In baseball, Excelsior, St. Cloud, White Bear Lake, Parkers Prairie, Richfield and Mound won titles; in softball, it was Caledonia

By Tim Engstrom
Excelsior Post 259 Blue players pour water on pitch Adam Perry, who pitched a Legion Baseball championship game even though he had been cut from the Minnetonka High School baseball team in the spring.

NEW ULM — Champions were crowned in seven different American Legion state baseball or softball tournaments this summer.

Before getting into it, here’s a primer: Div. I is based on big and medium schools. Div. II is based on small schools. Div. I-A is a tournament for second teams or the metro-area medium schools. Senior means 19 and under. Junior means 17 and under. Fastpitch softball doesn’t have divisions and is all 19 and under.

In the Minnesota American Legion Baseball Div. I Sr. State Tournament in New Ulm, it was a battle of Lake Minnetonka. The Excelsior Post 259 Blue team defeated the Wayzata Post 118 Wizards by a score of 8-2 on Sunday, Aug. 2.

The Rochester Post 92 Redhawks took third place after the St. Michael Post 567 Mikes forfeited the third-place game.

The Marshall Post 113 Mudcats received the Father David Moran Sportsmanship Trophy. It was a 16-team tournament, and the Mudcats didn’t make it to the final eight. However, the action on Friday, July 31, was impaired by all-day rainfall. In addition to bringing fans by the droves to their games, the Marshall team volunteered to drive home instead of incur lodging costs on Friday night. And some players and coaches helped Springfield prepare Riverside Park for a late game Friday night, going above and beyond expectations.

Other teams reaching the final eight were Grand Rapids Post 60, Brainerd Post 255, Elk River Post 113 and Sartell Post 277.

Excelsior continued on the next weekend to the Central Plains Regional Tournament in Mandan, N.D., whose winner goes to the American Legion World Series.

They came out swinging, beating Mandan 12-5. Surprising everyone, Excelsior defeated powerhouse Lincoln, Neb., East 5-3. However, they fell to a Rapid City, S.D., team 11-5, then faced Lincoln again, losing 16-6. Lincoln went on the World Series.

This year, the director of the ALWS is Minnesota’s own Jeff “Slick” Miller of Moorhead Post 21. Follow the World Series online here or on ESPNU.

The Minnesota American Legion Baseball Div. II Sr. State Tournament was played in Glenwood this year. St. Cloud Post 76 Chutes won 18-8 over Ada Post 26. Parkers Prairie Post 219 captured third place with a 5-3 win over Le Sueur-Henderson Posts 55 & 74. Rushford Post 94 was the consolation winner.

Ada Post 26 was the recipient of the Rocky Wedin Sportsmanship Trophy.

A Caledonia Post 191 softball player receives a recognition.

In Minnesota American Legion Fastpitch Softball action, Caledonia Post 191 took home the title, winning 14-1 over Adams Post 146. Kimball Post 261 took third place over Wayzata Post 118.

Browerville-Clarissa Posts 293 & 213 received the Sportsmanship Award. The tournament took place at College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.

Shifting gears back to baseball, in the Div. I Jr State Tournament, White Bear Lake Post 168 won 13-2 over host Alexandria Post 87 Black in the second title game. They had to play twice because Post 168 had lost early in the tournament to New Ulm Post 132. They fought way back in the double-elimination tournament to take it all.

Their first title game was an 8-4 victory over Alex. Bemidji Post 14 captured third place. Post 168 also received the Ron Nenovich Sportsmanship Trophy.

At the Div. II Jr. State Tournament, Parkers Prairie Post 219 captured the title, beating Olivia-Bird Island Posts 186 & 430 14-11 on Aug. 9. Parkers Prairie also was the host.

Caledonia Post 191 placed third, beating Bagley Post 16. Sleepy Eye Post 7 took fifth place.

The Al David Sportsmanship Trophy went to the Olivia-Bird Island team.

Stay with me. There’s more baseball.

The Div. I-A Sr. State Tournament was held in Burnsville, and the Richfield Post 435 Reds won the title. They won 4-2 over Zimmerman Post 560. Post 435 also received the Sportsmanship Trophy.

The Div. I-A Jr. State Tournament took place in Richfield. By a score of 11-1, the Mound Post 398 White Hawks (better known by the school Westonka) defeated the Minneapolis Roosevelt Teddies.

The Richfield Post 435 team received the Sportsmanship Trophy.