We would like to thank all the players that came out to the field on Sunday to tryout. 

The 2018 Winona VFW Buddies roster will be:

Dayne Gamkoke, Bennett Heftman, Cal Brinkman, Spencer Wright, Grant Buxengard, Jack Herczeg, Sam Kanne, Austin Mlynczak, Sean Mohan, Ethan Anderson, Jack Thompson, Keaton Reutzel, Tucker Merchlewitz, Isaac Teig, Connor Yocum, and Jackson Nibbelink. 

Congratulations to all of you that have made the team. If your name is not on the list, it is important for you guys to continue your development as baseball players through the summer. The Morrie Miller team is a great way to get at bats and reps everyday. Below I will post the number for the Morrie Miller coach, please get in contact with so you are playing baseball in the summer.

For all of the kids that have made the team, there will be a quick ten minute parents meeting tomorrow May 23rd at the VFW at 6:30. The meeting is to go over insurance and talk about our one fundraiser that we do, so we can continue to offer the Buddies free of charge to the players. 

Any questions or concerns please email or call me.

Matt Smith # for Morrie Miller- 507-313-3918

Thank you all again. We look forward to continue the successes of the Winona VFW Buddies!

The location of the VFW tryouts has been moved to the varsity baseball field at the Winona Senior High School. The time will remain the same. 

Please have the kids get to the high school by 11:45 so they can check in with me before the tryout begins. Sorry for the late change in plans, and we look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

My number is 507-450-6805

Email- smarks14@winona.edu

Showcases and Baseball combines are a great way for our young players to generate exposure and showcase their skills in front of college and professional scouts. If any young player has aspirations of playing at the collegiate or pro level this type of exposure is a must. I have listed a bunch of showcases and combines for everyone to look at. Try to attend the pro tryout because it is a free tryout and all major league teams and many college scouts attend that showcase.
Most camps and tryouts are expensive and these are great prices for the amount of scouts that will be at the camps and the location of these camps.

Winona State University Showcase Camp: Sunday August 16th

Showtime Sports Minnesota/North Dakota High School Baseball Showcase
June 24-25, 2015 @ Burnsville, Minnesota
Registration Fee: $235
http://showtimesportscamps.com/cms/?page_id=290

I have attended this camp and thought it was very well conducted and thought it did a great job of providing exposure.

Junior Baseball Showcase

Thursday July 9, 2014 @ Minnetonka High School Field

http://www.mshsbca.org/page/show/782750-junior-showcase

Prep Baseball Report has showcase camps throughout the summer:

http://www.prepbaseballreport.com/minnesota/showcases

http://www.prepbaseballreport.com/wisconsin/events

Major League Scouting Bureau (All teams in MLB)

Major League Tryout Camps are for players that are 16 years old and older.
Dates and Location available in April.
Registration Fee: FREE

Frequently Asked Questions About Open Tryout Camps

The Winona VFW Buddies have set their roster for the 2010 season. The Buddies would like to thank all of those who participated in this year's tryouts and congratulations to those who made the team.
Here is the 2010 VFW Buddies roster in alphabetical order:

Roger Brosnahan, Owen Burnikel, Trae Cierzan, Jordan Duellman, Josh Duellman, Hunter Gamoke,

Alex Hefel, Luke Hemker, Tyler Kapusman, Daniel Karnick, Daniel Kronebusch, Hunter Kruse,

Christian Kuehner, Skyler Marks, James Muras, and Jared Speltz.

Practice dates are still being determined as well as our parent/player team meeting. Keep watching the website for updates, the coaches will try to get a hold of each player via phone with any updates as well.

Here is some information about the Winona VFW Buddies baseball organization:

-Eligible to play if 16 and under as of June 1, 2016. All freshmen and sophomores are eligible to tryout, as long as they do not turn 17 before June 1, 2016.

-The Buddies play in a 16 team division that includes four Rochester teams, Northfield, Red Wing, Austin, Cannon Falls, Faribault, Albert Lea, Waseca, Mantorville, Stewartville, and Owatonna. Winner of the District Tournament advances to the state VFW tournament.

-League games are generally on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. (single game) and double headers on Saturdays and Sundays starting at 11 a.m.

-The Buddies compete in two tournaments besides playoffs, the Winona Invitational and the St. Cloud VFW Baseball Tournament in St. Cloud, MN. We will stay over night for the St. Cloud tournament.

-The VFW Buddies philosophy's focuses primarily on the development of its players so that they can have successful high school careers and the VFW program's success on the field.

-As far as playing time, the Buddies will play what their coaches feel is the best line-up for league games and those who do not play in the first game of the double header will start the second game. Players that make the Buddies will receive a lot very important summer repetitions.
Every practice is an evaluation of the players and the coaches are always looking for the players that are doing all the little things; putting in extra time before/after practice, following the coaches' instruction, being a good teammate, and a player's improvement.

-The Buddies baseball program is a commitment and those who make the team are expected to be at practices as well as games. We give players 5 days to miss in the summer before playing time starts to be affected. However, we are understanding to summer schedules and are willing to work with schedules as long as players aren't constantly missing.

Former Winona VFW Buddies Austin Rumpca and Brandon Schmit will have the opportunity to continue their baseball careers at the college level by signing National Letters of Intent to play baseball at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, MN.

Rumpca a catcher, batted .314, with 3 doubles, 1 home run, and 12 runs batted in, in 26 games for the Winona Buddies in 2007.

Schmit an outfielder, batted .356, with 3 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, and 11 runs batted in, in 22 games for the Buddies in 2007.

Both Rumpca and Schmit graduated from Winona Senior High School in the spring of 2009.

By Landon Evanson | sports@winonadailynews.com

The VFW Winona Buddies baseball team’s most successful season in four years came to a close in heartbreaking fashion in the District divisional playoffs on Sunday.

Trailing 6-5 with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, Brandon Stoos popped to the shortstop in shallow left field, stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base.
Winona scored in each of its first four at-bats and took 5-2 lead into the bottom of the fourth, but walks, clutch hitting and gutsy baserunning from Owatonna chipped away at that deficit until it erased it.

Jared Gilbertson laced a triple to begin the Winona fourth, setting the stage for a two-run frame.

Owatonna, however, answered right back with two runs of its own in the fourth, thanks to back-to-back walks for Mike Schwab and Travis Olsen to start the inning, and a two-run single from Nate Zimmerman that cut Winona’s lead to 5-4.

The Buddies again got a lead-off triple in the fifth, this time from Zach Benson, but were unable score.

Olsen tied the game at 5-5 with a run-scoring single to right in the bottom of the fifth, and was on first when the Huskies pulled off a double steal with runners at the corners that scored the eventual game-winning run.

“Hats off to Owatonna, I mean they battled and they just kept coming,” Winona coach Matt O’Brien said. “It seemed like every time we did something well, they answered back.”

Tommy Mullen pitched through pain and discomfort in his pitching hand through six innings for Winona.

“He was in a tough spot,” O’Brien said. “Every time he throws, it’s painful. And he actually just got his wisdom teeth taken out on Thursday.”

Not feeling 100 percent didn’t stop Mullen from competing.

“He’s been our stud all year, so we really needed him to come for us, and he was a gamer,” O’Brien said. “He went out there and pitched as best as he could.”

Winona had one last surge left in them, but it ran out of gas just as it gained momentum.

With two outs and nobody on, Steve Tofstad dribbled an infield single to second, which was followed by walks for both Gilbertson and Robert Tofstad, before Stoos was retired to end the rally and the Buddies’ season.

“It seemed like we got just one play away from putting them away. It’s always tough to end on a close game like that.”

Despite the tough loss, Winona finished with 21 victories, took the consolation prize at the Saint Cloud tournament and placed third in the Stars of Tomorrow tournament.

“When the boys look back at this year, obviously they’re going to be disappointed that they didn’t advance,” O’Brien said. “But they have a lot that they should be proud of.”

Box Score

By Jeff Theis | sports@winonadailynews.com

The VFW Winona Buddies baseball team didn’t have the best start to the District divisional playoffs.

The Buddies fell 11-9 in the opening game of the playoffs to Owatonna and rebounded to defeat Red Wing 10-3. With the win, the Buddies continue the playoffs today at 12:30 p.m. against Owatonna.

“Obviously this isn’t where we wanted to be but our guys finally relaxed and took the pressure off themselves,” Winona coach Matt O’Brien said.

Against Owatonna, Winona was playing from behind all game long. Trailing 3-1, the Buddies tied the game when Brandon Stoos had a two-run single in the bottom of the second inning. Owatonna countered with RBI singles in the third and fourth innings.

Owatonna scored another five in the fifth inning with the help of a three-run home run by Matt Simon.

The Buddies countered with six runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth, getting a three-run triple from Steven Tofstad and an RBI single from Brandon Frey. Unfortunately for Winona, there was no scoring after the fifth.

Tofstad finished 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs, Christian Kuehner went 2-for-2 with a stolen base and Stoos was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

“The biggest problem was that they got the first two runs of the game and that made us press a little bit,” O’Brien said. “We were playing not to lose instead of playing to win.”

Against Red Wing, Brandon Beech was the catalyst. Beech went seven innings, allowed five hits, four walks and struck out six. At the plate, Beech went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

“Brandon was fantastic,” O’Brien said. “He’s a gamer. We knew that he would be a great guy to have coming back (for the second game). He’s a great rebound guy.”

Robert Tofstad had two RBIs, Jared Gilbertson went 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI and Stoos had an RBI against Red Wing.

Box Score vs Owatonna

Box Score vs Red Wing

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Brandon Beech and Jordan Romine attended the Perfect Game Showcase on August 22nd and 23rd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The camp featured some of the best young high school prospects in the Midwest region of the country.

It is very important that young athletes who have hopes of continuing their careers beyond the high school level attend these showcase camps, to initiate exposure for their upcoming high school seasons.

Here is the Perfect Game website and 2010 showcase schedule:

Perfect Game 2010

Here are Brandon and Jordan's Profiles from Perfect Game:

Brandon Beech

Jordan Romine

The Winona VFW Buddies finished the season with a 20-7 overall record and a 9-3 First District league record which earned them the #3 seed and the right to host a portion of the Divisional Tournament.

Winona will be hosting #6 seed Owatonna and #11 seed Red Wing in the double elimination tournament. All games will be played at Winona Cotter's Baseball Field.

Here is the schedule for this weekend's games.

Saturday
11:00am - Game #1 - Owatonna vs. Red Wing
1:30pm - Game #2 - Winona vs. Winner of Game #1
4:00pm - Game #3 - Winona vs. Loser of Game #1

Sunday (Games depend on record of teams)
12:00pm- Game #4 (If all teams are 1-1, Owatonna vs Red Wing) OR (if one team is 2-0 vs team with 1 win)
2:30pm- Game #5 (winner of Owatonna vs Red Wing would play Winona) OR if necessary game if the 2-0 team lost to the one win team.

Monday
Game #6 if necessary game of the latter part of Game #5. Time to be determined.

Admission for the games are $5 for adults each day of the tournament and children free. We will have a concession stand and the restrooms behind the press box will be open.

Please spread the word about our games, so we can have a great crowd to support the boys at their home tournament!

St. Cloud, MN

The Winona VFW Buddies captured the consolation championship of the St. Cloud tournament with an exciting 6-5 walk-off victory over Duluth East.

The Buddies jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning capped off by a Steven Tofstad RBI single. Duluth answered back with 2 runs of their own in the second to it 2-2.

Winona took a 5-4 lead heading into the sixth inning when Duluth tied it at 5 on a close play at home. Winona managed to limit the damage, leaving the go ahead run at third base. Both teams threatened in the bottom and top of their inning. Leaving the game tied at 5 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.

Steven Tofstad started the inning with a two strike base hit. Derek Sorensen worked a 3-2 walk bringing up Trae Cierzan. Cierzan laid down a sacrifice bunt moving the runners over to second and third with one out. James Muras worked his way on via a walk to load the bases for Brandon Frey. Frey hit a flare just beyond the reach of the brought in infielders for the game winning RBI and walk-off victory for the Buddies.

Tofstad lead the Buddies 11 hit attack going 4-4, with 3 RBI, Ryan Woodard was 2-4, with an RBI, and 2 stolen bases, and Christian Kuehner added a double.

Derek Sorensen got the win for the Buddies pitching the final two innings, allowing 1 run, on 3 hits, while walking 1, and striking out 0.

"That was an exciting way to end such a great tournament," Winona Head Coach Matt O'Brien said. "The boys played great baseball all weekend and really deserved this win. Hopefully, we can take this momentum going into playoffs."

The Buddies finish the regular season with a 20-7 record 9-3 in First District play. They earned the right to host a portion of the divisional playoffs, which will be held July 24-26 at Winona Cotter High School Baseball Field. Times and teams have yet to be determined.

Box Score

St. Cloud, MN

The Winona VFW Buddies won two games in the consolation part of the St. Cloud tournament to place them in the consolation championship. The Buddies beat St. Cloud East 8-0 followed by a 6-2 win over Sartell.

In game 1, the Buddies pounded out 12 hits and 8 runs against tournament host St. Cloud East, ending the game in six innings due to a tournament 8 run rule.

Brandon Beech was 2-2, with an RBI, Steven Tofstad was 2-3, with a triple, and an RBI, Jared Gilbertson was 2-3, with an RBI, and Ryan Woodard was 2-4, with 2 stolen bases.

"We came out and put up 6 runs in the third inning on 5 hits, and that kind of took the wind out of their sails," Buddies Head Coach Matt O'Brien said. "Everyone contributed to that win and as a team we had great at bats."

Joey Miller earned the victory for the Buddies, throwing six shutout innings, scattering 3 hits, while walking 3 and striking out 4.

"Joey's been on vacation for about a week," O'Brien said. "I was extremely impressed with how well he threw and the confidence he displayed on the mound."

In game 2, the Buddies raced to an early lead, only to have to fend off Sartell in the top of the seventh inning, clinging to a 6-2 victory.

Box Score vs St. Cloud East

Box Score vs Sartell

The Buddies held a 6-1 lead heading into the seventh inning, but Sartell rattled Winona starter Brandon Beech scoring 1 run, and loading the bases, before Beech induced a ground ball for the last out of the game.

Beech went the distance on the mound for the Buddies, allowing 2 runs, on 5 hits, while walking 7, and striking out 2.

"Brandon's numbers don't look that impressive," O'Brien said. "He threw well, the walks were scattered and he kind of ran out of gas at the end. He battled through it and finished his game like the gamer he is."

Jordan Romine lead Winona at the plate going 2-3, with a double, and 2 RBI, Beech helped his own cause going 2-3, with an RBI, Brandon Stoos added a double, and an RBI, and Steven Tofstad went 1-3, with 2 RBI.

Portion by Winona Daily News staff

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team fell 11-4 Friday to St. Anthony in its opening game of the St. Cloud Tournament.

St. Anthony had its way on the mound and at the plate against Winona. Andy Wiggins went seven innings, allowed six hits, one walk and struck out three to get the win.
Mico Roessler went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and Nick O’Connell went 3-for-4 with an RBI for St. Anthony.

St. Anthony came into the game with a 16-1 record.

“They have a pretty solid ball club,” Winona coach Matt O’Brien said. “They just did a great job of battling us.”

The Buddies took the early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first scoring a run on an RBI triple from Brandon Beech. He later scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Ryan Woodard.

A four run third inning provided St. Anthony some breathing room as they were able to fend off the Buddies late rally.

Woodard had two RBIs, Beech and Christian Kuehner each had a triple and Robert Tofstad had a double for the Buddies (16-7).

Box Score

We will be playing our first game at 4:00 p.m. Friday at Joe Faber Field against St. Anthony. If we win, we play at 8:30 p.m. Friday night at Joe Faber Field. If we lose our first game, we play at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.

As a team we will be staying at the Holiday Inn Express (4322 Clearwater Road) and as a reminder the boys stay free. The field directions are listed on the website. Make sure to bring your parent contact sheet in case you need to get a hold of other parents or the coaches. Please remind the boys to bring all their undershirts for our jerseys.

Portion by Winona Daily News staff

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team ended its conference season on a high note Wednesday.

The Buddies scored five runs in the first three innings and ended up defeating Rochester Mayo, the top team in First District, 8-4. With the win, Winona earned a home game for the first part of the divisional playoffs.

Christian Kuehner set the tempo for Winona (16-6, 9-3), leading off the game with a solo home run.

"That was fun to watch," Winona coach Matt O’Brien said. "For that to be his first career home run in a big game like that, was pretty special."

Jared Gilbertson struck out four in six innings to pick up the win.

"Jared has been big for us all season," O'Brien said. "He's pitched a lot of innings and we know we are going to get a strong performance out of him every time he takes the mound."

Ryan Woodard and Jordan Romine each had two hits and a triple, Brandon Beech had two RBIs, Steven Tofstad went 2-for-2 with an RBI and Robert Tofstad had a double and an RBI.

“We finally played our type of baseball,” O’Brien said. “Today, we got locked in and played a complete game. It was one of our best games of the year and it was at the right time.”

Box Score

By Winona Daily News staff

AUSTIN, Minn. — The VFW Winona Buddies baseball team didn’t have the best start to its doubleheader against Austin Monday, but it had a great finish.

After dropping the first game 9-4 to Austin, the Buddies rebounded to beat Austin 13-3 in five innings in First District action.
To start Game 2, Winona (15-6, 8-3) had its first eight batters reach base, with seven of them getting hits. By the time Austin came to bat in the bottom of the first, the Buddies were ahead 10-0.

Scott Malotka went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, Brandon Frey went 2-for-2 with a double, Derek Sorensen went 2-for-4 with an RBI, James Muras had two RBIs and Jared Gilbertson had a double and an RBI for Winona.

In Game 1, Steven Tofstad went 2-for-3, Brandon Beech went 3-for-4 and Robert Tofstad had two doubles and three RBIs for the Buddies.

“In the first game, we made a couple mistakes and they capitalized,” Winona coach Matt O’Brien said. “In the second game, we were a little fired up. We came out ready to go.”

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Winona, MN (Portion from Winona Daily News)

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team swept a doubleheader with rival Northfield by scores of 6-5 and 11-0 in five innings Thursday.

In Game 1, the Buddies came from 3 down to take a 6-3 lead heading into the top of the sixth inning. Winona starting pitcher Jared Gilbertson pitching on 3 days rest, got into a jam, loading the bases with one out. The Buddies called upon closer Trae Cierzan who threw three shutout innings the night before.

Cierzan induced an inning ending 6-4-3 double play to get the Buddies out of a big jam. Shortstop Ryan Woodard made a great play on the hard hit ground ball flipped to second baseman Zach Benson who threw a strike to Robert Tofstad at first to get the Buddies out of the inning unscathed.

In the top of the seventh, Northfield battled back scoring two runs off Cierzan, loading the bases with one out, down by one run. Cierzan dug deep again, getting a ground ball to Woodard again, he flipped to Benson, who threw a little wild to first, forcing Tofstad to make an acrobatic catch to record the final out of the game.

"Amazing," Winona Coach Matt O'Brien said. "For Trae to come into a big situation and get two ground balls for us, in those positions, amazing."

"Woody made two major league plays at short on those double plays," O'Brien said. "Then Zach having the presence of mind to get rid of the baseball and Robert going above and beyond to catch the ball, just incredible plays all around."

Christian Kuehner went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Jordan Romine went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI and Brandon Stoos went 2-for-2.

In Game 2, the bats came out as Winona pounded out 11 runs on 9 hits.

Kuehner went 2-for-4, Gilbertson went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs, Derek Sorensen had a triple and James Muras had a double for the Buddies (14-5, 8-2).

"We've been waiting for Jared to come around hitting," O'Brien said. "He shortened up his stride and I think his timing is coming back to him."

On the mound, Sorensen threw a complete game shutout. He allowed 4 hits, while striking out 1, and walking 2.

The Buddies are off until Monday July 6th, when they travel to Austin (7-1) for a double header.

“We’re starting to play our type of baseball,” O’Brien said. “We had guys working hard on every play and stepping up with big hits. That’s the way we should play everyday.”

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Winona, MN

The Winona VFW Buddies provided some late inning fire power to propel them past Faribault 8-4 in a First District game at Winona Cotter Field.

The Buddies trailed 4-0 in the fourth before coming back with 2 runs in the bottom of the fourth, 4 runs in the fifth, and adding 2 more runs in the sixth.

"That was fun to watch," Buddies Head Coach Matt O'Brien said. "The boys battled and really came together as a team today."

James Muras started on the mound for the Buddies going four innings, allowing four runs, on 6 hits, while striking out 2, and walking four. Trae Cierzan came on in relief to pick up the win, pitching three shutout innings. He struck out six, walked zero, and didn't allow a hit.

The Buddies 3, 4, and 5 hitters combined to go 5-10 at the plate with 5 RBI. Zach Benson went 2-3 with a triple and 3 RBI, Jordan Romine 2-4 with a double and an RBI, and Brandon Beech went 1-3 with an RBI and 2 stolen bases.

"Those guys have been having some great at bats all season," O'Brien said. "If I was a pitcher, I wouldn't want to face those three in a row."

Box Score

La Crosse, WI

The Winona VFW Buddies fell in the semifinal game of the Stars of Tomorrow tournament 3-1 to La Crosse Central at Copeland Park, home of the La Crosse Loggers.

The Buddies got off to a great start with a lead off double from Christian Kuehner to start the game. A Tommy Mullen sacrifice bunt moved Kuehner to third and a wild pitch allowed Kuehner to score the first run of the game. La Crosse Central struck back in the second with one of their own to tie the game at 1 all.

Winona pitcher Jared Gilbertson was able to wiggle out of jams and hold Central to one run until sixth inning. In the sixth, Central put two across the board to take a 3-1 lead and held on to the lead with 1, 2, 3 7th inning.

"Gilby was able to work out of some jams and make pitches when he had to, Buddies' Head Coach Matt O'Brien said."The walks will come back to hurt you, but I think it shows a lot about his character to have seven walks and only give up three runs."

Mike Voter, Gilbertson's counterpart, matched Gilbertson, holding the Buddies to the one run, giving up 7 hits, while striking out 8, and walking 1, in the complete game effort. Gilbertson went the distance, giving up 3 hits, striking out 4, while walking seven, and hitting 1 batter, in the losing effort.

"I thought we played great baseball," O'Brien said. "We hit the ball well and played great defense, they (Central) got an outstanding performance out of their pitcher and the ball bounced their way today."

Brandon Beech and Christian Kuehner had doubles for the Buddies who fell to 11-5 on the season.

Box Score

Mantorville, MN

The Winona VFW Buddies split a double header Tuesday, losing the first game 4-1 and winning the night cap 14-5.

In the first game, Mets pitcher Ryan Tiska gave up 8 hits, but only allowed one run in the complete game victory. The Buddies countered with Joey Miller who pitched well enough to win, but a 4 run fourth inning proved to be the difference.

Robert Tofstad lead the Buddies at the plate going 2-3 with a double and an RBI, and Brandon Beech and Zach Benson added 2 hits a piece.

"The first game was disappointing," Buddies Head Coach Matt O'Brien said. "We didn't do the little things that matter the most. We took the game of baseball for granted."

In game 2, the Buddies answered the bell early and often scoring 14 runs on 9 hits, while taking advantage of Mets' pitchers 11 walks and 2 hit batters.

Brandon Frey threw four solid innings, allowing 4 runs, on 5 hits, while striking out 7, and walking 2.

Frey also lead the Buddies' offensive attack going 2-2 with an RBI. Brandon Stoos was 2-4 with an RBI, Trae Cierzan added a double and 2 RBI, and James Muras reached base 4 times, adding a double and 3 RBI.

"The second game we did an excellent job with our pitch selection at the plate," O'Brien said. "It was a total team effort."

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Onalaska, WI

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team opened up the Stars of Tomorrow tournament with a one and one record. The Buddies lost their opener 9-2 to Albert Lea before winning their second game of the day 8-3 over Green Bay.

In the first game the Buddies couldn't get any momentum going off Albert Lea starter Aaron Klatt. He held the Buddies to 1 run on 4 hits in five innings. The Buddies struggled with some control problems and some mental miscues, as their pitchers combined to walk nine batters. Leading hitters for Winona were Steven Tofstad 2-3 with an RBI and Jordan Romine 1-3 with a double and an RBI.

"The first game we didn't play that bad," Buddies head coach Matt O'Brien said. "We struggled throwing strikes and Albert Lea executed."

The Buddies' bats came to life in game 2 of pool play, putting up 7 runs in the first two innings. Tofstad continued his hot bat going 2-3, Ryan Woodard was 2-4 with 2 stolen bases, and Trae Cierzan and Jordan Romine added 2 RBI. Tommy Mullen went the distance on the mound for the Buddies giving up 3 runs, scattering 3 hits, striking out six and walking six.

"We came out with a plan at the plate in the second game," O'Brien said. "We waited for pitches in the strike zone and put good swings on the baseball."

The Buddies play two pool play games tomorrow.

Box Score vs Albert Lea

Box Score vs Green Bay

By Winona Daily News staff

ONALASKA, Wis. — The Winona Buddies VFW baseball team did most of its work in two innings Saturday at the Stars of Tomorrow tournament.

Winona defeated Onalaska 9-2 and Prairie du Chien 10-0 in five innings to get to the championship bracket of the tournament.
Winona opens the championship round at 9 a.m. today at Copeland Park against La Crosse Central. If the Buddies win, they will play for the championship at 2 p.m. at Copeland.

Of the 19 runs scored Saturday, 18 came in four innings — two five-run and two four-run innings in each game.

“We’ve been working on getting extra swings in practice, and not just swings, but quality swings,” Winona coach Matt O’Brien said. “We’ve been trying to carry that approach to games and, today, we finally locked in and did that.”

The Buddies (11-3) committed just one error in the two games and gave up a combined five hits.

Jared Gilbertson and Trae Cierzan combined to pitch a one-hitter in the nightcap win, while Brandon Beech pitched a complete-game four-hitter in the opener. He struck out five and walked three. He was also 1-for-3 with a two-run double.

Joey Miller and Tommy Mullen each had two RBIs in the first game, while Jordan Romine went a combined 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI on the day. Miller was 2-for-2 with an RBI in the second game, while James Muras was 2-for-3 with an RBI double for the Buddies.

Box Score vs Onalaska

Box Score vs Prairie Du Chien

By Rick Solem | rsolem@winonadailynews.com

The phrase of the day was “effectively wild.”

There are days when Jared Gilbertson is not wild. There are days when he is. And then there was Tuesday.
Gilbertson walked three and hit two in five innings pitching for the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team.

Some would call that wild, but considering what the rest of his line looked like, it was effective.

The soon-to-be junior at Winona Senior High School gave up zero hits and struck out 10 in the Buddies’ 10-0, five-inning win over the Rochester Knights in a First District matchup.

Only one batter made contact off Gilbertson — Rochester’s leadoff hitter popped out twice to the second baseman.

Everyone else walked, got plunked or struck out.

In 17 innings pitched this season, Gilbertson hasn’t given up a run.

“We’re trying to work on him being consistent in the zone,” said Winona coach Matt O’Brien, whose team has won six in a row. “When he’s down in the zone, throwing strikes, he’s going to keep us in every game.

“At times, it helps him to be wild. They’ll chase out of the zone and he’ll come back with a strike. Tonight was one of those nights where he was, sometimes, effectively wild.”

Gilbertson admitted that hitting a couple guys puts a little fear into the opponents, but he said that’s never on purpose.

“I’ll throw it wild and come back with a strike,” Gilbertson said. “I don’t try that, but it worked out though.”

In the third inning, Gilbertson nailed his second and final batter. After that, he told himself that was enough. He struck out the next seven to end the game, preserve the scoreless streak and retain the no-hitter.

“I knew I had to go,” Gilbertson said. “I figured if I hit any more guys, I’d get pulled out.”

Meanwhile, the offense did more than enough for Gilbertson.

Winona (8-2, 6-1) scored three runs on the Knights (0-7, 0-7) in the first inning and put up seven in the fourth.

Those seven runs, which included a bases-clearing, three-run double by Zach Benson, came on five hits and three walks.

“It felt like a routine play, but I got lucky,” Benson said of his long fly ball to left that landed just in front of the fence.

Batting from the No. 6 spot, Benson was 2-for-3 with five RBIs. The Buddies six through nine hitters combined to go 6-for-10 with six RBIs.

Christian Kuehner was also 2-for-3 and added an RBI.

Box Score

By Winona Daily News staff

Before the rains came on Sunday, the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team played what coach Matt O’Brien called “our most complete game of the year” with a 4-1 win over Rochester.

Tommy Mullen only surrendered four hits in a complete game, but was challenged by four Winona (7-2, 5-1) errors.
Mullen answered the call, stranding Rochester (8-4, 4-3) runners at third in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, and left them at first and second in the seventh.

“(Mullen) did a great job of keeping his composure,” O’Brien said. “And he was able to get out of some jams.”

The Buddies scored three runs in the first, ignited by Brandon Beech’s triple. Beech and Jordan Romine both finished 2-for-3, while Romine knocked in two.

“We got some clutch hits and a great performance from Mullen,” O’Brien said. “And though we made four errors, our defense made plays when they had to.”

Box Score

Waseca, MN

The Winona VFW Buddies erupted for 26 runs in two games in their sweep of Waseca. The Buddies won the first game 14-2.
Zach Benson, Ryan Woodard, Jordan Romine, and Christian Kuehner lead the attack at the plate for the Buddies. Kuehner was 3-4, with a double and 3 RBI, Woodard was 2-3, with a double, and 3 RBI, Benson was 2-2 with 2 RBI, and Romine was 2-3, with 2 RBI.

Brandon Beech started on the mound for the Buddies, going 5 innings, giving up 2 runs, 1 earned, on 4 hits, while walking three, and striking out 9.

"We did what we needed to do today," Coach Matt O'Brien said. "We've been doing a lot of hitting in practice and it's starting to show."

In game 2, it was almost a replica of the first game, as the Buddies blasted Waseca 12-2. James Muras threw four solid innings allowing 2 runs, on 5 hits, while striking out 2 and walking 1. Romine was 2-3 with a triple and 2 RBI, Robert Tofstad was 2-3 with a double and 3 RBI, and Muras added a double and 3 RBI.

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Winona Daily News Staff

It took Tommy Mullen one pitch to end the game.

Mullen came in relief with one out in the top of the seventh inning and got the save on his first pitch to help the VFW Winona Buddies baseball team to a narrow 2-1 win over Rochester Century.
With Winona up 2-0, Trae Cierzan started the seventh inning on the mound for the Buddies (4-2, 3-1) and ran into some trouble. Century started the inning with a single and a walk. After a strikeout, Cierzan had another walk to load the bases. John Meyer followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to cut the lead in half.

After the sacrifice fly, Buddies coach Matt O’Brien called on Mullen to get out of the jam. Mullen came in, and on one pitch got the next hitter to pop out to end the game.

“Our pitchers struggled, but they were able to work out of those jams,” O’Brien said. “I was confident in Tommy in that situation. It was a luxury to have Tommy come in right there.”

Brandon Beech hit a solo home run in the sixth and Jordan Romine had a double and an RBI in the fourth for the Buddies.

Box Score

By Rick Solem | rsolem@winonadailynews.com

Expectations are high for the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team.

Two years ago, they got to the final four in the district playoffs. Last year, they were eliminated by a pair of comeback, one-run losses.
This year, “their goal is state,” third-year coach Matt O’Brien said.

It’s a lofty goal, but an attainable one for the Buddies based on what O’Brien sees at practice.

“This is one of the hardest-working teams I’ve coached,” he said. “They work hard at practice, stay after and, sometimes, we have to pry them off the field and tell them to go home.”

The Buddies are off to a 2-1 start — 2-0 in First District play.

Last season had a bitter ending to it and Winona hopes to redeem itself.

In the First District, double-elimination playoffs, the Buddies saw two leads get away late.

Against Albert Lea, Winona was down 5-3 heading into the seventh, but took a 6-5 lead only to see the Tigers come back for a 7-6 win.

In their final game, the Buddies were up 7-2 against Northfield, but gave up six runs in the sixth and were eliminated.

