The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Sports

Mulvihill Legion Baseball Tournament

SATURDAY’S RESULTS
Mankato 11, Austin 1
New Ulm Blue 5, Prior Lake 4
Bloomington Gold 13, Austin 1
Litchfield 5, New Ulm Blue 4
Bloomington Gold 1, Viroqua 0
Apple Valley 8, Prior Lake 2

SUNDAY’S GAMES
Seventh-Place: Austin vs. New Ulm Blue, 9 a.m., Wolverton.
Fifth-Place: Mankato vs. Litchfield, 11:30 a.m., Wolverton.
Third-Place: Viroqua vs. Prior Lake, 9:30 a.m., Franklin Rogers Park.
Championship: Apple Valley vs. Bloomington Gold, noon, Franklin Rogers Park.

Related Photos

  • Austin shortstop Gabe Kasak stretches for a wide throw from first as Mankato Legion National’s Michael Zellar slides safely into second. Zeller eventually scored as Post 11 won the game 11-1. John Cross

    legion bb.jpg

June 23, 2012

Mankato thumps Austin for 1st win

National Post 11 to play in 5th-place game of Mulvihill tournament

By Jim Rueda Free Press Sports Editor

MANKATO — After admittedly playing some ugly baseball during their first five games, the members of the Mankato Legion National Post 11 baseball team figured they had had enough.

On Saturday, in the third round of the annual Jim Mulvihill Memorial Tournament at Franklin Rogers Park, the previously-winless Nationals put together their best game of the season.

Two strong pitching performances from Ryan Ohme and Branden Adema, coupled with a 13-hit attack, led to an 11-1 victory over Austin. The defense still has work to do, as it made three more errors, but only one of the miscues led to an unearned run.

“We knew that if we started hitting the ball like we know how we’re a pretty good baseball team,” said Mankato’s Shane Sellner, who finished 3 for 5 with two doubles and two RBIs. “There are too many good players on this team for our bats to stay quiet very long. When we hit and keep our errors down we feel we can play with anybody.”

Post 11 started slowly, scoring solo runs in the second and third innings to hold a 2-0 lead after three innings. Mankato’s offense began to assert itself in the fourth, rallying for five runs to put the game away. The decisive rally began when Colin Risting was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Blake Matuska followed by slicing a double the opposite way down the left-field line to score Risting.

Charlie Sorenson then did nearly the exact same thing on the opposite side, bouncing an RBI-double down the right-field line. Konor Severns followed with grounder through the hole to left, placing runners on first and third. Severns stole second before Jack Mages advanced both runners with a one-out sacrifice fly to right.

Sellner then delivered his third hit of the game, a double to left-center, to drive in the fourth run of the inning. Zach Mullin capped the rally with an RBI-double down the third-base line.

“We finally put it together,” Mankato coach Jamie Mulvihill said afterward. “We got some big hits with guys on base, got some great pitching and the defense didn’t hurt us too much.”

Mullin finished 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Matuska added a single and a double and drove in a run.

Left-hander Ohme worked the first five innings for the win. He allowed just one hit — a fifth-inning single to Jacob Gardner — struck out four and walked three. He gave up one unearned run.

“I felt pretty good,” Ohme said. “I threw mostly a fastball, curve, change.

“The mound was giving me problems (in the fifth) and I struggled with my control a little bit. I was getting a little tired, too, so it probably wasn’t a bad time to bring in someone else.”

Adema started the sixth and promptly struck out the side. He loaded the bases in the seventh but got out of it with a pair of strikeouts and a foul out.

When Ohme was asked if this was the start of a winning streak for the Nationals, he replied with cautious optimism: “I sure hope so.”

Mankato (1-5) will take on Litchfield at 11:30 a.m. today in the fifth-place game at Wolverton Field.

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