by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
The winning streaks of the St. Joseph Joes and Sartell Muskies continued last weekend at Sartell’s Champion Field, guaranteeing both teams will enter the Class C State Amateur Baseball Tournament.
Last weekend was the beginning of the Region 1C Tournament in Sartell, co-sponsored by the Muskies and the Sartell Stone Poneys. Tournament play will continue this weekend starting at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, when the Joes face off against the Sartell Muskies. If the Joes or the Muskies emerge unscathed from the tournament this weekend, they will get a bye in the state tournament, meaning they won’t have to play in the first weekend of the state tourney.
Three teams from Region 1C will compete in the Class C State Tournament. The other team to do so will be decided this coming weekend.
The Region 1C tournament began last Saturday with eight teams. Rum River and Hinckley were eliminated in play. Now there are six: Joes, Muskies, Braham, Foley, Mora and the Sartell Stone Poneys.
On Saturday, Aug. 13, again at Sartell’s Champion Field, there will be three games played: at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. The next day, Sunday, the championship game will start at 1:30 p.m.
Last weekend was one of the most exciting times that ever took place in the long history of Champion Field. It was a locally historic event because it was the first time a Region 1C tournament was hosted there. Many of the large crowd of about 500 people who attended expressed pride in the facility, which has been a labor of love for many years by so many people who worked to make many improvements at the field. Some of the developers of the field and some of the first players on it from the 1970s attended the tournament last weekend.
On Saturday, the Joes defeated Chisago Lakes, 10-0, with Greg Anderson pitching; next day they defeated Foley Lumberjacks, 10-8, with Joey Stock pitching. All told, eight games were played last weekend.
The Joes season record now stands at 12 wins, 13 losses.
“Last weekend (at Champion Field) was very much a success,” said Muskies Manager Randy Beckstrom. “The crowds were great, volunteers did a wonderful job, the baseball was good and the weather was awesome. It was unbelievable how many people were there. I’ve never seen that field that full before.”
Catering at the concession stand was provided by Trobec’s Bar of St. Stephen, with huge turkey legs and pulled pork the specialties of the weekend.
Kaye Wenker, mother of one of the Muskies’ pitchers/players said she was impressed by the turnout and seeing so many people having fun at Champion Field.
“There were a lot of Little Leaguers there,” she said. “That was good to see. And some of the first workers who made Champion Field in the 1970s were there, and some of the first players on the field were there.”
The Joes celebrate their 10-8 victory Aug. 7 over their biggest rival in the Sauk Valley league, the Foley Lumberjacks, to punch their ticket to the state tournament. Jack Atkinson started on the mound for the Joes, throwing 1-2/3 innings. Lefty Austin Larson, a draftee from the Litchfield Blues, threw four innings of relief, giving up four hits with two recorded strikeouts. Joey Stock was the game-winning pitcher.