“Our older players remember that and they don’t want our season to end like that again,” O’Brien said. “We’ve talked about (state). We’ve had some talented teams the last couple years, but not only is this team talented, they work hard and I think they can take the next step.”

Five veteran players return from last summer, including all three outfielders.

“This is probably the best defensive team I’ve coached, too,” O’Brien said. “We’re fast in the outfield. As long as our pitchers throw strikes, our defense will keep us in every game.”

Solidifying that defense is newcomer Ryan Woodard.

“We’re pretty 16-year-old dominant,” O’Brien said, “but he’s been a nice surprise.

“I’ve been around a lot of shortstops and he’s one of the smoothest. When you have a great outfield and middle infield, it’s tough to go wrong as a pitcher. All they’ll have to do is throw strikes.”

That job will go to main starters Tommy Mullen and Jared Gilbertson. Both have already thrown complete-game wins this season.

“We have a great one-two punch that both threw varsity last spring along with Brandon Beach, who didn’t see a lot of time, but could be our No. 3,” O’Brien said.

By Winona Daily News staff

RED WING, Minn. — Jared Gilbertson threw a complete-game, three-hitter in leading the VFW Buddies baseball team to a 4-0 win over Red Wing.

Gilbertson struck out nine and walked three in the First District matchup Wednesday.
“He threw extremely well, and they played great defense behind him,” VFW coach Matt O’Brien said. “Once he got ahead he was able to finish them off.”

The Buddies (2-1, 2-0) broke the game open in the fourth with three runs, including an RBI single by Scott Malotka and a sacrifice fly by Robert Tofstad.

Tommy Mullen was 2-for-2 and Zach Benson went 2-for-4 with a double for the Buddies, while Zack Plein was 2-for-3 for Red Wing (1-3, 1-3).

Box Score

Owatonna, MN

The Winona VFW Buddies earned a split in their season opener at Dart's Park in Owatonna. The Buddies won the first game 3-1 before falling 9-6 in the second game.

In game 1, the Buddies received a strong performance on the mound from Tommy Mullen. Mullen went the distance, giving up one unearned run, scattering four hits, while striking out seven, and walking two.

"Tommy's a gamer," Head Coach Matt O'Brien said. "Our defense was solid behind him and when you have good defense and good pitching, you're tough to beat."

The Buddies broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth when Steven Tofstad started the inning off with a triple. Jared Gilbertson drove him in to put the Buddies on top. Owatonna tied things up in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the seventh Brandon Stoos delivered an RBI single and the Buddies tacked on another run via a passed ball to give them a 3-1 lead they would hold onto.
Brandon Beech added a 2-4 performance for the Buddies.

"We had some older guys come up with clutch hits in some big situations," O'Brien said.

In game 2, the Buddies fell 9-6 in a five inning game. Robert Tofstad had a bases clearing double and Trae Cierzan and Zach Benson chipped in RBI singles.

"Overall I thought we played well in both games," O'Brien said. "We just need to cut down on the mental mistakes."

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

The Winona VFW Buddies will once again be competing in the St. Cloud VFW Tournament on July 10th, 11th, and 12th in St. Cloud, MN. The team and coaches will be staying at the Americ Inn 4385 Clearwater Rd St Cloud, MN 56301 (320) 253-6337 Friday and Saturday night. The Winona VFW pays for all the players hotel rooms and the coaches supervise the players. There are still rooms available at the Americ Inn if parents wish to stay there, otherwise we will be playing at Dick Putz/Joe Faber Field/Complex with directions and the address of the field located on the Directions part of the website. We are scheduled to play Friday during the day while the rest of the games depend on how we do. We stayed at the Best Western/Kelly Inn last year, but because of weddings we had to make a switch.

By Winona Daily News staff
ALBERT LEA, Minn.

The Winona Buddies VFW baseball team was eliminated from the First District playoffs Sunday, losing 8-7 to Northfield.

Northfield erased a 7-2 deficit with six runs in the top of the sixth inning. Sam Moss drove in the go-ahead run with a three-run home run.
Jake Filand, Kyle Kowalewski, Brandon Beech and Erik Chapman had two hits apiece for the Buddies, who finished their season 18-10.

Kowalewski went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs and Filand 2-for-3 with a triple.

“It’s obviously disappointing for us,” Buddies coach Matt O’Brien said. “But we played our best ball at the end of the season. Our kids have nothing to hang their heads about.”

By Winona Daily News staff
ALBERT LEA, Minn.

The Winona Buddies are just three wins away from the VFW baseball state tournament, but they’re also one loss away from season-ending elimination.

The Buddies experienced both extremes of a walk-off win Saturday afternoon in the First District playoffs, picking up a 3-2 walk-off victory against Northfield before losing 7-6 to Albert Lea in similar fashion.
With one out and the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Winona’s Brandon Beech came through with an infield hit to drive in the winning run against Northfield.

Beech and Jake Filand both went 2-for-3, Logan Hemker 1-for-2 with a double and two RBIs and Kyle Kowalewski had a double for the Buddies (18-9).

Kowalewski picked up the win with one shutout inning in relief. Winona’s Jordan Ossefoort started and struck out seven over six innings.

Albert Lea came back from a 6-5 seventh-inning deficit, after the Buddies scored three runs with two outs in the top of the seventh, and advanced to the First District championship on a walk-off Winona throwing error. Had the Buddies held on, they would have needed just one win, and could have taken one loss in the process, to reach the state tournament. As is, the Buddies will play Northfield at 11 a.m. today for another shot at Albert Lea.

Winona’s Arik Jacquart, Steven Tofstad and Filand all went 2-for-4. Filand had a solo home run and Jacquart a two-run double.

“That was a heartbreaker,” Buddies coach Matt O’Brien said. “But we played a tough game and battled all the way through. It made our guys more hungry for (today). We’ll be ready to go.”

The Final Four/District Tournament schedule has been announced. The District tournament is a double elimination tournament that will be hosted by Albert Lea as they won all three of their games on their side of the Division Tournament.
The first game of the tournament will be Saturday July 26th at 10:00 a.m. between top seed Albert Lea and fourth seeded Austin. Game #2 will be Winona (the number two seed) and Northfield (#3) at 12:30 p.m. The loser of both these games will then play at 3:00 p.m. and the loser of that game will be done for the season. The winners of the first and second game will play at 5:30 p.m. to end Saturday's game. Sunday's games start at 11:00 a.m. between the winner of the game 3 and the loser of game 4. At 1:30 p.m. the winner of game 1 on Sunday will play the undefeated team from Saturday. If the undefeated team loses, those same teams will play Monday at 5 p.m. to determine which team will go to state.

Saturday, July 26
Game 1 10:00 a.m. Albert Lea vs Austin
Game 2 12:30 p.m. Winona vs Northfield
Game 3 3:00 p.m. Loser of Game 1 vs Loser of Game 2
Game 4 5:30 p.m. Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2

Sunday, July 27
Game 5 11:00 a.m. Winner of Game 3 vs Loser of Game 4
Game 6 1:30 p.m. Winner of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 5

Monday, July 28th
Game 7 5:00 p.m. Game 6 teams if necessary.

The Winona VFW Buddies advanced to the District Tournament after winning their side of the Division Tournament. Winona defeated Rochester Century 4-1 then lost 7-2 to Red Wing on day 1. Winona bounced back to defeat Rochester Century 3-0 on the second day to advance to the District Tournament, beating Rochester Century for the third time this season.

In game 1, Brandon Beech ignited the Buddies with a two run home run in the bottom of the third inning. That would be all that Buddies' starter Jordan Ossefoort would need, as he would limit Century to five hits and one run over five innings, while striking out eight and walking zero. Jared Gilbertson shut the door, going the final two innings, allowing no runs on two hits, striking out five and walking one. Jake Filand was 1-3 with an RBI, and Brandon Stoos and Erik Chapman added one hit a piece.

In game 2, the Buddies fell to Red Wing 7-2. Lance Jensen started on the mound going four innings, giving up two runs on five hits, while striking out three and walking two in the no-decision. Steven Tofstad tried to keep the Buddies in it, but his 4-4 performance with two doubles and an RBI weren't enough.

In game 3, the Buddies got an outstanding performance from pitcher Tommy Mullen. Mullen threw a seven inning complete game, three hit shutout and the Buddies pulled out a 3-0 win over Rochester Century advancing them to the District Tournament. This was the second consecutive complete game for Mullen in only his third start of the year. Mullen got a little boost in the form of a solo home run by Steven Tofstad in the bottom of the second inning, which would be all that Mullen would need. Jared Gilbertson had a double and an RBI, Kyle Kowalewski and Arik Jacquart also doubled for the Winona VFW Buddies who will enter the Final Four with a 17-8 record.

The First District divisional tournament has now been finalized. Mantorville earned the #1 seed and will host #8 seed Rochester Spartans and #9 seed Austin. Albert Lea earned the #2 seed and will host #7 seed Faribault and #10 seed Rochester Rockets. Winona earned the #3 seed and will host #6 seed Rochester Century and #11 seed Red Wing. Northfield rounds out the hosts with the #4 seed and will host #5 seed Owatonna, #12 seed Waseca, and #13 seed Rochester Knights.

The first game of the Winona side of the tournament will be held on Saturday with Rochester Century vs Red Wing at 10:00 a.m. @ Winona Cotter high school's baseball field. Winona will play the winner of that game @ 12:30 p.m. and then Winona will play the loser of the first game @ 3:00 p.m. Sunday's games are at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Admission would normally run $5, but the Morrie Miller Foundation is sponsoring the tournament so the price is $4 admission each day of attendance. Kids get in free. Concessions will also be available at the field.

By Winona Daily News staff

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team secured a home game Tuesday for the first round of the divisional playoffs.

The Buddies got a complete-game, three-hitter out of Tommy Mullen on their way to a 3-1 win over Owatonna at Gaborych Park.

Mullen stuck out seven and walked just one in the win.

“Mullen threw absolutely amazing,” Winona coach Matt O’Brien said. “He dominated. He spotted his fastball and they couldn’t hit him.”

The win gives the Buddies a home playoff game Saturday at 1 p.m. Their opponent will be determined depending on the rest of the week’s divisional games.

Over the last three games, the Buddies (15-7, 8-4) defeated the No. 2 seed, and then two potential three seeds to secure the third seed themselves.

“If we would have lost these last games, we would have probably been a nine seed,” O’Brien said.

Jake Filand and Logan Hemker went 2-for-3 for Winona, while Erik Chapman and Brandon Beech both had doubles.

By Rick Solem | Winona Daily News

It’s rarely a good thing when you have a practice named after you.

Jake Filand remembers it all too well.
Though it was three years ago, while playing youth baseball in Goodview, the practice known as “The Filand Practice” has become legendary.

It’s not something Filand is exactly proud of, but it’s something he learned a lot from.

“That happens when you say some things wrong to your coach,” Filand said of smarting off to his now VFW Buddies coach, Matt O’Brien. “He said he was going to make me run all practice, but I didn’t believe him.”

He should have. Filand didn’t just straight up run all practice, he did a whole slew of drills.

“Filand was testing us (coaches),” O’Brien said. “Saying, ‘Whatever you make me do, I can do it.’

“I told him not to bring a glove, just running shoes. He comes out the next day with just his shoes, and we had a ton of stuff for him to do.”

Among the activities for Filand, while the rest of his team practiced, was piggy back one of the smallest players around the field, go to random houses down the street, knock on the door and run back, and play fetch — where O’Brien would throw a ball out of the park, and Filand would have to go get it and bring it back.

“It wasn’t the funnest thing in the world,” Filand said. “I don’t really recommend it.”

These aren’t things that O’Brien necessarily likes doing to his players or his team, but sometimes they just need a kick in the caboose.

“They’re 15 and 16,” O’Brien said. “They’ll say smart comments, so we’ll point to a pole (to run around) or make them do push-ups. In some regards, it’s in good fun. It’s not that we want to tear them apart, we just want to embarrass them a bit and make them learn.”

O’Brien is known for running a tight ship and having tough practices.

He pushes his players to go 100 percent all the time, doing things like hustling on and off the field, running back to the dugout after a strikeout and going all out in practice as if it is a game.

He got that way from his own days in Goodview, when coaches made teams he was on do the same. It carried over to O’Brien’s college baseball days in Iowa and he finished up his career at Winona State in 2007.

“When we were in Goodview, we had coaches that were all about mental toughness and conditioning,” O’Brien said. “We thought if we could go through hard practices, anything in a game would be easy for us. We were just mentally tougher and stronger than them, and felt we deserved to win more because we worked harder.”

For three years Filand, along with teammates Arik Jacquart, Ethan Brackey, Logan Hemker and Erik Chapman, have had to endure the likes of O’Brien as a coach — first on that Goodview team, and the last two with the Buddies.

It’s a wonder they’ve lasted as long as they have. Practices and games under O’Brien aren’t easy, but, somehow, they all love it.

“He’s pushed us quite a bit, and we’ve improved a lot,” Hemker said. “There are a couple of times where you just don’t want to be there, but he keeps us going, and when we’re done, you feel good about yourself.”

Last year, the Buddies had a hiccup during the season, losing a game 16-0. O’Brien wouldn’t have cared if the hustle and effort were there, but “it was one of the worst losses I’d ever seen,” O’Brien said. “It was unacceptable. We quit out there.”

The practice the next day was not fun. Like The Filand Practice, it added to the legend.

“It was Jake Filand practice for the whole team, only worse,” Filand said. “We call it ‘The Hell Practice.’ It was pretty much running for two hours.”

The practice was a big wakeup call for the Buddies.

“The next game we played outstanding,” O’Brien said. “They were on top of everything.“

O’Brien’s team made it to the final four in the district playoffs that season. This time around, they’re hoping to take the next step.

“Since the beginning of the year, we’ve wanted to get to state,” Chapman said. “It’s a realistic goal, and (coach) has us mentally prepared.”

There haven’t been any practices from hell this season, and O’Brien doesn’t expect a meltdown as the division playoffs begin Saturday.

“This is what we expected this year,” O’Brien said. “We’ve had most of these kids for a few years. They’ve taken it upon themselves to be ready.“

By Winona Daily News staff

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team picked up a big win Monday as they crushed Northfield 11-1 in six innings.

The Buddies (14-7, 7-4) pounded out 10 hits and had an eight-run second inning.
“The whole year, we have been waiting for our hitting to come together,” Winona coach Matt O’Brien said. “This game, we finally started hitting the ball hard.

“We had three extra-base hits with two outs and we had four two-out run scoring hits.”

Logan Hemker went 3-for-4 with an RBI, Jake Filand went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Kyle Kowalewski had a triple and an RBI for the Buddies.

Tommy Mullen had a double and two RBIs and Erik Chapman had a double and an RBI for Winona.

With the win, the Buddies now have a chance to host a home playoff game if they takes care of business in their doubleheader today against Owatonna.

A year after taking second place at the prestigious St. Cloud Tournament, the Winona VFW Buddies found out what the other side of the fence was like going 0-3 and losing by a combined 5 runs in those three games.

Buddies blow 4-run lead en route to loss to St. Cloud Cathedral
By Winona Daily News staff

ST. CLOUD, Minn. The Winona Buddies had an eventful first day at the St. Cloud VFW baseball tournament. But it wasn't exactly what the Buddies had in mind.

The Buddies squandered a four-run lead and lost 7-5 Friday to St. Cloud Cathedral. Nasty weather, the tournament is being held about 60 miles northeast of reported tornadoes in central Minnesota scuttled the tournament schedule and put a slight scare into coaches and players.
Winona (13-5) took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth, but St. Cloud Cathedral took back the lead with a five-run inning.

"We fell behind some hitters,"Buddies coach Matt O'Brien said. "Once we fell behind, they took advantage and put the ball where we weren't."

Winona's Brandon Stoos went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Steven Tofstad 2-for-4 with a double and Lance Jensen 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Grand Rapids 8, Winona Buddies 6

ST. CLOUD, Minn. Buddies coach Matt O'Brien said it was the strangest game he's ever been a part of.

The pivotal play, according to O'Brien: With the Buddies down 8-5 in the top of the sixth, Winona's Arik Jacquart belted a two-run home run. The home plate umpire, however, wiped it away.

Apparently the umpire called time just as the pitch was released, later claiming a cloud of dust had formed in front of home plate, which he thought would have distracted Jacquart.

Steven Tofstad, Broc Schmidt and Logan Hemker had two hits apiece for the Buddies (13-6).

After going into the tournament on a five-game winning streak, the Buddies opened tournament play with a pair of defeats for their first losing streak of the season.

Forest Lake 6, Buddies 5

ST. CLOUD, Minn. For the second straight day, the Buddies' defense let them down. Winona committed five errors Sunday. Forest Lake did all its scoring in the first four innings.

"We started out slow," Buddies coach Matt O'Brien said. "Our defense has been good all year but it left us in this tournament."

Winona had the go-ahead run on second base in the top of the seventh, but couldn't get him in.

Steven Tofstad went 3-for-3, Kyle Kowalewski went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Ethan Brackey had a triple and an RBI and Broc Schmidt had a double for the Buddies.

By Winona Daily News staff

ROCHESTER, Minn. The Winona Buddies VFW summer baseball team ran its winning streak to four Wednesday, blanking the Rochester Rockets 2-0 and 6-0.

Lance Jensen and Jordan Ossefoort combined to throw a six-hit shutout and Brandon Beech went 3-for-3 for the Buddies (12-4, 5-4) in Game 1. Jensen struck out two over five innings to pick up the win.
Tommy Mullen and Reid Hein combined on a two-hit shutout in Game 2. Hein went 2-for-3 and Brock Schmidt 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Mullen earned the win with five strikeouts in five innings.

"Our story has been pitching and defense," Buddies coach Matt O'Brien said. "Our pitchers are staying ahead in the count and attacking hitters and our defense is making plays."

By Winona Daily News staff
ALBERT LEA, Minn. It didn't take long for Steven Tofstad to make an impact.

Tofstad, playing in his first game with the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team, went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple Tuesday in the first game of WinonaÕs doubleheader sweep of Albert Lea.
Winona won the opener 6-2 and the nightcap 4-2.

"It was huge getting (Tofstad) back," Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said. "All of a sudden our lineup, 1 through 9 is just stacked. We throw him in there, and he's batting seventh when he's a potential No. 3 hitter."

Winona's Brandon Stoos went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and Lance Jensen, Erik Chapman and Jake Filand each had two hits in Game 1.

Kyle Kowalewski went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Tommy Mullen went 2-for-3 with two doubles to lead the Buddies in the nightcap.

Winona's pitching was just as good as its offense, highlighted by Brandon Beech, who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of Game 2.

Winona pitchers struck out 12 and allowed just five hits on the day.

By Chandler MacLean Winona Daily News

Lance Jensen and Brandon Beech were underclassmen last year at Winona Senior High School. Jensen saw no action on the varsity baseball team. Beech spent the spring on the junior varsity.

The young Winhawks showed signs of a strong pitching duo in the making Monday with dominant performances for the Winona Buddies VFW summer baseball team.

Winona right fielder Jared Gilbertson dives for a fly ball during the Buddies' first game of a doubleheader against Austin on Monday at Loughrey Field in Winona. Gilbertson was unable to make the catch in the Buddies' 6-1 first-game win. (Photo by Andrew Link/Winona Daily News)

The Buddies finished a whirlwind three-day, six-game stretch 5-1 with a doubleheader sweep of Austin, 6-1 and 5-0, Monday at Loughrey Field.

Jensen, 16, and Beech, 15, pitched deep into their respective starts, as both earned victories without allowing an earned run.

Jensen got things going for the Buddies, starting the opener and holding Austin to five hits, one walk and an unearned run in 61/3 innings. The lanky right-hander consistently stayed ahead in the count and finished with four strikeouts.

"Lance is just one of those guys that you know every time you throw him out there you're going to get a good outing," Buddies coach Matt OÕBrien said. "Even if he doesn't have his best stuff, he's going to work through it. Today he was on."

The Buddies put together a big rally in the bottom of the third just as Jensen was finding his groove.

Arik Jacquart highlighted a four-run rally with a two-run double to deep left field. Jake Filand added an RBI single and Jensen drove in the other run with an RBI groundout to give the Buddies the lead for good, 4-1.

"Usually the first game we start kind of slow," Jensen said. "But we came out, attacked the pitcher and hit him well. For our team to come out and hit the ball the first game, and the second game, really helped."

Beech picked up where Jensen left off and had what he called his best outing of the year, spring high school season included.

The young right-hander was quick and efficient in his second start of the summer.

Beech held Austin scoreless through five innings, allowing three hits with no walks and five strikeouts. He cruised through 17 Austin batters, just two more than the minimum. Logan Hemker worked two scoreless innings in relief to close out the sweep.

"(Brandon's) a guy I think we can start to rely on a little bit more as he gets more confidence and experience out on the mound," O'Brien said. "He's a gamer. He gets out to the field and he really takes to it. He wants the ball. When he's attacking and getting ahead, we're going to be in the game."

The Buddies put together another four-run inning to pull away in Game 2, sending eight batters to the plate in the fourth. Filand hit a two-run triple and Brandon Stoos had an RBI single in the inning.

"I watched (Jensen) get ahead in counts, then he would just throw it by them," Beech said. "And that's all I had to do.

"That was a good team. If I can pitch well against them, I can probably pitch against other teams. I hope to be able to keep pitching at higher levels."

Stoos finished 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs, while Filand went 1-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.

By Winona Daily News staff

FARIBAULT, Minn. Jared Gilbertson recorded 13 strikeouts over six innings Sunday in the second game of a doubleheader to help the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team salvage a split with Faribault.

Gilbertson allowed just two hits and an unearned run in Winona's 7-2
win, which followed a 4-2 loss in the opener.

"He was dominant," Winona coach Matt O'Brien said of Gilbertson, who also had a two-run single. "He had all of his pitches working."

Brandon Stoos went 2-for-4, and Jordan Ossefoort added a double and an RBI for Winona.

Ossefoort struck out eight over six innings in Game 1, but the Buddies had just three hits and were

unable to capitalize on three Faribault errors.

Logan Hemker and Jake Filand each went 1-for-3, and Arik Jacquart went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

By Jeff Theis Winona Daily News

Baseball has been a big part of Matt O'Brien's life and it's no different this summer.

The 23-year-old O'Brien is the head coach of the VFW Winona Buddies and is a pitcher on the Winona Chiefs amateur baseball team.

This is his second season as the head coach of the Buddies and his record jumped to 23-12 after Winona swept its doubleheader against Waseca on Saturday 17-7 in five innings and 13-3 in five innings.

O'Brien attends summer classes at Winona State and is double-majoring in journalism and physical education while minoring in coaching. So his schedule can get busy.

"There are days when I go to work, go to class, back to work, then to practice and sometimes there are game days and it can be a big juggle," O'Brien said.

"The reason I do it is because I still love playing baseball," he said. "I love to have fun and show my guys I can still do it out there. As for coaching, I love being around the ballpark. It's a great atmosphere."

O'Brien graduated from Cotter in 2003 and went to North Iowa Community College to play baseball. He played for two years until he hurt his arm. He received scholarship offers to play down South but decided to come back to Winona and play his last two years of eligibility at Winona State.

"When I hurt my elbow, I was pretty unsure of what I was going to do," he said. "I didn't want to take a chance of going down there and my elbow not being OK and not being around anyone I know.

"I came back to Winona State to test out my arm and be in familiar territory. Close to my family and friends."

When it came to coaching, O'Brien felt he needed to give back.

"Once I got into college baseball, I've kind of wanted to give back," he said. "I've had great coaching in my past and I've kind of wanted to give back to the kids what I learned. I started coaching Goodview and I found it very rewarding."

O'Brien started coaching in the Goodview 12-and-under league in 2005. The next year he went to 14-and-under and last year he was hired to coach the Buddies.

Over time, O'Brien has learned to use both his playing experiences with his coaching and his coaching experiences when he's playing.

"I think its easier for me to relate to them because I am a younger guy and am still playing," he said. "I had some great coaches in the past, so I take what they did and I take what I like to do and I try to get the best out of it.

"As a player when I'm on the mound, I think of what I'm telling my guys when they're pitching, "Get ahead, throw strikes, keep your weight back, and all that stuff. Coaching has definitely helped."

O'Brien has played for the Chiefs for five seasons, primarily as a pitcher.

"Every time (the Buddies) don't have a game, I try to go out and give them some help," he said. "I try to give them some innings and take it easy on some of those guys arms."

Now that he has been a player and a coach for a few years now, O'Brien says he has gained a new perspective on the game of baseball.

"As a coach, you're going to make mistakes," he said. "The players are going to make mistakes too. They are only 15 or 16 years old. They're learning and I'm learning.

"It's just a big rollercoaster ride," he said. "One moment you're on top of the world and the next moment you could be looking for answers. You just have to get through it."

Buddies 6, Rochester Century 3

ROCHESTER, Minn. Ñ The Buddies got some help from the back end of its lineup as Jared Gilbertson and Brandon Stoos, the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters respectively, had four of the six RBIs. Gilbertson and Stoos each had two RBIs.

Winona scored four in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie. Lance Jensen went five innings, struck out three and walked two and cracked a double at the plate and Erik Chapman went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for the Buddies.

ÒOur No. 8 and No. 9 hitters came up big,Ó Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said. ÒThis was a great team effort. It seemed like we waited three innings to get going; In the sixth, our guys came up with some big hits.Ó

By Winona Daily News Staff

ROCHESTER, Minn. Ñ The Buddies got some help from the back end of its lineup as Jared Gilbertson and Brandon Stoos, the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters respectively, had four of the six RBIs. Gilbertson and Stoos each had two RBIs.

Winona scored four in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie. Lance Jensen went five innings, struck out three and walked two and cracked a double at the plate and Erik Chapman went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for the Buddies.

ÒOur No. 8 and No. 9 hitters came up big,Ó Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said. ÒThis was a great team effort. It seemed like we waited three innings to get going; In the sixth, our guys came up with some big hits.Ó

By Winona Daily News staff

It started off as a quiet afternoon for the Winona Buddies District baseball team in its doubleheader against Mantorville.

In Game 1, the Buddies fell 3-2, while leaving 10 runners on base, but in Game 2, the bats came to life and the Buddies pulverized Mantorville 13-2 in five innings.
In Game 1, Brandon Stoos went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and Lance Jensen went 1-for-3 with an RBI double for Winona (2-2, 0-2). However, Winona couldn't get any more hits with men on base.

"We were waiting for other guys to step up to do the job for us," Buddies coach Matt O'Brien said. "I think in the second game, we took it upon ourselves."

In Game 2, the Buddies batted around in both the second and third inning. Brandon Beach had a double and two RBIs, Arik Jacquart went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Jake Filand went 2-for-3 with a triple for the Buddies.

"It's about execution and (in Game 1) we couldn't get guys in," O'Brien said. "I think our guys took it pretty personal and the bats started to get going."

By Winona Daily News staff

PLAINVIEW, Minn. Ñ The Winona VFW Buddies batted around in both the first and second innings Friday en route to their first win of the season.

Winona built a five-run lead through two frames and cruised to a 9-5 win over Plainview, which committed six errors on the night.
Brandon Beech delivered an RBI single in the BuddiesÕ four-run first inning and a two-run single in their three-run second inning.

Beech, who earned the win, was the first of four pitchers for the Buddies, who didnÕt show much early season rust in the field.

ÒWe have a really solid defense behind us, so we want our pitchers to throw strikes and put pressure on teams to put the ball in play,Ó Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said. ÒWith this being our second game of the season, IÕm very pleased with how well we played defense.Ó

Reid Hein went 3-for-3 with an RBI, and Arik Jacquart went 2-for-4 with a double to lead Winona.

Rochester, MN

The Buddies fell in their season opener 6-4 to the Rochester Knights (1-2) Thursday night. Arik Jacquart homered twice for Winona, Jake Filand was 2-4 with a double and a stolen base, and Logan Hemker reached base four times going 1-2 with a double and an RBI. The Buddies will travel to Northfield on Wednesday for a First District contest.

By Matt Huss Winona Daily News

Matt O'Brien called them the best of the best.

Fifty players tried out for the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team, but O'Brien, who's in his second year as coach, could keep only 16.
"This is probably the deepest team I've ever been a part of," O'Brien said. It came down to five or six guys for the final spot who could still be playing at our level."

All 16 are talented, and all are determined especially the six returners to improve on an overall successful season that ended in disappointment a year ago.

After finishing second in their division, the Buddies (18-10, 11-5) advanced to the final four of the district playoffs before being eliminated after losing twice in one day.

"Last year I know it was pretty hard on them how we finished the season," O'Brien said. "To have such a great run and then to finish the way we did, it just left a bad taste in our mouths. I think the guys who are coming back and the rest of the 16-year-olds are ready to take the reins and make sure that stuff doesn't happen again."

Returning are Winona's Nos. 4 and 5 hitters, Arik Jacquart and Logan Hemker, who each played varsity for Winona Senior High School this spring. Jake Filand, who batted .357 and stole 25 bases, returns to start in left field, and Erik Chapman will return as the lead-off hitter and starting shortstop.

Lance Jensen will return to the starting rotation and get the nod tonight when Winona opens its season at Rochester against the Knights.

Having 16 of the best young players around does present some problems. But, for the most part, they're good problems to have.

"We're really deep pitching-wise, and I still don't think we have one guy who emerged as the ace," O'Brien said. I have four or five guys who can get the job done."

Jensen, Chapman and Hemker each will pitch, along with Kyle Kowalewski, who threw in relief for Winona last season. Jordan Ossefoort will also see time on the mound when he, along with three of his teammates, return after the conclusion of Cotter High School's state tournament run.

There's no doubt that O'Brien and the Buddies would like to duplicate the kind of success the Ramblers have had.

"We feel this year's team, with the leadership we have and the young guys coming up who are hungry, can do some serious damage in our league," O'Brien said.

The Winona VFW Buddies have announced the signing of Matt Cada as the assistant coach for this summer's team. Cada will be reunited with current VFW head coach Matt O'Brien as the two of them coached the Goodview Sandlot 12 and under and 14 and under teams together, as well as giving private baseball lessons. Cada was the head coach of the Goodview 14 and under Sandlot team last summer and has coached the Winona and Houston Middle School baseball teams.

"Coach Cada brings a great amount of knowledge and experience," Coach O'Brien said. "Our VFW program is looking forward to an exciting summer, and being able to work with a coach of Cada's caliber will only make us better."

Lance Jensen was this year's recipient of the Earl Bruegger Award. This award is given out every year to the player who best demonstrates what Winona VFW Buddies baseball is all about such as hustle, leadership, attitude, being a good teammate, and the desire to become a better baseball player. Jensen was the type of player Earl Bruegger would have liked to coach. Congrats Lance!

By Winona Daily News staff

ROCHESTER, Minn.

The Winona Buddies VFW baseball teamÕs season came to an end Saturday at Hudson Field.

The Buddies were eliminated from the final four round of the district playoffs after a 4-1 loss to Northfield and 4-3 loss to the Rochester Rockets.

The Buddies (18-10, 11-5) finished second in the regular season district standings and advanced through the divisional round of the district playoffs before SaturdayÕs season-ending defeats.

"It was a great season, rookie coach Matt O'Brien said. To have as much talent as we had in my first year made my job a lot easier."

"They have a great chance to make their high school teams very successful."

Tom Kreidermacher pitched a complete game and struck out seven for the Buddies against Northfield. All four of NorthfieldÕs runs were unearned.

Logan Hemker was 3-for-3 and Brandon Schmit 2-for-3 with a triple to lead the Buddies against Rochester. But the No. 1 seeded Rockets went up for good with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth.

By Winona Daily News staff

WINONA, Minn. Jake Walther struck out seven and threw a six-hit shutout to lead the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team to a 1-0 victory over visiting Red Wing in the 1st District divisional playoffs Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the Buddies advance to the district tournament and will open at No. 1-seeded Rochester on Saturday.

Walther, who threw 114 pitches over seven innings, received the one and only run he needed in the bottom of the first inning when Austin RumpcaÕs RBI single through the left side scored Devon Grossell.

ÒI canÕt say enough about him,Ó Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said of Walther. ÒHe put us on his shoulders and carried the load for us.Ó

Walther also went 1-for-3 with a double at the plate.

