Sleepy Eye defeats Blue, one win from state

BY JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

MANKATO -- Sleepy Eye has not won a Second District American Legion title since 1996.

Now, Post 7 is one win away from the title.

Matt Gangelhoff went 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored while righthander Brad Hillesheim held New Ulm Blue to just four hits as Sleepy Eye pounded out 11 hits and took advantage of 10 Blue errors in a 12-1 win Sunday.

The game was stopped after seven innings because of the 10-run lead rule.

Andy Cook added two hits and two RBI. Chris Reinarts also drove in two runs.

Adam Slander took the loss for New Ulm Blue (9-10), giving up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Sleepy Eye (13-7) now needs to win just one game next Sunday to capture its eighth Second District crown. They must lose twice to be denied the title.

"This is where we wanted to be after this weekend," said Post 7 Coach Jeff Cook. "We are happy now, but we need to come back next Sunday and go at it again."

"We knew that we could not come in here and take them for granted," said Matt Gangelhoff. "We have gained a lot of confidence in ourselves in the last few games. We are coming together at the perfect time."

While Sleepy Eye came together, New Ulm Blue, after a 14-8 win over New Ulm Gold, came apart when its defense was guilty of 10 errors in the seven-inning contest.

"Adam (Slander) did exactly what we wanted him to do. He threw strikes," said New Ulm Blue coach Rob Geistfeld. "But it is hard to win when your defense is giving them seven outs an inning. We did not make any plays behind our pitching. Maybe we had a letdown after the win over Gold."

Sleepy Eye took it to Blue in the first inning with an unearned run -- the first of 10 unearned runs in the game -- when Chris Reinarts reached on a fielder's choice and went to second on a wild pitch. Matt Mathiowetz slapped a two-out line drive to left that was dropped by leftfielder Kyle Reinarts, allowing Chris Reinarts to score.

Sleepy Eye tacked on six big runs the next inning. Jake Bohnen singled and swiped second before Jason Schueler and BJ Sprenger each reached on errors by the New Ulm Blue infield defense, allowing Bohnen to score. Matt Gangelhoff's second hit of the game scored Schueler. Andy Cook's two-out single brought in Sprenger and Gangelhoff for a 5-0 lead. A stolen base and an RBI double by Mathiowetz upped the lead to 6-0, ending Slander's night on the mound. Curt Thoreson fared no better. He allowed a groundball to shortstop that was thrown away by Mikale Gustafson, allowing Mathiowetz to score for a 7-0 cushion.

"We hit the ball hard. We hit it at them sometimes and they did not make the plays," said Jeff Cook. "That is the way the game goes, but we got some hits when we needed them."

Sleepy Eye added two more runs in the third inning. Sprenger singled and scored on a Gangelhoff double before Gangelhoff scored on a Chris Reinarts' base hit.

New Ulm Blue dented the scoreboard on Hillesheim in the fourth inning for its only run. Jeff Schnobrich reached on an error and went to third on two groundouts before scoring on a Ryan Turbes' infield single.

But Sleepy Eye added a single run in the fifth on an error, Gangelhoff's fourth hit and a groundout. Post 7 put two more nails in Blue's coffin in the bottom of the sixth inning on a walk and two more Blue errors.

"Getting to the state tournament is exciting," said Gangelhoff. "It is what you dream of. It is a little different that high school baseball. Getting to the state is always a goal."

NEW ULM BLUE 000-100-0=1-4-10

SLEEPY EYE 162-012-X=12-10-1