New Ulm Sports Central - Preserving and Sharing New Ulm Area Sports History

LAMBERTON --- Dusty Fleck held the Lamberton Long Sox at bay through nine innings to lead the Essig Bluejays to a 4-1 win Tuesday over the Tomahawk East’s last undefeated team in what ended up as the feature outcome of the week.

In Wednesday action, two division leaders matched up with the New Ulm Brewers (now 9-5) in the National topping the American's leading St. James A's (now 6-7) 7-2. the loss kept the A's in afirst place tie with Hanska. Stark improved its record with an 8-5 triumph over Redwood Falls and Leavenworth continued to pound the ball with a 14-4 eight-inning win over Sleepy Eye. The league also announced that a Gibbon-Redwood Falls games previously announced as postponed was change to a 9-0 forfeit win for Gibbon.

In Class B sectional play, Hanska fell to the Mankato Twins 11-0. The Mankato Free Press write-up is below

The Bluejays Fleck bested Colby Pack by scattering five hits, two walks and three errors over nine innings to set up a late inning win against the team which had won 11 straight. Lamberton led 1-0 through five, scoring in the fourth with the aid of two errors and two sacrifices. Fleck’s leadoff walk, one of two he issued in the game, came around to score.

Essig got it back on a Brad Hillesheim lead-off double and Kyle Krzmarzick’s single in the top of the sixth.
The Bluejays then picked up three in the seventh and escaped runners aboard for Lamberton in each of the last three innings. Sam Hanson’s singled started the scoring with a walk, advancing on a sacrifice and came home on Jason Schmitz’s hit. A walk, error and singles by Mitch Stueber and Fleck plated the last two runs.

Schmitz had three hits and Brad Hillesheim and Terry Helget two each for the Jays. Matt Knakmuhs had two of five Long Sox hits.
Essig ………….. 000 - 001 - 030 --- 4 - 10 - 3
Lamberton ... 000 - 100 - 000 --- 1 --- 5 - 2
Fleck and Haala; Pack and D. Jenniges

June 23, 2010, Mankato Free Press
Kato Twins thump Hanska
Allen, Nessler, Kaus each homer for Twins

Tyler Buckentine Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — Tuesday night’s amateur baseball game at Franklin Rogers Park featured a pair of area teams that have seen recent success in state tournament play.

“They’ve always been in Class C but we knew they were going to be decent,” said Mankato Twins manager/second baseman Jay Nessler.

The two-time Class B champion Twins hosted Hanska, the runner-up in the 2009 Class C tournament. Last season’s finish forced the Lakers to move up to Class B and into Region 4B with Mankato. The Twins welcomed Hanska with an 11-0 rout in seven innings.

Mankato’s Kevin Regan kept the Lakers off-balance with 10 strikeouts through six innings and Trent Vedders struck out two in relief in the seventh.

“I was just trying to attack the zone, change speeds and throw strikes,” said Regan, the former Mankato MoonDog who is in his first season as a Twin.

Nessler went with Regan, who said he hadn’t started a game since American Legion ball in 2001, to start Tuesday because his rotation was depleted. Kevin Dixon was absent and Ryan Greene hurt his arm over the weekend.

“We needed him to start and he stepped up and gave us six good innings,” Nessler said. “As we get going, guys will get their arms in shape and we should be pretty good.”

Equally important was Mankato’s power, particularly with two outs. Hanska starter Brady Mosenden retired the first two Twins in the first inning but after a two-out walk, Dane Allen crushed a two-run shot over the left-center field fence.

Mosenden was one out away from getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth but Nessler hit a grand slam over the scoreboard in right field to give the Twins a 7-0 lead.

Leading 8-0 in the sixth inning, Ben Kaus had the green light on a 3-0 count and homered to left field to cap Mankato’s scoring.

“You usually don’t see three (home runs) in a game,” Nessler said. “D.A. got a pretty good swing on that one, I hit mine pretty good and Kaus hit one.”

Trying to match last season’s success hasn’t been easy for Hanska (6-9), which has played many games this season without its three-hitter, Landon Rathman, and lost last season’s clean-up hitter, Chris Peters, to retirement.

“Losing Petey was not fun,” said manager/catcher Jeremy Drexler. “You have to deal with it. You can’t complain about it because that’s not going to do anything for us.”