By Winona Daily News staff

WINONA, Minn. Jake Filand delivered an RBI single to score Jake Walther in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team a 3-2 victory over Red Wing in the divisional round of the double-elimination 1st District tournament.

The No. 2-seeded Buddies will play the winner of No.7-seeded Red Wing and No. 10-seeded Mantorville at 1:30 p.m. today at Cotter High School.

FilandÕs heroics were made possible by a crucial Red Wing error an inning earlier. Trailing 2-1 with a runner on third and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Logan Hemker hit a routine ground ball that rolled through the third basemanÕs legs, allowing Devon Grossell to score the tying run.

ÒThey had the game won,Ó Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said, Òbut they five-holed it.Ó

Erik Chapman threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning and earned the win.

Winona Buddies 10, Sartell 3

ST. CLOUD, Minn.

The Winona Buddies VFW baseball team exploded for a five-run third inning en route to a victory over Sartell at the St. Cloud tournament.

All but two Buddies starters recorded at least one hit, and five starters finished with at least two, including Logan Hemker, Arik Jaquart, Jake Walther, Brandon Schmit and Devon Grossell, who all had two hits apiece.

JacquartÕs double in the third inning scored three runs and gave the Buddies the lead for good in a game that was picked up in the bottom of the second inning after rain had delayed it the night before.

Erik Chapman scattered six hits over six innings to earn the win for Winona.

We never felt threatened, especially after that big five-run third inning, Winona coach Matt O'Brien said. And Erik attacked hitters all day and let the defense make plays. It was a total team effort.

The Buddies second game of the day was still in progress when this edition of the Winona Daily News went to press.

By Winona Daily News staff

ST. CLOUD, Minn.

Five innings was all it took again for the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team in a 8-0 shutout against St. Cloud West.

The Buddies managed just three hits, but seven errors committed by St. Cloud gave Austin Rumpca six RBIs and Devon Grossell three runs scored.

In the top of the first Tom Kreidermacher gave up a single and double but allowed no runs scored.

The Buddies returned with two runs and three in the second.

"That was a big momentum shift for us after the first," Buddies coach Matt O'Brien said. "This game was a coaches nightmare for them."

Kreidermacher pitched a complete game, striking out one and walking none.

By Winona Daily News staff

RED WING, Minn.

The Winona Buddies VFW baseball team clinched the No. 2 spot in its division Wednesday night in a five-inning, 13-2 win over Red Wing.

The Buddies busted it opened with nine runs in the first off of multiple singles, walks and errors.

ÒThey kicked the ball around and we made them pay for it,Ó Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said.

Logan Hemker then doubled in the third, driving in three of WinonaÕs (13-7, 9-3) four runs.

Hemker and Erik Chapman held Red Wing (6-4) to just five hits — Joey Roschen was the only multiple hitter going 2-for-3 with a double.

By Winona Daily News staff

One game was a shutout, the other was a nail-biter, but the outcomes were the same for the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team.

The Buddies took a pair of First District games from Faribault on Sunday, getting a two-hit shutout from Erik Chapman in the 8-0 opener.

In Game 2, it came down to the final inning, and Jake Filand wound up the hero beating out a two-out, infield RBI single to give Winona the 8-7 win.

ÒJake hit a little bleeder to the middle of the infield,Ó Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said. ÒThey came up on it, but heÕs fast and they had no play.Ó

The hit scored Devon Grossell, who reached on a fielderÕs choice, stole second and made it to third on a wild pitch before FilandÕs hit.

In the opener, Chapman had a no-hitter through the first four innings.

ÒBottom line with Erik, he just got ahead and threw strikes,Ó OÕBrien said. ÒHe never had a bad inning. He was just locked and loaded.Ó

Pretty good considering this was ChapmanÕs first start of the year.

ÒHe didnÕt even know he was going to start,Ó OÕBrien said.

Chapman finished with two strikeouts and a walk. He threw 70 pitches. He was also 2-for-4 in the nightcap with two runs scored.

In Game 2, Winona was down 6-0 after the first half inning, but chipped at the lead scoring one run in each of the first four innings.

The Buddies put up three in the fifth to tie it before the game-winner.

Grossell was 3-for-5 with three RBIs for Winona. Filand had two RBIs.

By Matt Huss | Winona Daily News

At one point, Jake Walther realized heÕd have to take matters into his own hands.

The left-hander threw 128 pitches over nine innings to lead the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team to a 3-2 victory in 10 innings over Northfield in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday.

The soft-tossing Walther, who relies heavily on location and breaking pitches, labored over the first three innings, giving up two runs on four hits and throwing 56 pitches.

Adding to the pressure was a struggling Buddies offense that brought the minimum 15 batters to the plate through five innings, allowing the opposing hurler to toss a comfortable 39 pitches through five frames.

But the rubber-armed Walther gave his team a chance, both with his arm and his bat.

Trailing 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, Walther stepped into the batterÕs box with two outs and the tying run on second.

The lanky southpaw unleashed a mighty swing and produced a slow roller that barely squeaked between the first and second basemen to score Arik Jacquart from second.

Much like his pitching, it was soft, slow and effective.

ÒI just want to throw batters off, hit my spots and keep the ball away when IÕm pitching,Ó Walther said. ÒAs for that hit, it definitely wasnÕt the hardest, but it got through and it worked.Ó

Walther claimed fatigue wasnÕt a factor.

ÒI just got caught up in the game and wasnÕt thinking about anything else,Ó Walther said. ÒI felt I could have pitched that 10th inning.Ó

Winona coach Matt OÕBrien felt differently.

ÒI was watching his pitch count, and I basically told him that he had three more guys in that last inning,Ó OÕBrien said. ÒBut heÕs a workhorse, and heÕs always willing to go that extra mile for the team.Ó

After capping the top of the ninth with his ninth strikeout, a career high, OÕBrien pulled Walther and replaced him with Lance Jensen, who picked up the win when Logan HemkerÕs blooper scored Jake Filand in the bottom of the 10th.

ÒHe knew he had to keep putting up zeros for us, and that sooner or later we were going to break through,Ó OÕBrien said of his starter. ÒHe put us on his shoulders today.Ó

Walther also went 2-for-4 with an RBI as the BuddiesÕ snapped NorthfieldÕs six-game league winning streak.

WaltherÕs performance on the rubber is especially big considering that the Buddies used a total of four pitchers in a five-inning 16-5 loss in the second game and are scheduled for another home doubleheader today.

The Winona VFW Buddies exploded for an eight-run fifth inning in a come-from-behind 13-7 victory over visiting Rochester on Wednesday.

Trailing 7-4 going in, the Buddies (6-3) recorded four hits in the frame, including a two-run triple from Devon Grossell and a three-run home run from Jake Walther.

Logan Hemker, who added an RBI single in the fifth-inning outburst, went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Grossell finished 3-for-4, and Arik Jacquart and Austin Rumpca each added two hits.

ÒEach inning we were getting to them, but we couldnÕt get that timely hit,Ó Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said. ÒBut once Grossell got that huge triple, we just followed his lead.Ó

Kyle Kowalewski struck out three and allowed just one hit in holding Rochester (0-5) scoreless over the final 21/3 innings to earn the win.

Winona Daily News Staff

Rochester Century 8, Winona 7

The Winona Buddies baseball team had down five runs before the bats came to life.

Winona scored a run in the third and then had a four-run fourth inning to tie it up at Loughrey Field.

The game wound up going extra innings, where Rochester Century scored two in the top of the eighth and Winona could only get one, losing 8-7.

Brandon Schmidt was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Starter Jake Walthers scattered 12 hits, giving up four runs in six innings. He struck out four and neither he or reliever Erik Chapman gave up a walk.

Jake Filand was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI for WInona (3-3, 3-2).

By Rick Solem | Winona Daily News

Overpowering, itÕs overrated.

Who wants to throw 100 pitches and try and strike out everybody?

Just about every pitcher, thatÕs who, but not Jake Walther.

There might be something wrong with the Winona Buddies pitcher. Or heÕs just the kind of athlete every team needs.

Walther is a Òwin first, stats, what stats, who cares about stats?Ó kind of athlete.

He is a total team player to the fullest extent. He takes the team mentality to the extreme.

ÒMy main focus is to throw strikes,Ó Walther said. ÒI throw strikes, theyÕll put it in play and weÕll make outs.Ó

Rather than take all the glory himself and make the defense behind him bored watching strikeout after strikeout, Walther just lets the opponent hit the ball and lets his defense get in on the action.

ÒGuys get excited when heÕs on the mound, because weÕre going to be in the game,Ó Winona coach Matt OÕBrien said.

ItÕs unclear if OÕBrien was referring to the score or the fact that the defense will have to be on its toes, but probably a little of both.

ÒHeÕs just such a smart pitcher, very crafty,Ó OÕBrien said.

Walther tries to get ahead in the count and hit the corners. If the batter gets a hit, he gets a hit. Walther knows his defense will come through and that defense will do anything to get him the win.

ÒJakeÕs just a team-first guy,Ó said his catcher Austin Rumpca.

Rumpca, a junior at Winona High, has been catching Walther for three years.

It hasnÕt always been easy because Walther has been developing a knuckleball thatÕs getting hard to read.

ÒIt floats all around,Ó he said. ÒItÕs hard to predict which spot itÕs going to end up at.Ó

Along with the knuckle, Walther has a curveball, changeup and a fastball.

The fastball isnÕt fast, but when heÕs throwing junkball after junkball — slow pitches — the fastball looks a lot faster.

ÒHeÕs not going to throw the fastball by you,Ó OÕBrien said, Òbut after a change or curve, and then the fastball, you donÕt have a chance.

ÒHe does a great job mixing his pitches. He can throw any pitch at anytime for a strike.Ó

Once Walther gets ahead in the count, the WSHS senior to be and his catcher really start having some fun with the batters.

ÒTheyÕre going to be guessing all game,Ó Rumpca said. ÒItÕs fun to play with their heads. At that point, we can throw whatever we want and theyÕll have no clue.Ó

VFW

Rochester Rockets 4-16, Winona Buddies 1-0

The Buddies took their first loss of the season in the opener, then promptly started their first losing streak of the season with a painful five-inning loss to end the day.

Arik Jacquart went 1-for-2 with an RBI triple to lead the Chiefs (3-2, 2-1) in Game 1.

Chance Speltz went 1-for-1 with the Buddies only hit in Game 2.

Buddies sweep doubleheader

By Winona Daily News staff

WASECA, Minn. — The Winona Buddies VFW baseball team has enjoyed a successful start to the season under first-year coach Matt OÕBrien.

The Buddies swept a doubleheader at Waseca 6-0 and 16-2 on Saturday. The second game went five innings and kept the Buddies (3-0, 2-0) undefeated through the first half-week of the season.

Tom Kreidermacher pitched six innings to pick up the win and went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI for the Buddies in the opener.

Erik Chapman was 3-for-5 with four RBIs to lead the Buddies in Game 2.

Winona Daily News
New Buddies coach expects pitchers to take on leadership role

By Chandler MacLean | Winona Daily News

The Winona Buddies VFW baseball team shouldnÕt have any trouble relating to new coach Matt OÕBrien. Six years ago, he was one of them.

OÕBrien, 22, replaces long-time Buddies coach Travis Akre, who took a high school coaching job and baseball academy position in Arizona. OÕBrien was 15 and 16 years old when he played for Akre and the Buddies. Akre hand-picked OÕBrien as his replacement.

ÒI came up through Winona,Ó OÕBrien said. ÒVFW and Legion. I played under Travis Akre, so IÕm kind of following in his footsteps with his coaching style and demeanor.Ó

The Buddies open their season at 5 p.m. today against the Rochester Spartans in Rochester.

Jake Walther, who will be going into his senior year at Winona High School, is the staff ace and will start tonight against the Spartans.

ÒRight off the bat weÕre kind of led by our pitching staff,Ó OÕBrien said. ÒHe (Walther) seems to be the team leader.Ó

Logan Hemker will follow Walther in the rotation.

ÒThose two will probably be our 1-2 punch,Ó OÕBrien said.

Austin Rumpca, Arik Jacquart, Brandon Schmit and Walther will lead the Buddies offense and defense.

ÒWe look pretty strong in the infield,Ó OÕBrien said. ÒOur middle infield is real tough.Ó

Rumpca and Jacquart will split time at catcher. OÕBrien said the two Òbasically eliminate the running game.Ó

The Buddies have gotten in just three practices before todayÕs game. Still, OÕBrien has high expectations for a team that features six high school varsity players.

ÒI think we can compete with the top teams in the league,Ó OÕBrien said. ÒWe have sixteen 16 guys, and one through 16, I feel I can throw anybody out in the field and theyÕll do the job.Ó

By Winona Daily News staff

The Winona Buddies VFW baseball team edged Owatonna in a pair of close games on Thursday picking up the winning run in the final inning of both games.

Thomas OÕBrien started Game 1 and fanned nine batters with no walks in a complete game effort.

Trevor Seamon drove in Jeff Walters with a sacrifice fly to plate the winning run.

In the second game, the Buddies rallied in the seventh to load the bases in a 5-5 game.

Brandon Schmit scored the second walk-off game-winning run of the day on a passed ball.

Arran Davis tossed a complete game striking out eight with three walks — to pick up the victory.

First game

Owatonna 000 000 1 1 6 1
Buddies 000 001 1 2 2 1

Pitchers: O Melcher; W Thomas OÕBrien. WP OÕBrien (9k, 0w). LP Melcher.

Second game

Owatonna 020 200 1 5 7 1
Buddies 113 000 1 6 7 3

Pitchers: O Stepon, Lacken (3), Van Rudra (7); W Arran Davis. WP Davis (8k, 3w). LP Van Rudra.

Leading hitters: W Matt Wolfe 2-4, Jeff Walters 2-3 (3 rbi).

Records: W 13-15, 8-7.

By Winona Daily News staff

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team had a hard time mustering any offense and dropped a pair of non-district games to Chaska on Sunday.

The Buddies trailed the whole way in the opener and lost 5-1 before surrendering an early lead in a 6-4 loss in the nightcap.

Winona managed only nine hits, three RBIs, and one extra-base hit in the two games.

Austin Rumpca had a double in Game 1 and added a run-scoring single in a four-run first in Game 2.

Tom Kreidermacher finished with six strikeouts, but could not hold the lead in Game 2 and gave up five runs from the second through the fourth innings.

Jake Walther held Chaska in check for most of the opener, but gave up four runs in the final frame that put the game out of sight.

GAME 1

Chaska 100 000 4 5 10 1
Winona 000 000 1 1 4 0

Pitchers: C Steve Nibble; W Jake Walther. WP Nibble. LP Walther (2k, 2w).

Leading hitters: W Austin Rumpca (2b).

GAME 2

Chaska 022 100 1 6 7 3
Winona 400 000 0 4 5 2

Pitchers: C Dan Meyer, Andy Gatzemeyer (1) Jamie Amiealpaugh (6), ; W Tom Kreidermacher. WP Gatzemeyer. LP Kreidermacher (6k, 3w).

Leading hitters: W Rumpca (rbi), Andy Craig (rbi).

Records: W 8-14.

By Matt Geiger of the Winona Daily News

It wasnÕt the prettiest game the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team has ever played, but the BuddiesÕ 13-9 victory over Rochester in Game 1 of FridayÕs double-header at Loughrey Field was sweet nonetheless.

In a game that saw a combined 29 hits, seven wild pitches, four hit batters, three balks and three errors, WinonaÕs Arran Davis provided the lone bright spot for either pitching staff.

Davis, who started the game at first base, took over for Tom Kreidermacher with the Buddies trailing 8-0 with two men on and two outs in the bottom of the second.

Winona escaped the rest of the second unscathed, and Davis went on to hold the Spartans to one run on seven hits the rest of the way.

ÒTom was pitching well,Ó Davis said. ÒWe werenÕt playing good defense behind him.Ó

As much as the defense improved after Davis took the mound, the offense was even better and Davis was at the front of that effort.

Going 1-for-4, Davis scored the sixth run of a second inning that saw the Buddies send 13 men to the plate and tie the game at 8-8.

By the bottom of the sixth, the Buddies were trailing 9-8 when Trevor Seamon crossed the plate thanks to a bases-loaded balk.

Davis drove in the game-winner with a sac fly to center that scored Andrew Wolfe.

In the top of the sixth, Wolfe had robbed the Spartans of a potential run with a heads-up pick-off of Kelby Halling, who overran third on a single to left.

Brett Benson also benefited from KreidermacherÕs slow start, as he took the pitcherÕs spot in the lineup and went

2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs.

ÒThat was a good team effort,Ó Buddies coach Travis Akre said. ÒThey could have rolled over, but they kept at it. They showed character.Ó

Game 2 didnÕt turn out as well for the Buddies, as a 10-hit, eight-run sixth inning brought the score to 12-1 and invoked the mercy rule, over-shadowing what was, up to that point a tight game.

By Winona Daily News staff

Northfield, Minn. Andrew Wolfe did it all for the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team Thursday, but it wasnÕt enough, as the Buddies drooped a doubleheader to Northfield, 5-3, 9-3.

Wolfe held Northfield to five runs on seven hits while striking out seven and walking two in the first game.

He also doubled in the fifth inning to drive in Andy Krage and Scott Ryan and give the Buddies a 3-0 lead.

No stats were reported from the second game.

Winona 000 030 0 3 2 1
Northfield 000 041 0 5 7 1

Pitchers: Winona Andrew Wolfe; Northfield Picah. WP Picah. LP Wolfe (7k, 2w).

Leading hitters: Winona Andrew Wolfe 1-3 (2b, 2 rbi).

Records: Winona 7-11, 4-7.

By Winona Daily News staff

Thomas OÕBrien struck out seven and walked one while holding the Rochester Century VFW baseball team to three hits in the Winona BuddiesÕ 5-0 victory Tuesday.

The Buddies scored their first two runs on back-to-back bases-loaded balks in the second inning.

OÕBrien drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the third, while Andrew Wolfe was 2-for-3 with a two-run single in the fourth.

Rochester 000 000 0 0 3 2
Winona 021 200 0 5 6 1

Pitchers: Rochester Nate Evens; Winona Thomas OÕBrien. WP OÕBrien (7k, 1w). LP Evens.

Leading hitters: Winona Andrew Wolfe 2-3 (2 rbi).

Records: Winona 7-9, 4-6.

By Winona Daily News staff

Rochester, Minn. Even though they lost both games 4-3, 6-5, the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team may have played its best games of the season in Rochester on Monday.

The Buddies took a 3-1 lead into the seventh inning, but gave up three runs including a walk-off homer to drop Game 1.

Winona had an early lead in Game 2 as well, but couldnÕt hold on.

Game 1

Winona 100 000 2 3 6 2
Rochester 000 001 3 4 10 1

Pitchers: Winona Jake Walther, Thomas OÕBrien; Rochester Ben Moen. WP Moen. LP Walther (1k, 1w).

Leading hitters:Winona Jeff Walters 2-3 (2b, 3b, rbi).

Game 2

Winona 100 022 0 5 9 2
Rochester 003 030 0 6 8 2

Pitchers: Winona Aaron Davis; Rochester Wacholz, Joe Moen. WP Moen. LP Davis (3k, 1w).

Leading hitters: Winona Thomas OÕBrien 2-4, Trevor Seamon (2 hits), Andy Krage (2 hits).

Records: Winona 6-9, 3-6. Rochester 7-2.

By Winona Daily News staff

FARIBAULT, Minn. The offense came out flat in the opener, but exploded in Game 2 as the Winona VFW Buddies split with Faribault.

Winona lost the first game 4-1 Saturday and managed only two hits, but responded with a 16-2 blowout victory in the nightcap.

The Buddies took advantage of six errors and pounded out 10 hits in the win.

Andy Wolfe, Thomas OÕBrien, Jeff Walters and pitcher Tom Kriedermacher each had a pair of hits to lead the way.

Winona blew the game open with 11 runs in the third inning, which was plenty of support for Kriedermacher, who finished with four strikeouts and no walks.

First game

Winona 000 100 0 1 2 0
Faribault 040 000 0 4 6 0

Pitchers: W Andy Wolfe; F Stocker. WP Stocker (4k, 8w). LP Wolfe (2k, 3w).

Leading hitters: W Brandon Schmit (1b, run), Jeff Walters (1b)

Second game

Winona 2311 00 16 10 0
Faribault 101 00 2 6 6

Pitchers: W Tom Kriedermacher; F Clapp, Hallet (4). WP Kriedermacher (4k, 0w). LP Clapp (1k, 1W).

Leading hitters: W Andy Wolfe 2-3 (2 rbi), Thomas OÕBrien, Jeff Walters 2-3 (3 runs), Kriedermacher 2-4;.

Records: W 6-7, 3-5 FB.

By Winona Daily News staff

All the scoring came in the fifth inning Friday as the Winona Buddies VFW baseball team out-pitched Austin to win 2-1.

Thomas OÕBrien held Austin to four hits and one fifth-inning run that gave Austin the lead.

The Buddies came back in the bottom of the fifth when a lead-off walk, sacrifice bunt and error led to the tying run.

Andrew Wolfe, who was 2-for-3, singled in the winning run with two outs later that inning.

Austin 000 010 0 1 4 1
Winona 000 020 0 2 6 1

Pitchers: Austin Boyce; Winona Thomas OÕBrien. WP OÕBrien (6k, 0w). LP Boyce (4k, 1w).

Leading hitters: Winona Andrew Wolfe 2-3, Aaron Davis 2-3.

Records: Winona 5-6.

By Winona Daily News staff

The Winona VFW Buddies found themselves on both ends of a pair of four-run innings in a split against Rochester John Marshall on Sunday at WSUÕs Maxwell Loughrey Field.

The Buddies took the opener 5-4 before dropping the nightcap 5-3.

Down three runs heading into the bottom of the fourth, the Buddies managed to take the lead with a four-run inning.

Arran Davis gave Winona the lead with a two-run single to left field.

Andrew Wolfe came in to pitch in the fourth and earned the win, which was the first of the season for the Buddies.

Winona trailed the whole way in Game 2 as the Rockets rallied for four runs of their own in the fourth to secure the lead.

WinonaÕs Trevor Seamon had two RBIs in the second game to lead the way.

GAME 1

Rochester JM 102 100 0 4 6 0
Winona 100 400 x 5 4 1

Pitchers: JM—Walcholz, Moen (4); W Thomas OÕBrien, Andrew Wolfe (4). WP Wolfe (1k, 0w). LP Moen.

Leading hitters: W Matt Wolfe 2-3 (2b, rbi), Arron Davis (2 rbi).

GAME 2

Rochester JM 010 400 0 5 8 1
Winona 000 020 1 3 4 2

Pitchers: JM Anderson, Doble (4), Gnaltney (5); W Tom Kreidermacher, Austin Rumpca (6). WP Anderson. LP Kreidermacher (2k, 4w).

Leading hitters: W Trevor Seamon 1-4 (2 rbi).

Records: W 1-4 overall, 1-2 First District

By Winona Daily News staff

Rochester, Minn. The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team opened the regular season with a pair of losses to the Rochester Knights on Saturday.

The Buddies led early on in both games, but couldnÕt manage enough timely hits, stranding 11 runners in the opener.

In the first game, the shorthanded Buddies got two hits from Devin Grossell, while Jake Walthu and Jeff Walters had two hits each in the second game.

Game 1

Buddies 020 001 0 3 8 2
Rochester 003 021 0 6 8 2

Pitchers: W Andy Krage, Brandon Schmit (6); R Verdick, Poterucha (6). WP Verdick. LP Krage.

Leading hitters: W Devin Grossell (2-4, rbi), Andy Krage (3b).

Game 2

Buddies 200 000 2 4 7 2
Rochester 112 011 0 6 11 1

Pitchers: W Tom Kreidermacher, Jake Walther (6); R Rownd, Hendrickson (7). WP Rownd. LP Kreidermacher.

Leading hitters: W Jake Walther (2-2), Jeff Walters (2-2, 2rbi).

Records: W 0-2, 0-1; R 2-0, 1-0.

By Jeff Bersch of the Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW Buddies start the season today short a full squad.

A number players also play at Cotter High School, which opens play today in the Section 1AA tournament.

Those players wonÕt join the team until the RamblersÕ season ends, possibly not after the state tournament ends June 16.

ÒIÕve told them that definitely should be their main focus,Ó Buddies coach Travis Akre said. ÒThey have a chance to do something that hasnÕt been done in a long time, represent Winona in the state tournament.Ó

At the same time, Akre believes it could be a bit of blessing for the team. It will give others a chance to play significant time early in the season.

ÒWeÕll create competition,Ó said Akre, who is in his seventh season guiding the 15- to 16-year-old team. ÒThat can only help us for our season.Ó

Pitching could carry the Buddies this season. Akre is counting on Thomas OÕBrien, CotterÕs top pitcher, as well as Tom Kreidermacher and Brandon Schmidt, both of Winona Senior High. The Winhawks long run in the section playoffs last season left the Buddies shorthanded.

Andy Krage, the top pitcher on HoustonÕs varsity team, also should provide depth to the staff.

ÒPitching in the past has always dictated our season,Ó Akre said. ÒWith 35 games in a month and a half, we ask those guys to step up in a big way.Ó

Last yearÕs team finished 24-19. Akre said this yearÕs team has the potential to better.

ÒIt takes a good couple weeks to get started when you take kids from three different schools and put them on a team,Ó he said. ÒYou get kids coming from different coaches and you have to try to get them to believe in your system.

ÒUltimately, the goal is the state tournament. WeÕve come just short a couple times, but thatÕs where we want to go.Ó

By The Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. The Winona VFW baseball team started out strong in the First District Eastern Division tournament on Saturday, knocking off number one seeded Rochester Century in a 1-0 pitcher's duel but were unable to get anything going in their 7-0 loss to number three seeded Red Wing.

Ryan Speltz silenced the Century bats in the first game, allowing zero runs on two hits, while striking out five and walking one.

"Ryan had the best stuff he's all year," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "He was in complete command of his game and was able to keep all their hitters off balance."

Winona got its lone run in the fourth inning after Sam Blank led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a two-out bloop single to left by Arron Davis.

The Buddies could only manage three hits in their second game and left six runners stranded as their 10-game win streak came to an end.

Patrick Bowlin, Andrew Wolfe and Blank had the only hits for Winona.

"We came out flat and got in a big hole," Akre said. "It was a roller coaster day for us."

Winona (20-13) takes on Rochester Century today at 11 a.m. in an elimination game at Rochester Community and Technical College.

Game 1

Buddies 000 100 0 1 5 0
Century 000 000 0 0 2 0

Ryan Speltz and Matt Wolfe; DeBolt and Knutson. WP Speltz. LP DeBolt. HR none.

Game 2

Winona 000 000 0 0 3 2
Red Wing 140 002 x 7 8 0

Sam Blank and Matt Wolfe; Anderson and Karlsrud. WP Anderson. LP Blank. HR Karlsrud (RW).

By Jon Weisbrod / Winona Daily News

Coming into the play-in game for the First District Eastern Division tournament against Austin on Wednesday, the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team had won eight games in a row, so the expectations were very high.

Winona did not disappoint, scoring six runs in its last at-bat to break a 2-2 tie for an 8-2 win from Max Molock Field.

"Games like these put a lot of pressure on our guys," said Winona coach Travis Akre. "We hung in there and came up with a huge win."

Sam Blank led Winona on the mound and Ryan Speltz provided the energy at the plate in the sixth with an inside-the-park grand slam to the fence in left-center field.

Blank finished the game with only two strikeouts, but more importantly, walked none and induced 12 groundball outs in a complete-game effort.

"I just put faith in my defense," said Blank who allowed three hits. "I knew that keeping the ball low would prevent them from hitting it very hard. Our defense came up huge."

"Sam is a leader," Akre said. "He always wants the ball in games like this."

Not only did the defense come up big, but so did the offense.

After the go-ahead run was driven in on Andy Wolfe's second RBI single, Blank followed with a sharp single to left field to give the Buddies a 4-2 advantage.

The bases were left loaded with only one out in the bottom of the sixth inning when Speltz came up with all the pressure off to win the game.

Speltz drove a ball that sliced over the head of Austin's center fielder Kyle Nelson.

It didn't stop rolling until it hit the fence, and before Austin could relay the ball in, Speltz had an inside-the-park grand slam to all but seal the win.

"He just hung a curve that was right in my zone," Speltz said. "I felt very relaxed and just hit the ball hard."

When all was said and done, Winona had scored six runs in the inning off five hits, sending nine batters to the plate.

"I just told the guys that this was our time," said Akre. "I am very happy with the way we responded in that last inning."

Andy Wolfe finished with a pair of hits to go along with two RBI. Speltz finished the game 2-for-3 with five total RBI for Winona, which plays Saturday in the first round of the tournament at Rochester Community Technical College.

By Jon Weisbrod | Winona Daily News

With the second game in a stretch that will include eight games in five days, the "dog days" of summer have officially hit the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team.

Winona pounded the Mantorville Mets on Thursday 15-2 in five innings, marking the second straight day that the Buddies (12-12 overall) have won by ten or more runs.

"This is the peak of the season," said Winona coach Travis Akre. "Everyone seems to know their role and will need to be ready at all times. We still have a lot of baseball to play this summer."

The Buddies smashed 12 hits and got another solid performance on the mound, this time from Andy Krage.

"He threw well today," said Akre of Krage who finished with seven strikeouts. "I think that he is beginning to gain a lot of experience as the season goes on here. He is just one of many players we are going to need on the mound coming up."

It was the first inning that propelled Winona. The Buddies scored seven runs — the second time in as many days the Buddies scored that many to open their half of the first.

Sam Blank, Ryan Speltz, Jesse Kreidermacher and Zach Woodard all picked up RBI in the inning, but Winona also took advantage of three Mets' throwing errors.

"I have been stressing that all we need to do is put the ball in play," Akre said. "We just need to let them (opposing defenses) try and make the plays on us."

The Buddies didn't stop scoring after the first, however, putting up eight more runs in the next two innings, highlighted by an unconventional inside-the-park home run by Zach Woodard.

With two runners on and one out in the third inning, Woodard drove a ball that split the gap in right-center field and slipped under the padding on the wall.

Mantorville's (5-8) center fielder Alex Flagel threw his hands up in the air, signaling a ground-rule double, but neither umpire stopped play and the call stood.

That was the last of the runs for the Buddies, who have scored 25 in the past two days.

"We have started to get some huge breaks," Akre said. "With the stretch run coming up, these breaks are what we need."

Winona will be in action again today at home against Rochester starting at 11 a.m. from Gabrych Park in a double header.

By C.J. Spang / Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team used a big first inning to bury First District opponent Austin on its way to 10-0 five-inning victory on Wednesday at Loughrey Field.

The Buddies (5-8 First District, 11-12 overall) scored seven runs in the first thanks to five hits, a walk, a hit batter and an Austin error.

"That's a change for us," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We haven't been getting that one big inning, but today we were able to jump out and set the tone for the game."

Seven of the nine starters scored a run in the first and all nine starters reached base in the inning.

Joe Coron came through in the clutch with a two-out, bases-loaded double to left that cleared the bases.

"We've been stressing offense in practice lately," Akre said. "We've lost a lot of tight games and have left a lot of runners on base, so this is a big improvement."

Nearly overshadowed by all that offense was Ryan Speltz's complete-game, two-hit shutout.

Speltz struck out six, walked three and got eight ground ball outs while not allowing a single flyout.

"He's been working on keeping the ball down and mixing up speeds," Akre said. "That's how you get groundouts."

Austin mounted only one serious threat — that came in the second.

The bases were loaded with two outs and Speltz threw ball three to run the count full. Austin's Eric Barclay thought it was ball four and headed for first base.

The umpire called him back and Speltz blew a fastball by him on the next pitch to end the rally.

Speltz got it done on offense too, finishing 2-for-3 with a double.

It was a much needed win for the Buddies, who play eight games in the next five days.

"We needed this to start the week off right," Akre said. "We're playing for a chance to host a playoff game next Wednesday."

Coron finished 1-for-2 with a double and three RBI. Teammate Zach Woodard was 2-for-3 with two RBI and Jesse Kreidermacher was 1-for-2 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored.

