by Dennis Dalman
The Sartell Muskies baseball team came close – oh so close – at having the chance to win the Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament, but just two days before the Sept. 2 championship match, they lost 0-7 to the Fairmont Martins.
That loss occurred Aug. 31. In Round 2, just a week before that, the Muskies defeated Nisswa 3-1. Earlier, in Round 1 of the tournament, the Muskies were granted a “bye” because they’d previously won the Regional 11C Tournament. The bye meant they and 16 other regional team winners, could skip Round 1 competition and proceed directly to Round 2.
After a Labor Day championship game, the Waconia Lakers vs. the Jordan Brewers, the Brewers won the Class C State Championship with a score of 5-2.
The state tourney games took place on three weekends in three cities: Bell Plaine, Green Isle and Jordan. All told, there were about 30,000 spectators who showed up and about 1,400 players on the fields. There were 48 teams competing in Class C (including the Muskies) and 32 teams in Class B. It was the 101st Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament.
The Sartell Muskies have a lot to be proud of. The teammade it to the state tournament every year in the past 13 years. And since 1979, they competed 20 times at state. They were state champs twice – in 1992 and 2013.
The Muskies’ team is a member of the Sauk Valley West League, along with the St. Joseph Joes, Sartell Stone Poneys, Clear Lake Lakers and Sauk Rapids Cyclones.
This season the Muskies had a 9-3 record. The team is comprised of many seasoned “old-timers” who include Dave Schlangen, who started in 2000, Travis Weaver and Adam Schellinger, 2003; Tim Burns and Brian Schellinger, 2005; and David Deminsky, 2006.
Their coach, Randy Beckstrom, has been with the team for 35 years – since 1989. The team was founded in 1979. The assistant coach is Booner Lewellyn.
In an interview with the Newsleaders, Beckstrom talked about the exhilaration of being able to participate in state-tournament games.
“It’s an exciting time of year,” he said. “We’ve done it every year for the past 13 years. Our team is a mixture of older and younger players who bond as a team to achieve a common goal.”
The members of the Sartell Muskies’ baseball team are (front row, left to right) Levi Lampert, Brett Schlangen, Jake Gruebele, Jace Otto, Cody Partch, Ben Berscheid, Carsen Gross, Austin Henrichs, Riley Arndt, Jacob Merrill, TJ Harren (back row) Booner Lewellyn, Andrew Deters, Wesley Johnson, Peter Schumer, Adam Schellinger, David Deminsky, Tim Burns, Brian Schellinger, John Schumer, Grant Mackenthun, Adam Wenker, Andrew Ritter and Randy Beckstrom.
