Legion Gold routs Redwood Falls 12-2 in six

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- It was a game that New Ulm Gold was expected to win with relative ease and they did.

Righthander Dusty Wilfahrt scattered three hits and Gold bats scored in the first three innings as New Ulm Gold rolled by Redwood Falls 12-2 in six innings Friday morning in the opening round of the Second District American Legion Baseball Tournament.

Wilfahrt struck out 10 as Gold improved to 32-2 on the season.

Five players -- Keith McClellan, Eric Austvold, Kyle Marti, Brandon Rolloff and Jeff Dolan -- all had two hit games. Jamie Hoffmann and Dusty Fleck each homered and drove in three runs each.

Mike Yrjo took the loss for Redwood Falls (4-1), giving up six runs in two innings of work.

"We knew that if we came out and played hard, we were capable of winning the game," said Gold coach Dave Kunz. "Dusty (Wilfahrt) came out and pitched well. We fielded pretty well especially early-on and made some nice plays. Plus, we hit the ball well."

And often with 13 hits in the six inning contest.

New Ulm wasted little time in staking their dominance in the game with two first inning runs followed by a pair of four-run outbursts.

In the first, McClellan singled. After Hoffmann and Austvold were retired, Dusty Fleck plated both of them with a triple to deep center for a 2-0 lead.

Gold then added four more runs in the inning after there were two outs.

Dolan reached on a bunt single, swiped second -- one of six stolen bases in the game for New Ulm -- and scored on McClellan's single. Jace Marti walked and Hoffmann followed by sending an 0-1 Yrjo pitch over the fence in leftfield for a three-run dinger and a 6-0 lead.

Redwood Falls used the long-ball to get on the board in the top of the third when Blake Hagert slapped a solo home run to left.

But Gold erased that with another four-run binge. Marti singled and Rolloff was hit by a pitch. They both moved up a base on Kyle Helget's sacrifice bunt. Dolan's single to right plated both runners. Dolan eventually scored on a Marti sacrifice fly. Austvold's base hit later in the inning made it 10-1.

"I thought that we did all facets of the game well today,' Kunz said. "We played defense, we pitched and we hit."

Redwood Falls scored a run in the fourth prior to Gold ending the game by the 10-run rule in the bottom of the sixth.

Dusty Fleck's one-out solo home run made it 11-2. Brandon Rolloff's two-out double and Kyle Helget's RBI single mde it 12-2.

"We had patience at the plate today,' Kunz said. "When we got good pitches to hit, we hit them. This team wants to prove something -- most of the team has already won a (state baseball) championship (New Ulm High School) and they want to prove that it can be done again."

REDWOD FALLS 001-100=2-3-1

NEW ULM GOLD 244-002=12-13-3

WP: Wilfahrt. LP. Yrjo.