The Buddies will entertain the Rochester Rockets in a doubleheader on Friday starting at 4 p.m at Gabyrch Park.

By Winona Daily News

ST. CLOUD, Minn. After a two game sweep on Saturday, the Winona VFW baseball team dropped its final game of the St. Cloud Tournament, just missing a comeback win against Cold Springs before being handed a 7-6 loss.

Winona took a 3-1 lead after the third but six runs in the next three by Cold Spring gave them the 7-3 lead heading into the final frame.

Winona scored three, the first on a Jesse Kridermacher single, the second on a Patrick Bowlin double, the third on a past ball Bowlin was sitting 90-feet away after that, but the final two batters of the game struck out looking and Winona's rally was ended.

Sam Blank finished the game 3-for-4 with a triple and Joe Coron laced a double.

The Buddies (10-12 overall) will be back in action at 5 p.m. on Wednesday with Austin.

Winona 021 000 3 6 9 0
Cold Springs 100 213 x 7 11 2

Andy Krage, Joe Coron (5), Andrew Wolfe (6) and Matt Wolfe; Joby and Johnson. WP Joby. LP Krage. HR none.

By Winona Daily News

ST. CLOUD, Minn. The Winona VFW Buddies had a tough first day at the St. Cloud Tournament, dropping its opening game to Maplewood 12-1 in five innings on Friday.

Andrew Wolfe scored the lone Winona run, giving the Buddies an early 1-0 lead, reaching first on a walk before stealing second and then scoring on a single by Joe Coron.

Winona gave away the lead in the next inning, allowing three runs before Maplewood exploded for nine runs in the fourth.

"We went out and got on the board right away," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "But the we gave them three and then kicked the ball around a couple times in the fourth and in turned into nine runs real quick."

The three Winona hurlers combined four six walks and one hit batsman, while the defense struggled behind them as well, committing four errors in five innings.

The Buddies are back in action at 12:15 p.m. today for the second round of tournament action.

Winona 001 00 1 3 4
Maplewood 003 9X 12 7 0

Ryan Speltz, Mitch Hoffman (4), Andrew Wolfe (4) and Matt Wolfe; Charles Bruchy and Rick Plemel. WP Bruchy. LP Speltz. HR none.

By The Winona Daily News

NORTHFIELD, Minn. The Winona VFW baseball struggled Tuesday and dropped a pair of First District games to Northfield, threatening late but losing 3-1 in the first game and disintegrating in the final innings to drop the nightcap 10-5.

In the first game, the Buddies, who are now 3-8 in First District play, surrendered two runs in the first inning after a pair of walks.

In the seventh, Winona was poised to make a come back with a pair of walks to lead off the inning. Arran Davis scored on a Jesse Kriedermacher single. Kriedermacher made it all the way around to third after Patrick Bowlin double, but was caught off third after Eli Abnet lined out to end the game.

In the nightcap, the Buddies closed to within two, trailing 6-4 after the top half of the fifth inning, but errors abounded and Winona allowed the lead to grow back to 9-4 after the bottom half of the inning.

"We closed the gap considerably," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "But, then we kicked the ball around for the next two innings, and it just kind of slipped away. We beat ourselves twice (Tuesday)."

Game 1

Winona 000 000 1 1 3 1
Northfield 200 001 x 3 4 0

Brian Speltz and Matt Wolfe; Werner, Pumper (7) and Dahl. WP Werner. LP Speltz. HR none.

Game 2

Winona 011 111 0 5 3 6
Northfield 051 031 x 10 9 4

Arran Davis, Zach Woodard (2), Andy Wolfe (2), Jesse Kriedermacher (5), Mitch hoffman (6) and Joe Coron; Kurtt, Pumper (5) and Schroyer. WP Krutt. LP Davis. HR none.

By Jon Weisbrod of the Winona Daily News

Ryan Speltz and Arron Davis have two very different styles of pitching for the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team.

Speltz is known for his power and can easily strike out double-digit totals on any given day.

Davis, on the other hand, is more of a finesse pitcher who relies on his consistent defense to get wins.

Both of those styles were on display Saturday afternoon as Winona swept Faribault 5-1 and 2-1 at Loughrey Field.

In Game 1, Speltz was not only dominant on the mound, finishing with 10 strikeouts and allowing just four hits, but he also helped himself with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, highlighted by a run-scoring triple in the fifth inning.

"I think today everything just fell into place," said Speltz. "I am beginning to see everything really well, and as a team, I believe we are beginning to gel."

Speltz only walked three batters and went all seven innings.

"He is a gamer," said Buddies coach Travis Akre. "It was just a great overall effort by Ryan."

In the second game, Winona was out-hit 9-2, but came out ahead in the only statistic that mattered, the score.

"I'll take a win in a game with just two hits any day," said Akre. "Our defense really stepped up and made things much easier for Arron."

Davis finished the game with two strikeouts, but was able to get big outs when the Buddies needed them the most.

Up 2-1 in the top of the seventh inning, Faribault found itself with a chance to take the lead after Davis gave up two singles with two outs, putting runners at the corners.

Nate Rost, Faribault's No. 3 hitter, was at the plate and was hit-less the entire afternoon.

Davis was able to keep it that way, as he got Rost to pop out to third, sealing a sweep for Winona over a First District opponent.

The only two hits for Winona came off the bats of Brett Kasper and Beau Brackey — both in the second inning.

Mitch Hoffman and Jeff Walters led off the inning with walks.

Hoffman attempted to steal third and Rost's throw wound up in left field, allowing Hoffman to score.

After a strikeout, Kasper beat out an infield looper over the pitchers' head for a single and Brackey followed with a RBI single to right for the 2-0 lead.

"We are starting to get a lot more clutch hits lately." said Akre. "Our patience is beginning to pay off."

Cody Hetletvedt suffered the loss, going six innings with six strikeouts.

The Buddies will be in action again today at home against the Rochester Rockets in a First District doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. at Loughrey Field.

By The Winona Daily News

AUSTIN, Minn. The Winona VFW baseball team didn't have the pitching or the defense Wednesday in a First District game with Austin.

But the Buddies had enough offense to overcome four errors and five different pitchers to get a 12-9 win — snapping a three-game league losing streak.

"It's too bad we had to use five arms," said Winona coach Travis Akre, "because we have eight games in seven days.

The Buddies (2-5 First District, 5-6 overall) got down 8-3 after back-to-back four-run innings by Austin, before Akre gave his team an ultimatum.

"I just told them," Akre said, "that if we weren't going to play defense, we'd have to swing it and they answered with six runs."

Winona went up 9-8 with a six-run fourth, behind five hits — including a Ryan Speltz two-run double, two walks and two errors.

Jessie Kreidermacher gave the Buddies the insurance in a two-run fifth with a RBI double.

Speltz was 3-for-4, adding a triple, Sam Blank went 3-for-5, scoring three runs and Aaran Davis went 2-for-5 with a RBI for Winona, which plays at 6 p.m. today at Kasson-Mantorville.

VFW 102 620 1 12 12 4
Austin 044 000 1 9 8 4

Zach Woodard, Joe Coron (3), Ryan Speltz (4), Andy Craig (5), Mitch Hoffman (7) and Matt Wolfe, Ryan Merchlewitz (7); Dorn Schroeder, Nate Wilson (4), Doug Anderson (7) and Duell Higbe. WP Speltz. LP Schroeder. HR none.

By John Huggenvik / Winona Daily News

What exactly was it that killed the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team on Sunday in its doubleheader with Northfield at Loughrey Field?

Was it the eight runners that were stranded by Winona in the first game, eventually leading to a 3-2 loss?

Or, was it the five unearned runs that the Glovers pushed across the plate in the second game, eventually downing the Buddies 9-4 in the nightcap?

Whatever it was, it spelled trouble for Winona, which is now 1-5 in First District play and 4-6 overall.

"Whenever you give good teams more than three outs it means trouble," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We have an infield fly that we let drop, then there was a throwing error and before you know it things were snowballing out of control."

That exchange on defense came in the second game, when the Buddies were attempting to protect a 2-0 lead that came in the third.

Ryan Merchelwitz laced a single into center field to start the inning, followed by a walk for Patrick Bowlin. A throwing error on a ground ball to third allowed Joe Coron, who was running for Merchelwitz, top score from second and Bowlin to advance to third. Sam Blank followed a groundout to third that scored Bowlin to put the Buddies up 2-0.

The score remained that way until the sixth inning, when the Buddies struggled to recorded outs and the Glovers (6-1 First District, 8-1 overall) started getting hits.

Northfield sent 11 batters to the plate in the sixth and grabbed a 6-2 lead.

"I think it was more that we got the bottom end of their pitching than anything," Northfield coach Peter Maus said. "But, it was good to finally gets some hits and get things rolling."

The Glovers added three more runs in the seventh off of Mitch Hoffman, who relieved Jesse Kreidermacher in the sixth.

In Game 1, it was Northfield that jumped out to the early lead, then held off the Buddies.

The Glovers scored in the first on Alex Dahl's RBI single.

The Buddies tied the game in the third on a balk with a runner at third, but the Glovers added two more to take a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

Jesse Kreidermache's RBI single pulled the Buddies to within 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, but Winona left the bases loade as Northfield pitcher Paul Dimick got a ground ball for the game's final out.

"That has been story of our season so far," Akre said. We have been caught up in close games and have had a hard time finding someone to step up. We really have been missing out on the big hit all year."

Danny Warner pitched six strong innings for the Glovers to earn the first-game win and Dimick held on for the save. Speltz tossed a four-hitter for the Buddies.

"We really hung on in the end," Maus said. "(Winona) really had their chances but we fended them off and we are lucky in that respect."

The Buddies will be on the road Wednesday for a 5 p.m. contest in Austin.

WASECA, Minn. The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team took a tough 1-0 nine-inning First District loss in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday against Waseca, but bounced back to win the nonconference nightcap 12-5.

Waseca pitcher Marcus Wobschell had a no-hitter going through six innings against the Buddies in Game 1, but Joe Coron broke it up with one of his two hits.

Buddies pitcher Sam Blank was equally impressive, pitching all nine innings with 10 strikeouts, four walks and just four hits allowed. Unfortunatly, two of those hits were doubles in the ninth inning.

Zach Woodard led a 12-hit attack in the second game, going 5-for-5 with five RBI as the Buddies scored three times in the first and third innings to take a big lead.

"The first game was just us not being able to adjust," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "In the second game, we came out and got three runs right away, and that set the tone for the rest of the game."

Ryan Speltz added two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs, while Patrick Bowlin was 2-for-3 with one RBI.

The Buddies (1-4 First District, 4-4 overall) play at 11 a.m. today at Loughrey Field against Northfield.

Game 1

Buddies 000 000 000 0 3 1
Waseca 000 000 001 1 4 0

Sam Blank and Ryan Merchlewitz; Marcus Wobschell and Jimmy Loonan. WP Wobschell. LP Blank. HR none.

Game 2

Buddies 303 200 4 12 12 1
Waseca 004 001 0 5 5 3

Andy Krage, Joe Coron (3), Mitch Hoffman (7) and Matt Wolfe; Joe Glynn, Grady Glynn (7) and Grady Glynn, Joe Glynn (7). WP Coron. LP Joe Glynn. HR none.

By Winona Daily News

RED WING, Minn. Key hits were nowhere to be found Wednesday for the Winona VFW baseball team.

The Buddies left 12 runners on base and came out on the short end of a 2-1 score to Red Wing in a First District game.

"That's been our whole deal so far," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "We aren't coming up with any timely hits."

The Buddies (1-3 First District, 3-3 overall) finished with six hits and couldn't take advantage of three Red Wing errors.

Winona's lone run came in the third inning without the benefit of a hit. Andrew Wolfe reached by an error and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Sam Blank, who accounted for two of the Buddies' hits.

Ryan Speltz suffered the loss despite allowing only six hits and striking out six. He also walked four.

Winona travels to Waseca on Saturday for a doubleheader.

Winona 001 000 0 1 6 0
Red Wing 100 010 x 2 6 3

Ryan Speltz and Ryan Merchlewitz; M.Johnson, Olson (3), Holmsten (6), D.Johnson (7) and Karlsrud, Newman (3). WP Olson. LP Speltz. HR none.

C.J. Spang of the Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW Buddies had an offensive outpouring in Sunday's First District doubleheader against Albert Lea. The Buddies won 11-1 and 12-2, thanks to a couple of big innings.

In the first game, Winona (1-2 First District, 3-2 overall) scored six runs on five hits, three walks and a hit batsmen in the fourth inning.

Winona's offense over-shadowed Sam Blank's stellar pitching performance. Blank gave up only one earned run on one hit, while striking out six, which were in succession in the second and third.

"It was a real good outing by Sam," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "He didn't pitch much in the spring, so he's getting back into it. We're going to need that kind of effort from him all year."

Akre got plenty of effort from his lead-off hitter Joe Coron, who went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, three RBI and a stolen base.

"Anytime you get that kind of performance from your lead-off hitter, you're going to be in good shape," Akre said. "We need that from him."

Blank helped his own cause, with two RBI and a stolen base, and Arran Davis was 2-for-4 with two RBI.

The Buddies didn't let up in the second game, scoring 12 runs on eight hits and nine Albert Lea walks.

"We had a lot better at-bats," Akre said. "We were patient and did a better job of letting the ball get to us, instead of jumping out at it."

Winona used another huge inning to put away Albert Lea.

In the fifth, the Buddies scored eight runs on four hits and six walks to put the 10-run rule into play.

Ryan Speltz led the Buddies' offense, going 3-for-4 with two triples and three RBI.

"Ryan is a good hitter," Akre said of his center fielder. "Sometimes he is over-aggressive and he gets into trouble, but today he was patient."

It was Albert Lea's pitching that did it in on the day, giving up 18 hits and walking 12 in the two-games.

By C.J. Spang / Winona Daily News

Despite a solid defensive effort, the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team could only muster two hits en route to a 3-2 First District loss to Rochester Century on Wednesday at Loughrey Field.

"Normally I'd like them to be aggressive," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "But today we were a bit over aggressive."

The Buddies (0-2 First District, 1-2 overall) kept it close thanks to a few Century base-running blunders.

In the fourth inning, Sam Blank, who struck out eight, walked Nate Evens and Tyler Correa. Mike DeBolt followed with a line-drive single to left and that's when the chaos began.

Evens stopped at third as left fielder Joe Coron threw to Arron Davis at third, expecting him to try and score. Correa didn't see Evens stop and headed for third as well, where he was tagged out.

Evens broke for the plate after Coron's throw and got caught in a rundown.

Catcher Ryan Merchlewitz threw back to third and the ball glanced off Davis' glove to shortstop Sam Blank, who was standing on third base and tagged out Evens for the double play.

The Buddies went up 2-1 on a passed ball in the second and an error in the third.

In the sixth, Century (2-1, 3-3) used a pair of singles and wild pitch to take the 3-2.

DeBolt did not relinquish the lead after that, allowing only one runner to reach base in the last three innings.

The Buddies host Albert Lea at 2 p.m. Sunday.

By The Winona Daily News

In the season opener, it took two innings for the Winona VFW Buddies to settle down and once they did, things went just fine.

But those first two innings proved the difference in a 3-0 loss to Rochester in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

Game 2 went Winona's way, however. After getting shut out on a four-hitter, the Buddies opened up with 12 hits and 11 runs in an 11-6 five-inning nightcap win.

"We definitely had more patient at-bats the second game," said VFW coach Travis Akre. "A lot of the new guys came out really nervous and that proved to be the difference."

Zach Woodard was 3-for-4 with a triple, three runs scored and two more batted in for Winona in the win, while teammate Matt Coron, who got the Game 2 win, also went 3-for-4 with two RBI.

In the opener, the Buddies (1-1) left 10 guys on base and seven in scoring position. Frank Meilander struck out seven but walked five in the win, while Jesse Kreidermacher struck out four and walked two for the loss.

Aaron Davis was 2-for-4 for Winona, which plays at home Wednesday at 5 p.m. versus Rochester Century.

The Buddies were supposed to play a doubleheader at Northfield today, but that has been cancelled.

Game 1

Rochester 120 000 0 3 4 2
Winona 000 000 0 0 4 2

Frank Meilander and Brian Battista; Jesse Kreidermacher and Ryan Merchlewitz. WP Meilander. LP Kreidermacher. HR none.

Game 2

Rochester 013 002 6 4 3
Winona 211 16x 11 12 4

John Weimer, Tim Mueller (5) and Scott Zanoni; Joe Coron and Matt Wolfe. WP Coron. LP Weimer. HRnnone.

By Jon Weisbrod of the Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team came within one win of making it to the state tournament last season, so expectations are very high coming into today's season opening doubleheader against the Rochester Knights.

All the pressure does not seem to bother head coach Travis Akre, as many of last year's players are back for the upcoming season.

Ryan Speltz, Sam Blank, Zack Woodard, Joe Coron and Jesse Kreidermacher all saw significant time on last season's squad and will now be expected to play a much bigger role this summer.

"Those five need to step up for us to do well this season," said Akre. "They had a taste of success (last season) and are hungry for more."

Of the nine expected starters, at least five players will have seen significant time at the varsity level for their respective schools.

Blank and Speltz are the most experienced of the five returners and may have the biggest job as the duo will also be the one-two punch on the mound.

When Speltz is not pitching, he will be joined in the outfield by a lot of experience and a few new faces.

Cotter High's Patrick Bowlin who started almost every game at the varsity level this season for the Ramblers will also be in the outfield, along with Kreidermacher, Coron, Woodard and Bo Brackey.

Blank was a varsity letter-winner this season for Winona Senior High and will anchor the infield at shortstop, along with newcomer Andrew Krage.

Filling out the rest of the infield will be Arran Davis and Jeff Walters at third along with Andy Wolfe and Mitch Hoffman at second while quite a few players will see time at first.

Matt Wolfe will convert from third base, where he was a regular for Cotter this season, and move to catcher to be the battery mate for what could be a very deep rotation.

Due to the late season success of the WSHS baseball team, the Buddies will be without Speltz and Blank right away.

They will need to rely on Coron, Kreidermacher, Hoffman and Woodard who will all see time on the mound this season. The Winhawks play today in the Section 1AAA tournament in Red Wing.

Overall, the Buddies will need to find a way to mesh different players from different schools to find success.

"The month of June is always big," said Akre. "This is the time when we will all need to get a feel for each other and learn to become somewhat of a family."

The Buddies play on five days between June 23-29.

"We play in a very tough division," Akre said. "Everything needs to come together soon for us to do well, and with only three days of practice before our first game, it needs to start right now."

By Jim Kohner of the Winona Daily News

Baseball can be a funny game at times.

Take Monday night's First District Tournament championship game between Rochester Century and the Winona VFW Buddies at Winona State's Loughrey Field.

The Buddies came into the game with four straight wins this season over Century, including a convincing 11-1 thumping Sunday afternoon to force Monday's deciding game.

Century, meanwhile, was just happy to make last weekend's Eastern Division Tournament. It needed to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Red Wing 8-7 in the out game of the tournament, then upset Northfield, the Eastern Division regular season champion, to take second place in the division tourney after losing to Winona 3-0 in the finals.

With a record of about 12-22 (coach Tony Beck can honestly say he doesn't know his team's record) coming into the district tournament, Century was the odds-on favorite to be the first team eliminated.

Instead, Century, a very young team with seven players on its roster that will just be freshmen in the fall, and its 15-24 record (or there abouts) will head to Alexandria the weekend of Aug. 13-16 for the Minnesota VFW State Tournament. The Buddies end a fine season at 25-13.

Monday's 6-3 Century win was a hard one for the Buddies, their coaches and their fans to swallow. Winona proved in the first four encounters that it was the better team.

But in the most important game between the two teams, the Buddies made some uncharacteristic mistakes, both in the field and on the base paths, that came back to haunt them.

Winona committed four errors, including three key ones in Century's four-run first inning, that led to five unearned runs.

"The first half inning caught us off guard and we started pressing," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "Baseball is a mental game. When we starting putting more pressure on ourselves, that's when we made the errors."

Beck took a gamble with his pitching and came back with Josh McKeon, who threw a complete-game shutout over Faribault on Saturday.

Akre, meanwhile, went with his No. 5 starter, Jesse Kreidermacher, instead of bringing either Jeff Gilbertson, Chris Jacobson or Sam Blank back on short rest.

"I knew (Winona) had a lot of pitchers," Beck said. "At the same time, you have to go with your best guy in a game like this."

McKeon gave Beck seven innings of work for the win. Kreidermacher lasted only one inning and gave up four runs (they were all unearned) and three hits.

Jacobson, Blank and Gilbertson limited Century to two runs over the final six innings.

"We wanted a fresh arm out there," Akre said of his decision. "We possibly could have gotten out of that inning if we make some plays. It's hard to battle back when you down four runs.

"There are so many elements to this game. It wasn't in our favor, I guess."

Maybe it was just the law of averages catching up with them.

By Ian Stauffer of the Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW baseball team came into Monday's First District championship game with a lot of confidence.

Confidence gained because the Buddies had beaten their opponents from Rochester Century four times already this season.

To put a little extra swagger in the Buddies' step, Century had scored a total of seven runs in the four previous games and just two in the last three games against Winona.

But on Monday, the tables were turned on the Buddies at Loughrey Field as Century gained an early advantage and ended Winona's season with a 6-3 defeat.

"It's tough to beat a team five times in one season," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "When you play a team that many times, you get to know their strengths and weaknesses."

Century advances to play in the state tournament Aug. 13-16 in Alexandria, Minn.

"I always tell the guys, It's not the best team that wins, it's the team that plays the best,'" Rochester coach Tony Beck said. "That's why there are always upsets in sports."

The same thing that has carried the Buddies to 16 wins in their last 20 games, their defense, was what let them down Monday.

Winona (25-13) committed four errors, three in the first inning alone that accounted for five unearned runs, including four in the top of the first.

"The errors really got us down early," said Chris Jacobson, who pitched three scoreless innings and drove in Winona's first run. "We put ourselves in an early hole, and we had to battle back from the start."

The first two batters of the game reached on errors off starter Jesse Kreidermacher and Century took advantage, following with a sacrifice fly and three straight singles to drive in the four runs.

"I had to tell the kids that we hadn't even had a turn to hit yet after the top of the first," Akre said. "We had seven innings ahead of us."

The Buddies started to chip away with a run in the second inning and another in the the third to make it 4-2.

Century added a run in the fifth, its only earned run in the game, to take the lead back to three, 5-2.

Danny Bohnstengel walked and scored on a Sam Blank double to bring Winona back within two runs in the bottom of the fifth before Century again made it a three-run game with an unearned run in the top of the sixth.

"Every time we chipped away at the lead, they came back and got one back from us," Akre said. "We had some opportunities, but we made mistakes that hurt us."

The Buddies' biggest opportunity came in the bottom of the sixth inning when Kreidermacher drew a leadoff walk.

The next batter, Jake Wanek, drilled a line drive, but right at the second baseman, who snagged the ball and doubled Kreidermacher off at first to end the rally.

Winona came back in the same inning, getting back-to-back singles by Mike Bestul and Ben Kohner. A wild pitch put runners on second and third with two outs.

Joe Coron drew a walk that would have loaded the bases, but Bestul mistakenly started to jog home after the walk, seemingly thinking the bases were already loaded, and got thrown out.

"Every pitch creates a different situation in a game, and maybe he was crossed up, I don't know," Akre said. "I wish I had a rope."

By Ian Stauffer of the Winona Daily News

The old saying 'It's a hit in the boxscore,' definitely applied to the Winona VFW baseball team Sunday in the first championship game of the First District Tournament at Loughrey Field.

The Buddies beat previously unbeaten Rochester Century 11-1 in the game, thanks in large part to seven bloop singles that drove in five runs.

The win sets up another game between Winona and Century at 5 p.m. today in the winner-takes-all championship. The winner will advance to the Aug. 13-16 State Tournament in Alexandria, Minn.

Earlier on Sunday, the Buddies beat Owatonna 2-0 in an elimination game behind a masterful pitching performance by Sam Blank.

The soon-to-be Winona Senior High School sophomore used just 73 pitches in the complete game four-hitter.

"I was just trying to hit my spots on the corners," said Blank, who walked two and struck out one in seven innings. "I didn't try to strike guys out. I just tried to make them hit the ball and let my defense get the outs."

Blank retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced and the only one who reached base was on a hard-hit ground ball that got past the third baseman.

"Sam did a nice job of keeping batters off-balance and he made Owatonna hit the ball," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "He was in control of all three of his pitches, and when you give people three different looks, it messes up their rhythm."

Blank ran into trouble in the first inning, allowing the first two runners on with no outs, but got the next three batters out, including a diving catch by center fielder Derrick Ritter for the second out.

In the third, Blank again had two on, this time with one out, but his defense helped him with a 5-4-3 double play, including a nifty turn by second baseman Ben Kohner, to end the inning.

"We had a couple chances against (Blank), but we just couldn't get the hits," Owatonna coach Tony Holcomb said. "You have to give him credit. He didn't make any mistakes, and his defense was really good behind him."

Jake Wanek knocked in both of the Buddies' runs in the first game, the first coming in the fourth inning and the second in the sixth inning.

The Winona defense also played well in the game against Century, helping pitcher Ryan Speltz protect an early 6-1 lead.

"Our defense is really what is carrying us right now," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "We tell our pitchers to just throw strikes, make the other team hit the ball and the defense will make the plays."

Winona did make the plays defensively, including another inning-ending double play, this time of the 6-4-3 variety, in the fifth inning.

Rochester Century, however, did not make the plays.

In the first inning, Century committed three errors that led to three Winona runs, capped by a two-run error by pitcher Dustin Paulson.

Paulson came out again in the second inning and gave up two hits before a run-scoring fielder's choice by Blank.

Peter Heidorn relieved Paulson in the third, but it didn't help as the Buddies got three hits, including run-scoring doubles from Jesse Kreidermacher and Chris Jacobson to make it 6-1.

The Buddies strung together three bloop singles in the fourth inning to get another run in to take a 7-1 lead.

In the seventh inning, the Buddies first seven batters all reached base n four on bloop singles n to get four runs across the plate.

Speltz finished with six strikeouts, six walks, four hits and just the one run to get the win.

Kreidermacher, Speltz and Danny Bohnstengel all had three hits and one RBI in the second game, while Kohner and Kreidermacher scored three times each.

By Ian Stauffer of the Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW baseball team kept its season alive Saturday by beating Faribault 6-2 in the elimination game following a 12-inning marathon loss in the first-round of the First District Tournament at Loughrey Field.

The Buddies lost to Owatonna 5-2 in 12 innings the first game of the tournament to set up the Faribault match-up.

Winona will play Owatonna at 1 p.m. today in the elimination game, with the winner going on to play Rochester Century in the championship game at 3:30 p.m.

"It has been a really fun season," said Shawn Pape, who went 4-for-7 with three runs-batted-in, a double and two stolen bases in the two games. "We have really come together as a team and won some games. I hope we can keep doing it."

Chris Jacobsen threw a complete game for the Buddies (23-12) in the game against Faribault and scattered four hits, walked four and struck out one. Both Faribault runs were unearned.

"Chris really competes when he's on the mound," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "He stays ahead of hitters and is able to keep them off balance."

Ben Kohner highlighted the offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and a stolen base. Sam Blank had two hits and two RBI.

Winona did most of its damage in the fourth inning when Ryan Speltz drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a wild pitch while Jacobsen was batting.

Jacobsen followed with a triple to left field, Danny Bohnstengel drilled a double to left field, and Kohner and Blank each came through with singles.

Faribault took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after a two-out walk, a double and an error brought Jason Meyer across the plate.

The Buddies tied it 1-1 in the third inning with a run-scoring single by Shawn Pape before Winona took a 5-1 lead in the fourth.

Winona added the final run in the sixth when a bloop single by Jesse Kreidermacher scored Blank.

"We faced some really tough pitching today," Faribault coach Steve Christensen said. "We hit the ball, but both teams made plays against us and we weren't able to get hits off of errors."

In the Owatonna game, Pape was 3-for-5 and knocked in the Buddies' only two runs with a single in the third inning to put Winona up 2-0.

After that, Owatonna pitcher Luke Robinson stole the show.

Robinson threw all 12 innings in the game, totaling more than 170 pitches. He struck out 12 batters, walked just three and pitched out of several jams in the later innings.

"Robinson had us off balance with his curveball for the entire game," Akre said. "We were over-aggressive at the plate, and no one could seem to come up with the big hit."

Owatonna tied the game 2-2 in the sixth inning, manufacturing both runs with a single, a hit batsman, another single, a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring groundout.

The game remained tied 2-2 until the top of the 12th, when Owatonna took advantage of the Buddies' only two errors and scored three runs, two of which were unearned.

Shawn Jore led off the inning with a double. C.W. Wolfe laid down a bunt to move Jore over, but Buddies' pitcher Ryan Speltz picked the the ball up and threw it into right field, allowing Jore to score the go-ahead run.

"Our defense has carried us through the second half of the season," said Akre, whose team has won 14 of its last 18 games. "Our second game just shows that if you keep yourself in the game, good things will happen."

The biggest pickle Robinson found himself in came in the seventh inning when the Buddies loaded the bases with no outs.

Robinson responded by getting a strike out, a pop out and a ground out to end the inning.

In the tenth, Winona attempted a double steal with runners on the corners and two outs.

Robinson threw behind the runner on first base, getting Blank to take off for home from third. Owatonna first baseman Derek Eddie saw Blank and threw home, getting him at home by two steps to end the inning.

Robinson beaned a batter in the 11th with one out, but got the next two batters out and then retired the side in order in the 12th to end the game.

By Jim Kohner of the Winona Daily News

Midway through the regular season, the Winona VFW baseball was sitting in the middle of the pack in the First District with a 4-5 league mark and a 9-8 overall record.

A month later, the Buddies are playing host to the First District Tournament, which will be held Saturday and Sunday at Winona State's Loughrey Field.

Since dropping two games to Northfield on June 27, Winona has won 13 of its last 16 games, including three straight games last weekend to win the Eastern Division tournament. The Buddies will carry a 22-11 record into Saturday's 10 a.m. game with Owatonna.

"We've grown together as a team," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "When you combine kids from two schools, it takes a while to learn how to play together. We were 10-6 in the league and five of those losses were one-run games. In 33 games, we've held the lead in 31 of them.

"It's exciting to show up at the park when you have 17 kids that have the desire to compete and learn. It's been a fun month of July. Ever since we left St. Cloud (where they place second in a 16-team tournament), that's all the kids have been talking about a chance to get to state. We're halfway there."

The Buddies would have to be considered the favorite coming in. They're 7-0 against the three other teams in the double-elimination tournament.

But Winona hasn't faced Owatonna since a season-opening doubleheader on June 5, and hasn't seen Faribault since June 26.

"Owatonna is a tough team," Akre said. "At one point they won 16 games in a row. They're an aggressive team and they play hard. They're gunning for us. Faribault had 30 hits last Sunday in two games. They're showing signs of peaking right now.

"Everyone is doing something right at this point of the season to get this far. I guess our record versus these opponents would indicate we're the favorite. But the playoffs are a brand new season. Everyone is going into this weekend 0-0. We feel if we play good defense, get good pitching and hit the ball, we should compete for a state berth."

It will be hard for the other three teams in the tournament to match Winona's pitching depth. With Jeff Gilbertson, Chris Jacobson and Sam Blank, Akre has three proven starters who can beat anyone.

Akre also has Ryan Speltz and Jesse Kreidermacher to throw if needed.

"Right now I'm leaning toward Chris in the first game," Akre said. "He hasn't faced (Owatonna) and Jeff hasn't faced either Faribault or Century. But Jeff had 13 strikeouts against Owatonna earlier this year.

"For some teams, Chris is a No. 1 pitcher. For us, he's a No. 2. It's kind of up in the air who we'll go with the first game. I've been battling with that decision ever since I left the field last week. I'm confident with either of the two."

The winner of this weekend's tournament will compete in the Minnesota State VFW Tournament the weekend of Aug. 13-16 in Alexandria.

By Jim Kohner of the Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. It was an efficient performance Sunday by the Winona VFW Buddies in the championship game of the First District Eastern Division Tournament.

