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VFW Gold runs by Hutchinson 12-0

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Teddy Giefer of New Ulm VFW Gold slides in to home safe in the second inning of Saturday’s subdistrict playoff game with Hutchinson at Eagles Park in Sleepy Eye.

SLEEPY EYE — The game plan for New Ulm VFW Gold on Saturday was simple: keep throwing strikes and continue putting bat on ball.

Gold starting pitcher Cole Backer did his part by allowing three walks and two hits and the offense did their part by adding 11 hits, giving Gold a 12-0 subdistrict playoff win over Hutchinson in five innings at Eagles Park.

Backer also added four strikeouts in his complete-game win.

Gold will now play at noon on Sunday in Sleepy Eye against Sleepy Eye VFW Post 800 in the Northwest Subdistrict title game. If Post 800 picks up the win over Gold, they will have to beat Gold again in a 2:30 p.m. game later that afternoon to be declared the Northwest Subdistrict champion.

Gold needs just one win Sunday to be crowned champion.

Nolan Drill had a perfect day at the plate for Gold on Saturday, giving him an extra boost of confidence before Sunday’s championship game. He went 3 for 3 with three RBIs and a run scored.

“I think it’s pretty great for us,” Drill said. “We’re hitting the ball well, and we just need to continue through districts and hopefully do it in state.”

Each player in the starting lineup had a hit for Gold aside from Jace Marotz, but Marotz still ended up adding a pair of RBIs on a groundout in the first and a sac fly in the second. Mason Cox was 1 for 2 with a pair of RBIs, while Tony Geiger added two hits and two runs scored.

Teddy Giefer also added a hit and two RBIs with two runs scored.

It was going to be a challenge for New Ulm to top its first-inning, 14-run performance from Friday, but that didn’t stop the team from trying by adding seven runs on five hits in the first inning Saturday. The inning was highlighted by a pair of two-run singles from Drill and Giefer.

New Ulm added two more runs in the second and one run in the third before capping off their scoring with two runs in the fourth after an RBI single from Drill and an RBI double from Cox. Parker Wortz received the loss with 2 2/3 innings of work, giving up seven hits and five walks for ten runs.

Hutchinson didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning.

Jerome Hilgemann blooped what looked to be Hutchinson’s first hit of the game into right field in the second inning. That hit, however, ended up being taken away after a strong throw from Geiger to first beat Hilgemann to the bag for the final out of the inning.

With the bases full and two outs in the fourth, Hutchinson appeared to add its first run to the board after a sharply hit liner got past the second baseman into right field. But Geiger again came up firing a throw to first for the last out of the inning, ending the threat.

After scoring 37 runs combined in two games after Friday and Saturday, Drill said that it shows how good this Gold team really is.

“It shows that we can play and that we’re the best team in this tournament right now,” Drill said.

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