New Ulm Sr. Legion drop to 0-2 in state tournament
Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm’s Dirk Haynes fields a ball during a DI Senior Legion State Baseball Tournament game against St. Michael Thursday at Johnson Park.
Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm’s Tanner Backer high-fives the first base coach after getting a hit during a DI Senior Legion State Baseball Tournament game against St. Michael Thursday at Johnson Park.
Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm’s Dirk Haynes fields a ball during a DI Senior Legion State Baseball Tournament game against St. Michael Thursday at Johnson Park.
Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm’s Tanner Backer high-fives the first base coach after getting a hit during a DI Senior Legion State Baseball Tournament game against St. Michael Thursday at Johnson Park.
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NEW ULM -- St. Michael right-hander Ethan Funk held New Ulm bats to just two hits over six innings and Post 567 bats produced three first-inning runs as the Mikes downed New Ulm Gold 7-1 Thursday in the DI Senior Legion State Baseball Tournament at Johnson Park.
New Ulm fell to 0-2 in pool play in the tournament after taking a 8-3 loss to Sartell earlier in the day.
Funk fanned four and the only Gold run of the game came without the aid of a hit.
Mitchell Hopp took the loss for The Gold. Hopp went six innings and allowed five runs.
Taylan Siens, Wyatt Lawrence and Tyler Haring each had two hits for St. Michael, with Lawrence driving in three runs.
"This was not what we wanted," New Ulm Gold coach Curt Forbrook said. "We got behind early [4-0 after two innings] and we could not catch up. I do not know about our hitting -- we could not get the balls to drop today."
New Ulm totaled five hits in two games.
St. Michael scored three runs in the first inning with two runs coming on a Lawrence base hit.
The Mikes added another run in the second on a Siens double and a Lawrence base hit.
The Gold scored their only run of the game in the fifth on a Kyle Albrecht sacrifice fly.
The Mikes tallied a run in the sixth and then two more in the seventh on a Grady Johnson double.
Tanner Backer took the loss for New Ulm in the first game of the day against Sartell, striking out one and allowing six runs, one earned, on four hits in two innings. At the plate, Zach Hubbard had a hit and an RBI, while Levi Hopp and Eli Anderson each had a hit and a run scored.
Sartell put up one run in the first inning, then piled on five runs in the second inning to take a 6-0 lead early. Neither team scored in the second, third, fourth or fifth innings, but Sartell made it a 7-0 game with a run in the sixth and then 8-0 with another in the top of the seventh. New Ulm loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and Jake Finstad was hit by a pitch to bring one run home, then Levi Hopp scored on a passed ball and Zach Hubbard had an RBI single to make it 8-3, but the rally stopped there as a fly out ended the game.
With an 0-2 record, New Ulm cannot advance to the state semifinals and have one more game to play in pool play.
"We are playing for pride on Friday," Forbrook said as The Gold are scheduled to play St. Louis Park at 12:30 p.m. at Johnson Park.