Sam Blank scattered seven hits, his defense played flawless behind him, and the Buddies bunched together four of their five hits in one inning to claim the division title with a 3-0 victory over Rochester Century.

The win means the Buddies (22-11) will play host to the four-team First District Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Loughrey Field. Rochester Century, along with Owatonna and Faribault from the Western Division, will compete with Winona in the double-elimination event, with the winner gaining a berth in the state tournament.

Blank and his defense were the story of Sunday's game at Rochester Century High School. The right-hander struck out just three batters and walked two.

When he did get into trouble, he made key pitches and induced Century to hit into a pair of double plays.

"Sam pitched a great game," said Buddies coach Travis Akre, noting that Blank threw only 68 pitches. "He worked ahead of the hitters. He had some short innings and didn't allow their pitcher to rest.

"Sam knows he's not an overpowering pitcher, but he works ahead and works the corners to his advantage."

Century's biggest threat came in the third inning when it loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk with the heart of the order coming up. But Blank got Josh McKeon to pop out and Bryce Evans to ground out to end the threat.

"It is about pitching, defense and timely hitting," Century coach Tony Beck said. "We did the defense and the pitching. To Winona's credit, they got the timely hitting."

All those timely hits for the Buddies came in the third inning off Chris Zinny. Ben Kohner led off the inning with a double to deep left field. One out later, Blank helped his cause with a single to left-center to plate Kohner.

After Shawn Pape doubled to deep right to put runners on second and third, Jesse Kreidermacher laced a hit to right that glanced off the glove of first baseman Evans to drive in the final two runs.

"A couple timely hits proved to be enough today," Akre said. "We're still learning. Their guy wasn't overpowering us. As long as we're learning, that's important."

Winona's only other hit was a single by Blank in the first inning.

Century upset top-seeded Northfield 5-4 earlier Sunday to reach the finals.

By The Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. Mike Bestul drove in five runs Saturday as the Winona VFW baseball team put itself in the driver's seat in the First District Eastern Division Tournament at Rochester Century High School.

Bestul went 4-for-5 with two triples, a double and three RBI in a 7-6 nine-inning win over Austin in the first round. Against top-seeded Northfield, Bestul belted a double and drove in two more run as the Buddies prevailed 4-2.

Winona (21-11) is the lone unbeaten team in the tournament and has clinched a spot in next weekend's First District Tournament. Today, Rochester Century and Northfield meet at 1 p.m., with the winner taking on the Buddies at 3:30 p.m. If Winona wins that game, it will win the division title and host the district tourney. If the Buddies lose, they'll have to go back to Rochester for a game on Monday.

Northfield, which beat Winona four times earlier this year, scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but were blanked by pitchers Jeff Gilbertson and Ryan Speltz the rest of the way.

"The kids were looking for revenge," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "That was the team they wanted to play and they rose to the challenge. It was a tremendous effort by Jeff Gilbertson, playing through an injury."

Shawn Pape paced a 10-hit attack for the Buddies by going 3-for-4. Jake Wanek was 2-for-4.

Gilbertson hurled the first 5 2/3 innings for the win.

Against Austin, the Buddies scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a throwing error. After Austin put up two runs in the top of the ninth, Winona responded with three in the bottom of the inning. Bestul came through with a two-run single, then scored the winning run on a two-out throwing error.

Pape, Danny Bohnstengel, Jesse Kreidermacher and Joe Coron all had two hits for Winona, which outhit Austin 15-5, but stranded 13 runners on base.

Speltz, the third Buddies pitcher, got the win.

Austin 000 001 302 6 5 4
Winona 000 201 103 7 15 3

Cunningham, Kirby (7), Hernandez (8) and Krueger; Jacobson, Kreidermacher (7), Speltz (9) and Wanek. WP Speltz. LP Hernandez. HR none.

Winona 202 000 0 4 10 2
Northfield 200 000 0 2 9 2

Gilbertson, Speltz (6) and Wanek; Purcell, Saari (5) and Loven-Holt. WP Gilbertson. LP Purcell. Sv Speltz. HR none.

By the Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team secured a No. 2 seeding at the First Division tournament with a pair of wins over the Rochester Knights on Sunday.

The Buddies will face No. 1 seeded Northfield at Rochester Century on Saturday.

Chris Wolfe put the final touches on the 6-2 Game 1 win for the Buddies (10-6, 19-11) with a two-run triple in the sixth inning.

Jesse Kriedermacher punched in a run in the first inning on one of his two doubles and Sam Blank had a RBI triple in the second.

"We had a couple of key, clutch hits that carried us," Buddies coach Travis Akre said.

Blank also struck out four with no walks in the complete game win.

Ben Kohner went 4-for-4 with a triple, a double, and two RBI in Game 2 in the 12-4 Buddies nightcap victory.

Ryan Speltz drove in three runs, and Joe Coron had three hits. Speltz got the win throwing 4 1/3 innings.

A six-hit, five-run fourth inning gave the Buddies an 11-2 lead as five different players drove in a run in the inning.

Winona 220 002 0 6 9 3
Rochester 000 002 0 2 7 1

Blank and Wanek; Meilander and Armstrong. WP Blank. LP Meilander. HR none.

Winona 231 500 1n12 18 2
Rochester 011 000 2n 4 8 1

Speltz, Bestul (5) and Passehl; Weimer, Duda (3) and Bestgen . WP Speltz. LP Weimer. HR none.

Forrest J. Dailey/ Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team just missed a sweep of the Rochester Rockets on Saturday, coming back from a long seven-run first inning deficit in Game 2, only to fall short 7-6, after winning Game 1 by a 9-3 score.

The split earned Winona a place in the First District tournament. Seedings for the tournament will be determined today.

Rochester came out in the top of the first inning of Game 2 with a vengeance after the Game 1 defeat.

After a leadoff single in the first, Winona pitcher Jake Wanek appeared to be out of trouble getting the next two batters to ground out, but then the Rockets went on a tear.

Wanek allowed the next eight batters to reach base, seven of which recorded singles, and Rochester quickly put up seven runs, stamped by a two-run single by Mike Johnson.

Jesse Kreidermacher took the mound for the Buddies (9-6 First District, 17-11 overall), relieving Wanek and proceeded to hold the Rockets to three hits while striking out three in 5 2/3 of shutout baseball.

"He threw strikes and mixed it up well," said Rockets coach Brent Lichty of Kreidermacher. "We really took advantage of a good first inning, and held on from there."

"I kept the ball low," Kreidermacher said, "so they wouldn't hit it in the air, because they are a good hitting team. That seemed to work."

Winona finally got on the board in the third inning with back-to-back doubles by Danny Bohnstengel and Ryan Speltz.

The Buddies scored three more runs in the fourth inning, the first on a RBI-triple by Chris Jacobson to close to within 7-5.

"We made a great effort, trying to battle back," Buddies coach Travis Akre said, "from the first pitch to the last out."

Derick Ritter, who was 3-for-3 in the game, pulled Winona within a run by getting knocked in by a Danny Bohnstengel single.

Ritter reached on a single and moved from first to third on a passed ball before scoring.

The Buddies looked ready to complete the comeback in the seventh when Mike Bestul singled and David Todd reached on error, putting Bestul in scoring position with one out.

But Rochester pitcher Matt Armstrong, who relieved Adam Wiesner in the sixth, got Jacobson and Joe Coron to fly out and end the game.

In the Game 1 blowout win, Kreidermacher helped the Buddies put the game away in the fourth inning by doubling to lead off the inning and later scoring, as the Buddies batted around.

Up again, Kreidermacher drove in two of his three RBI on a single, which was part of a six-hit, six-run inning that gave the Buddies a 7-1 lead.

Leading 9-3 in the seventh, the Buddies infield of Chris Wolfe, Sam Blank and Bestul pulled off a double-play with runners on first and second to close out the game.

Wanek was 2-for-4 with two RBI singles for the Buddies, who had 11 hits in the game.

Ben Kohner was 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI, while teammate Zach Woodard was 2-for-4 as well for the Buddies, who head to Rochester today to play the Knights at 11 a.m.

By the Winona Daily News

AUSTIN, Minn. Jeff Gilbertson went 2-for-3 with a double and pitched 6 2/3 strong innings, striking out six and walking three to give the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team a 6-2 First District win over Austin on Wednesday.

"Jeff was over-powering the lineup," said Buddies coach Travis Akre of Gilbertson, who had a no-hitter through four innings, giving up a leadoff double in the fifth.

Gilbertson did get into some trouble in the seventh hitting two and giving up two of his four hits. He left the bases loaded with two outs for Zach Woodard, who got the final out and the save on a fly to left field.

Ryan Speltz put Winona (8-6 First District, 16-10 overall) on the board with a two-run double in the second, in which Winona put up three.

The Buddies' Jake Wanek, who was 2-for-3, added two RBI and a double, while Austin (7-7, 11-11) only managed two runs in the game's final half inning.

The Buddies next play at home on Saturday against the Rochester Rockets at 11 a.m.

Winona 030 021 0 6 11 1
Austin 000 000 2 2 4 5

Jeff Gilbertson, Zach Woodard (7) and Jake Wanek, Craig Passehl (6); Johnson and Krueger. WP Gilbertson. LP Johnson. Sv Woodard. HR none.

By the Winona Daily News

ST. CLOUD, Minn. The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team placed second in a 16-team field at the 2004 East Side VFW Baseball Tournament in St. Cloud, on Sunday, making their way to the championship game where they were defeated by Sartell 6-3.

Ryan Speltz pitched the first 2 2/3 innings and hit two doubles.

The Buddies (15-10) went up 1-0 in the top of the third on an error bringing in Ben Kohner, but Sartell scored three runs in the bottom of the inning, on a two run single by Jim Gabrielson, and a passed ball.

In the fourth inning, Chris Wolfe's two-run single tied the game, but that was to be all for the Buddies, who outhit Sartell, and played an errorless game in the field.

Sartell notched the deciding three runs on a bases-loaded double by Cody Hauser in the fifth.

The Buddies play in Austin on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Buddies 001 200 0 3 7 0

Sartell 003 030 0 6 5 2

Ryan Speltz, Jesse Kriedermacher (3), Jake Wanek (6) and Wanek, Craig Passehl (6) ; Eddie Carey and Jim Gabrielson . WP Carey. LP Kriedermacher.

By the Winona Daily News

ST. CLOUD, Minn. After being held hitless through four innings, the Winona VFW baseball team flipped a switch in the fifth inning to take the lead on the way to an 8-2 win over Grand Rapids in the semifinals of the St. Cloud VFW Tournament.

In the fifth, Ryan Speltz, Sam Blank and Craig Passehl all belted run-scoring singles to put the Buddies (14-9) up 3-2. Chris Wolfe added a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.

Jesse Kriedermacher, who got the first Buddies hit of the game, added a run-scoring single in the sixth inning to make it 5-2 Winona.

In the seventh, Shawn Pape drilled a two-run triple and then scored on a Jake Wanek single. Kreidermacher finished 2-for-3 and Blank was 2-for-2.

"We were down early, but we made some adjustments and we started to hit the ball hard and find gaps," Winona coach Travis Akre. "The guys are really starting to gel and come together. We've got a fun environment, and that makes the guys more excited to come and play."

On Friday, the Buddies beat New Ulm 7-2 in the semifinals. Winona racked up nine hits by eight different players, led by Chris Wolfe, who was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Blank highlighted a four-run third inning with a two-run single and Jeff Gilbertson had a run-scoring triple.

The Buddies play Sartell at 4:30 p.m. today in the championship game.

Saturday

Winona 000 041 3 8 9 4
Grand Rapids 020 000 0 2 3 2

Chris Jacobson and Jake Wanek; Tom McBride and Bill Martinetto. WP Jacobson. LP McBride. HR none.

Friday

Winona 014 110 0 7 9 1
New Ulm 001 000 1 2 5 2

Sam Blank and Jake Wanek, Craig Passehl (6); David Rodenberg, Matt Pryor (5) and Jon Suess. WP Blank. LP Rodenberg. HR none.

By the Winona Daily News

RED WING, Minn.n The Winona VFW took advantage of two Red Wing errors, scoring runs in the first and fourth inning on passed balls, but failed to fire up its offense in a 4-2 loss on Wednesday.

"We couldn't execute," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We couldn't get the runners in scoring position."

In a three-run second inning, Red Wing loaded the bases before an infield error allowed two runs to score.

Red Wing gained the two-run margin of victory on their last two runs, the only twoearned runs in the game.

Ryan Speltz surrendered five hits and three walks in five innings for the Buddies (7-6, 12-9) before handing it over to Zach Woodard, who held Red Wing hitless for the last two innings.

Four different Buddies batters had a hit.

"(Red Wing pitcher) Knudsen did a great job of keeping us off balance all day with his breaking ball," Akre said.

The Buddies face Totino Grace on Friday at 4 p.m. in the St. Cloud Tournament.

Winona 100 100 0 2 4 1

Red Wing 030 010 0 4 5 2

Speltz, Woodard (6) and Wanek; Knudsen and Doden. WP Knudsen. LP Speltz.

Forrest J. Dailey of the Winona Daily News

Pouring rain in the seventh inning didn't stop the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team from finishing off a 12-5 win over the Rochester Century Stars at Loughrey Field on Tuesday.

"The guys were aggressive at the plate and aggressive on the base paths," Buddies coach Travis Akre said.

The Buddies played efficient offense, with 12 runs on 12 hits, leaving six runners on base.

Chris Wolfe got things started for the Buddies (7-5 First District, 12-8 overall) with a leadoff triple.

Danny Bohnstengel wasted no time in driving him in on a sacrifice fly on the next at-bat.

The Buddies scored five times in the second inning to gain a 6-0 advantage, batting through the order and knocking Century starter Dustin Paulson out of the game after 1 2/3 innings.

Craig Passehl started off the five-run inning with a RBI Shawn Pape capped it off with a two-run double.

Pape fueled the Buddies going 3-for-4, while teammate Mike Bestul notched two hits and scored twice.

Kriedermacher had two hits and a run, giving the Buddies a strong showing in the middle of the lineup that went 6-for-10.

With Winona up 6-0 after two, the Stars came back with a pair of runs in the third on a Josh McKeon bases loaded two-run single.

Chris Jacobson set down the Stars in order in the fourth, but in the fifth Century came within two runs when Bryce Evans smashed a two-run double into center with the bases loaded making it a 6-4 game.

Jacobson struck out five batters through 5 2/3 innings before handing it over to Jesse Kriedermacher.

"Chris did a great job today," Akre said. "For the most part, he got ahead of the hitters."

In the bottom of the fifth the Buddies struck with three runs. Mike Bestul and Jesse Kriedermacher both got on with back-to-back singles. An error on a shot from the bat of Speltz brought in Bestul, and a passed ball and another error allowed Kriedermacher and Speltz to put the Buddies up 9-4.

Rochester Century came to within four runs, at 9-5 on a Joe Knoepke RBI single, but that was as close as it got.

A drizzling rain turned into a downpour in the bottom of the sixth as the Buddies played on, putting three more runs on the board.

Jake Wanek put the icing on the cake with a two-run single. The last run for the Buddies came in when Speltz hit a sac-fly to bring home Bestul.

Peter Heidorn struck out six batters in the last 5 1/3 innings for Rochester Century in the loss.

The Buddies play at Red Wing on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

By Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. The Winona VFW Buddies held off a bases-loaded threat in the bottom of the seventh inning and came away with a win over Rochester Century on Wednesday.

Ryan Speltz struck out four batters but walked six for the Buddies (6-5, 11-8).

He put a man on base before handing it over to Chris Jacobson.

"Speltz got himself out of a lot of jams," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We put guys on base a few times and he just worked his way out of it."

Jacobson loaded the bases with one out before striking out one batter and got another to ground out to the mound to end the game.

"It's always fun to beat a rival," Akre said. "Rochester always seem to be one of our main rivals."

Danny Bohnstengel drove in a run on a ground out andChris Wolfe had a RBI single in the fifth to give the Buddies the cushion they needed.

Sam Blank finished things off for the Buddies with an RBI sacrifice fly in the seventh.

The Buddies host Rochester Century on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Loughrey Field.

Winona 000 020 1 3 5 3

Rochester 000 000 0 1 2 2

Speltz, Jacobson (7) and Wanek; Corea, McKern and Steiff . WP Speltz. LP Corea (7)

By Forrest J. Dailey of the Winona Daily News

Shawn Pape went 4-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and three runs batted in as the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team defeated Red Wing 7-2 on Tuesday at Loughrey Field.

In the fifth inning, Pape laced a single to left field driving in Sam Blank to give the Buddies (5-5 First District, 10-8 overall) a lead they would not relinquish.

He went on to score the insurance run from second base on a wild pitch on the next at-bat.

"That was a great heads-up play by Shawn (Pape)," Buddies coach Travis Akre said.

Pape drove in Zach Woodard and Danny Bohnstengel on a double in the sixth inning to give the Buddies the 7-2 edge that they would hold to the end.

Chris Wolfe went 2-for-4 and led off the game with a double. He would later score the opening run for the Buddies.

Ben Kohner scored two runs as a courtesy runner. Kohner scored on a fielder's choice by Mike Bestul in the first inning after stealing second base and in the fifth inning he scored from third on a passed ball.

Gilbertson walked five batters and struck out two, but stayed cool under pressure, getting the Buddies out of a few jams.

"He worked through some tough counts to battle back and get a few outs," Akre said.

The Buddies caught Trent Wordelman attempting to steal second to end the Red Wing half of the third inning after Wordelman had tied the game at two.

After settling down in the fourth inning, Gilbertson allowed just two hits and two walks the rest of the way and got Trevor Doden to hit into an inning-ending double-play in the fifth to keep the score 2-2.

Two runners reached third base in the fifth and seventh, but Gilbertson and the Buddies defense held them off.

"Defensivley, we played really well today," Akre said. "That was just one of a few great defensive plays that got us out of innings."

Meanwhile, his teammates went on a late-inning scoring binges, bringing in five runs in the last two innings.

The Buddies tallied three runs in the fifth, two of them unearned a result of an error and two passed balls.

The Buddies continue play today at Rochester Century at 5 p.m.

By the Winona Daily News

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The VFW Buddies baseball team took two losses Sunday from Northfield in a First District game 5-4 and 11-1.

In the opening game, Jake Wanek and Danny Bohnstengel drilled doubles for the Buddies, with Bohnstengel recording an RBI.

Winona (4-5 First District, 9-8 overall) threatened a comeback in the seventh inning. However, after already racking up three runs and loading the bases after walks were given on error, the Buddies could not hold on.

The second game didn't go any better for Winona.

The Buddies allowed Northfield 14 hits and 11 runs and only answered with one run in the second inning.

Northfield (8-2, 14-3) opened by stringing together five runs en route to the victory.

"They hit the ball really well all day long," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We just couldn't capitalize on any opportunities to score runs."

David Todd recorded an RBI double for Winona.

The Buddies are in action again Tuesday at Winona State when they host Redwing at 5 p.m.

Game 1

Winona 010 000 3 4 4 2
Northfield 000 032 x 5 7 3

Sam Blank and Jake Wanek; Hagen and Lobem-Holt. WP Hagen. LP Blank. HR Dresow (Northfield)

Game 2

Winona 010 00 1 4 2
Northfield 530 12 11 14 0

Jesse Kreidemacher, Jake Wanek (2), Mike Bestul (5) and Craig Passehll; Sauri, Elliot (5) and Purcell, Lobem-Holt. WP Sauri. LP Kreidemacher. HR none.

By Winona Daily News

FARIBAULT, Minn. — The VFW Buddies baseball team bounced back from Tuesday's loss taking a pair from Faribault on Saturday 11-1 and 8-2.

In the five inning opener, that was a First District game — game 2 was not — Chris Jacobson held Faribault to just one hit and zero earned runs, while striking out four and walking three.

Winona (4-4 First District, 9-6 overall) blasted the game open with a seven-run fourth inning.

In the nonconference nightcap, the Buddies scored four in the fifth and added three in the seventh to end all hopes for Faribault.

Shawn Pape had a productive day going 3-for-4 with two RBI in the opener and was 2-for-4 with two RBI in the nightcap.

Three other Buddies were 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI on the day, including Chris Wolfe in game 1 and Craig Passehl and Matt Hoenk in game 2.

Next up for the Buddies is a noon doubleheader today at Northfield.

Game 1

Winona 003 71 11 8 2
Faribault 100 00 1 1 4

Chris Jacobson and Jake Wanek; Petricka, Fitzpatrick (4) and Seibel.
WP Jacobson. LP Petricka. HR none.

Game 2

Winona 100 040 3 8 10 3
Faribault 000 002 0 2 6 8

Zack Woodard, Joe Coron (6) and Craig Passehl; Olson, Seibel (6) and Mosley. WP Woodard. LP Passehl. HR none.

By Forrest J. Dailey of the Winona Daily News

Conor Johnson struck out nine batters and held the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team to just two hits in the last six innings as Austin snapped the Buddies five-game winning streak with a 3-2 win in a rain-soaked game at Loughrey Field on Wednesday.

"We need to find a way to put it together late in the game," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We've lost five one-run ball games, so we need to learn how to win the close ones."

Johnson also drove in the winning run for Austin with a single in the top of the seventh after Sam Blank and Chris Jacobson combined to walk the bases full.

Jeff Gilbertson got the Buddies on the board early with a two-run single in the first inning, but Winona was unable to muster any more.

The Buddies spread out five hits by five different batters and left six runners on base. Winona also left four men in scoring position after the opening inning.

"We didn't have the intensity to get it done today," Akre said.

The Buddies (3-4 First District, 7-6 overall) set Austin down in order in three of the first four innings, and in the third, after a groundout and a single, turned a double play. But Austin turned on the juice in the fifth with two hits and two runs, one of them on a balk. But Blank pulled his team out of the jam by striking out the last two batters of the inning.

"Sam threw well. He looked sharp," Akre said. "He was in command of all of his pitches and he got a lot of ground ball outs. That's all you can ask for in a pitcher."

Blank, starting his first game on the mound this season, got seven ground ball outs in the first three innings. He struck out five batters and walked none until the seventh inning.

The first walk issued in the game was rung up by Johnson. In the bottom of the sixth, he walked Shawn Poppe, the first batter Johnson faced after a 45-minute rain delay.

A swift hailstorm blew in after the top of the sixth inning, which sent players, umpires and fans running for cover.

The Buddies play in Faribault on Saturday at 11 a.m.

By Jim Kohner of the Winona Daily News

Waseca gave the Winona VFW baseball team some extra outs Saturday afternoon, and the Buddies took advantage.

Winona made the most of 11 Waseca errors with some clutch hitting to sweep a First District doubleheader at Loughrey Field.

In the opener, Chris Jacobson tossed a complete-game five-hitter and struck out nine batters as the Buddies picked up a 7-1 league victory. The host team kept rolling in Game 2, scoring 11 runs in the fifth and sixth innings to earn a 14-4 win.

"It was nice to be playing a game," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "We swung the bats really well today. We put the ball in play and made them field it and try to get us out.

"We focused on offense in practice this week. It paid off. We've still got a number of guys learning their swings. It was nice to get a chance to show it in a game."

Jacobson enjoyed his best outing of the season in Game 1. He never gave up more than one hit in an inning and walked just one batter. The only run scored off him in the first inning was unearned.

"Chris was able to mix in his off-speed pitches very well today," Akre said. "He had good command of all his pitches."

Mike Bestul led the Buddies' offense in the first game with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and a two-run single in the fourth.

A double by Jacobson, singles by Joe Coron and Craig Passehl, and two Waseca errors led to four Winona (2-3 First District, 5-5 overall) runs in the second inning.

Waseca followed up its five-error opener with six more in the nightcap.

"Our defense has not been good all year," Waseca coach Tink Larson said. "We've lost three games in the seventh inning because of it. With the guys we had here today, it really wasn't good. We had guys in the infield who haven't played infield before.

"This is what we came with and we have to play better. They did the best they could."

Waseca (1-4, 2-7) led 5-3 after 4 innings of the second game before the Buddies battled back. Danny Bohnstengel hit a two-run single in the fifth and David Todd and Zach Woodard also drove in runs with singles.

The game ended in the sixth when six more Winona runners crossed home plate, including the last three on a bases-loaded double by Woodard. Jesse Kreidermacher added a two-run single two batters earlier.

Kreidermacher and Woodard both finished with two hits.

Kreidermacher also relieved Woodard in the fifth inning and did not allow a run or a hit in two innings to record the win.

"We had good pitching today," Akre said. "Our guys were getting ahead of hitters and throwing strikes. That's all you can ask."

By The Winona Daily News

ALBERT LEA, Minn. — The Winona Buddies VFW baseball team split a doubleheader Sunday at Albert Lea, losing the first 8-7 and coming back to get its first First District win 6-3.

The Buddies (1-3 FD, 3-5 overall) were down 5-3 in Game 1 before three straight two-out hits in the top of the seventh, including a Jeff Gilbertson two-run double, gave them a 7-5 lead.

But Winona pitcher Chris Jacobson gave up a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to take the loss.

Ryan Speltz, Shawn Pope and David Todd each had two hits for the Buddies.

In Game 2, Chris Wolfe, Jesse Kreidemacher and Danny Bohnstangel each had two hits. Wolfe had two RBI and in Game 1was

3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.

Albert Lea committed four of its seven errors in the seveth inning to give Winona two insurance runs.

The Buddies next game is Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Loughrey Field against Red Wing.

Game 1

Winona 030 004 0 7 12 2
Albert Lea 302 003 x 8 8 3

Chris Jacobson and Craig Passehl; Mattron and Berhow. WPnMattron. LPnJacobson. HRnBerhow.

Game 2

Winona 013 000 2 6 9 2
Albert Lea 000 200 1 3 3 7

Derick Ritter, Jake Wanek (5) and Wanek, Criag Passehl (5); Vietze and Berhow. WP Wanek. LP Passehl. HR none.

By Jim Kohner of the Winona Daily News

Getting hits wasn't a problem Saturday for the Winona VFW baseball team.

Getting them at opportune times, however, was a different story.

Despite out-hitting the Rochester Spartans 8-3 in the first game and 14-10 in the second, the Buddies came away empty-handed in the win column at Winona State's Loughrey Field. The Spartans got clutch hitting in the first game for a 3-2 win, then held on for a 9-8 victory in the nightcap to sweep the First District doubleheader.

Winona, which falls to 1-2 in league games and 2-4 overall, have lost its four games by a total of five runs.

"I can handle losing the close game," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "You're only a hit, a pitch or an error away from the win. As long as we're playing competitive baseball and learning, it will give us a chance to win eventually.

"I thought the same thing happened in both games. They were catching the breaks and we weren't. If we're hitting the baseball hard, they're eventually going to fall in."

The Buddies also hurt themselves defensively, committing two errors in the opener and seven in Game 2. All those errors led to three unearned runs for Rochester (5-1).

The Spartans, meanwhile, played errorless ball in the opener and had three meaningless errors in the second game.

"We have a lot of team speed and we took a few liberties on what they gave us with those errors and scored some cheap runs," Rochester coach Dan Herold said. "We played a little small ball.

"Defense is something we really strive for. Walks and errors will kill you. We only walked three batters today. Our guys were out there throwing strikes. That's all you can ask for."

Jeff Gilbertson accounted for both Winona runs in the first game. He drove in pinch runner Ben Kohner with a RBI single in the first inning, then tripled and scored on Joe Coron's single in the sixth.

The Buddies had numerous other chances to score, leaving runners on second in both the second and seventh innings, and stranding runners on second and third with one out in the fifth.

Tim Coleman scattered eight hits for the win.

Gilbertson tossed the first 4 1/3 innings for the Buddies, striking out seven batters. But he also walked two and hit two others.

Rochester took the lead for good in the third inning on a double by Ezra Campbell, a Winona error, a wild pitch and a run-scoring single by Trevor Simmons.

Ryan Speltz finished for the Buddies, allowing one run on one hit and for walks.

In the second game, Speltz went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs for Winona. Kohner also had three hits, and David Todd was 2-for-3.

The Buddies got within one run by scoring three times in the bottom of the sixth inning. Then with runners on second and third and two outs, Jesse Kreidermacher laced a ball down the right-field line that Rochester right fielder Matt Butte made a diving catch on.

"That one saved the game," Herold said. "He left his feet. I didn't know if he could come up with that ball."

Coron suffered the loss for Winona by giving up seven runs (five earned) in three innings. Kreidermacher finished up.

"We're still learning," Akre said. "They need to understand what to do with the baseball when it comes to them. We were lucky to be the game with that many errors. Defense wins games."

The Buddies play at Albert Lea today.

Forrest J. Dailey / Winona Daily News

Jeff Gilbertson struck out 13 batters and allowed just three hits as he mowed down Owatonna in the Winona VFW Buddies' 6-2 win in the first half of a season-opening doubleheader on Saturday at Loughrey Field.

The Buddies saved the dramatics for Game 2, though, coming from behind to win 3-2 in a wild seventh inning in which they scored two runs on two bunts and two wild throws to first base.

Danny Bohnstengel led off the inning with a walk, and later scored when Jake Wanek bunted and Owatonna's pitcher threw over the first baseman's head. Wanek scored the winning run Ryan Speltz laid down another bunt, and again an off-balance throw to first allowed him to run all the way around.

"We played small ball in the seventh inning," manager Travis Akre said. "Danny (Bohnstengel) had a heads-up play, going from first to third"

In Game 1, Gilbertson set Owatonna down in order in three different innings.

Gilbertson also hit a single and scored a run in the third inning on Mike Bestul's two- out, two-run single to give the Buddies a 3-1 lead.

Speltz made a couple of run-saving catches in the second and third innings, and later closed out the victory, striking out three batters in 1 1/3 innings.

In Game 2, despite collecting three hits in the second inning, two forceouts prevented the Buddies from rallying early. A two-out double play in the fourth inning by Owatonna further stifled a Winona offense, which collected nine hits in the game.

"We just weren't getting the breaks early in the game," Akre said.

The Buddies (2-0) displayed solid fundemental defense, trailing 2-1 going into the bottom of the last inning.

"We did the little things and we came away with the win," Akre said.

Wanek went 2-for-4 with a two runs scored, while seven other Buddies batters spread out the other seven Winona hits.

Jesse Kreidermacher tossed the final four innings for the win.

The Buddies face Northfield today at 11 a.m.

By Jim Kohner of the Winona Daily News

Before last season, Travis Akre couldn't remember the last time the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team had a losing record.

The Buddies went 10-19 last year, and it's a year Akre would just as soon forget.

Akre, who's beginning his fifth year as the team's coach, returns six players from last season's team. What he really likes about the 2004 squad is its depth.

"We don't have anybody set in stone right now," said Akre, whose team opens the season at 11 a.m. today against Owatonna at WSU's Loughrey Field. "A good problem to have is a lot of depth. We've got nine guys that can throw and we've got four quality starters.

"The nice thing about depth is that people get pushed. There's people on the bench waiting to get a shot. Everyone will get their fair share and a chance to prove themselveS in the beginning. With this depth, it gives us options."

With at least 29 games scheduled in the next month and a half, the depth of the pitching staff could get tested.

Akre feels his four top arms are Jeff Gilbertson, the ace of the Cotter High School staff this spring; Chris Jacobson, who threw for the Winona Senior High School B-squad, along with Ryan Speltz and Sam Blank, a pair of standouts on the WSHS freshman team.

Jesse Kreidermacher, Zach Woodard, Joe Coron, Derick Ritter, Chris Wolfe and Mike Bestul may also be called on.

"If our pitching can keep us in games, we have a chance to win," Akre said. "We need to field the ball and play solid defense. Offensively, we need to put the ball in play and make the other team play defense."

Craig Passehl, David Todd and Coron will all see time behind the plate, while Bestul and Kreidermacher will man first base. Wolfe, Jake Wanek and Ben Kohner are battling for the starting spot at second base, while Danny Bohnstengel and Blank are the team's shortstops. Shawn Pape and Jacobson will handle the chores at third base.

In the outfield, Matt Hoenk, Coron and Kohner are vying for time in left, Ritter, Woodard and Speltz all play center, and Gilbertson and Kreidermacher will share time in right.

