Momentum

swings led

Indians to

tourney win

NEW ULM -- In Sleepy Eye's 7-6 win over Howard Lake in the opening round of the Class C state amateur baseball tournament, Brian Hertling struck out eight Howard Lake batters in getting the win.

But his last two strike outs were the most important as he fanned Mark Stueven and Tim Sonnek with the bases loaded in the last of the ninth inning to preserve the win and keep the Indians' season alive.

"They had loaded the bases and had their four and five hitters coming up and Brian had some success with both of those hitters before," commented Indians manager Ralph Zwaschka. "He was not tired but we talked on the mound and I told him that if he brought some heat, he could get the hitters out, which is what he did."

The right-hander's whiffs lifted the Indians to the win in a game in which they trailed 2-0 going into the top of the sixth inning before they tied the game with two runs.

While scoring those tying runs and then responding with three more runs in the top of the seventh inning was one of the turning points in the game, Zwaschka said there were a couple of more momentum swings that helped Sleepy Eye with the win.

"In the bottom of the eighth inning, they had a runner on first base and a player hit a hard ground ball to the right of (second baseman) Loren Havemeier. He used his speed to get to the ball and turn a (4-3) double play. That plus in the top of the ninth inning, Brian Sieve had an RBI single that scored the eventual game-winning run," Zwaschka said.

TEN-RUN GAME SPARKS SLEEPY EYE: Zwaschka said perhaps one of the turning points in the Indians' season may have come in a game with Redwood Falls when Sleepy Eye carried an 11-8 record.

"We then got 10-runned by Redwood Falls (in mid-July), but then we responded by beating Springfield and New Ulm and the team seemed to gain confidence and we seemed to jell and things came together for us," he said.

"There has been a good chemistry in the last 10 games where we have gone 9-1 (the only loss came to the New Ulm Brewers in the Region 2C title game) and we are playing well as a team."

And the winning streak has been done with a touch of some veterans and a lot of youth.

"This is probably the youngest team that I have coached in a long time," Zwaschka said. "You go around the team and I have a 17-year old catcher in Cody Walter, a 19-year old third baseman in Jim Eckstein, and Bobby Schmid at shortstop and 'Bear' Havemeier at second -- they are both 20 years old. Kelly Krzmarzick at first base is also only 20 years old.

"We also have Brooks Deibele, who has been a God-send for us in left field and he is 21 and Jadon Witte, who is 21."

But they have meshed well with veteran players such as Brian Sieve and Dean Brinkmann (who is still one of the classiest players that I have met).

"Dean has been a role player who comes to play," commented Zwaschka. "He made a great defensive play in that win. We had some big plays in that game but you need that solid defense to win."

NOW MEET BUCKMAN: The win moves Sleepy Eye (20-9) to a meeting with a strong Buckman team at 5 p.m. Saturday in Miesville. Zwaschka knows that it will be a good test going against a very good team.

"They are one of the favorites to win the Class C" tournament this year," he said. "They won Class C in 1999 and they are a team with some horses. They have a former Mankato State player in Scott Gieger. They come well-equipped to play."

Zwaschka said he will again hand the ball to Brian Hertling. "If you want to get to the final eight (and the double-elimination play) you have to ride the horse that got you there. He is the man to go with. You don't save your best for tomorrow.

"We will play it one game at a time. We know that it is a big game. We will go out there, do or best and let the chips fall where they may."

RANWEILER BELTS GRAND SLAM: Brady Ranweiler of New Ulm Kaiserhoff, and a draftee of Marshall, hit a first-inning grand slam home run for the the A's, but it was not enough as Marshall fell 6-5 to Ultimate Sports ... Former Milroy pitcher Chris Pack was the winning pitcher for Austin in a 2-1 win over Jordan. He fanned seven and allowed only three hits. He is also the boys basketball coach at Hayfield ... Former Kaiserhoff player Brad Keenan pitched 3 1-3 innings but did not figure in the decision as Chaska lost 9-0 to Rochester in the Class B state tournament ... Former New Ulmite Mike Wenninger went 2 2-3 innings in a 5-3 loss to Roseau in the Class C state tournament. Wenninger did not figure in the decision.

CREIGHTON PREP WINS REGIONAL: Next summer when Creighton Prep plays in the Upper Midwest Classic, they will bring with them the title of 2001 Central Plains Regional Champions as they won their way to the American Legion World Series with a 6-0 win over Minot, N.D. ... Creighton hit .386 as a team in the tournament (compared to .252 for New Ulm Gold). Creighton also had the best pitching in the tournament with a 3.35 ERA while Gold pitchers had an ERA of 9.41. Joe Pietro and Steve Larson of Creighton led the tournament in hitting with a .524 batting average. New Ulm Gold's Joey Schugel was sixth with a .417 batting average. Creighton, which was beaten by New Ulm Gold here, will meet Lewiston, Idaho, in the first round of the Legion World Series, which will begin Friday.