Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm’s Trevor Nissen (99) celebrates with teammates Ayden Jensen (0) and Andrew Peters (20) after hitting a home run during the Region 2C Amateur Baseball Championship against Courtland Saturday at Johnson Park.

NEW ULM — The New Ulm Brewers came out with two dominant wins to clinch a bye in the Class C Amateur Baseball State Tournament, defeating the Hanska Lakers 13-1 and the Courtland Cubs 17-3, both in seven innings, on Saturday at Johnson Park.

With the pair of wins, New Ulm gets the top seed from the Region 2C Tournament after falling last year to the Cubs in the championship game.

“It feels good,” New Ulm’s Cole Ranweiler said. “Everybody put in the work and we all prepared this week to be here. Our pitcher put in great performances today. [Ethan] Stade had a great game against Hanska today, set up the table for [Mitch Bockenstedt] to play that second game well.”

Stade got the win in Game 1 for New Ulm, striking out 13 while allowing one hit and one run in seven innings. At the plate for the Brewers, Andrew Peters was 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs while J.T. Hoffmann and Zach Hoffmann each had a hit and two RBIs.

Alex Stresemann took the loss for Hanska, striking out two while allowing seven runs, none earned, on three hits in five innings. At the plate, Gary Wilfahrt had the team’s lone hit.

Bockenstedt got the win in Game 2 for the Brewers, striking our three while allowing three earned runs on five hits. At the plate, Cole Ranweiler was 5 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

“It was just stepping up to the plate, trying to see the ball out of the hand,” Cole Ranweiler said. “Tell yourself, ‘See the ball, hit the ball.’ Preparing before is bigger. It’s important to prepare during the week and be ready for the games.”

Hunter Ranweiler was 3 for 4 with four runs scored for New Ulm, and Wade French was 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored. J.T. Hoffmann was 3 for 5 with four RBIs and two runs scored, and Trevor Nissen was 2 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs.

Carter Lang took the loss for the Cubs, striking out one and allowing six runs on seven hits. At the plate, Lang was 2 for 3 with a run scored, while Jaden Drill and Teagan Kamm each had a hit and an RBI.

With the two dominant wins, Cole Ranweiler believes the team gained some momentum heading into the state tournament.

“We like to put up runs,” he said. “It’s easier for our pitchers to perform then behind us.”

Hunter Ranweiler started things off for New Ulm in Game 2 in the first with a single before Cole Ranweiler hit a double to bring him home. The Brewers added five more runs in the second, highlighted with a two-run home run by Nissen to take a 7-0 lead.

Courtland struck back in the bottom of the second, with Teddy Giefer doubling and Lang Singling before Drill singled to score Giefer. Kamm collected another single to score Lang, and Cade Bushard grounded into a fielder’s choice that got Drill to the plate.

While New Ulm was held scoreless in the third inning, it continued the scoring in the fourth, putting three runs across in an inning highlighted by a RBI double by J.T. Hoffmann. The Brewers had their biggest inning of the game in the fifth, plating seven runs on six hits, including J.T. Hoffmann’s two-RBI single and an RBI double by Zach Hoffmann. New Ulm added one more run in the sixth with a French ground-rule double scoring Cole Ranweiler to seal the 17-3 victory.

After the game, the draft was held for playoff teams in Region 2C. The Brewers selected Lamberton’s Carter Benz and Searles’s Mark Schommer and Casey Lux, while Courtland picked Leavenworth’s Jackson Huiras, Stark’s Adam Sellner and Searles’s Tony Geiger. Hanska chose Lamberton’s Eli Fest, Leavenworth’s Mark Anderson and St. James’s Branden Peterson, while the Springfield Tigers selected Leavenworth’s Brandon Schmitz and Jevan Richert and Stark’s Dylan Klein.

All four teams await state playoff seeding for their next game.