For the first time in five years, Akre also has a full-time assistant coach in Dan Thilges this year.

"It's going to do nothing but benefit us," Akre said of adding Thilges to his staff. "He's helping us improve as one. He'll give us a lot of time in practice, and the kids will get more instruction."

By Andy Davis of the Winona Daily News

Anthony Welch's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning brought the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team back from a 4-3 deficit and gave them a 5-4 lead. Chris Gappa followed with an RBI single of his own to put the Buddies up by two runs, but the game was far from over.

Austin scored six runs in the top of the seventh and walked away with a 10-7 win over Winona in a First District league game Thursday at Gabrych Park.

Austin's runs were messy, but they got the job done. Mike Astrup was hit by a Kyle Musolf pitch to lead off the inning, and Josh Berhow singled to put the tying run on base and force a pitching change.

"I thought that Kyle had been through the order a few times and he started to leave somepitches up and over the plate," Buddies coach Travis Akre said of his decision to pull Musolf. "He wasn't really able to establish his offspeed today. He did a great job of battling and he did a great job for five innings."

Jeff Gilbertson came in relief of Musolf and had some control issues. He got the first out of the inning on a ground out before allowing two singles and two walks. Another ground out recorded the second out of the inning, but it was followed by a walk and a single.

"Andy came in in a tough situation," Akre said. "I didn't think we would need to go to the bullpen, and Andy's had a long break without any bullpen work."

Winona took the lead by scoring single runs in the first and second innings for a 2-0 lead. Austin battled back to tie the game with two runs in the third, which came in on an infield single and a Texas-league blooper into the outfield.

Austin and Winona traded runs in the fourth to make it 3-3, and Austin took a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth.

"We left a lot of runners out there, but we were able to get them in (in the seventh inning)," Austin coach Troy Watkins said. "We were able to take advantage of some of their mistakes that inning and it was nice to see us come back after they took the lead in the sixth. A lot of times teams will let down and fold, but we showed a lot of guts and fought back."

The loss drops Winona to 8-8 in the First District (10-15 overall), and will probably drop the team back in the tournament seeds. Akre thought that a win would have probably earned the Buddies a No. 2 seed, but now they will probably have to settle for a No. 3 seed.

The Buddies' league season is over, but the other teams in the district have not finished their season yet.

Winona travels to St. Cloud for the St. Cloud tournament today.

By The Winona Daily News

With the help of a three-run first inning cushion, Jesse Van Brunt turned in a solid performance on the mound for the Winona Buddies in VFW league play Tuesday as Winona topped Rochester Century 3-2. Rochester entered the game with a 12-1 record in First District play.

Van Brunt allowed just five hits in seven innings, walking one batter while striking out three.

"He was able to establish his off-speed early and it carried through the whole game," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We got to them early and once they got down they had a hard time battling back."

Mike Bestul led the way for Winona (8-7 First District, 10-14 overall), going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. Chris Gappa was 1-for-2 with an RBI double in the first and Andy Gilbertson went 2-for-4 for the game.

The Buddies return to action Thursday at 5:30 when they face Austin at Gabrych Park.

Buddies 300 000 0- 3 7 3
Rochester Century 000 001 1- 2 5 2

Olson and Olofson, Van Brunt and Fitch. HR - none
W- Van Brunt L Olson

By Forrest J. Dailey of the Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW baseball team was swept by Rochester JM in a doubleheader at Loughrey Field on Sunday, the first game by a convincing 13-7 score, and the second a 5-4 tense one that could have went either way.

The nightcap ended with Buddies on first and second base.

Chris Gappa pitched all of Game 2 with three strikeouts. He gave up three earned runs.

"I told (Gappa) to just throw strikes and let Rochester put the ball in play. He did a great job," Winona coach Travis Akre said.

Gappa did just that. He did not walk a batter in the game. Gappa says that it was because his tendency to keep the ball over or near the plate that the umpire gave him the benefit of the doubt on some pitches.

Gappa went 5-for-7 in the two-game set. He also legged out a long triple to center in the first game, and was nearly given a standing ovation by the crowd and his teammates for his effort.

"I was about ready to die by the time I got to third," Gappa said.

Kyle Musolf and Andy Gilbertson also had two hits apiece in Game 1.

Anthony Welch topped everyone by going 4-for-4 in Game 2, with four singles, a run scored, and an RBI.

Akre said his team, as a whole, has also been coming around in terms of finding their groove at the plate.

"But we are going to have to score more runs to make up for our mental mistakes," Akre said.

Overall, though, he was impressed in their ability to battle back in the first game, scoring four runs in the fourth inning when Rochester was up 8-3. Those four more runs would be all the Buddies had in them for Game 1.

Jeff and Andy Gilbertson shared pitching duties for the Buddies in the opener. Jeff Gilbertson went 4 2/3 innings, struck out six and walked four. Andy Gilbertson struck out one batter and walked one.

Though the Buddies are still making some mental errors in the field, Akre was pleased that his players were able to hang in there until the final out of Game 2. The Buddies have now lost eight games this season by one run.

"We've come a long way in terms of being aware of the situation in the field," said Akre, though it was still a point of concern during Sunday's games as Rochester was able to load the bases several times.

The Buddies play host to Red Wing in a single game at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at Gabrych Park.

By Jim Kohner of the Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW baseball team certainly knows how to make games interesting this year.

Saturday afternoon at Gabrych Park, the Buddies spotted the Rochester Knights a 7-0 lead after 31/2 innings of the first game before waking up. They rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fourth and one more in the seventh, only to come up a run short in a 7-6 First District loss.

The second game was even wilder. Winona scored nine runs in the final two innings, including six in the bottom of the seventh, to pull out an 11-10 win. Andy Gilbertson's three-run double to right-center field - the only hit in the inning - plated the final three runs.

The Buddies have now played in nine one-run games this year, winning just two.

"We love to play catch-up at the end of ball games," Buddies coachTravis Akre said. "It would be a lot easier on myself and the rest of the guys if we could get ahead early.

"We thought we had (the doubleheader) won before the game even started. We found ourselves in an early hole. Once we're aware of someone's record, it seems to backfire on us. We seem to play down to the other team's level. If a team is better than us, we step up to the challenge."

The Knights (3-12 overall) broke loose for four runs in the top of the second inning, including a two-run homer by Jamie Ruff, then plated three more runs on three hits in the fourth inning off Winona starter Will Kujak to take the 7-0 lead in the opener.

The Buddies (6-6 First District, 8-12 overall) got five runs back in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by Chris Gappa's two-run single and Gilbertson's RBI single.

Charlie Seltz came through with a run-scoring double in the seventh inning, but he was stranded at third when Jeff Gilbertson flew out to center to end the game.

Matt Jensen held the Buddies to six hits, including two by Jesse Van Brunt, to earn the win.

Trevor Leyendecker went 3-for-4 to pace a 10-hit attack for Rochester.

"The kids played well," Rochester coach Duane Ruff said. "They stuck with it when Winona came back. Winona hung in there and hit the ball when they had to. We stayed with it in the first game. We've played a lot of good games this year - a lot of one-run games."

In Game 2, Rochester banged out 13 hits off Anthony Welch and also took advantage of six Winona errors to score five unearned runs. But Rochester pitchers couldn't find the strike zone in the seventh inning.

Nick Armstrong and Mike Diehl combined to walk six batters in the seventh before Andy Gilbertson's big hit. He went 3-for-4 and drove in five runs.

"(Gilbertson) has been swinging the bat real well lately," Akre said. "He's starting to figure out his swing a little bit. He was looking for something to turn on."

Marshall Fitch went 3-for-3 for Winona, while Matt Hoenk turned in a 2-for-2 performance. Chris Wolfe drove in three runs on a pair of run-scoring ground outs and an RBI walk.

"We still haven't come together as a team yet," Akre said. "We're still figuring out how to work with each other. Hopefully we can put it all together for playoff time."

The Buddies entertain Rochester JM in a doubleheader at 11 a.m. today at Winona State University's Loughrey Field.

By The Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. - The bats came alive for the Winona VFW baseball team Friday night.

The Buddies erupted for 14 hits, including five for extra bases, and rolled past Rochester John Marshall 10-4 in a First District game.

"Today we had some timely hits," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "The guys were excited to play today. That happens with five days off."

Kyle Musolf, Charlie Seltz and Jeff Gilbertson all went 3-for-5 for the Buddies (6-5 First District, 7-11 overall). Musolf, Andy Gilbertson, Jeff Gilbertson and Craig Passehl all belted doubles, while Chris Gappa legged out a triple. Seltz also drove in two runs.

Jesse Van Brunt earned the complete-game win by scattering eight hits. He walked three batters, struck out three and gave up three earned runs.

The Buddies are right back in action at 11 a.m. today when they entertain Rochester Lourdes in a doubleheader at Gabrych Park.

Winona 014 031 1-10 14 2
Rochester JM 002 011 0- 4 8 4

Van Brunt and Passehl, Fitch (7); Dunfee, Bryan (6) and Steege. WP-Van Brunt. LP-Dunfee. HR-none.

By Andy Davis / Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team continued to struggle on defense as they were swept in a doubleheader by Northfield on Sunday afternoon at Loughrey Field.

The Buddies committed eight errors - four errors in each game - losing the front end of the doubleheader 9-5 and the nightcap 12-9. Winona gave Northfield nine unearned runs in all.

"Defense is an important part to the game," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "Without defense you have to score a lot of runs, and we're having a hard time doing both.

"Overall, it was a flat effort. We've had a busy stretch of games in the last few days and today we had a lack of concentration and a lack of intensity as well."

The Buddies played seven games in five days, winning only one of those games. They are now 5-5 in the First District and 6-11 overall.

Winona fell behind early in Game 1 and never got back in the game.

Northfield scored two runs in the first inning, then put up five more runs in the third inning on one hit. The Buddies made two errors in the inning, which led to all five runs being unearned. Todd Mathison struck the big blow in the inning with a two-out bases-loaded triple that brought in three runs.

"We tend to struggle a lot in the beginning," Akre said. "We like to put ourselves in a hole and then try to fight our way out."

The Buddies had their hands full with Northfield pitcher Brett Hoffman. Hoffman surrendered just four hits and no runs for the first six innings, before he fatigued and gave up five runs to the Buddies in the seventh.

"That's the best he's thrown all year," Northfield coach Peter Maus said. "When he struggles it's because of his control, but he had his control today."

Winona scored all five of its runs with two outs in the seventh inning. Six straight batters had base hits after the second out was recorded.

Andy Gilbertson went 3-for-4 to pace the Buddies' hitting attack. Anthony Welch and Jeff Gilbertson each had two hits.

Game 2 started differently, but the result was the same.

After Northfield scored a run in the top of the first inning, it made three errors in the bottom half of the inning. Winona took advantage and plated five runs, four unearned to seize the early momentum.

Northfield committed two more errors in the second inning, but played errorless ball the rest of the way.

"For the most part our pitcher threw strikes and eventually we made some plays," Maus said. "When he pitches you have to make plays, otherwise you're in for a long day."

Northfield used its bats to scratch and claw its way back into the game and trailed 9-8 going into the last inning. Four hits led to four runs in the seventh and gave Northfield its first lead of the game. The Buddies failed to score in the bottom half of the inning.

After knocking seven hits in Game 1, Northfield ripped 15 hits in Game 2.

"Our guys have a hard time playing a full seven inning game," Akre said. "We got a little too comfortable with a lead and it came back to haunt us."

The Buddies have a couple of days off before they host Rochester Century in a 5 p.m. game Wednesday at Loughrey Field.

By Ian Stauffer/ Winona Daily News

Jesse Van Brunt took advantage of some quality defense behind him and led the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team to a 3-1 win in the first game of a First District doubleheader against Faribault at Gabrych Park.

Van Brunt also did his job on the mound, striking out five batters, walking none and giving up just five hits and one unearned run.

"The defense did a nice job behind me tonight," said Van Brunt, who also drove in a run in the win. "Without them I wouldn't be able to have games like I had tonight."

Four times the Buddies defense bailed Van Brunt out by picking off line drives, including the final out of the game when Andy Gilbertson jumped and snared a line drive with two runners on base.

"Our defense in the first game was a huge improvement over our last four or five games," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "Jesse did a nice job of staying ahead of hitters, and they only hit the ball hard a few times."

The story wasn't quite the same in the second game. Faribault took advantage of three seventh-inning errors by the Buddies in the second game to pick up an 8-6 come-from-behind win.

Faribault (3-6 First District, 6-9 overall) hit Gilbertson hard in the second, third and fourth innings to take a 5-1 lead.

Chris Gappa came in to close out the game for Winona and was perfect for two innings and the Buddies offense came alive and took a 6-5 lead.

"We never seem to come together early in a game," Akre said. "It was nice to see the kids battle back like they did, but we need to learn to play hard for seven innings. We are a great five-inning ball team, but we can never hold it together for an entire game."

In the seventh, Faribault leadoff hitter Justin Fuchs reached on an error and stole second base. Brendan Sjodin followed with a base hit, scoring Fuchs. After a fly-ball out, Ryan Archambault came up and reached on another error. Gappa got another out, but a fly ball to deep center bounced off of Danny Bohnstangel's glove and allowed Sjodin and Archambault to score giving Faribault an 8-6 lead.

"We've been giving up more than three outs in an inning," Akre said. "And that will kill you. It's a tough lesson to learn, but it's good they are learning it now rather than at the end of the season."

The Faribault pitchers kept the Buddies off balance on offense, limiting Winona to just 11 hits in the two games.

Kyle Erwin and Gilbertson were the only Buddies with more than one hit and six Winona batters drove in runs.

The Buddies (5-4, 6-9) go again at 11 a.m. on Sunday with First District doubleheader against Northfield at Winona State University.

By The Winona Daily News

WASECA, Minn. - The Winona VFW baseball team ripped 21 hits, but came out on the losing end of both halves of its doubleheader with Waseca on Thursday.

The Buddies (4-4 First District, 5-8 overall) took Waseca into extra innings in Game 1 before losing it 7-6 in nine innings. In Game 2, the Buddies took the lead in the seventh inning, but Waseca scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning to pull out the win.

"Overall, it was a decent effort," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We just have to find a way to win. Twenty-one hits should get you two wins."

Jeff Gilbertson went the distance for Winona in Game 1. Waseca scored four runs off him in the first two innings, but he allowed just two runs in the final seven frames.

"Our defense in the first half of each game led to the outcome," Akre said. "It came back to haunt us. Our defense has been a struggle for the last four games. Defense is what wins ball games, and that's what we're lacking."

The Buddies climbed back into the game and took a 5-4 lead by scoring four runs in the sixth inning, but Waseca tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Winona scored another run in the top of the seventh before Waseca scored a run of its own to retie the game and send it into extra innings.

Waseca scored the winning run in the ninth inning on a bases-loaded walk.

Andy Gilbertson was 4-for-5 for the Buddies and Chris Gappa was 3-for-5. Craig Passehl had a two-run double in the sixth inning to give Winona the lead.

Game 2 was a pitchers duel until the last inning.

With Waseca up 2-1, the Buddies scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a two-run lead.

Waseca responded in the bottom of the seventh by scoring three runs to win the game. Winona was one out away from taking the game before a misjudged fly ball scored two runs.

Bryant Allen was 3-for-4 to lead the Buddies.

"Both pitchers did an outstanding job today, but leadoff walks hurt them," Akre said.

Anthony Welch allowed four hits in the losing cause.

Winona committed six errors on the day.

The Buddies are back in action today in a doubleheader against Faribault at 5 p.m. at Gabrych Park.

Winona 001 004 100 - 6 12 4
Waseca 130 001 101 - 7 10 1

Jeff Gilbertson and Craig Passehl; Steve Houlande and Vince Dardis. WP- Houlande. LP-Gilbertson. HR-none.

Winona 000 100 3 - 4 9 2
Waseca 100 100 3 - 5 4 2

Anthony Welch and Marshall Fitch; Chadd Hollered, Geno Glynn (7) and Jason Lacmann. WP- Hollered. LP-Welch. HR-none.

By The Winona Daily News

AUSTIN, Minn. - The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team rallied to score three runs in the last two innings Wednesday, but Austin's lead was just one run too much as the Buddies fell 11-10 in a First District game at Todd Park.

The game ended for Winona when Jesse Van Brunt grounded out with runners on first and second base. Kyle Musolf knocked in Anthony Welch in the seventh inning to cut Austin's lead to one, but Chris Gappa and Musolf were both left stranded.

Austin did its damage in the third inning, using five hits and three errors to score eight runs. Austin added single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings.

Welch, Musolf, Gappa, Andy Gilbertson and Jeff Gilbertson all had two hits for the Buddies.

Winona (4-3 FD, 5-6 overall) plays a First District doubleheader at 5 p.m. today at Waseca.

Buddies 020 502 1 - 10 10 5
Austin 018 110 x - 11 9 4

Tim Kirby, Alex Katser (7) and Mike Astrup, Josh Dunfee (6); Will Kujak, Kyle Musolf (3) and Craig Passehl, Marshall Fitch (5), Passehl (6); WP - Kirby; LP - Kujak; S - Katser; HR - none.

By The Winona Daily News

OWATONNA, Minn. - Jesse Van Brunt turned in another strong performance for the Winona VFW baseball team Sunday afternoon.

Van Brunt tossed a three-hitter and did not allow an earned run as the Buddies beat Owatonna 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader. Owatonna captured the nightcap 6-5.

"We expect to win every time Jesse is on the mound," said Winona coach Travis Akre, whose team improves to 4-2 in First District play, 5-5 overall. "He going to give us a chance to be in every ball game."

Van Brunt struck out seven batters and issued just one walk to earn the complete-game win.

Chris Gappa gave the Buddies a quick 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the first inning.

Winona padded its lead to 2-0 in the fourth when Andy Gilbertson singled, advanced to second on a ground out by Gappa, went to third on a fly ball, and scored on an errant pick-off play.

In the second game, the Buddies out-hit Owatonna 10-6, but three errors and eight walks issued by pitchers Gilbertson and Gappa proved to be their demise.

Gappa went 2-for-4 with a double, Mike Bestul and Danny Bohnstengel were also 2-for-4, and Matt Hoenk went 2-for-3 for the Buddies, who play at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at Austin.

FIRST GAME

Winona 100 100 0-2 5 2
Owatonna 000 100 0-1 3 1

Van Brunt and Passehl, Fitch (2), Passehl (7); Arjes, Smith (5) and Martinson. WP-Van Brunt. LP-Arjes. HR-Gappa (W).

SECOND GAME

Winona 021 200 0-5 10 3
Owatonna 010 122 x-6 6 2

A. Gilbertson, Gappa (5) and Passehl, Fitch (6); Sauflecher, Smith (7) and Staudke. WP-Sauflecher. LP-Gappa. S-Smith. HR-none.

By Forrest Dailey

Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team swept a doubleheader by scores of 10-5 and 9-3 over Albert Lea on Saturday afternoon at Loughrey Field.

Buddies coach Travis Akre credited his pitching for both of the wins.

Akre said one of the Buddies' strengths is that they do not strike out a lot. They only struck out four times in Game 1 and three times in Game 2.

But, as Akre explained it, "Hitting is still a struggle for us. We are scoring runs and putting the ball in play and we're not striking out, which is a positive." Jeff Gilbertson struck out nine batters in six innings in the first game. Andy Gilbertson finished it up in the seventh.

"The kids were excited to be playing at home after a lot of road games," said Akre.

The Buddies' first six games have been on the road.

Winona (3-2 First District, 4-4 overall) scored six runs in the fourth inning in the opener. Albert Lea pitcher Donald Graves walked in the first two runs on a base on balls and then a hit batter. Chris Wolfe drove in two runs with a single.

After scoring a run in the fifth on Pete Brocker's double, Brock Sorenson drove in Ryan Truesdell and Branden Klukew in the sixth for Albert Lea to make it a 6-3 game.

The Buddies came back strong with back-to-back RBI singles from Bryant Allen and Charlie Seltz, who later came home on a single by Chris Gappa, in the bottom of the inning.

Albert Lea scored two in the top of the seventh, but Andy Gilbertson was able to close it out.

Gappa had two RBI in the game and Seltz went 3-for-4.

Game 2 went a little quicker for the Buddies, as they scored all of their nine runs in the first and second innings - including seven in the second.

Gappa had an RBI and scored a run in the first and second. The second inning started with two straight runs on two hit batsmen and two walks, followed up by three hits in a row by Kyle Musolf, Jesse Van Brunt and Danny Bohnstengel. Two runs scored on an error after the hit by Bohnstengel.

Musolf pitched a complete game with three strikeouts for the win.

The Buddies play a doubleheader at 11 a.m. today at Owatonna.

FIRST GAME

Albert Lea... 000 012 2- 5 5 2
Winona........ 000 604 x-10 8 3

Donald Graves, Brock Sorenson (4) and Ryan Truesdell; Jeff Gilbertson, Andy Gilbertson (7) and Craig Passehl. WP- J.Gilbertson LP- Graves. HR-none.

SECOND GAME

Albert Lea... 000 201 0-3 5 1
Winona........270 000 x-9 8 2

Nate Goodrich, Preston Dahl (2) Brock Sorenson (3) Travis Klatt (4) and Zach Hanson; Kyle Musolf and Marshall Fitch. WP- Musolf LP- Goodrich. HR-none.

By The Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. - It was a quiet day for the bats of the Winona VFW baseball team Saturday.

The Buddies managed only seven hits in 15 innings and dropped a pair of games to Rochester Mayo, losing the opener 2-1 in eight innings and the nightcap 9-5.

"We were a little sluggish at the plate today," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "We weren't taking advantage of the opportunities given to us. We ran ourselves out of many innings today with base-running mistakes."

Jesse Van Brunt hurled a three-hitter in the first game, but suffered the loss when Mayo scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth on just one hit.

Winona (1-2 First District, 1-4 overall) tallied its lone run in the top of the eighth. Craig Passehl led off with a single and pinch runner Kyle Erwin stolen second. Erwin went to third on a ground out and scored on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Welch.

Passehl, Andy Gilbertson and Chris Gappa accounted for the Buddies' only hits.

"It's really too bad someone had to lose that game," Akre said. "It was definitely a pitcher's ball game. Jesse Van Brunt deserved a win today."

In the second game, Mayo scored eight runs in the first three innings, then were shut down by Kyle Musolf the rest of the way. Musolf allowed six hits in the losing effort.

Gappa, Musolf, Bryant Allen and Erwin had the only hits for Winona.

The Buddies travel back to Rochester at 4 p.m. today to take on Rochester John Marshall in a doubleheader at Hudson Field.

FIRST GAME

Winona 000 000 01-1 3 4

Rochester Mayo 000 000 02-2 3 1

Van Brunt and Passehl; Aaland and Leof. WP-Aaland. LP-Van Brunt. HR-none.

SECOND GAME

Winona 003 100 1-5 4 3

Rochester Mayo 233 001 x-9 6 2

Musolf and Fitch; Lombardo, Jenkins (6) and Leof, Austin (5). WP-Lombardo. LP-Musolf. HR-none.

By The Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Jeff and Andy Gilbertson split time on the mound Wednesday for the Winona VFW baseball team and neither had very much luck against First District opponent Rochester Century.

The Panthers beat the Buddies 13-3.

Jeff Gilbertson got knocked around for five runs in the second inning and three more in the third inning before Andy Gilbertson came in.

Andy Gilbertson gave up three more runs in the fourth inning and two in the sixth.

"It was a tough situation today," VFW coach Travis Akre said. "Those two haven't had many reps off the mound and we haven't had much practice time, so it was a good challenge today."

The two Gilbertsons gave up six walks, two hit batsmen, and the defense didn't help with three errors.

The Buddies' only offense came during a three-run rally in the third inning.

Anthony Welch and Andy Gilbertson started the inning with walks and Jesse Van Brunt plated Welch with a single. Kyle Musolf knocked in Gilbertson and Van Brunt with a double.

Buddies (1-2 First, 1-2 overall) go again at 11 a.m. on Saturday with a doubleheader at Rochester Mayo.

Buddies 003 000 0 - 3 3 3
Century 053 302 x - 13 7 0

Jeff Gilbertson, Andy Gilbertson (3) and Craig Passehl; Kangas and Olson; WP - Fritch; LP - Stinar; HR - none.

By Jim Kohner

Winona Daily News

When fourth-year coach Travis Akre looks up and down his Winona VFW baseball team's roster this year, he notices his share of new names.

Only three players from last year's 18-14 team are back for the Buddies, who kick off their season with a doubleheader today at Northfield. And those three - Jesse Van Brunt, Chris Gappa and Kyle Musolf - will be asked to lead the team, especially early on.

The Buddies have had only three practices, plus two tryout days, to get prepared for today's games.

"Those are my three leaders this year," Akre said. "I believe they're good examples. They carry themselves in the right way.

"Jesse will be our go-to guy in the early season on the mound. He'll be effective with his different arm angles that he uses. Kyle will get his share of innings, too."

Van Brunt, who stands 6-foot-2, will lead a seven-man pitching staff that also includes 6-5 Jeff Gilbertson. Gilberston's older brother Andy, who started at shortstop on Cotter High School's varsity team, will also be asked to do some pitching. Musolf, Will Kujak, Chris Wolfe and Anthony Welch round out the staff.

"So far, I like what I've seen," Akre said. "That's just off brief bullpen work that I've seen. Jesse and Jeff look good - the rest remains to be seen. They will all definitely see their fair share of innings throughout the season."

Craig Passehl and Marshall Fitch are vying for the starting catcher, while Musolf and Mike Bestul will hold down first base. Charlie Seltz, Danny Bohnstengel and Kujak all play second base, while Van Brunt, Bohnstengel, Andy Gilbertson and Wolfe will share time at shortstop. Gappa will start at third base, with Welch also seeking playing time there.

Jeff Gilberston, Bryant Allen, Kyle Erwin and Matt Hoenk are the team's outfielders.

The Buddies will be tested early this year, with 13 of their "The beginning of the season with test our character," Akre said. "I see us being able to compete all year long with our pitching staff. I've got a great group of guys who want to learn the game of baseball. They want to excel at the high school level, so they know the importance of this year."

By Winona Daily News

NORTHFIELD, Minn.- All the Winona VFW baseball team needed was one more win after Saturday's 11-1 wipeout of Rochester John Marshall to advance to the First District Final Four Tournament next weekend.

The Buddies, however, just couldn't pull through, losing a 4-3 heartbreaker to Red Wing late Saturday night, then falling to Northfield 14-4 early Sunday morning.

"It was such an intense game against Red Wing," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "Then we had to turn around and face another tough team in the morning. I'm just glad that we've proven ourselves a team to contend with. We've done such a dramatic turn-around since the beginning of the season."

The game was on the line as Winona - with two outs in the top of the seventh - battled back to grab a 3-2 lead. Red Wing, however, would take advantage of Winona's only error to answer back with two runs for the win.

Tim Kruger recorded the loss on the mound, striking out seven, walking five and allowing five hits.

Chris Gappa had two of the Buddies' four hits, with an RBI double for the go-ahead run

Sunday, Northfield scored five runs in the first inning and turned around to score six in the second. Winona was down by nine runs heading into the fourth.

Grant Gibbs took the loss Sunday, after pitching a two-hitter in the Buddies' win on Saturday.

The Buddies finish their season 18-4 overall and 7-8 First District League.

Winona 000 010 2- 3 4 1
Redwing 110 000 2 -4 7 0

Kruger, Phillips (7) and Hengel; Zorn and Schilling. WP-Zorn. LP-Kruger.

Northfield 562 01 -14 13 1
Winona 400 00 -4 1 3

Kruse and Phelps; Gibbs, Van Brundt (2), Phillips (3) and Hengel. WP-Kruse. LP-Gibbs.

By Winona Daily News

NORTHFIELD, Minn. - After a lengthy rain delay Saturday, the Winona VFW baseball team started the First District East Division tournament with a bang.

The Buddies upended Rochester John Marshall 11-1 in the first game, which was delayed from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Winona did not begin its second game until after 8 p.m.

No other information was available at press time. The Buddies continue play today in the double-elimination tournament.

By Jessie Meyer / Winona Daily News

NORTHFIELD, Minn. - The Winona VFW Buddies head into this weekend's East Division baseball tournament trying to prove what they have known all season.

They can play with the best teams around.

"People have been doubting us all season and we're out to prove to everybody that we can contend with anybody," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "I feel comfortable where we're at right now and I think the kids do too, I think they're hungry for the next challenge."

The Buddies, who take on Rochester John Marshall at 10 a.m. today at Dundas, are the No. 5 seed and an underdog.

Winona (17-12) went 1-5 this season in First District League play with the three league teams in the tournament - including two league losses to Rochester JM.

But the Buddies earned splits in both of the doubleheaders with Rochester JM, taking wins in the nonleague second games.

"We've been scoring a lot of runs. That's what we have to do to keep in every ball game," Akre said. "We're close to our potential.

"We can play so great at times and we can give away a game at any times as well. It's more mental than physical. We try to do too much too fast."

While the hot bat varies from game to game, Sam Cada, Travis Hengel, John Skappel and Kyle Musolf have been leading the Buddies' offensive attack.

On the other side of the ball, pitchers Grant Gibbs, Tim Kruger, Jesse Van Brundt, Tyler Phillips and Ben Gordon have worked from the mound to keep their opponents off the scoreboard.

If the Buddies defeat Rochester JM, they will play again at 5:30 p.m. today. If they lose, they will play again at 3 p.m. today. The double-elimination tournament continues Sunday.

The top two teams from the East will meet the top two teams from the West Division next weekend for a chance at the state tournament.

Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. - In a sloppy game which included 23 hits and 13 errors, the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team outlasted the defending district champion Rochester Century to keep their season alive.

The Buddies edged Century 15-12 and will play in first round action of the First District tournament at 10 a.m. on Saturday against No. 1 seed Rochester JM at Dundas.

"I'm proud of the kids' effort," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "They didn't want their season to end July 17."

Winona jumped out to an early lead with six runs in the first inning, but Century responded with three of its own.

The Buddies built a 10-3 lead before they allowed eight runs in the bottom of the third inning.

In the sixth, the Buddies scored the decisive runs on a two-out rally.

Travis Hengel drove in Aaron Merchlewitz with a ground rule double for the game-winning run. Winona scored two more runs in the inning and held Century scoreless in the last two innings for the right to play in the district tournament.

Tim Kruger picked up the win by tossing the last 4 2/3 innings for the Buddies after relieving Grant Gibbs.

"Tim and Grant both threw pretty well," Akre said. "If we eliminate our errors and mental mistakes, we would make it a lot easier on our pitchers."

Hengel, Sam Cada, Geoff Schewe, Tyler Phillips and John Skappel all had multi-hit games for Winona.

Winona Daily News

ST. CLOUD, Minn.- The VFW Winona Buddies baseball team finished in fourth place at the St. Cloud Tournament.

After a 5-4 victory over Grand Rapids on Friday night and a 10-1 loss to St. Cloud East on Saturday night, the Buddies lost the third place game 4-2 to Cold Spring on Sunday.

"We are just glad the kids got the opportunity to play in such a great tournament," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We need all the experience we can get before playoffs."

The Buddies play against Century at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Rochester.

Quarterfinals

Winona 000 011 3-5 10 3
Grand Rapids 200 002 0-4 5 0

Kruger, Van Brundt (6 2/3) and Hengel; Henry and Shaw. WP-Van Brundt. LP-Henry.

Semifinals

Winona 000 001 0-1 5 6
St. Cloud East 100 504 x-10 4 2

Phillips, Van Brundt (4 1/3), Haake (5 1/3) and Hengel; Haugen and Theisen. WP-Haugen. LP-Phillips.

Third Place

Winona 000 101 0-2 7 1
Cold Spring 301 000 x-4 4 2

Gordon and Hengel; Adams, Butala (6) and Hansen. WP-Adams. LP-Gordon.

By the Winona Daily News

ST. CLOUD, Minn.- The Winona VFW Buddies set the tone early on Friday with a dominating first game in the St. Cloud Tournament.

Winona had seven runs in the first inning alone and went on to beat Monticello 12-0 in only five innings.

