So much talent, so few spotsSleepy Eye Legion headed to state with plentiful staff

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- It's a problem that any coach would tell you that they'd love to have.

And it has been a problem that Sleepy Eye Legion Post 7 coach Jeff Cook dealt with the entire season.

Cook simply has too many talented players, and there are not enough spots on either the diamond or the line-up card that he carefully constructs before the game to play all those talented players.

But no matter who gets penciled in the starting lineup any given day, that player has responded and Cook looks like a genius at the end of the day.

"All the way through the lineup, I think we've got one of the best hitting teams that I've seen," Cook said. "It ranks right up there."

Cook's squad enters the state tournament with two games in Lonsdale on Thursday. The first game against the defending national champion Rochester A's is at 1 p.m.

"We played them in the Upper Midwest [Classic] here in July," Cook said. "They beat us 5-2, but we'd been together only a couple of weeks. We weren't playing the best ball back then."

Cook has the benefit of fielding a team that have players coming off a state championship during the high school season and also members of a team that finished second in the section tournament.

He also has five players back who were eligible to play after their senior season, some of which have a year of college ball tucked away under their belt.

"Along with the college experience, we've got kids who have state tournament experience, so they actually just reunited," Cook said. "So, having them around is good for the younger kids."

Leading the pack for Sleepy Eye is Andy Cook, who plays center field after spending most of his career behind the plate. Andy Cook played at Iowa Lakes Community College for the school portion of the schedule, and he's hitting .413 with two home runs and 24 RBIs.

His replacement at catcher is Chris Reinarts, and Reinarts has done all the right things to get to the state tournament. Reinarts leads the team with four home runs and is batting .344 with 17 RBIs.

"Chris, he kind of had an average year last year, but this year he's been phenomonal for us," Cook said. "He's had some big hits, plus he's filled in at catcher the whole year."

Third baseman Tyler Jensen has demonstrated that he's as good as they come at the hot corner. He's hitting .364 with 12 RBIs.

"The group as a whole has played great defense, and Tyler at third -- I don't know if there's anyone better in the area," Cook said.

In the clean-up spot, shortstop/pitcher Matt Mathiowetz is hitting .372 with two home runs and 13 RBIs.

On the mound, Mathiowetz went 3-1 with 14 strikeouts. Matt Gangelhoff has also been getting on in the lead-off spot. He enters the state tournament with a batting average of .396. Jason Schueler is hitting .320 in the bottom of the order, so there are no easy outs for opposing pitchers.

As far as pitching goes, that may be the team's only question marks. Cook says as long as his pitchers throw strikes, the team will continue to play well.

Brett Braulick is 3-1 and Brad Hillesheim is 4-0. Joey Wahl and Dan Krzmarzick have also had stints on the mound, along with Jensen, who was shelved with a shoulder injury but may return to the hill if needed.

"In the last week, he said his arm has been feeling a lot better, so if the opportunity presents itself and he's willing and able to pitch, he may have to throw a few innings," Cook said.

Cook also said the comraderie of the team has improved from the beginning of the year.

"The last couple of weeks, the attitude's been really good," Cook said. "Everyone has been meshing really good. There's such a transition when high school's over. It took three weeks to a month to get back to where you really want them playing again."

Jeremy Behnke can be reached at jbehnke@nujournal.com.