Brewers rally to advance to state

BY JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- At least once in the playoffs, a team will probably need to stage a comeback in order to win a game.

Tuesday night, the New Ulm Brewers rallied twice.

New Ulm came back from 3-0 and 5-3 deficits to end the baseball season for Leavenworth with a 9-5 win.

New Ulm sweeps the best-of-five series 3-0 and sets up the Region 2C one game championship against Sleepy Eye Sunday night at 7:30 at Johnson Park. Both teams are assured of a trip to the Class "C" state tournament in Red Wing and Miesville with the game deciding champion and runners-up along with a draft pick.

Cole Deibele, draftee from Stark, survived a shaky start to get the win for New Ulm.

Jason Nachreiner took the loss in relief for the Orioles.

Chris Peters, Phil Clennon and Scott O'Brien all had two hits for New Ulm with O'Brien's two hits going for a triple and a double.

Randy Armbruster and Steve Eckstein each had two safeties for Leavenworth.

The game was tied at 3-3 going into the seventh inning when Leavenworth scored twice to take a 5-3 lead.

Randy Armbruster singled with one out off of Deibele, who pitched seven innings in getting his win. A Jody Beltz double moved Armbruster to third. Armbruster scored on a Leon Hillesheim sacrifice fly in which left fielder Todd Hoffmann made one of his two diving catches in the game. Beltz trotted home on a Gabe Hirsch two-out bloop single to center for that 5-3 lead.

But the Brewers plated four runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good.

Scott O'Brien led off with a triple to right and Evan Jacobs followed with a walk off of Jason Nachreiner, who relieved starter Paul Peterson in the sixth due to the heat.

Jeremy Wieland's single to left cut the lead to 5-4 before a four-pitch walk to Troy Kamm loaded the bases with no outs. But Kamm was caught off first on a Scott Schaefer pop fly to record the first two outs of the inning. Chris Peters followed with a base hit to center that scored both Jacobs and Wieland to give New Ulm their first lead of the game at 6-5. Gabe Hirsch, the third pitcher used by Leavenworth, then had a mental lapse as he went into a wind up with Peters on second. Peters easily stole third and scored when the throw to third from catcher Adam Luckhardt went into left field.

The Brewers added two insurance runs in the eighth inning. Terry Helget singled and went to third on Scott O'Brien's double. Helget scored on a Jacobs' groundout and O'Brien scored on a fielder's choice and an error.

Leavenworth took a 2-0 lead after two innings on RBI singles by Jason Nachreiner and Steve Eckstein before making it 3-0 in the third on an error.

New Ulm sliced the lead to 3-2 in the fourth on a Clennon RBI single and a Terry Helget sacrifice fly.

The Brewers knotted the game in the bottom of the sixth when Peters was hit by a pitch, went to second on a wild pitch and came home on a Clennon base hit to center.

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