NEW ULM — Because of lower enrollment, next year the New Ulm High School baseball and softball teams will be playing in Section 2AA instead of their current Section 2AAA.

That means that New Ulm baseball fans who have come to watch the Eagles play in their home parks of Johnson and Mueller Parks for tournaments will be on the road for postseason games.

Right now Section 2AA (New Ulm’s new section) is currently comprised of Belle Plaine, Blue Earth Area, Maple River, Sibley East, Minnesota Valley Lutheran, Cannon Falls, Kenyon-Wanamingo, Medford, LeSueur-Henderson, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, Waseca, New Richland-H-E-G, Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial and Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop.

This also means there will be no New Ulm team in the 2AAA baseball tournament that New Ulm has been hosting.

But even with no New Ulm team playing in the Section 2AAA tournament at Johnson and Mueller Parks, there are no plans to move the tournament.

Bruce Remme of Marshall High School, who is the tournament coordinator, said that the Section 2AAA tournament wants to stay in New Ulm for several reasons.

“Geographically New Ulm is in the center of the section which stretches from Marshall to Mankato to Waconia, Hutchinson and Worthington,” he said. “On top of that you would be hard-pressed to find two better ballparks side by side — both with lights — anywhere in the state. New Ulm has been a super host for this tournament and we hope to remain at Johnson and Mueller parks for years to come.”

And you would be hard-pressed to find any parks with the great food that is served there.

New Ulm High School Activities Director Troy Guentzel said that New Ulm will be moving sections to a lower section based on enrollment for the next two years.

“This is a good depiction of where we are at school-size and where other schools are at,” he said. “Currently we are one of the smallest AAA schools in AAA baseball and we will be moving to be one of the largest in AA baseball.

“We are competitive no matter where we are, but we need to stick to where our classification numbers are from the Minnesota State High School League.”

Guentzel said that any school has the opportunity to “opt up” but the (MSHSL) does not have to allow you to opt up.

Guentzel said that New Ulm did not request to “opt up.”

“We requested to stay where we were classified,” Guentzel said.

Classification numbers for schools are a moving target because classification numbers are always changing.

This change does not affect the teams that the Eagles play in the regular season in conference or nonconference.

GIRLS’ HOCKEY MOVES BACK: One of the other moves that affects New Ulm High School is that the its girls’ hockey team, a team that had been moved to Section 2A several years ago, is now back in Section 3A.