by Dennis Dalman
Once again, for the 12th time in a row, the Sartell Muskies have qualified to compete in the Minnesota Class C Amateur Baseball State Tournament. It will be their 20th appearance at the state tournament.
The team is now the champion of Region 11C after defeating the Luxemburg Brewers 4-0 in 10 innings Aug. 12. Muskies pitcher John Schumer threw 95 pitches throughout the game and gave up only two hits.
The state tournament is now in its 100th year and will take place in the ballparks of Delano, Dassel and Litchfield. They will take place on three consecutive weekends and will finish on Labor Day. There are 48 teams in Class B and Class C competing at the tournament throughout the entire state.
“The Muskies are so much fun,” said Dean Schellinger who has two sons on the team, Adam and Brian, and who is an announcer for the Muskies’ games. “They’re a great bunch of guys. Some have been on the team for so long, and when they win like this, it’s more of an accomplishment than ever.”
This season, the Muskies earned a remarkable winning streak, with 24 wins and only five losses, which included both regular season games and playoff titles in the Sauk Valley League. The Muskies won that league title.
The Sartell Muskies team was founded in 1979 and made it to the state tournament in its first two seasons. In its early years, it was a member of the Sauk Valley League but later joined the 15-team Lakewood League.
The Sartell Muskies is a class C amateur team and a member of the Minnesota Baseball Association. Its team members are mostly from among those who played ball in Sartell youth and high-school programs, and a few are transplanted Sartell residents. Many are current or former players at the NCAAA Division II, Division III and junior-college levels.
The team’s manager is Randy Beckstrom.
The Sartell Muskies baseball team is comprised of (sitting in front) batboy Trevor Schellinger; (first row) Jake Gruebele, Brett Schlangen, Wesley Johnson, Cody Partch, Jace Otto, Ethan Carlson, John Schumer, Jacob Merrill, Austin Henrichs, Andrew Deters; (second row) bench coach Booner Lewellyn, Brian Schellinger, Adam Wenker, Carsen Gross, Grant Mackenthun, Tim Burns, David Deminsky, Adam Schellinger, Travis Weaver, Andrew Ritter, Dave Schlangen and Randy Beckstrom (team manager).
