New Ulm takes first game, falls to Burnsville in nightcap

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Maybe it was the heat. Perhaps it was the quality team that New Ulm Gold faced in Burnsville. Or perhaps it was the three physical errors and several mental errors that Gold had.

Whatever the reason the Burnsville Cobras handed New Ulm Gold only their second defeat against 29 wins as the Cobras topped Gold 6-3 in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Mueller Park.

Matt Snyder picked up the pitching win for Burnsville going seven innings and striking out three while walking one and hitting another. He permitted 10 hits.

Chris Cariveau was tagged with the loss for Gold, allowing six runs on 11 hits. He also struck out three.

Bob Culbertson, Pat Abbe and Derik Smith all had two hits for Burnsville.

Jace Marti led Gold with a 4-for-4 plate performance and drove in two runs. Keith McClellan, Jamie Hoffmann and Dusty Fleck all had two hits for Gold, which will play a doubleheader at Chaska at 1 p.m. today.

"We got down (4-0 after three innings) right away because of some sloppy play on our part," said Gold coach Dave Kunz. "We only had three errors, but we did a lot mental things that were wrong -- we misplayed the ball that gave them some runs early on."

The Cobras scored single runs in the first and second off of the right-handed Cariveau for a 2-0 lead.

Bob Culbertson lead off the game with a double to right field and went to third on a Chris Johnson groundout. A Kevin Dixon sacrifice fly plated him.

In the second, Cariveau plunked Pat Abbe, who went to second on Derik Smith's sacrifice bunt. A Kyle Marti error at third allowed Abbe to score later in the inning.

Burnsville then built a 4-0 lead in the third when Culbertson singled with one out and scored on Johnson's triple that got by a diving McClellan in left field. Dixon's second sacrifice fly of the game scored Johnson.

The Cobras then stretched that lead to 6-0 in the fifth scoring two runs after one was out.

Dixon singled and Tony Peterson grounded a ball to shortstop Dusty Wilfahrt, who fielded the ball deep in the hole. His throw to second baseman Jamie Hoffmann was not in time to force out Dixon. Abbe's single loaded the bases for Smith, who slapped a 2-0 Cariveau pitch into left field for a two-run single.

"Chris got hit (tonight), but he did not get hit very hard, and we made some misplays behind him," said Kunz. "But they took advantage of them."

New Ulm, which stranded two runners in both the first and third innings, broke through on Snyder in the bottom of the fifth.

Wilfahrt coaxed a one-out walk and a balk placed him on second. McClellan's single placed him on third with McClellan taking second on the throw home. Jace Marti's opposite-field single to left scored both runners.

Gold scored its final run of the game in the bottom of the seventh when Jace Marti collected his fourth hit of the game -- a double to right. A wild pitch saw him take third and he came home on a Hoffmann infield single.

"They (Burnsville) are a good team -- they have two good pitchers and we need that," commented Kunz. "Burnsville can run the outfield. They have good pitching. They play solid defense (no errors)."

Kunz was also pleased with the return of Jace Marti to the No. 2 spot in the lineup. "We had moved him down (in the batting order because he was struggling) and I asked him if he was ready to move back into that (No. 2) spot and he said he was and he responded well."

2nd Game

BURNSVILLE 112 020 0--6 11 0

NEW ULM GOLD 000 020 1--3 10 3

WP:Snyder. LP: Cariveau.

Legion Gold 9, Burnsville 8

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Brandon Rolloff scored on an error in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift New Ulm Legion Gold to a 9-8 win over the Burnsville Cobras Saturday evening in the first game of a Legion baseball doubleheader at Mueller Park. Rolloff, who reached on a fielder's choice, scored from third on a throwing error charged to losing pitcher Kevin Dixon.

Rolloff scored the game-winner with two out.

Tyson Anderson got the win in relief of Jacob Mertz. Anderson got the final out in the top of the seventh inning.

Mertz allowed eight runs -- five earned -- on 10 hits. He struck out five and walked four.

Dixon was tagged with the loss in relief of Burnsville starter Tyler Kraft, who went the first six innings and gave up eight runs -- four earned -- on 10 hits.

Burnsville picked up two runs off Mertz in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 8-all. Mertz got the first two outs, but then gave up three consecutive hits, including an RBI triple to the fence in right-center by Trevor O'Shaughnessy and an RBI single from Bobby Culbertson.

Gold center fielder Eric Austvold reached on a walk off Dixon to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Dusty Fleck then popped up to catcher Ian Stoneberg attempting to sacrifice and Austvold was erased at second when Rolloff grounded to short.

Rolloff went to second when Kyle Mart walked on five pitches and then scored on the throwing error by Dixon -- the Cobras' third error of the game.

Burnsville's second error of the game also proved costly. Burnsville (26-9), which jumped on Mertz for six runs in the first two innings, still had a 6-5 lead entering the bottom of the sixth before Legion Gold (29-1) plated three unearned runs.

Rolloff, who went 2-for-4 and scored three runs, started the rally with a single and went to second on Kyle Marti's groundout. Rolloff then scored on an error charged to Kraft. Two batters later, Keith McClellan singled to left, scoring Helget, and Jeff Dolan followed with a double to the gap in left that scored McClellan to give Legion Gold an 8-6 lead.

New Ulm tallied four times in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Cobras' lead to 6-5. Jamie Hoffmann led off the inning with a single, and Fleck and Kyle Marti each had doubles -- Marti's driving in two runs. Rolloff and Dusty Wilfahrt each singled with Wilfahrt scoring Marti.

Fleck went 2-for-4 and scored a run for Legion Gold and Wilfahrt finished 2-for-3 with one RBI. Burnsville went up 1-0 in the top of the first inning, scoring an unearned run. The Cobras sent 10 batters to the plate in the second inning and collected four hits to score five runs -- two of them unearned.

Matt Snyder went 2-for-3 with a double and scored twice for Burnsville. O'Shaughnessy and Culbertson -- the Cobras' Nos. 8 and 9 hitters -- each went 2-for-4. O'Shaughnessy tripled and scored two runs, and Culbertson drove in a run and scored once.

1st Game

BURNSVILLE 150 000 2--8 10 3

NEW ULM 100 403 1--9 10 2

Two out when winning run scored

Kraft, Dixon (7) and Stoneberg. Mertz, Anderson (7) and Helget. W--Anderson. L--Dixon. 2B--Burnsville, Dixon, Peterson, Snyder; New Ulm, J.Marti, K.Marti. 3B--Burnsville, O'Shaughnessy. HR--None. T--1:59.