The Buddies went nuts at the plate grabbing two hits each from Chris Gappa, Sam Cada, Kyle Musolf and Geoff Schewe. Gappa had two RBI, while Cada and Schewe each connected on a RBI triple.

Monticello fell flat after that first inning and was only able to connect on four hits off Winona's pitcher Grant Gibbs.

Winona is guaranteed three more games in its run for the championship, playing in the quarterfinals at 8:30 Friday night. The game was not concluded at press time.

The Buddies will continue the tournament today.

Monticello 000 00-0 4 2
Winona 700 5x-12 11 1

Holker, Hardie (2/3) and Boleeu; Gibbs and Hengel. WP-Gibbs. LP-Holker.

Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. - After losing the first game in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Winona VFW baseball team took its frustrations out of the Rochester Rockets in the second game, pounded out 15 hits en route to a 17-3 victory.

Rochester came back from a 5-1 deficit after 21/2 innings to win the First District opener 7-6.

"We absolutely gave them the first ball game," said Winona coach Travis Akre, whose team is now 7-7 in the first District, 14-9 overall. "We had a runner picked off sixth with runners on first and second and one out. That took us out of a potentially big inning. And we left 10 men on base."

Ben Gordon started on the mound in the first game. He left after five innings with the score tied at 6. Rochester strung together three singles in the seventh inning off of Tim Kruger, who suffered the loss.

Chris Gappa led an eight-hit attack for the Buddies by going 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Travis Hengel was 2-for-4 with a triple and Tyler Phillips went 2-for-3 with a double and RBI.

In the second game, an eight-run third inning and a seven-run fourth gave Winona all the runs it would need.

Gappa again swung the hot bat, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI. Kyle Musolf was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, Jesse Van Brunt went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, Phillips was 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI and Clinton Haake went 2-for-3.

Haake scattered five hits to record the win.

"This was good for us to get some confidence going for the week," Akre said.
The Buddies play a doubleheader at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Northfield.

First Game

Winona 005 100 0-6 8 0
Rochester Rockets 014 100 1-7 14 3

Gordon, Kruger (6) and Hengel; Steffen, Polt (3) and Schaefer. WP-Polt. LP-Kruger. HR-Corcoran (R).

Second Game

Winona 208 70-17 15 0
Rochester Rockets 300 00- 3 5 1

Haake and Jonsgaard; Bryan, Davis (4), Girard (5) and Schaefer. WP-Haake. LP-Bryan. HR-none.

Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. - After losing the first game in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Winona VFW baseball team took its frustrations out of the Rochester Rockets in the second game, pounded out 15 hits en route to a 17-3 victory.

Rochester came back from a 5-1 deficit after 21/2 innings to win the First District opener 7-6.

"We absolutely gave them the first ball game," said Winona coach Travis Akre, whose team is now 7-7 in the first District, 14-9 overall. "We had a runner picked off sixth with runners on first and second and one out. That took us out of a potentially big inning. And we left 10 men on base."

Ben Gordon started on the mound in the first game. He left after five innings with the score tied at 6. Rochester strung together three singles in the seventh inning off of Tim Kruger, who suffered the loss.

Chris Gappa led an eight-hit attack for the Buddies by going 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Travis Hengel was 2-for-4 with a triple and Tyler Phillips went 2-for-3 with a double and RBI.

In the second game, an eight-run third inning and a seven-run fourth gave Winona all the runs it would need.

Gappa again swung the hot bat, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI. Kyle Musolf was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, Jesse Van Brunt went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, Phillips was 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI and Clinton Haake went 2-for-3.

Haake scattered five hits to record the win.

"This was good for us to get some confidence going for the week," Akre said.

The Buddies play a doubleheader at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Northfield.

First Game

Winona 005 100 0-6 8 0
Rochester Rockets 014 100 1-7 14 3

Gordon, Kruger (6) and Hengel; Steffen, Polt (3) and Schaefer. WP-Polt. LP-Kruger. HR-Corcoran (R).

Second Game

Winona 208 70-17 15 0
Rochester Rockets 300 00- 3 5 1

Haake and Jonsgaard; Bryan, Davis (4), Girard (5) and Schaefer. WP-Haake. LP-Bryan. HR-none.

By Jim Kohner / Winona Daily News

A never-say-die attitude earned the Winona VFW baseball team a key First District win Saturday afternoon, as well as praise for the opposing coach.

The Buddies rallied from a 10-3 deficit after four innings by scoring five runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to edge Owatonna 11-10 at Gabrych Park.

Owatonna came back to win the second game 10-6 to earn a split.

I was real proud of our effort," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "Going into the game, this was a must-win game if we want to obtain our goal of avoiding the out-game in the playoffs.

"It was a total team effort. No one person stuck out. Everyone is aware of the hard work that it's going to take to obtain our goal."

Owatonna coach Tony Holcomb, whose team committed three errors in the fifth and sixth innings, thought his team may have relaxed a little after grabbing the big lead.

"We had a nice lead, then had a couple mistakes and Winona took advantage," said Holcomb, whose team is now 17-5. "They didn't die. They took advantage of our mistakes and hit the ball. Our kids might have relaxed a little with a 10-3 lead."

Winona's rally started in the fifth inning when John Skappel hit a run-scoring single and Jesse Van Brunt followed with a two-run double. A two-out throwing error allowed two more runs to score.

In the sixth, Sam Cada's two-out RBI single plated the ninth run. Pinch-runner Clinton Haake scored the tying run on an Owatonna error, and Skappel came through with another run-scoring single to plate Cada with the winning run.

Tim Kruger, the third Winona pitcher, shut Owatonna down in the top of the seventh to earn a save. Van Brunt, who relieved Grant Gibbs in the fifth inning, picked up the win.

Gibbs was roughed up for eight runs on 10 hits in four innings. Justin Barlow delivered the big blows for Owatonna with a three-run homer in the first inning and a two-run single in the second. He was 3-for-4, while teammate Billy Marka went 4-for-4.

Skappel and Cada paced an 11-hit attack for the Buddies (7-6 First District, 13-8 overall) by going 3-for-4. Travis Hengel added two hits.

"I was real proud of our relievers," Akre said. "Jesse Van Brunt and Tim Kruger answered the call today. Those two kept us in the game and gave us an opportunity to win Game 1."

Owatonna took out its frustrations on Kyle Musolf in the second game. Musolf, starting his first game of the summer for Winona, hit three batters, gave up five hits and allowed seven runs in the top of the first inning.

This time the Buddies weren't able to come back, although they did get as close as 8-5 after three innings. That's when Holcomb brought in Andy Enhaus, who did not allow a run and gave up just three hits over the final five innings.

"(Enhaus) did a real nice job," Holcomb said. "He kept the ball down. It was warm and the kids were getting feisty. We needed that."

Gibbs, Chris Gappa, Van Brunt and Keith Jonsgaard all had two hits for Winona, which stranded 10 runners on base.

Josh Peterson and Cada limited Owatonna to two runs on five hits over the final four innings.

"(Owatonna) is a team playing with a lot of momentum," Akre said. "It was important for us to build some momentum with 11 games in the next eight days.

"Overall, we're getting there. We've come a long way since our first game with Northfield. We started out 2-5 in the league and now we're 7-6. With July being here, we're showing signs of peaking."

The Buddies play a doubleheader at 11 a.m. today at Hudson Field in Rochester against the Rochester Rockets.

By the Winona Daily News

RED WING, Minn. - The Winona VFW Buddies bats finally cooled down.

After averaging more than 14 hits in each of their last five games, the Buddies scattered just five hits Wednesday night against Red Wing, falling 9-2 in First District League action.

Red Wing jumped ahead early with two runs in the first followed by one in the second and four in the third.

Winona broke onto the scoreboard in the sixth with two runs.

"We had an opportunity to score, bases loaded one out in the second and we couldn't get a run in," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "When they jumped up 3-0 we kind of rolled over a little bit. We didn't have the intensity throughout the whole game."

Ben Gordon, Sam Cada, Chris Gappa, Travis Hengel and John Skappel each recorded a single for the Buddies (6-6 First District, 12-7 overall).

The Buddies will play host to Owatonna at 11 a.m. on Saturday in a doubleheader at Gabrych Park.

Winona 000 002 0 - 2 5 0
Red Wing 214 020 0 - 9 12 0

Stumps and Badt; Phillips, Kruger (4) and Hengel. WP - Stumps. LP - Phillips. HR - none.

By Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Winona VFW Buddies swept the Rochester Knights on Sunday in a doubleheader, taking the first game 15-4 in five innings for a First District League win.

Winona took the second game - a non-league game - 12-6 thanks to a five-run fourth and a four-run fifth inning.

The Buddies (6-5 First District, 12-6 overall) dominated at the plate with a two-game total of 32 hits and 27 runs. Winona has scored a combined 70 runs in its past four games.

Winona's Chris Gappa and John Skappel each were 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI in the first game, and teammate Geoff Schewe drove two hits and brought in two runs. Aaron Merklewitz was 2-for-4 with a double and Travis Hengel went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.

Ben Gordon pitched the first win, allowing two Rochester runs in the first and last innings of play. The Knights earned just six hits off Gordon in five innings.

Jesse Van Brundt earned the win in the second game and was 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Hengel went 4-for-4 in Game 2, while Kyle Musolf was 2-for-5 with two RBI and Tim Kruger was 3-for-5 with two RBI.

The Buddies play at Red Wing at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

First Game

Winona 127 05-15 17 0
Rochester 200 02- 4 6 2

Gordon and Hengel; Jensen and Ruff. WP-Gordon. LP-Jensen.

Second Game

Winona 201 540 1-12 15 3
Rochester 003 012 0 - 6 7 3

Van Brundt, Kruger (6) and Hengel; Counfidle, Petel (4), Ruff (5), Geisen (6) and Verbout. WP-Van Brundt. LP-Counfidle.

By Jessie Meyer / Winona Daily News

The middle of the pack led the way as the Winona VFW baseball team swept a doubleheader from Waseca in First District League action Saturday at Winona State University.

The middle three hitters - Chris Gappa, Kyle Musolf and Jesse Van Brundt - went a combined 7-for-12 with six runs scored and seven RBI in Game 2, which the Buddies won 12-2. Winona took the first game 11-5.

"I credit the kids. We've had a few days of just batting practice and they are really starting to respond to that," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "We're starting to be more selective at the plate. We stay within ourselves."

The Buddies (5-5 First District, 10-6 overall) have scored a combined 44 runs in their past three games, including 21 in a win over Rochester Century on Wednesday.

Winona wasted no time taking the lead in the nightcap, scoring three runs in the first inning, which was highlighted by a two-RBI double from Van Brundt.

The Buddies put up three more runs in the third and, despite leaving the bases loaded, added another two in the fourth.

Winning pitcher Clinton Haake struck the game-winner, a single in the fifth that plated pinch runner Geoff Schewe and put the Buddies up by 10. In the same inning, which Keith Johnsgaard started with a ground rule double, Musolf drove in two runs with a double.

Haake finished the game 3-for-4 from the plate with three RBI, along with giving up just two runs on five hits and five walks on the mound.

"We don't have all the pressure on us to hold them when we score a lot of runs," Haake said. "It really helps take the pressure off our backs."

The Buddies handily took Game 1, but needed seven innings to put away Waseca. Again Winona jumped ahead early with an opening three-run first inning, but Waseca answered with a run in each the second, fourth and sixth to keep from being 10-runned.

Ben Gordon scored three runs for the Buddies, while Aaron Merchelwitz, Travis Hengel and Grant Gibbs each added two hits.

"Basically our hitters are good all the way through the lineup," Gibbs said. "We've gotten to know each other better since the beginning of the year and we're communicating a lot better."

Gibbs earned the win for Winona, striking out 10 in his seven innings on the mound. Gibbs allowed five runs seven hits.

"We're showing flashes of our potential," Akre said. "Every game is something different, we have two of the three - pitching, hitting and defense. Lately we've been picking up momentum and putting it all together."

The Buddies travel to face the Rochester Knights in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. today.

By the Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. - It took three hours and 15 minutes, but the Winona VFW baseball team finally pulled out a come-from-behind 21-12 seven-inning victory over Rochester Century Wednesday night in First District League action.

The Buddies dropped behind 7-0 after the first inning before posting at least a run in each of the final six innings - including a six-run fifth and seventh inning.

"We got down 7-0 but our kids always get up for Rochester and didn't quit until the last out," Buddies coach Travis Akre said.

Winona combined for 19 hits - five more than Rochester - and took advantage of four struggling Century pitchers.

Chris Gappa drove three hits and plated four runs, while Sam Cada went 2-for-5 with a triple and four RBI for Winona (4-5 First District, 8-6 overall). Grant Gibbs connected for a double and drove in three runs, and winning pitcher Tyler Phillips knocked two hits and brought in two runs.

Travis Hengel, John Skappel and Aaron Merchlewitz each were 2-for-4 with a double.

Winona 031 164 6 - 21 19 2
Rochester Century 700 212 0 - 12 14 3

Craig, Garza (3), Olson (5), Sunsley (7) and Zafet, Craig (5); Gordon, Phillips (1), Kruger (6) and Hengel. WP - Phillips. LP - Olson. HR - none.

By Jim Kohner / Winona Daily News

It's starting to become a recurring theme for the Winona VFW baseball team this summer - one good game followed by a bad one.

On Saturday at Gabrych Park, the Buddies played to another split in a doubleheader, winning the first game 6-5 and losing the nightcap 7-0 to the Rochester Spartans.

Winona has now split all three of its doubleheaders against First District foes.

"We just can't put a full day together," said Buddies coach Travis Akre, whose team is now 3-5 in the First District, 7-6 overall. "It seems to be like a game-to-game thing. One game we'll have it all and the next game we'll miss something. It differs every game."

The Buddies almost wasted a solid pitching performance by Grant Gibbs in the first game. He gave up just two runs on six hits in the first six innings, then got in trouble in the seventh when a walk and two errors plated one run for Rochester.

Akre then brought in Tim Kruger, who gave up a two-out, two-run single to Ben Gerlesberger to tie the game.

But Winona rebounded in its half of the seventh when Geoff Schewe doubled to left-center field with one out and scored when the next batter, Travis Hengel, also doubled to the gap in left-center.

Hengel finished with three of the Buddies' eight hits and drove in two runs. Sam Cada added a two-run single in the second inning and Ben Gordon drove in two runs on a bases-loaded walk and a run-scoring ground out.

"Gibbs has started two games for us and been very solid," Akre said. "He's fallen apart in both games in the seventh inning. He pitched well enough for a win.

"We tend to get up every time we play Rochester. We get really hungry when we play them. Our five returning kids wanted this game really bad because the Spartans ended our season last year."

Rochester (7-6) teed off on three Winona pitchers for seven runs on 12 hits in Game 2. Buddies' starter Joe Tristano kept the Spartans off the scoreboard until a three-run uprising in the fifth. Rochester tacked on three more runs off reliever Josh Peterson in the sixth and one more off Schewe in the seventh.

"We haven't been hitting the ball well," Rochester coach Jim Senne said. "We're a very good defensive team, but we're struggling at the plate. We're a young team. This is a tougher level for them. If we start hitting the ball, we'll be a good team."

Nick Larson, who also hit a two-run homer, scattered six hits, struck out six and walked three for the win. John Skappel accounted for two of Winona's hits.

"We're still trying to find the perfect lineup - the perfect mix," Akre said. "We show flashes of our potential at times. We just haven't put it together for a full day yet."

Winona plays a doubleheader at 11 a.m. today at Northfield.

By Andy Davis / Winona Daily News

The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team was beaten by the bats of Austin on Wednesday at Gabrych Park.

Austin (3-3 First District) ripped four home runs and two doubles, while limiting the Buddies to six hits in a 10-3 victory.

"We're line-drive hitters, this is very unusual for us," Austin coach Jason Senne said. "But our hitting has gotten better as of late."

Davis Lyon led the way for Austin by going 2-for-4 with a grand slam and a solo homer.

Mike Leathers pitched a solid game to earn the win. He went the distance, allowing two earned runs on six hits and one walk.

"He flat out beat us," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We didn't seem to make the adjustment that we needed to and he kept us off balance."

Austin and Winona traded runs in the first inning, but a solo homer by Adam Edge in the second put Austin up 2-1.

"Our pitchers fell behind in the count and we paid the price by giving up the home runs," Akre said.

The Buddies (2-5, 6-5 overall) had two hits in the first inning, but failed to get another hit until the sixth, when the game was out of hand.

Austin's bats were just warming up, though.

Mike Ball hit a two-run homer in the fourth to put them up 4-1 and Lyon hit his first of two home runs in the fifth.

The big blow came in the sixth when Lyon hit his grand slam to put Austin up 10-2.

"I think we were still in it until that point," Akre said. "That grand slam just let the air out."

Winona tried to respond in the sixth, when Ben Gordon led off with a single. Two of the next three batters reached on errors, but both were later caught up in an inning-ending rundown.

"They're a good ball club and they're well coached," Akre said. "They're always a fundamentally rounded team."

The Buddies are back in action 11 a.m. Saturday when they host the Rochester Spartans in a doubleheader.

By the Winona Daily News

FARIBAULT, Minn. - The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team came out swinging in the first four innings of Game 2 Saturday, toppling Faribault 13-3 after scoring 11 runs through four innings.

The Buddies, who dropped the first game 7-5, knocked out 18 hits in the second game and allowed Faribault its only three runs in the fifth inning, keeping the game rolling through seven.

Joe Tristano picked up the win and led the Buddies (2-4 First District, 6-4 overall) at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Keith Johnsgaard and Kyle Musolf also added three hits and Geoff Schewe was 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Faribault recorded five runs off five hits and a walk in the third inning of the first game after the Buddies tallied three of their own in the top of the first. Winona battled back with two runs in the seventh off a two-run homer from Tyler Phillips, but could not overcome the deficit.

Phillips finished the game 3-for-4 from the plate with three RBI and a double. Grant Gibbs and Travis Hengel added the Buddies' other two hits.

The Buddies play host to Austin at 5:30 p.m. on at Gabrych Park.

First Game

Winona 300 000 2 - 5 5 1
Faribault 105 001 x - 7 9 1

Pemnick and Polzin; Gordon, Gibbs (4) and Hengel. WP - Pemnick. LP - Gordon. HR - Tyler Phillips (W).

Second Game

Winona 241 401 1 - 13 18 5
Faribault 000 030 0 - 3 4 3

Pitt and Novak; Tristano and Johnsgaard. WP - Tristano. LP - Pitt. HR - none.

By Andy Davis/Winona Daily News

The game was over almost before it began.

The Winona VFW Buddies (5-3) sent 14 batters to the plate in a nine-run first inning and Red Wing wasn't able to recover in a 12-5 loss.

The Buddies' first six batters reached base and later scored before Red Wing could pull starting pitcher Zach Laffey.

Laffey walked four batters and allowed two hits without retiring a batter to take the loss.

"We set the tone early," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "Offensively we've been struggling, so it was good to see us jump out early."

Red Wing's next pitcher, Casey Dougherty, didn't fair much better. He gave up six runs on 10 hits in just over an inning of work.

Dougherty retired the first batter he faced before the next six batter reached on five hits and a walk.

"I think it got contagious from hitter to hitter, we were real selective in the first inning," Akre said.

Tyler Phillips picked up the win for the Buddies, he allowed three runs, one earned, on four hits and five walks.

"I didn't feel like I had good control," Phillips said. "I was missing my spots."

His start was shortened because he was on a pitch count after having arm trouble earlier this year.

Phillips also led the Buddies' offense, going 3-for-3 with a double. As a team, Winona out-hit Red Wing 14-8, but only two of the Buddies' hits came after the second inning.

"We wanted to keep adding to (our lead), we wanted to end it in five."

Tim Kruger came in relief of Phillips to finish the game. He gave up one earned run in three and two-thirds innings.

Akre attributed his team's success at the plate to the hitting drills the players did this past week.

"I think that carried over," he said. "Now, hopefully, we can carry this forward."

"This can be a big momentum builder for us."

The Buddies were outscored in innings two through seven by a count of 5-3.

Red Wing scored its first runs of the game in the second inning on a two-run single by Mike Heitmann to make the score 9-2.

Winona responded with five hits in a three-run second inning to make the score 12-2, but the Buddies failed to score again.

"We need to learn to stay aggressive," Akre said. "When we have a team down we have to bury them."

The Buddies travel to Faribault to play an 11 a.m. doubleheader Saturday.

By The Winona Daily News

Everything that could go wrong went wrong for the Winona VFW baseball team Sunday in the first game of a First District doubleheader with the Rochester Rockets at Winona State University's Loughrey Field.

The Buddies committed four errors which led to six unearned runs as Rochester rolled to an 8-1 win. Winona rebounded in the second game by scoring five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for an 8-6 victory and a split.

"We're still looking for consistency," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "Overall, it was just a flat effort today. We weren't really prepared for the first game mentally."

Rochester scored runs in five of the seven innings in the first game. Ben Gordon allowed seven runs to take the loss.

Gordon also led a five-hit attack for the Buddies (1-3 First District, 4-3 overall) by going 2-for-3. John Skappel and Arron Merchlewitz both added doubles.

In the nightcap, Tyler Phillips paced the offense by going 3-for-3 with an RBI double in the sixth. He also scored two runs. Tim Krueger was 2-for-3 and Grant Gibbs was 1-for-3 with a triple and three RBI.

Clinton Haake, who relieved Jesse Van Brunt in the fifth inning, picked up the win.

Winona takes on Red Wing at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at WSU.

First Game

Rochester Rockets 011 203 1-8 7 1
Winona 101 000 0-1 5 4

Steffan, Schafer (5) and Fuller; Gordon, Gibbs (7) and Hengel. WP-Steffan. LP-Gordon. HR-none.

Second Game

Rochester Rockets 011 040 0-6 8 1
Winona 002 105 x-8 9 2

Ellerbusch, Fuller (6) and Schafer; Van Brunt, Haake (5) and Jonsgaard, Hengel (7). WP-Haake. LP-Ellerbusch. HR-none.

By the Winona Daily News

NEW RICHLAND, Minn. - Three six-run innings helped the Winona VFW baseball team to a doubleheader sweep over New Richland Saturday.

The Buddies scored all six of their runs in the first inning of the first game en route to a 6-3 victory. They followed that up by scoring six runs in both the first and second innings of Game 2 in a 16-7 win.


Sam Cada highlighted the big first inning in the opener by belting a three-run homer. Chris Gappa added an RBI single. Winona recorded six of their seven hits in the inning.

Ben Gordon led a seven-hit attack by going 2-for-4. Geoff Schewe chipped in a double.

Tyler Phillips and Tim Krueger combined on a three-hitter for the Buddies, with Phillips going the first four innings for the win.

Joe Tristano paved the way in Game 2 by going 3-for-5 with a double and four RBI to lead a 15-hit attack. Cada hit another home run, this time a solo shot. Josh Peterson, John Skappel and Krueger all finished with two hits. Arron Merchlewitz added a triple.

First Game

Winona 600 000 0-6 7 4
New Richland 000 300 0-3 3 2

Phillips, Krueger (5) and Hengel; Johnson and Churchill. WP-Phillips. LP-Johnson. HR-Cada (W).

Second Game
Winona 660 001 3-16 15 1
New Richland 600 100 0- 7 6 1

Tristano, Cada (1), Peterson (5) and Jonsgaard; Waginers, Hulpeper (2) and Pless. WP-Cada. LP-Waginers. HR-Cada (W), Waginers (NR).

By the Winona Daily News

It was like two completely different baseball teams facing off in the second game of Winona's season-opening doubleheader against Northfield on Sunday.

Winona lost the first game 17-5, allowing Northfield 20 hits in only five innings clinching a VFW Buddies First District Conference win. Winona connected on seven hits while committing three errors.


Winona's Ben Gordon came through in the second matchup to hold Northfield to three hits and secure the split by winning 8-1. Northfield (1-0 First District, 1-1 overall) made four errors in the loss.


Gordon pitched seven innings, throwing six strikeouts and allowing two walks. Gordon also connected at the plate, hitting a single RBI in the first game and 2-for-3 in the second.


Tyler Phillips recorded Winona's loss going two innings and allowing five runs. Phillips went 2-for-3 at the plate, hitting two RBI's and a double in the first-game.


Up next Winona (0-1, 1-1) plays host to Rochester Century at 5:30 on Wednesday.

Northfield 327 50 --17 20 0

Winona 030 02 - 5 7 3

Volkert, Neibuhr (5) and Phelps; Phillips, Van Bruent (3), Tristano (3) and Hengel. WP-Volkert. LP-Phillips. HR-Becker (N).

Northfield 100 000 0 -1 3 4

Winona 024 110 0 -8 9 1

Kruse, Dimick (5), and Healy (7) and Phelps; Gordon and Gibbs. WP-Gordon. LP-Kruse.

By Chris Yarolimek of the Winona Daily News
.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - On paper, the Winona VFW baseball team was different than the other teams in this weekend's First District Tournament. In a tournament played in Rochester, with all the their competitors coming from Rochester, the Buddies were the outsider.

But what set the Buddies apart from the rest of the pack, other than the name on the front of theirjerseys, was the heart they showed and the sportsmanship they exhibited.

Whether it was the way first basemen Matt Pflughoeft chattered all game long to help out his pitcher, or pumped his team up to get hits and score runs before every trip into the dugout - even though designated hitter Andy Biesanz replaced him in the batting order - the Buddies had character unmatched by their counterparts.

Catcher Dustin Grossell didn't get down on himself after going 0-for-7 in the first two games of the weekend. He stepped up and singled in his first at bat Sunday, later scoring, and threw out his second base stealer of the tournament. It may not get the headlines, but for Grossell and the rest of the team, getting the win is more important than getting your name in lights.

"This team accomplished so much, in advancing the farthest of any VFW team in quite some time," said Akre, who led his team to a 24-13 record. "It's good for the program."

Akre instilled in his team a work ethic and team mentality that proved to be a key ingredient in Winona's postseason success.

That was never more apparent than in Saturday's 2-1 loss to Rochester East or the 8-7 loss to Rochester South Sunday. On the brink of the state tournament, Akre may have had his guys playing some of their best baseball, but it was the way the Buddies battled back each time that was impressive.

"We had a very good season," said Akre. "They were really a great group of gentlemen."

The faithful Winona fans, who outnumbered and out-cheered the Rochester fans in each of the three games, will have to wait until next year for Akre to again march his Buddies deep into the postseason.

By Chris Yarolimek of the Winona Daily News
.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - It's not that they didn't have enough chances.

The Winona Buddies VFW baseball team battled back to within one run of Rochester South in the fourth and fifth innings of Sunday's First District Tournament game at Hudson Field, but stranded base runners haunted the squad. The Spartans held on for an 8-7 victory and earned a chance to battle Rochester East with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

"We gave it away. We just couldn't execute at the right times," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We dug ourselves a hole early by kicking theball around a little, but we never gave up until the last out."

From the start, Akre knew his offense would have to shake off Saturday's three-hit performance against Rochester East and put the ball in play. His point was magnified when the Buddies spotted the Spartans a 5-0 lead after the top of the first inning.

Tom Senne's leadoff double gave South some momentum, but Winona starter Ryan Runkle bounced back by striking out the next batter and forcing the third to ground out. With two outs, Tony Konicek, Nick Larson, Ben Martini and Ben Heyot all rattled off consecutive hits, and Matt Meyer's slow roller to Bryan Wanek at second was overthrown at first base bringing in the final two runs of the inning.

When the Spartans had runners on base, they found a way to drive them in. Winona struggled in that department all game long.

The Buddies (24-13 overall) did get one run back in the first inning, two more in the second and three in the fourth, but in each instance, the innings could have been bigger. Winona left 11 runners on base for the second straight game, including bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings.

"We had bases loaded in the fifth and scored no runs (after South's Matt Meyer walked in a run)," said Akre, whose team sandwiched just two hits between seven walks in the fourth and fifth innings. The bottom of the order, Matt O'Brien and Tony Ford, combined to reach base sixth times with five being free passes.

In the end, it was Meyer who got the job done on the mound for the Spartans. Meyer faced just 11 Winona batters in his three shutout innings of relief, fanning four and walking one.

C.J. Spang, 2-for-2 on the day, was the only Buddies hitter with more than one hit. Spang and O'Brien each scored twice, while Wanek finished with two RBI.

Runkle allowed eight runs on 10 hits before being relieved by Eric Belter to start the sixth inning. Belter held South scoreless, scattering just three hits, but together the duo was pegged for three hits each by Konicek and Martini and two each by three others.

"Belter came in and did the job. He really got ahead of the hitters," said Akre. "Runkle was just falling behind and had to come with the fast ball."

By Chris Yarolimek of the Winona Daily News
.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - Matt O'Brien's mom disappeared to pace the fence line of the surrounding baseball diamonds every inning her son took the mound Saturday. She just couldn't watch.

What Jean O'Brien missed was her son's gutsy pitching performance that fell just short in the Winona VFW's second game, a 2-1 loss to Rochester East at the First District Tournament at Hudson Field. Winona beat Rochester West 7-2 in Game 2.

The Buddies made quick work of Rochester West earlier in the day, behind a stellar game from Eric Belter, but it was O'Brien who had the duty of stopping the red-hot Stars. Winona took a 1-1 game into the bottom of the sixth, but a two-out single by Aaron Craig proved to be the game-winner.

Winona will face Rochester South at 11 a.m. today at Hudson Field, with the winner facing West at 1:30 p.m.

"We just get to play more baseball," said Buddies coach Travis Akre, who doesn't look at the loss as a heartbreaker. "There were two great pitching performances. (But) the walks hurt us."

The Stars led off the game with Mike Kelsey hitting a slow roller to second baseman Tony Ford, who threw wildly to first. The errant throw put Kelsey on second base and the next batter, Nate Bower, plated Kelsey with an RBI single.

O'Brien put the early run behind him and went on, ending three of the first four innings with strikeouts and setting the Stars down in order in the fifth. O'Brien almost got himself into trouble in the early innings, but in each instance, he found a way to get himself out.

"He worked his way out of some jams," Akre said. "He's a gamer. He wants that game ball and never wants to come out of a game."

Although O'Brien was solid and the defense behind him was near perfect, the Winona bats were flat. The Buddies were held to just three hits by East's pitcher Josh Rasmussen.

Rasmussen gave up a costly hit to ninth-batter Tony Ford in the third inning and Ford made the Stars pay by stealing second and advancing to third on an overthrow. C.J. Spang drove in Ford with a fielder's choice to tie the game.

East's Mairos avenged his first inning strikeout by drawing a walk to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, and with two outs, broke the tie when Craig singled.

Rasmussen, who forced 15 ground outs in seven innings, set down the Buddies one-two-three in each of the last three innings, with the help of first basemen Justin Grant's game-ending diving catch to rob Dustin Grossell of an extra-base hit.

Winona 7, Rochester West 2

Winona erupted for 12 hits to knock off Rochester West, with Belter giving up three hits in his six innings of work. Andy Pehler relieved Belter and closed the door in the seventh inning, after Belter had fanned seven batters and allowed two runs.

The heart of the Buddies lineup came through in a big way with Wanek going 3-for-4, Pehler lifting an RBI-double, Belter going 2-for-2 with two runs scored and Ryan Runkle finishing 2-for-3 with a double. Belter and Runkle also each stole a base.

The Knights' ace pitcher Brandon Harrington started to fall apart in the third inning after Winona rattled off five straight hits and took a 5-0 lead. Harrington made matters worse for West in the top of the fourth inning by getting ejected from the tournament for using foul language to an umpire.

The Buddies continued to rock Harrington's replacement Corey Ruff with three hits and two more runs. Despite the powerful offensive display, Winona stranded 11 base runners, including six in scoring position, and had two thrown out at the plate.

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Jason Pehler's two-run home run in the fifth inning of the First District East Division Championship helped the Winona VFW baseball team knock off Rochester East 6-2 Sunday to capture the title.

Pehler finished 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, homer and three RBI on the day.

"It was just another great team effort. There was a whole lot of life coming out of our dugout," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We played good baseball the whole weekend. Today we had timely, clutch hitting."

