BY JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

ST. JAMES -- Comebacks are nothing new to baseball teams in New Ulm.

Sunday afternoon, New Ulm Legion Gold liked one comeback so much, it used two in the same game.

Dusty Wilfahrt's two-out, two-strike single in the last of the 11th inning scored Eric Austvold and Kyle Marti to lift New Ulm to an 11-10 win over Mankato Post 11 to capture the Second District Legion title.

New Ulm (28-5) advances to the Minnesota State American Legion Baseball Tournament beginning Thursday in Rochester. Gold will play the District Five runners-up at 1 p.m. on Thursday at the RYBA Complex 4.

Pete Meier was the winning pitcher in relief of starter Dusty Wilfahrt who went the first 10 innings and threw 150 pitches. Wilfahrt allowed eight runs on 11 hits while striking out 12.

Mark Woodward took the loss for Mankato (16-13), going all 11 innings. He struck out 10 and allowed 13 hits.

Jeff Dolan, Austvold and Jamie Hoffmann each had two hits with Austvold belting a two- run home run. Marti doubled.

Mitch Salsbery had two home runs and three RBI for Post 11 with Eric Starke blasting a grand slam home run.

"In this ballpark, there is no safe lead," said New Ulm Gold Coach Dave Kunz who saw his team erase a 6-0 Mankato lead early in the game and a two-run lead in the 11th. "We talked about that when we got down 6-0. We told the guys 'Let's go.'"

Although the pair of four-run innings by New Ulm that took care of a 6-0 Post 11 lead and turned it into an 8-6 Gold lead was big, the rally in the 11th inning was even bigger.

Mankato broke an 8-8 tie with two runs in the 11th off the right-handed Meier. Salsbery led off with a solo home run before an error, one of seven errors in the game by New Ulm, led to the second run of the inning.

In the bottom of the 11th, Jeff Dilan led off with a single to center and Austvold drew a walk. After Woodward struck out Hoffmann, Marti pulled New Ulm to within one run at 10-9 with a clutch double to left. Mankato then walked Meier to load the bases. Woodward then fanned Tyson Anderson for the second out before he went 2-2 on Wilfahrt. Anderson then hit Woodward's next pitch to the gap in right-center scoring Austvold and Marti for the win.

"I think that we knew that we would be able to comeback in the 11th and win,' said Dolan whose lead-off single in the fourth inning sparked the first four-run inning by New Ulm. 'We know that we can come back and score runs when we need to. We have done that a few times this year. It is not anything new."

Wilfahrt said that he was concentrating on the ball the entire way in his only at-bat in the game. "I was pretty angry with myself for my pitching performance. I was getting behind the hitters and everything I threw, they seemed to hit."

Post 11 used the long ball to take a 2-0 lead over New Ulm and Wilfahrt in the first inning when Dan Umhoefer walked and scored on the first of two home runs by Salsbery.

Mankato added four runs in the top of the third when Eric Starke connected on a grand slam home run.

New Ulm pecked away at the 6-0 lead with four runs in the bottom of the fourth.

Dolan singled and Austvold put a charge into a Woodward pitch, sending it over the fence in right field. Hoffmann singled and Marti was hit by a pitch. Meier's single to right scored Hoffmann with Marti trotting home on a Anderson sacrifice fly.

Gold then took an 8-6 lead the next inning with four more runs.

Austvold legged out a one-out infield single. Marti reached on a two-out error. Meier walked to load the bases before another error allowed Austvold and Marti to score.

Meier later scored on a wild pitch with Anderson hustling home on an error on the same play.

"I think that the reason that Dusty was rusty today is that we only played three games in our district tournament (being unbeaten)," said Kunz." But it sure was a wild finish. Dusty did not have his best stuff today, but he sure made up for it with his bat (in the 11th inning.)"

MANKATO 204-000-020-02=10-14-6

NEW ULM GOLD 000-440-000-03=11-13-7

WP:Meier.LP: Woodward. 2B: Marti (NU). HR: Salsbery 2 (M), Starke (M), Austvold (NU).