Sleepy Eye seeks return to state success
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GLENWOOD -- When Sleepy Eye Senior Legion Post 7 won the DII Legion Baseball State Tournament in 2023 and 2024, it set a championship standard for the program.
Last season, Sleepy Eye missed out on the state tournament, falling twice to Luverne in the sub-state championship. This year, Sleepy Eye is back, and the group is excited to redeem its loss last year and show it can maintain that championship standard set earlier this decade.
"I think you could tell after the game how much winning it this year meant after losing twice in that championship last year stuck with them," Sleepy Eye head coach Caden Evers said. "They were really pumped up. I'm excited to see this weekend in our games, they're going to come really amped up and they're really excited to play good baseball this weekend.
Sleepy Eye will take on Le Sueur-Henderson in the first round of the tournament Friday at 4 p.m. in Glenwood. Sleepy Eye has posted a 16-4 overall record so far this year, building on the basics to find success.
"I think our motto this year has been staying simple and doing the little things right," Evers said. "Hitting-wise, staying simple and not trying to do too much and playing base-to-base baseball. I think we've done that really well. Playing sound defense, running the bases hard and taking advantage of errors. That's really been our motto.
"Our pitching has been unbelievable this year. Got to give credit to those guys, they've put us in a lot of great situations to win a lot of baseball games. I think that's been our strength this year. Our hitting and defense is nothing to flack on too. They've both done their part as well."
Kayden Klein has pitched the most innings for the team this season, pitching 40 2/3 innnings with a 6-0 record, 16 strikeouts and a 2.66 ERA. Merrick Mathiowetz, who will likely start against Le Sueur-Henderson, follows with 25 1/3 innings pitched, a 3-1 record, 23 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA, while Landry Folkens has pitched 18 1/3 innings with a 3-0 record, 17 strikeouts and a 3.44 ERA. Tyler Mathiowetz and Karter Haala have also seen significant time on the mound, and as a team, Sleepy Eye has a 3.08 ERA.
At the plate for Sleepy Eye, Tyler Mathiowetz leads the team with a .470 batting average, putting up 31 hits, 15 RBIs and 23 runs scored. Carson Uecker holds a .404 batting average with 23 hits, nine RBIs and 14 runs scored, while Klein is batting .383 with 23 hits, 12 RBIs and five runs scored. Haala and Merrick Mathiowetz are also batting over .300 on the season on a team that has plenty of firepower.
Le Sueur-Henderson enters the tournament with an 8-5 record and a strong pitching staff of its own.
"They're going to be a pretty tough draw," Evers said. "They have a few arms that throw really well. They throw a lot of strikes and they get a lot of strikeouts. They're going to be all-around a really solid team. I think we can take advantage of a few weaknesses that they have that I've been keying in on, but I think if we stick to our game, I have a really good feeling about that game."
Evers, along with assistant coaches Winsten Nienhaus and Mark Anderson, were a part of those championship teams in 2023 and 2024. Evers said the biggest part of finding success in this tournament will be the energy that the team brings to each game.
"Bringing energy carries a lot of momentum throughout games and throughout the tournament," Evers said. "You're never out of any game if you keep the energy at a high. If things aren't going your way during a game, that can kind of pick you back up and get you back into a game.
"Just playing for each other is another big thing. Know that your teammates got your back if you don't have it that day, and picking each other up is going to be huge."