The Buddies took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Pehler and Eric Belter ripped back-to-back doubles. C.J. Spang started the rally in the fifth inning when he drove in Tony Ford for the go-ahead run and Pehler plated Bryan Wanek with his long ball.

Ryan Runkle shut down Rochester East on the mound, scattering four hits while striking out nine batters in a complete-game victory. The two runs Runkle allowed in the third inning were both unearned.

With their three-win weekend performance, the Buddies advance to the First District Tournament at the site of the West Division winner. The pairings will be announced today.

ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team earned a spot in next week's First District Championship tournament with two wins Saturday at the First District Eastern Division tournament.

Eric Belter struck out seven Northfield batters and gave up just one in the Buddies' 3-1 first-game victory. Belter, who earned the complete-game win, drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI double in the sixth inning.

Tony Ford hit an RBI double in the fifth inning to put the Buddies (22-11 overall) on the board. Ryan Runkle brought in the Buddies' third run of the night with a sixth-inning single.

Winona 10, Rochester East 3

After scoring a run in the first, the Buddies exploded with a seven-run second inning against Rochester East to put the game out of reach early.

Runkle and Belter maintained their hot bats in the second game - Runkle went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double, and Belter was 3-for-4 with an RBI.

They had help from C.J. Spang and Dustin Grossell, who were each 2-for-4, and Andy Biesanz, who finished 3-for-4 with three RBI. Jason Pehler added an RBI single.
Matt O'Brien earned the complete-game win with four strikeouts and one walk. Only one of the three Rochester runs was earned.

The Buddies will face the winner of the Rochester East-Red Wing match-up at 2:30 p.m. today.

By Chris Yarolimek of the Winona Daily News
.
Travis Akre has good reason to be excited for this weekend's First District Eastern Division VFW baseball tournament in Rochester. The Winona Buddies manager has his team prepped and ready to avenge its two-and-out performance in last year's tourney.

"We've had real good pitching and defense all year, but our pitchers have picked it up in the last three weeks," said Akre, whose team has won nine of its last 11 games. "As a whole, we are playing pretty good baseball. We've really shown signs of peaking.

"I really like our chances. Our kids have been waiting for this tournament and I think they're mentally and physically prepared."

Winona will face Northfield at 12:30 p.m. today at the Rochester Century High School Field. The winner will face the winner of the Rochester East-Red Wing game at 5:30 p.m.

With four solid pitchers, the Buddies (11-5 First District, 20-11 overall) have one of the deepest staffs in the whole First District. Ryan Runkle, Matt O'Brien and Eric Belter have excelled in the rotation all year, and Jason Pehler has come on as of late.

The offense has also found its groove: Each player has taken 700 to 1,000 cuts per batting practice.

"We're starting to hit the ball to the other two-thirds of the field. We've really been using the whole field," Akre said. "It's been a whole team effort. We just have to keep doing what we've been doing.

"They've begun to enjoy the game and have fun. That was the problem early, but they really come to play now."

That may be the main difference between this year's squad and the one that self-destructed last season.

"They know they can't be individuals. The game becomes more fun for them when they play as a team," Akre said. "And it's a lot more pleasant to come out to the ball park since they've figured that out."

It doesn't matter what led to the team's metamorphosis - what matters is it worked, and led to a hot streak going into the postseason.

Akre has the Buddies using last season as a learning experience for this year's tournament run. The state tournament has been their goal all season, and with the team gelling at the right time, this may be the year.

By Jim Kohner / Winona Daily News
.
All the signs are pointed in the right direction these days for the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team.

Saturday at Gabrych Park, the Buddies geared up for next weekend's First District Eastern Division tournament by sweeping a doubleheader from Rochester West by scores of 6-0 and 11-8.

Winona (11-5 First District, 19-11 overall) will go into the tournament as the No. 2 seed behind Rochester East, which will play host to the tournament. The Buddies have won four straight games and nine of their last 11.

"Overall, it's been a good push the past few weeks," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "We're definitely showing signs of peaking. Offensively, we've really turned it on the last couple of weeks. Our pitching and defense have been there all year.

"We've got a lot of guys banged up right now. We needed to conserve some arms today. We need this week off to rest."

The Buddies pounded out 24 hits in the two games. Fourteen of the 16 players on the roster had at least one hit.

The first-game victory, which secured the No. 2 seed for Winona, was highlighted by a strong pitching performance from Matt O'Brien. He held the Knights to six singles, while walking just one batter and striking out eight in the complete-game effort.

"We used a little different ball and (O'Brien) had a hard time adjusting," Akre said. "But he pitched well. He got behind a few hitters, but he worked himself out of some jams."

Jason Pehler gave O'Brien all the run support he'd need with a run-scoring double off the fence in left field that plated pinch runner Ben Gordon in the third inning.

Winona added an unearned run off Brandon Harrington in the fourth inning, then put the game away in the sixth with four runs on five hits, including a two-run double by Dustin Grossell and an RBI single by Ryan Runkle.

C.J. Spang, Pehler, Runkle and O'Brien all finished with two hits in the opener.
The Buddies also turned two double players to put out potential rallies by West.

"Those flattened their tires a little," Akre said of the double plays.

In Game 2, Tyler Philipps took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before tiring. He allowed three runs on three hits in the sixth. West then jumped on two Winona relievers for five runs on six hits in the seventh inning to make the game close.

Philipps struck out five batters and walked two for the win.

Tony Ford paced a 13-hit attack for the Buddies by going 3-for-4. Aaron Merchlewitz was 2-for-3 with a two-run single in the fourth inning, Gordon went 2-for-3 with a double, Philipps was 2-for-4 with a double, Andy Biesanz drove in three runs, including a long two-run homer in the sixth inning, and Mark Batell and Travis Hengel both drove in two runs.

Nick Forliti, Andy Nigon and Corey Ruff all finished with two hits for Rochester West.

Akre will find out late Wednesday the pairings for the Eastern Division tournament, which will be held next Saturday, Sunday and possibly Monday in Rochester.

RED WING, Minn. - A day after squandering a four-run lead, the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team made sure it wouldn't happen again as it swept Red Wing 5-2 and 8-3 Thursday.

"Today was a new day," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "We forgot about (Wednesday) and when we found out in the league standings that we had a chance to avoid the out game, it felt like we had new life."

In Game 1, Winona (10-5 First District, 17-11 overall) put the game away with three runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by Dustin Grossell's two-run single.

Jason Pehler, Andy Biesanz and Matt O'Brien all went 2-for-4 for the Buddies. Everyone in the Winona lineup had at least one hit. Eric Belter struck out three and walked one to earn the win. He gave up five hits and one earned run.

In the nightcap, the Buddies again put the game away in the fifth inning when they scored five runs. Mark Batell and Ben Gordon each had two hits. Travis Hengel knocked in two runs, while Bryan Wanek and Sam Cada each had one.

Tony Ford pitched the last 3 1/3 innings of relief, giving up one hit to earn the win.

"We started out slow and got the bats going," Akre said. "It was a good team effort."

Winona closes out the regular season against Rochester West at 11 a.m. Saturday at Gabrych Park.

FIRST GAME
Winona 001 130 0 - 5 12 2
Red Wing 110 000 0 - 2 5 2
Belter and Grossell; Stemps, Lange (6) and Schmit. WP - Belter. LP - Stemps. HR - none.

SECOND GAME
Winona 100 050 2 - 8 9 5
Red Wing 001 101 0 - 3 4 3
Batell, Ford (4) and Hengel, Wanek (5). WP - Ford. HR - none.

By Jessie Meyer of the Winona Daily News
.
Too much confidence can either boost or break a team - especially if that confidence lasts only halfway through a game.

For the Winona VFW Buddies, overconfidence proved fatal in Wednesday night's baseball game against Austin - a game the Buddies had all but wrapped up after four innings of play.

Winona fell 13-10 after holding a four-run lead heading into the fifth inning, when the Buddies (9-5 First District, 15-11 overall) gave up eight runs on four hits, two batters hit by pitches, an error and three walks at Gabrych Park.

"It was just an ugly game period," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "(Austin) never got down. There was always life coming out of that dugout. We got into coast mode and got burned."

Austin (6-8 First District) sent 13 batters to the plate in the fifth, with pinch-hitter Davis Lyon tying the game with a two-run double. A successful suicide squeeze, which turned into a base hit, with the bases loaded gave Austin the lead and control of the deflated Buddies defense.

"When you're out there for so long, you kind of get frustrated because you know you can get out of it," Winona's Eric Belter said of defending an eight-run inning. "You're out there just wondering what you should do."

What Akre did was send in Winona's third pitcher of the game, Jason Pehler, to replace Tyler Phillips, who had given up four runs without retiring a batter in the fifth. Ryan Runkle started the game, throwing three innings and racking up five strikeouts before leaving with a sore arm.

After giving up three walks, Pehler pitched the Buddies out of trouble, striking out the last two batters of the inning and the first two in the sixth.

But the damage had already been done. Winona's bats, though hot in the beginning, fell quiet, and the Buddies were unable to overcome the momentum switch.

"We came in a little overconfident," said Belter, who connected for back-to-back doubles in the second and third innings. "We sat on a couple innings, didn't score any runs after we had one big inning. That cost us.

"I think we are a better team, a stronger team. We just weren't executing."

Winona had bounced back from a two-out, three-run homer in the top of the first inning from Austin's Brad Wiechmann, scoring three in the second and four in the third.

While Belter finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored, C.J. Spang went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Seven Winona batters reached base on Austin errors and two had free passes after being hit by a pitch.

Only four of Winona's 10 runs were earned, but the Buddies failed to take full advantage of the eight Austin errors, leaving nine men stranded.

Winona tried to answer the eight-run fifth, scoring one in the bottom of the inning and two unearned runs in the sixth. But with the score 11-10, Winona's opportunity to tie the game passed as a suicide squeeze attempt faltered and left Runkle stranded at home.

"We just didn't show up to play," Akre said. "But our bats didn't quit until the end."

The Buddies travel to Red Wing for a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. today.

Winona Daily News Staff

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Mahtomedi used a suicide squeeze in the bottom of the sixth inning to score the game-winning run, defeating the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team 4-3 Sunday in the championship game of the St. Cloud Tournament.

Winona tied the game 3-3 in the top of the fifth inning, but Mark Batell was picked off third base with two outs, ending the inning and the Buddies' threat at the lead.

Ryan Runkle went 3-for-3 for Winona (15-10 overall), while Jason Pehler added a double and an RBI.

Pehler took the complete-game loss giving up seven hits.

Winona 7, Monticello 4

The Buddies broke away from Monticello with a five-run fifth inning in Saturday night's late game.

Bryan Wanek went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs for Winona, while Pehler and Dustin Grossell each added a double. Pehler had an RBI and Tyler Phillipps knocked in a pair.

Runkle earned the win, pitching five innings before Pehler entered in relief and got the save.

By the Winona Daily News
.
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Winona VFW Buddies baseball team defeated St. Cloud Red 8-4 at the St. Cloud Tournament in Friday night's late game.

The tournament games ran long Friday and Saturday, pushing the Buddies game against Monticello back Saturday night. The score of that game was not available.

Winona took advantage of five St. Cloud errors, scoring four runs in the sixth inning to cap off the win.

Dustin Grossell led the Winona offense, batting 3-for-4, while Bryan Wanek went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jason Pehler, Ryan Runkle, Matt O'Brien and Tony Ford each had one hit and one RBI.

Eric Belter earned the complete-game win for Winona, striking out six and walking five.

St. Cloud Red 200 002 0 - 4 7 5
Winona 002 104 x - 8 10 1
Musks and Hockomyne; Belter and Grossell.
WP- Belter. LP- Mucks. HR-none.

From the Winona Daily News

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Matt O'Brien allowed St. Cloud Blue only one run on five hits, helping the Winona VFW Buddies to a 5-1 win Friday in their first game of the St. Cloud tournament.

"Matt just got stronger as the game went on," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "After the first three innings he settled in."

O'Brien pitched the complete game, striking out seven and walking one.

As O'Brien kept runners off the bases, the Buddies were able to execute with two sacrifice at bats, take advantage of a St. Cloud error and some wild pitching to score three runs in the top of the seventh and put the game away.

C.J. Spang, Eric Belter and Jason Pehler each drove in a run in the seventh. Spang, Belter and Andy Biesanz each finished 2-for-4 from the plate.

The Buddies, who were 13-9 overall before playing a late second game, continue tournament play today in St. Cloud.

Winona 001 100 3 - 5 8 0
St. Cloud Blue 001 000 0 - 1 5 2
O'Brien and Grossell; Halupczok and Dungan.
WP- O'Brien. LP- Halupczok. HR- none.

ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Winona VFW Buddies gave up six runs in their first game against Rochester East Saturday, losing a 7-2 lead and dropping the game 8-7.

Eric Belter started on the mound for Winona (8-4 First District, 10-9 overall), but left the game in the seventh and things started to unravel. Jason Pehler followed Belter, giving up a bases-loaded triple before making way for Ryan Runkle.

Runkle, who took the loss for the Buddies, hit a batter and gave up four straight walks as Rochester East coasted to a late-game victory.

Belter finished 2-for-4 from the plate while C.J. Spang and Dustin Grossell each connected for a double. Grossell and Matt O'Brien each drove in two runs.

Unfortunately for the Buddies, the ending was much the same in the second game, as they allowed the game-winning run to score in the bottom of the seventh.

The Buddies lost their six-run lead, allowing one run in each of the last three innings to lose Game 2 to Rochester East 7-6.

Andy Biesanz went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI, while Sam Cada knocked in a run and connected for a double. Mark Batell took the loss for Winona.

The Buddies are back in action at 11 a.m. today in Owatonna.

The Winona Daily News

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Matt O'Brien struck out 11 batters as the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team rolled Wednesday night to a 2-0 victory against Rochester North.

O'Brien earned the win for Winona (8-3 First District), throwing a one-hitter and walking one. His tight pitching kept Rochester batters off the base paths and help counterbalance a slow-hitting night for the Buddies.

Eric Belter and Ryan Runkle both finished 2-for-3 from the plate for the Buddies, connecting for four of the seven Winona hits.

But Runkle's RBI single in the first gave Winona a lead it would not relinquish. Tony Ford hit into a fielder's choice in the second inning that scored the second Winona run.

The Buddies are back in action in a doubleheader at 11 a.m. Saturday at Rochester East.

Winona 110 000 0 - 2 7 2
Roch. North 000 000 0 - 0 1 0

By the Winona Daily News
.
One bad inning wasted a great pitching performance by Eric Belter of the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team Sunday at Loughrey Field.

Rochester North scored four runs on three hits, two walks and a Winona error in the top of the first inning to edge the Buddies 4-1 in a First District game.

After the first inning, Belter did not allow another hit. He struck out 12 batters and walked five.

"(Belter) was a little rusty in the first inning," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "He hadn't thrown since last Saturday. He was in control after that."

Winona (6-3 First District, 9-7 overall) couldn't get its offense going all game, as it finished with four hits. Ryan Runkle recorded two of them, including a run-scoring single in the fourth inning.
Belter and Jason Pehler had the other two hits.

"It was a flat effort today by us," Akre said. "Offensively, we're looking for someone to step up."

The Buddies get another shot at Rochester North at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in Rochester.

Rochester North 400 000 0-4 3 1
Winona Buddies 000 100 0-1 4 1
Lager and Sherils; Belter and Grossell. WP-Lager. LP-Belter. HR-none.

By Chris Yarolimek Winona Daily News
.
Hit it where they ain't.

That is the philosophy the Winona VFW baseball team took on to the field Saturday in its doubleheader with Faribault at Loughrey Field. The Buddies rapped out 24 hits in the twin bill, including a total of eight bloop and infield singles.

Winona (6-2 First District, 9-6 overall) cruised behind pitcher Ryan Runkle in the opener, winning 9-0, but dropped the second game 6-5.

"Ryan had a great ball game. He was ahead of his hitters," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "He had control of all three pitches and was changing speeds well."

Faribault (3-6, 6-7-1) coach Steve Christensen agreed.

"We faced a good pitcher in the first game. He got ahead of us," Christensen said. "Our guys came out and wanted to play in the second game."

Runkle scattered five hits and struck out five and walked just one in his complete-game shutout. Every Buddies starter picked up a hit in Game 1, with battery-mates, Runkle and Dustin Grossell, each racking up three. The first seven batters in Winona's order also drove in at least one run.

"Our bats came alive. It was a good team contribution," Akre said. "Guys that were struggling came out and hit the ball."

As for the Texas League singles, Akre said, "I'll take those hits any day."

Faribault starter Nick Rost was beaten up for eight runs on 12 hits. Evan Lund relieved Rost in the fourth inning and allowed just one run on two hits in the final 2 1/3 innings.

The Buddies put the game out of reach in the fourth when they strung together five straight singles to start off the inning and three more with two outs. Grossell, Matt O'Brien and Tony Ford all reached safely on ground balls in the infield and, after a C.J. Spang RBI blooper, Bryan Wanek laced a shot to the gap to plate two more runs.

Winona wasn't finished until it increased its lead to 8-0, before putting the last run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning.

In Game 2, the bats went cold, and coupled with missed signs and mental errors, Winona found itself on the opposite end of a one-run game. The Buddies lost their two-run lead in the fifth inning when Faribault scored three times. Faribault extended its lead to 6-4 in the sixth and Winona answered with a run in the bottom of the inning.

With the score 6-5 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, Winona's starting pitcher Mark Batell got a one-out single to keep the comeback hopes alive. After Sam Cada's two-out hit put runners on first and second, Matt Pflughoeft flew out to deep left field to end the game.

Batell, Cada and Aaron Merchelwitz all had two hits to lead the Buddies. Merchelwitz had an RBI double in the four-run fourth inning and dropped in an RBI single in the sixth.

The leading hitters from the first game - Runkle (3-for-4) and Grossell (3-for-3) - had the second game off. Tyler Phillips and Wanek, each with two hits in the opener, went a combined 0-for-7 in Game 2.

Winona will play a doubleheader against Rochester North at 11 a.m. today.

By Jason Schulte of the Winona Daily News
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Heading into Wednesday's game against Northfield, the Winona VFW baseball team was 0-3 in games decided by two runs or less.

Call it skill, luck or just Bryan Wanek coming through with a big hit, the Buddies reversed their fortune as they pulled out a 2-1 victory at Gabrych Park, thanks to two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

"I'm real proud of the guys' effort," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "They showed a lot of heart. They could've folded in the seventh inning, but they gave it all they had."

Andy Biesanz led off the inning with a walk. Ryan Runkle laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Biesanz to second. Pinch hitter Tyler Philipps was then hit by a pitch, followed by pinch hitter Marc Batell's single to right, which loaded the bases.

Matt O'Brien grounded into a fielder's choice, but Batell beat the throw to second and Biesanz scored the first run. C.J. Spang grounded into a fielder's choice as Philipps was thrown out at home.

On a 0-1 count, Wanek laced a single that right fielder Travis Faust dove for and nearly caught. Batell scored easily to end the game.

For the first five innings, Northfield pitcher Tim Taggart shut down the Buddies. He allowed no hits and three base runners, none of which advanced beyond first base.

"Our offense has been struggling all year," Akre said. "Today, they stepped it up at the right time. We've even been struggling to get guys on base."

The two runs Winona scored saved what was an outstanding effort by pitcher Matt O'Brien. He pitched a complete-game seven-hitter and struck out 12 for the win. He walked one and finished with 105 pitches.

"He had complete command and was getting ahead of the hitters," Akre said. "His off-speed pitches had good movement, plus he was getting half his strikeouts on the high fastball.

"He's a good team player who loves the game and wants to be here. He deserved to win."

O'Brien was dominating against the meat of the Northfield order. Taggart, Brandon Amy and Chris Rossow, hitters 2-4 in the Northfield lineup, were a combined 1-for-10 with eight strikeouts.

Northfield scored its only run in the fifth inning as Taggart laid down a squeeze bunt along the third-base line that scored Bryan Levin.

Wanek led the Winona (5-2 First District, 7-5 overall) offense with two hits, while Pehler, Batell and O'Brien had the other hits.

"We've been on the short end of tight ball games all year," Akre said. "It's nice for the tide to turn our way. I told the guys afterward that the game isn't over until the last out is made. We hope this is a big momentum builder heading into the weekend."

The Buddies play host to Faribault in a doubleheader at 11 a.m. Saturday tentatively scheduled for Winona State University's Loughrey Field.

By Chris Yarolimek Winona Daily News
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The Winona VFW team saw opposite ends of the baseball spectrum Sunday in its non-district doubleheader with Stillwater at Gabrych Park. But it didn't seem to matter if it was a pitcher's duel or an extra-inning hit-fest, the Buddies had their chances, but dropped each.

Ryan Runkle pitched a two-hit complete-game gem in the opener, but was upstaged by Stillwater's Eric Carlson, who allowed just one hit in a 2-0 shutout victory. In the nightcap, the two teams combined to use eight pitchers in a nine-inning battle, but Winona again found itself on the losing end, 9-8.

"We gave them too many opportunities. We let it get away," said Winona coach Travis Akre of the extra-inning second game. "We were up 6-3 and Tyler (Phillips) was pitching good, but he got tired. Then the parade began."

Runkle shined in Game 1, giving up just one earned run while walking three and striking out four. He was also the one that broke up Carlson's no-hitter in the fifth inning.

"It was just a lack of hitting. Now we know what we have ahead of us," Akre said. "It's been our struggle all year. (Saturday) we were fortunate to work around it."

Winona (6-5 overall) didn't send more than four batters to the plate in any inning and just one base runner advanced past second base. Carlson struck out five batters in the game, all in the first three innings.

Jason Pehler, who reached base on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the seventh inning, got things going for the Buddies and flustered Carlson. A balk sent Pehler to second base and a wild pitch put him on third with one out, but Carlson was able to retire the last two Winona batters.

Third basemen Alex Johnson single handily got Stillwater out of the fourth and fifth innings with a pair of spectacular double-plays.
With one on and no outs in the fourth, Johnson made a great play on a line drive up the line that could have meant extra-bases for Pehler, but instead turned into two outs as Johnson threw to first base to double-up Bryan Wanek.
In the fifth, Phillips tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but Johnson made a full-out dive to catch the ball on the fly and fired it over to first base to pick off Runkle, who started off the inning with a hit.

Winona bounced back in Game 2, jumping out to a 5-2 lead that was extended to 6-3 before Pehler got into trouble in his relief appearance in the sixth inning. Stillwater rattled off four hits to score five runs and knock Pehler out of the game after 2/3 of an inning.

The Buddies got one back in the bottom of the sixth inning and Ben Gordon drove in his second run of the game with a single in the seventh to tie the game at 8-8. But Stillwater was able to manufacture the game-winner in the top ninth. For the second straight game Winona had a glimmer of hope in the final inning, as hot-hitting Gordon leadoff with a double, but the next three batters were set down, stranding Gordon on third.

Gordon led the Buddies in the nightcap, going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Matt O'Brien was 2-for-5 with an RBI and Sam Cada added an RBI double in the first inning. As a pinch-runner in the fifth inning, C.J. Spang stole second and third base and trotted home when the Stillwater catcher's pick-off attempt sailed into left field.

Winona will play host to Northfield at 5:30 at Gabrych Park.

By the Winona Daily News
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WASECA, Minn. - Eric Belter and Mark Batell each tossed complete-game victories for the Winona VFW team in its sweep of Waseca on Saturday. Belter struck out 15 in the opener, leading Winona to a 15-2 win. Batell was strong in aiding the Buddies to a 16-4 victory in the nightcap.

"Belter threw well. He worked himself out of a jam in the first inning and was rolling after that," Buddies coach Travis Akre said. "His breaking ball was biting nicely."

Winona scored in every inning of the doubleheader, except the fifth inning of the first game. Bryan Wanek and Jason Pehler led the Buddies' 28-hit explosion by each going 6-for-10 from the plate. Wanek drove in six runs, and Pehler had four RBI and three doubles.

C.J. Spang was 2-for-3 with three RBI in game 1, with Belter helping his own cause going 2-for-4 with a double. Tyler Phillips had four hits in the twin bill, with Matt Pflughoeft picking up two in the first game and Batell and Travis Hengel recording two in game 2.
Batell and Hengel also each drove in a pair in the second game.

"It was a good confidence builder. We just put the ball in play and made them do the work," Akre said. "We were missing three starters and we had a few guys stepping in nicely.

"(Batell) did well on the mound. He got ahead of hitters and made Waseca hitters chase bad pitches."

The opening game victory upped the Buddies First District record to 4-2 and the sweep increased their overall mark to 6-3. Winona will play host to Stillwater at 1 p.m. today at Gabrych Park.

Winona 112 204 5-15 14 0 Waseca 200 000 0-2 2 6
Belter and Grossell, J. Kaminski, Miller (5) and S. Kaminski.
WP-Belter. LP-J. Kaminski. HR-none.

Winona 214 72-16 14 2 Waseca 102 10-4 7 7
Batell and Hengel, LaRue, Miller (5) and Seliger. WP-Batell. LP-LaRue. HR-none.

By Chris Yarolimek of the Winona Daily News
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Winona VFW pitcher Matt O'Brien was one strike away from getting himself out of yet another jam Tuesday at Loughrey Field and in the process, stranding Red Wing runner on third base for the fourth time.

O'Brien did fire a strike, but Zac Laffey stroked it to right-center field to drive in the game-winning run in the top of the eight inning and give Red Wing a 2-1 win.

"(Laffey) hit a good pitch and he ended up driving it the other way," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "We had a little miscommunication in the last inning. Our bunt defense gave them second base and an opportunity for them to score."

O'Brien, in his second start of the season, relied on great pitch placement and a solid defensive performance behind him in his eight innings of work. After getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, O'Brien continued to bring strikes to the plate and watch as the outs were recorded behind him.

"It was a well-played game with great pitching performances from both teams," said Akre, whose team had nine ground ball outs in the first five innings. "(O'Brien) worked his way out of a few jams and got some clutch putouts at home."

O'Brien gave up two runs on eight hits. He struck out four batters and walked three while hurling 139 pitches.

Red Wing got things going in the top of the sixth inning when Ryan Plonsky's grounder to third base was overthrown at first. Three straight singles brought one run home, but the go-ahead run was gunned out at the plate by center fielder Jason Pehler. O'Brien got the next two batters to pop out.

The seventh inning again began with a Buddies infield error, but ended with yet another play at the plate. Dave Jenson, who was thrown out in the sixth inning, lined a grounder that Eric Belter couldn't handle at first base, but when it deflected off of Belter and into shallow right field, second basemen Bryan Wanek came up throwing to stop Eric Lange from scoring. Buddies catcher Dustin Grossell applied another perfect tag and Winona (3-2 First district, 4-3 overall) was out of the inning with the scored tied.

Red Wing stranded nine base runners on the day.

"Offensively we're struggling. We are yet to have a big inning," Akre said. "We've worked on some things at practice, but we're not being patient enough at the plate. We need to be more disciplined."

The top of the Buddies order came through with hits, but it had trouble stringing any together. When Wanek and Pehler did have back-to-back singles, Winona was able to score a run. Pehler's single in the bottom of the third inning drove in Wanek, who scored from second base after advancing on a pass ball.

Wanek led the way for the Buddies, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and Pehler, C.J. Spang and Ryan Runkle had the only other Winona hits.

Lange, O'Brien's counterpart on the mound, also had a solid outing. In eight innings, Lange allowed just one run on five hits, while striking out three and walking none.

Dan Halder led Red Wing with his 2-for-3 performance from the plate. Halder drove in its first run in the sixth inning and scored the game-winner in the eighth off the bat of Laffey.

The Buddies will play a doubleheader at Waseca at 11 a.m. Saturday and play host to Stillwater for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Sunday.

By the Winona Daily News
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ROCHESTER, Minn. - Jason Pehler's grand slam homer and Matt O'Brien's solid pitching gave the Winona VFW Buddies a 4-1 victory over Rochester South Saturday in a First District game.

In the non-league second game, South pulled out a 13-5 win.
Pehler's third-inning home run provided all the offense for Winona (2-0 league, 2-1 overall) in the first game. South scored its lone run in the second inning.

O'Brien scattered three hits for the win. Tony Ford added a double for the Buddies, who finished with six hits.

"O'Brien pitched well enough to win," Winona coach Travis Akre said. "I was happy with the first game. It was an important league game to get."

South broke the second game open by scoring six runs in the fifth inning on four walks, a hit batter and a bases-clearing triple. Winona led 4-3 going into the inning.

Matt Pflughoeft and Tyler Philipps were both 2-for-3 for the Buddies in Game 2, while C.J. Spang went 2-for-4.

Winona plays at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Northfield.

FIRST GAME
Winona 004 000 0-4 6 1
Rochester South 010 000 0-1 3 1
O'Brien and Grossell; Heydt and Claude.
WP-O'Brien. LP-Heydt. HR-Pehler (W).

SECOND GAME
Winona 011 200 1- 5 9 2
Rochester South 101 064 x-13 10 2
Philipps, Batell (5), Pehler (6) and Hengel; Townsend, Nesler (4) and Claude, Senne (4).
WP-Nesler. LP-Philipps. HR-none.

AUSTIN, Minn. - Eric Belter picked up right were he left of at Cotter High School baseball team with a seven-strikeout performance in the Winona VFW squad's season opener Wednesday - a 5-2 victory over Austin.

The Buddies struck first, with a run in the opening inning, but three Winona errors in the bottom half of the first helped the Packers tie the score. Neither team could manufacture any offense until the fifth, when Belter helped his own cause with a bases-clearing double, giving him three RBI.

Austin (0-1) had trouble with Belter, who walked one and allowed four hits in his six innings of work. Matt O'Brien closed the door in the seventh, picking up the save.

Winona (1-0) was led by Jason Pehler at the plate, finishing 2-for-4. Catcher Dustin Grossell added a double for the Buddies, who will travel to Mayo Field at 11 a.m. Saturday to face Rochester South.

Winona 100 022 0-5 9 4
Austin 100 010 0-2 4 1
Belter, O'Brien (7) and Grossell; Van Proosle, Cavanaugh (4), Wiechmann (7) and Swank. WP-Belter. LP-Cavanaugh. HR-none.

By Jim Kohner Winona Daily News
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An 18-10 record just won't cut it this year for the Winona VFW Buddies baseball team - not with the talent that second-year coach Travis Akre has.

When the Buddies open their season at Austin today, Akre will have many new faces in the lineup. But just because they're inexperienced at the VFW level doesn't mean they won't be good. According to the coach, they'll be very good.

"We talked about being more goal-oriented all year," Akre said. "We folded last year in the playoffs. That was from a lack of concentration all year. This team has very high goals for the season.

"Their goal is to get to the state tournament. We feel we have a shot with Rochester being split up into four teams. We want to finish on top of the league and avoid that out-game."

The reason for Akre's optimism is obvious. He has a talented and deep pitching staff, plus a defense he'll put up against any other VFW team.

"We have 12 guys that we can throw at any time," Akre said. "You can never have enough pitching. That's a good problem to have."

The pitching staff will be led by Eric Belter and Matt O'Brien, two of the top hurlers from the Cotter High School varsity team this spring, along with Ryan Runkle, the ace of the Winona Senior High School B-squad team.

Also looking to contribute on the mound are Jason Pehler, Andy Biesanz, Tyler Philipps and Mark Batell.

"Pitching is our biggest strength," Akre said. "I think we have a solid defense and great leadership from our 16-year-olds.

"Offensively, hopefully we can come together. I don't see one guy sticking out. We look to have a different standout every game. We have a lot of team speed. We're looking to be very aggressive this year."

Belter will get the start in today's opener. Dustin Grossell will start behind the plate, with Biesanz at first base, Bryan Wanek at second, O'Brien at shortstop and Matt Pflughoeft at third. In the outfield will be Runkle, Pehler and C.J. Spang. Tony Ford will be the designated hitter.

Providing depth for the Buddies will be Sam Cada, Ben Gordon and Aaron Merchlewitz in the outfield, Philipps and Batell in the infield and Travis Hengel behind the plate.

"We'll go as far as our pitching takes us," Akre said. "I have confidence in our defense and confidence in our hitting. Now we have to put it all together."