Muskies making up for rain-outs

(This is the first of three stories about three area adult baseball teams. Stories on the Sartell Stone Poneys and the St. Stephen Steves will be published in the near future.)

by Dennis Dalman

editor@thenewsleaders.com

After its first five scheduled games were rained out, the Sartell Muskies baseball team has a lot of catching up to do but as far as winning, so far so good.

The team won the Omann Insurance Tournament in Sartell Champion Field, the annual tournament hosted by the Muskies and the St. Stephen Steves. It was the fifth time the Muskies won the at-home tournament since its founding in 2007. In early June at the Omann Invitational, the Muskies beat out Bemidji, Isanti, Luxemburg, Ortonville, Mora, St. Stephen and Watkins.

“This season we got started basically a month later than usual because of the rain-outs,” said Muskies manager Randy Beckstrom. “We played 11 games so far and have about 14 more to play before the playoffs start July 22. The weather! Rain and more rain. It caused so many cancellations, postponements so now we’re packing games in.”

The Sartell Muskies were twice state champs – in 1992 and 2013.

Beckstrom is rightfully proud to be team manager. Raised in Sartell, he graduated from Sartell High School in 1989 and immediately joined the Muskies that year and became a superb pitcher. Now 46, he’s been a member of it every season for 29 years. The Muskies, he said, are fortunate because they have a roster of excellent players, a roster that remains pretty much the same year after year. That makes for camaraderie, strong bonding, coordination, consistency and continuity – all so vital for the Muskies’ ongoing success. In such a mobile world, with people moving here, there and elsewhere, many teams have a rather frequent turnover of players.

The Muskies prides itself on being a family, a close-knit team.

“We keep ourselves together,” Beckstrom said. “We’re pretty much the same team year after year, but just recently Andrew Deters (long-time player) moved to Minneapolis because his wife is going to school there. Deters was the second baseman. We’re going to miss him.”

Beckstrom is the only remaining Muskie from the team that won the 1992 state championship, but he still sometimes sees team members from that time.

“There’s always a special bond among team members who win a state championship,” Beckstrom said. “I love seeing the guys I used to play ball with. I still bump into them now and then.”

Beckstrom is an over-the-road distributor for a countertop-materials industry – Jaeckle Distributors of Madison, Wis. and works out of its Eagan office. He and his wife, Shanna Rogers, were married some years ago at a ceremony right in the heart of his long-time stomping grounds – Sartell Champion Baseball Field.

He has two children from a previous marriage – Brady, 18; and Brooke, 15. He and Shanna also have a daughter named Lilly, 7.

Background

The Sartell Muskies are a “C” amateur baseball team that plays in the 15-team Lakewood League. It’s a member of the Sartell Baseball Association and of the Minnesota Baseball Association.

Mostly, Muskies players came from Sartell youth and high-school programs, although some are current or former college players at the NCAS Division II, Division III and junior-college levels.

The Muskies were formed 38 years ago, in 1979, spearheaded by Rip Rassier, who is still very much a gung-ho Muskies fan. In its early years, the team was a member of the Sauk Valley League, and from the get-go the team was a winner, making it to the state tournament in its first two seasons.

At first, the Muskies played home games on what is now the primary Sartell Middle School field. In 1981, Muskie Field (now Champion Field) opened, thanks to a huge amount of fundraising and volunteer work, which has continued through the years to make improvements and other updates.

The land for Muskie Field was donated by the City of Sartell. It was named Champion Field in 1995 after Champion Paper Mill donated badly needed lights for the field.

The project to create Muskie Field was undertaken by a hard-working, committed group of men and their wives: Rip Rassier, Urban Frank, Larry Traut, Dave Guggenberger Sr., Tom Gaughan, Jim Ohotto and Harold Perry.

Roster

The members of the Muskies are as follows, alphabetically:

Beckstrom, Chris Belling, Tim Burns, David Deminsky, Braeden Dykhuizen, Austin Gohl, Max Koprek, Grant Lahn, Grant Mackenthun, Jonah Nebosis, Dan O’Connell, Riley O’Connell, Jace Otto, Cody Partch, Adam Schellinger, Brian Schellinger, Shawn Schoen, John Schumer, Paul Schumer, Jake Sweeter, Luke Sweeter, Travis Weaver and Adam Wenker.

The longest-term members are Beckstrom, 29 years; O’Connell (Dan), 18 years; Schoen, 22 years; Burns, 14 years; Schellinger (Adam), 13 years; Schellinger (Brian) and Weaver, 12 years; and Deminsky, 10 years. Many of the others have been with the team for more than five years.

Upcoming games

The Muskies will compete in the Farming Tournament with the first game at 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 23.

Other upcoming games include:

• 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 28 Foley Lumberjacks (league game), Sartell Champion Field.
• 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 30. Kimball Express (non-league game), Champion Field.
• 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 2, Clear Lake Lakers (league game), Champion Field.
• 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 5. Sartell Stone Poneys (league game), Champion Field.

Other teams the Muskies will soon play are the Becker Bandits, the Albertville Villains and the Cold Spring Rockies.

For a full schedule, visit the Muskies’ website at www.sartellmuskies.com.