Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Legion Gold’s Levi Franta pops up a pitch during Gold’s first game of Friday’s Sub-State tournament game with Mankato American at Johnson Park. After falling to American, Gold ended the night with a 2-0 win over National to move on to championship Saturday.

By Jim Bastian

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM — For the second time in two days, New Ulm Legion Gold shut out the Mankato National.

Blaine Olson scattered eight hits and was backed by a New Ulm defense that erased two Mankato scoring threats with two double plays as Gold ended the National season with a 2-0 win Friday in an elimination game in the DI, Sub-State 2 American Legion Baseball Tournament at Johnson Park.

Gold defeated Mankato National 4-0 Thursday night.

Earlier in the day, Gold fell to Mankato American 6-2.

Josh Giefer took the loss.

Jaden Drill and Ethan Thompson each had two hits in the game that saw New Ulm take a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

But Gold managed just one more hit in the last six innings and stranded eight baseruners in the first four innings, dropping them to elimination play.

In Gold’s win over National, Braden Smook took the loss, going four innings and being charged with both runs.

Drill and Kaden Larson each had two hits for New Ulm. Drill had a home run, with Jake Finstad adding a triple.

New Ulm now meets unbeaten Mankato American Saturday morning at 11 a.m. for the Second District title.

Gold would have to defeat Mankato American twice for their first title since 2019.

“It is a broken record but we have been getting pitching and defense all year round,” Gold coach Curt Forbrook “And today it happened again — I am proud of our guys and the way they stepped up.”

Gold, who has been outhit in their last two games against National, jumped to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first off of Smook when Drill turned on a Smook 2-1 fastball and sent it over the fence in right field.

“That gave us a little juice, ” Forbrook said. “These guys really get along good together and when he hit that it raised the atmosphere up in our dugout.”

What also raised Gold’s confidence was what happened in the bottom of the inning.

National’s Zach Kammerer and Mason Durose both singled with one out, putting runners on first and second.

But Olson’s defense turned an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

New Ulm added a second twin-killing in the fourth inning.

“Our defense has been really good all year,” Forbrook said. “I do not know if we have had over two errors in a game.”

New Ulm made it a 2-0 game in the fourth when Jake Finstad hit a one-out triple and scored on a Thompson sacrifice fly.

“We had some good clutch situational hitting which we preach all of the time,” Forbrook said. “We got it tonight.”

And Olson did the rest.

“He [Olson] has been solid all year,” Forbrook said. “He really wanted this game tonight and he stepped up big.”