File photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye Junior Legion pitcher Landry Folkens prepares to deliver a pitch during a Junior Upper Midwest Classic Baseball Tournament game at Mueller Park on June 20.

SLEEPY EYE — After the Sleepy Eye Legion Post 7 baseball team came up short this year in their goal of playing for their third consecutive DII legion state championship, the Sleepy Eye Junior Legion team wasn’t going to let the summer end without a Sleepy Eye state tournament berth.

After being knocked into the elimination bracket of the Southwest Sub-State Junior Legion Baseball tournament by Springfield, Sleepy Eye came back to beat Luverne, Windom and Slayton, setting up a rematch with Springfield on July 28 in Springfield. Springfield needed just one win to advance to state, but Sleepy Eye won the game and forced a second finals game July 29 in Sleepy Eye, where Sleepy Eye won 6-4 to qualify for this year’s DII State Junior Legion Baseball Tournament in Hayfield, which begins Friday.

“When we lost that first game against Springfield, we knew our road was going to be really difficult,” Sleepy Eye Junior Legion head coach Brandon Streich said. “Our district itself is very tough, but then you factor in it’s double elimination and your backs are against the wall, but we played really well. I knew for a fact we were better than the teams remaining, we just had to go out and play our game. We did and give the kids a lot of credit. They responded to it very well, they weren’t intimidated by the moment and they kind of embraced everything.”

Sleepy Eye’s legion team made the DII state tournament the previous two years and won it all, but it came up short of the state tournament this year after falling to Luverne in the Southwest Sub-State finals.

But according to Streich, Sleepy Eye baseball doesn’t rebuild, they reload.

“Expectations externally versus internally may be different,” Streich said. “We have a lot of pride in our program and I think the kids take pride in it. And once we buy into the culture and the way you play Sleepy Eye baseball, once we buy into that, that just kind of speaks for itself.”

Sleepy Eye (16-7) will open the state tournament at 12:30 p.m. Friday against St. Charles (16-7), who defeated Caledonia 8-7 in 10 innings in the Southeast Sub-State title game.

Semifinals and consolation action resume Saturday, with the championship game and third-place taking place Sunday.

Sleepy Eye has been led this year by its pitching and defense, which Streich said has been even more solid the last month.

Karter Haala had pitched the most for the team this season with 39 1/3 innings of work and five starts. He is 2-2 with a 3.03 ERA and 25 strikeouts and has allowed just eight walks.

Landry Folkens is another ace for Sleepy Eye this season with 26 1/3 innings pitched and a 3-0 record. He has a 1.60 ERA, 24 strikeouts and eight walks allowed.

Carson Uecker (11 2/3 innings, 1.80 ERA) and Chase Zufall (11 1/3 innings, 0.62 ERA) have also kept runs off the board for Sleepy Eye this year on the mound.

“Honestly, I feel comfortable with any of the pitchers that we throw out there,” Streich said. “Right now I have a lot of confidence in Karter and Landry, but I would say a lot of our pitchers throw strikes and just rely on their defense.

“When they’re throwing strikes, it keeps the defense in the rhythm of the game and everybody just kind of feeds off everybody that’s throwing strikes.”

Folkens has the lowest WHIP on the team with at least 10 innings pitched, with a WHIP of 1.14. He attributes his success this summer on the mound to finding his spots.

“My control’s gotten a lot better this summer,” Folkens said. “I’m able to hit the spots that my catcher wants me to hit.”

At the plate, Carson Uecker has led the way. Much like his older brother Austin Uecker has done over the years for the legion team, Carson Uecker’s swing has helped lift the junior legion team to many wins this summer as he’s led the team in batting average (.487), doubles (12) and RBIs (32).

Despite sharing success at the plate with his older brother, Carson Uecker’s been able to find his own way to get on base.

“His approach is a lot different than mine, he likes to be very aggressive at the plate, which I kind of like to let them get one strike on me right away and then jump on the next pitch if it’s there,” Carson Uecker said.

Jacob Fulmer (.328 BA) and Adam Braulick (.327 BA) have swung the bat well for Sleepy Eye this summer also, while Merrick Mathiowetz isn’t far behind with a .288 batting average. Chase Zufall is hitting .286 also and Folkens is hitting .283.

Derek Wales, a regular member of the Sleepy Eye VFW team, is hitting .357 in 18 at-bats.

After seeing his brother win state titles with the legion team, Carson Uecker is hoping to get the chance to bring home a state title of his own with the junior legion squad.

“It feels good to be a part of what Sleepy Eye’s built the past couple years, what legion has done,” Carson Uecker said. “But I think we’ve got a pretty good squad, so we should be able to get some good games in at the state tournament.”

While he’s had a strong summer, Folkens said the team’s run to state is because of everyone’s love of the game and their ability to play it well.

“It’s a good group of guys,” Folkens said. “We’re all very good at baseball, all these guys work hard, they love the game, they know how to play it. It’s fun when your whole team likes to play and they know what to do and they’re good at it, too. It’s not just having to do it all, it’s everybody combining together to make this appearance.”