Staff photo by Steve Muscatello New Ulm Legion Gold’s Mason Cox slides into third as Mankato Americans third baseman Ryan Kuechle dives for the ball during legion playoff action Friday at Mueller Park in New Ulm.

NEW ULM — One thing that people are finding out in the Division 1, Sub-State 2 American Legion Baseball Tournament is that New Ulm Gold can hit the ball.

New Ulm pounded out 13 hits and scored 12 runs as it remained unbeaten with a 12-4 pasting of Mankato American Friday night at Mueller Park.

Aaron Portner improved his pitching record to 5-1, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out three. Colton Schaefer pitched the final 2/3 innings.

Travis Noren took the loss for American (18-12). He was charged with 12 runs in 4 1/3 innings of work.

Six of the Gold starters each had two hits in Jaden Domeier, Hunter Ranweiler, Braden Zimmerman, Chris Knowles, Mason Cox and Teddy Giefer.

Hunter Ranweiler and Domeier each tripled, with Hunter Ranweiler also adding a double.

Domeier had three RBIs, with Josh Seidl, Hunter Ranweiler, Knowles and Cole Ranweiler each driving in two runs.

Gold, now 29-4 and the lone unbeaten in the tournament, squares off against Sleepy Eye at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Mueller Park.

American and Jordan play at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the winners meeting at 4 p.m. in a possible title game.

“We came out swinging the bats and we scored runs,” Gold coach Chris Peters said about his team that scored in every inning except the sixth. “We had that one big inning (a six-run fifth) and that put the game away.”

But the way New Ulm was swinging the bats, it was just a question of when they would blow the game open even after they fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first.

“Our bats have come alive and we have picked it up as a team.” Hunter Ranweiler said. “It is not just our one through four that can hit for us, it is one through nine. No matter who is in the lineup, we will be putting up hits and runs as well.”

Gold trailed 2-0 before scoring single runs in the first and second. Hunter Ranweiler’s triple scored Domeier in the first before Domeier singled in the tying tun in the second.

Gold scored twice in the third and fourth innings. In the third, it was a Cole Ranweiler groundout and a Cox single that added two runs.

In the fourth, it was a Josh Seidl single, a Hunter Ranweiler double and a Chris Knowles base hit that upped the lead to 6-3.

For Hunter Ranweiler, who reached base in all four of his at-bats and with two extra-base hits, it is a case of he — and the rest of the team — seeing the ball well.

“We are all focused on squaring up the ball,” he said. “We saw a lot of good pitchers lately, especially in the Gopher Classic and our (Classic). So it prepared us for this time of the year.”

New Ulm salted the game away with the six-run fifth inning that saw singles from Cox and Teddy Giefer, an error, a two-run triple from Domeier and two singles.

New Ulm now plays Sleepy Eye Saturday — a team that has beaten Gold in both of their meetings this season.

“We know that they are a good team,” Peters said about Sleepy Eye. “They will be ready and I know that we will be, too.”