Gold wins one, loses one

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

HERMANTOWN -- Ryan Walters extricated himself from one wreck. But the second proved to be fatal.

The top of the order came through for Moorhead as the Blues scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Moorhead then held off a New Ulm Gold rally for a 5-4 victory Thursday night at Fichtner Field in the winners bracket of the Minnesota State Division I Legion Baseball Tournament.

"They had one big inning," New Ulm coach Dave Kunz said, "and you can't do that in a state tournament game. They just got on a roll and we couldn't get out of it."

The loss sends New Ulm (18-13), which had won nine straight entering the contest, into the losers bracket. Gold will meet Maple Grove at 1:30 p.m. today at Wade Stadium in Duluth in an elimination game.

New Ulm held a 1-0 lead on Moorhead (38-8) before the Blues got a run in the fourth when Craig Backlund drove in Jaimes Swenson with a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game. Walters (5-1) got out of the inning, but not the next one.

The Blues strung together four singles, including three straight RBI singles, in the fifth. Walters left in favor of Andy Stolt after loading the bases with two outs.

Walters allowed five run on six hits. He struck out five and walked three.

If the big inning wasn't bad enough, Gold's bats, which had some success against Chris Ingersoll (9-3) in the first four innings, went silent in the fifth and the sixth innings. Ingersoll went the distance, giving up four runs on nine hits, and striking out four without issuing a walk.

"There wasn't a lot of talking on the bench," New Ulm designated hitter Brandon Reinarts said. "We'd get a little adrenaline going and we'd start talking, but then we'd lose it."

Ingersoll set Gold down in order in the fifth and got a double play in the sixth to get out of the inning after Walters reached with a lead-off single to right field. But New Ulm had one last gasp left.

With two out, and down to Gold's last strike, Reinarts homered to left.

"I wasn't thinking of anything really," Reinarts said. "It was just like it was 0-0. That's what you have to think in that situation."

Rejuvenated, New Ulm got Craig Spelbrink aboard when Moorhead third baseman Adam Fode couldn't handle a grounder.

Scott O'Brien followed with a bloop single to right and Gold was still alive with runners at the corners. But John Enter went down swinging to end the game.

"That was very tough," Reinarts said. "We were all ready for the end of the game. John Enter's been a real good hitter for us. It was just tough luck."

New Ulm picked up a run to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Mitch Stueber singled to lead off the inning, stole second and scored from third on Isaac Larson's single up the middle.

Gold added a pair of runs in the fourth on a pair of singles and a two-RBI double to the fence in right-center by Micade Thordson with two out to lift New Ulm to a 3-1 margin.

Walters and Stueber each finished with a pair of hits and Stueber scored two runs. Thordson went 1-for-3 for Gold with a double and two RBI.

Swenson went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI for Moorhead.

"(Moorhead) hit the ball," Kunz said. "They put the ball in play. Moorhead always brings along a good team. They're experienced. I don't think we got down after that, otherwise we wouldn't have had that last inning. It was just that one big inning."

Legion Gold 12, Rochester A's 5

Ryan Wellmann celebrated his 19th birthday by leading Gold to a 12-5 win over the Rochester A's in the first round, also at Fichtner Field in Hermantown.

Wellmann got into trouble in a couple of innings, but finished the game, allowing three earned runs on five hits.

Eric Ruopsa (7-4) took the loss for Rochester. Ruopsa also went the distance, yielding nine earned runs on 13 hits.

Spelbrink went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Walters, Stueber and Joey Schugel each collected two hits for Gold.

Travis Krahn went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer to lead Rochester.

New Ulm got out to a quick start, plating three runs in the top of the first inning. O'Brien led off the game with a single, and Stueber and Schugel each hit RBI singles later in the inning.

Ruopsa settled down in the next two innings, but New Ulm came alive again in the fourth inning. Gold scored five runs on five hits, including a two-RBI double by Enter down the line in left, to stake New Ulm to an 8-3 advantage.

New Ulm added its final four runs in the seventh with Spelbrink driving in two runs on a double to the gap in right.

1st Game

LEGION GOLD 300 500 4 -- 12 13 2

ROCHESTER 003 000 2 -- 5 5 3

Wellmann and Stueber. Ruopsa and Miller. W--Wellmann, 5-3. L--Ruopsa, 7-4. HR--Rochester, Krahn. T--1:53.

2nd Game

MOORHEAD 000 140 0 -- 5 9 1

LEGION GOLD 010 200 1 -- 4 9 0

Ingersoll and Svir. Walters and Stueber. W--Ingersoll, 9-3. L--Walters, 5-1. HR--New Ulm, Reinarts. T--1:45. A--122.