Staff photo by Steve Muscatello New Ulm Legion gold second baseman Brandon Mehlhop tags out a Sioux Falls East runner Thursday at Johnson Park in New Ulm. For more photos of this event go to cu.nujournal.com

By Jim Bastian

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM — With both Sioux Falls East and New Ulm Legion Gold starting play in the Gopher Classic on Friday, Thursday’s contest at Johnson Park was one that did not have the luster of a regular-season game.

In the end, it was Sioux Falls East that came away with a 7-3 win against Gold.

Alex Fuhs, the second of three pitchers used by Post 15 in the game, got the win.

Jordan Fischer, the second of four pitchers that took the mound for Gold, was charged with the loss.

Matt Hedeen, Mitch Tolk, Logan Mueller and Cardill Walker each had two hits for SFE who out-hit New Ulm 14-7 in the game.

“There was not a lot of energy both sides,” New Ulm coach Jeremy Drexler said. “Both teams are just trying to get through this game not using any pitching. We had some good at-bats in the first three innings but then after that we did not. The only real frustrating thing is that I thought that our pitchers did not do a good job of holding runners on base. We got some swings in for the night and head for the Gopher.”

Sioux Falls East scored three runs off of Gold starter A.J. Lassas in the first inning on a walk, a hit batsman and a two-run double from Mitch Tolk. Tolk later scored on an RBI single from Brandon Ford.

Gold knotted the game with three runs in the bottom of the second.

Cooper Forbrook, Tyler Roufs and Alex Lund all singled to cut the lead to 3-1. A J.T. Hoffmann single scored Roufs and Lund came into score on a Cole Wellmann base hit.

Gold had five hits in that inning but could only add one more hit in the game, that coming when Andrew Peters led off the third with a base hit.

Other than that, Gold had only one more base runner in the game when Forbrook reached on an error to lead off the sixth inning.

Post 15 tallied three more runs in the fourth on three hits and an error.

A Ford double and an RBI single from Mueller made it 7-3.

“We play each other every year here on the way to the Gopher Classic,” Drexler said. “They did not use any pitching either. They love playing here at Johnson Park and we love to have them.”

Gold begins play in the Gopher Classic with all of their games at Burnsville. They play Burnsville at 4:30 p.m. on Friday before meeting Chaska at 9 a.m. on Saturday. They then play East Ridge at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. On Sunday, they play Chippewa Falls (Wisconsin) at 9 a.m. and then play Team Manitoba at 11:30 a.m.

“It is nice to play different teams,” Drexler said. “That is why we love going up there. You do not know what the talent is going to be. It is going to be a tough challenge but if we throw strikes and get some clutch hits we will be right in it.”