Photo courtesy of Myron Fluegge Myron Fluegge, also sporting two previous championship rings, holds a championship ring order form for the MN Lumberjacks’ recent national championship.

After defeating Triple Play on Sept. 23, New Ulm’s Myron Fluegge and his MN Lumberjacks 75+ AA softball team returned from Las Vegas, Nevada, with a national championship title.

The MN Lumberjacks played from Sept. 20-23, compiling a 6-0 overall record to win their division at the 2021 Senior Softball World Championships.

The Lumberjacks won all three of their round robin games against other teams in their age and rating. In Game 1, the team defeated the Silver City Brewers from Washington by a score of 20-13. The second game was against the Texas Knight Riders, with the Lumberjacks winning by ten runs, 17-7. Then in Game 3, the Minnesota team had their greatest run output of the tournament, winning 23-16 against Triple Play from California.

The MN Lumberjacks got the top seed for double elimination bracket play, with the other teams all ending with 1-2 pool play records. In the first bracket game, the Lumberjacks had their only close game of the tournament. They played the Texas Knight Riders, who were seeded No. 4, having given up the most runs in the tie breaker.

The Texans scored three runs in the top of the 7th inning to take a 12-11 lead. Determined not to be outdone, the first Lumberjack batter led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a hit, followed by a two-run inside-the-park home run, with the ball rolling to the right-center field fence. That gave them a 13-12 victory.

Game 2 was against the Triple Play team, who won their first bracket game also. Minnesota won 13-6. Then in the championship game on Sept. 23, the MN Lumberjacks topped the Triple Play team again, this time 19-4 after invoking the 15-run rule after five innings.

This was the second national championship won by the MN Lumberjacks. They had won their 65 AA division in 2014. Fluegge, 76, had been invited to play with the MN Masters 75 team this past January and was part of their Tournament of Champions Championship in Winter Haven and Lakeland, FL.

Fluegge pitched 38 of the 39 innings in Las Vegas, giving up five walks (one intentional) and going 5-0.

Meanwhile, the opposing pitchers gave up 24 walks to the Lumberjacks. The Lumberjacks scored 105 runs (17.5 rpg) while the opponents scored 58 runs (9.7 rpg). A total of 651 teams competed in Las Vegas from ages 40-85 over a three-week period. In seven tournaments played this past season, the Lumberjacks were 21-13-1.