.

Two of Hanning's hits were doubles while Olson belted a double and a triple.

Landon Rewitzer had two hits for VFW Gold.

"He (Freeman is an awfully good pitcher," said Gold coach Bob Weier. "We had trouble getting our leadoff hitter on. We did have some threats, but he was tough on my young hitters."

Those threats came early for New Ulm, which mounted its first scoring threat in the bottom of the first inning.

Rewitzer laced a one-out single to left and Adam Prochniak coaxed a two-out walk.

But Freeman struck out Josh Thorson to end the threat and the inning.

Post 1648 mounted another threat in the second inning, again with one out.

Andy Boyle sliced a single to left and went to second on Zack Barrett's sacrifice bunt. However, Levi Stugelmeyer grounded into an inning-ending force out to pour water on another threat.

Meanwhile, New Ulm's Mielke was coasting, setting down the first seven hitters he faced, backed by some great defensive play by center fielder Thorson, who ran down two long drives for outs.

But the left-hander started to tire in the third when he issued two walks before getting out of the inning.

However, in the fourth inning, free passes cost New Ulm a run.

Mielke issued his third walk of the game with one out to Cory Schwantes, who went to second on a Seth Nelson single to center -- the first hit of the game for Willmar.

Hanning made that free pass hurt when he drilled a double to left field to score Schwantes for a 1-0 lead.

New Ulm averted further damage when Dustin Carlson missed a suicide squeeze bunt and Nelson was out on a rundown between third base and home.

Willmar added another run in the fifth inning. Sagedahl legged out an infield single and a Lane Kleist sacrifice bunt moved him to second. A ground out and an Olson triple to center upped the Willmar lead to 2-0.

An error -- one of three in the game by New Ulm -- sparked a two-run Post 1639 inning.

Joey Lux booted a Nelson ground ball to start the inning and a Hanning ground ball moved him to second.

Carlson's base hit to right plated Nelson. Mielke then picked Carlson off first, but no one covered second on the rundown.The throw from first baseman Adam Prochniak sailed into left field, allowing Carlson to reach third.

Sagedahl's bloop single to center made it a 4-0 Willmar lead.

Meanwhile, Freeman got in a groove,e setting down 19 straight New Ulm hitters before he broke that streak when he walked Rewitzer to start the sixth inning. Mielke then singled down the left-field line.

Prochniak then brought in New Ulm's first and only run of the game with a single to center.

A one-out walk to Adam Neubauer loaded the bases but New Ulm failed to capitalize as reliever Tm Seedorf got the last two outs on fielder's choices.

Post 1639 tacked on two more runs in the seventh on an error, a fielder's choice and a two-run double by Hanning, his second of the game.

WILLMAR 000 112 2--6 7 0

NU VFW GOLD 000 001 0--1 4 3

WP: Freeman. LP: Mielke.