Staff photo by Jeremy Behnke New Ulm Junior Legion Gold players Carter Haala (right) and Taylor Hansen congratulate each other after they each scored a run in the bottom of the third inning during Friday’s game against Hastings at the Junior Upper Midwest Classic at Johnson Park.

NEW ULM — Levi Franta threw 5 2/3 innings of no-hit ball and the Junior Legion Gold broke open a slim 1-0 lead as New Ulm topped Osseo 4-0 Friday night in the Junior Upper Midwest Classic at Johnson Park.

It was New Ulm’s second win of the day as they defeated Hastings earlier in the day.

Franta allowed just that one hit — a solid single to center field by Hayden Delcastilllo — and struck out five in the complete game win.

He also added two hits in the game and drove in a run.

Eli Larson took the loss for Osseo. He went the distance and allowed seven hits.

“Levi was focused from the start,” Junior Legion head coach Collin Helget said. “He threw a lot of strikes and our defense made plays behind him. We did not have any errors so that was good to see. Defensively we were on top of our game.”

The Junior Legion took a 1-0 lead over Osseo in the bottom of the second inning when Jace Schaefer — who made several great defensive plays at shortstop in the game — reached on an error. He stole second before Franta reached on a bunt single that moved Schaefer to third. Franta swiped second and Schaefer scored on a Drew Domeier infield single.

New Ulm then pushed three runs across in the botom of the third.

Kyle Seidl led off with a single and proceeded to steal second and third base. Seidl scored on a Taylor Hansen base hit for a 2-0 lead.

Schaefer followed with a single and stole second Hansen would score on another Franta base hit before Schaefer trotted home on an error for a 4-0 lead.

“We got one run right away and that was a start,” Helget said. “You want to add as many runs as possible because you can never score enough runs against teams like this.”

Meanwhile Franta was continued to frustrate Osseo batters until Delcastillo’s sixth inning single broke up his no-hit bid.

“That (hit) did not bother me,” Franta said. “I had good defense behind me tonight. And when we got those (three) runs, it feels good when you have that big lead.”

Helget said that Schaefer played solid on defense, which is a norm for him.

“Jace always makes plays for us,” Helget said. “I can put him anywhere on the field — it does not matter where it is — he just always finds a way to get the out. He is a smart baseball player who you can trust anywhere.”

Pool play continues Saturday morning.