Legion Gold cruises past Mankato

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

ST. JAMES -- New Ulm Legion Gold plated three first inning runs off of Mankato's Adam Sorenson and then added four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to toppled Post 11 11-1 Sunday night in the winner's bracket of the Second District Baseball Tournament.

The game was stopped after 6 1/2 innings because of the 10-run lead rule.

New Ulm (27-5) will now play Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. for the Second District title. They will meet either Mankato, Fairmont or Sleepy Eye and would have to lose twice to be denied their 25th trip to the state tournament.

Dusty Wilfahrt picked up the win for New Ulm Gold. The righthander recorded nine strikeouts and scattered five hits. Wilfahrt carried a shutout into the top of the seventh when Mankato scored their only run on a Mitch Salsbery RBI double.

Adam Sorenson took the loss for Mankato going 3 1/3 innings and yielding three runs. He left after recording a strike on Gold's Pete Meier and apparently hurt his right elbow.

Jamie Hoffmnann had a perfect night at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Pete Meier had three hits and drove in three runs with Jeff Dolan having a two hit game. Eric Austvold belted a two-run home run in the sixth inning as New Ulm had 13 hits in the seven inning contest.

"We jumped out right away -- got that three run lead in the first inning -- it was nice to get out to that lead," said Gold coach Dave Kunz. "We got to build on that lead when Mankato had to change pitchers when (Adam Sorenson) went down but we adjusted to (Jeff Case) and scored some more runs."

Gold scored three times in the first inning -- all the runs that Wilfahrt would eventually need -- when Keith McClellan led off with a walk. McClellan went to third on a Jeff Dolan sacrifice bunt. Austvold took first on the second free pass of the inning before Hoffmann took a 1-1 Sorenson offering to left to score McClellan. Both Austvold and McClellan moved up on a wild pitch before Austvold was retired at home on a Kyle Marti comebacker to Sorenson.

Hoffmann and Marti would both score on Pete Meier's base hit to centerfield.

Mankato, which threatened in the first, put together another threat in the third and fourth innings but saw them both fizzle as they left two runners on base in both innings.

Mankato put two runners on with one out in the sixth, only to see Wilfahrt cooly work out of the inning with no damage.

Meanwhile, New Ulm pieced together a pair of four run innings in the fifth and sixth.

In the fifth, McCellan walked and took third on a Jeff Dolan base hit. Austvold's groundout plated McClellan before the first of two doubles by Hoffmann brought in Dolan. Hoffmann scored on Kyle Marti's base hit. Meier reached on an error and later scored on Blake Thorson's single.

In the sixth, a Dolan single preceeded Eric Austvold's home run over the fence in right. Hoffmann collected his second double and scored on a Meier single with Meier taking second on an error. Meier took third on a groundout and scored on a Jeff Case wild pitch.

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NEW ULM GOLD 300-044-X=11-13-0