Baseball Director Randy Schaub is pleased with tournament

By John Sherman
From left are Minnesota American Legion Baseball 4th District Director Gail Kalata, Minnesota American Legion Baseball Director Randy Schaub and Minnesota American Legion Commander Linda Dvorak.

ST. MICHAEL — Minnesota State American Legion Baseball Director Randy Schaub looked to the stands at Lower Rec Field in St. Michael Saturday afternoon and smiled.

Those stands were full and the game on the field was progressing smoothly with Grand Rapids leading 3-0 over New Ulm Gold. That’s the way the game ended, and Grand Rapids advanced to the final four on Sunday, Aug. 3, along with East Grand Forks, Fridley Gold and Shakopee.

On one side of Sunday’s bracket is a semifinal between Fridley Gold and Shakopee, the two remaining Twin Cities metro teams. On the other side of the bracket are the two outstate teams, East Grand Forks and Grand Rapids.

Interestingly, three of the four teams hav not previously been a state Legion champion. Grand Rapids won the title in 1975.

“The tournament has gone well,” Director Schaub said. “We have had great weather. The fields are good. The only negative thing is the smoke in the air, but we don’t have any control over that.”

Canadian wildfires have provided the haze in the air, the quality of the air didn’t affect the quality of the play.

On Wednesday, at the Div. I State Tournament Banquet in Medina, Schaub was inducted in the Minnesota American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame.