Farmington and Osseo advance in Legion Baseball Div. I State Tournament

By John Sherman Published August 14, 2024

Department Commander Carl Moon, third from right, stands with the players and coaches of Farmington Post 189 and the championship trophy on Aug. 4 after defeating Osseo 2-1 at Gleason Fields in Maple Grove. The Tigers are coached by Kevin Conrad, Mason Conrad and Jay Parsons. Mankato Post 11 National won third place, beating Forest Lake Post 225 by a score of 11-2. Read more about the Div. I Sr. State Tournament in The Gazette at mnlegion.org/the-gazette/ and see the tournament results bracket by going to minnesotalegionbaseball.com. Find out how the teams did in West Fargo by visiting legion.org/baseball and checking the schedule.

The Tigers beat Orioles 2-1 in state title game

MAPLE GROVE — The 24th victory of the season for the Farmington Post 189 team gave the Tigers a berth in the Central Plains Regional in West Fargo, N.D. The 25th victory made Farmington the 2024 Div. I champ.

That’s because Minnesota gets to send two teams, not just one, to the regional. The runner-up this year was Osseo Post 172.

Though rain and lightning caused changes to the schedule of the 16-team tournament, the weather was perfect Sunday, Aug. 4, for the championship game at Gleason Fields, which lasted only an hour and 37 minutes with Farmington beating Osseo 2-1.

Jim Peck, on the right, who has been involved in Legion Baseball for 61 years, hands the Outstanding Player Award for the Div. I State Tournament to Farmington’s Trevor Rasmusson, who successfully reached base 12 times in a row. On the left is Department Commander Carl Moon.

“This is Farmington’s first trip to a regional,” head coach Kevin Conrad said following a 13-7 win over Forest Lake Post 225 in the semifinal game. The semifinal actually began on Saturday night at 7:04 p.m., but lightning in the sky over the park caused the game to be halted for almost 45 minutes.

Teams finished the semifinal Sunday morning, Aug. 4. Then the third-place game was held, with Mankato Post 11 National beating Forest Lake Post 225 by a score of 11-2.

In the title game that same day, Farmington pitcher Kelin Rasmussen was solid through the first five innings and Dillon Carlson finished the last two frames.

“This is a moment to remember,” Rasmussen said after the game. “I took the opportunity today and ran with it.”

What was working for the righthander?

“My two-seam fastball, my four-seam fastball and my slider,” he said. “And I threw a few change-ups to their left-handed hitters.”

His fastball was arriving at the plate at about 90 miles per hour.

“We have another week of baseball and a chance to finish the summer on a good note,” Coach Conrad said. “Everybody has a job to do,”

With a deep pitching staff, Farmington has a chance to go deep in the regional Aug. 7-11. The ultimate experience would be a trip to the American Legion World Series in North Carolina. But it will be one game at a time.

“We want our pitchers to throw strikes, pitch to contact and let the defense go to work,” Coach Conrad said. “I am looking forward to another week with the boys.”

Larry Hop, a member of Osseo-Maple Grove 172 who has been involved in the baseball program for many years, tosses out the first pitch at the Div. I title game in Maple Grove.

Morning rain upset the tournament schedule on Thursday, Aug. 1. Three of the four fields — Osseo Memorial, Delano Municipal and St. Michael Lower Rec — had to reschedule games. Only Gleason Fields remained on track. That’s because it has an artificial turf field. Maple Grove and Burnsville played a particularly wet game, with Maple Grove winning 8-6.

Fridley Post 303 Gold took home the Father David Moran Sportsmanship Trophy. Trevor Rasmusson of Farmington received the Fred Wannamaker Most Outstanding Player Award. At one point, he reached base 12 times in a row, two of which were doubles.

REGIONAL UPDATE: Osseo lost its first two games at the regional in West Fargo. In the double-elimination tournament, Farmington was among the final three. It lost to Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Swisher), then played its way back into contention by defeating Papillion South, Neb., then lost to eventual regional champ Fargo, which had a home crowd.

Joe Bares
Coaches and players with Sleepy Eye Post 7 hold the championship flag and pose with the trophy on Aug. 4 at Lions Memorial Field in Bird Island after defeating Glenwood-Lowry Posts 187 & 253 by a score 7-4. Fosston Post 114 won third place 6-0, defeating Rushford Post 94. New London-Spicer Posts 537 & 545 was the consolation champion, winning 6-5 over Le Sueur-Henderson Posts 55 & 74. This is the second year in a row Sleepy Eye won it. Coaches for Sleepy Eye are Zach Haala, Jackson Huiras, Luke Mielke, Aaron Nesvold and Brandon Streich. Bruce Woitas is the team manager. Past Department Commander Paul Hassing was at the tournament for its duration.

Div. II

The Div. II State Tournament was held in Bird Island at Lions Memorial Field, where Sleepy Eye Post 7 defeated Glenwood-Lowry Posts 187 & 253. Fosston Post 114 captured third with a 6-0 win over Rushford Post 94.

Sleepy Eye started the tournament by beating a tough New London-Spicer team 5-0, which went on to capture the consolation prize. Then Sleepy Eye faced Fosston, winning 4-3, before winning the title by a score of 7-4.

The eight-team tournament was held Aug. 2-4. Arian Saenz of Sleepy Eye received the Tony Sipe Most Outstanding Player Award. Rushford received the Rocky Wedin Sportsmanship Trophy.

Jack Scott
The title of champion for the Div. I Junior Tournament, held at Red Haddox Field in Bloomington, went to Becker Post 193, which won 14-8 over Fergus Falls Post 30. The tournament doesn’t have a third place game. Still, a third place plaque is given, and it went to New Ulm Post 132, as they were the last one still standing besides Becker and Fergus Falls.

Div. I Jr.

Becker Post 193 took home the Div. I Jr. title at Red Haddox Field in Bloomington on Aug. 4 with a victory over Fergus Falls Post 30.

Fergus Falls seemed to be in the driver’s seat, having beaten Becker 7-2 on Aug. 3 in the double-elimination tournament. However, when it came time for the title game, Becker, after knocking out New Ulm 8-3, won 4-1, handing Fergus its first loss. That meant a second and true title game was played, with Becker winning 14-8.

The Ron Nenovich Sportsmanship Award went to Chanhassen Post 580. The Jim Peck Most Outstanding Player Award went to Riley Girard of Becker.

Div. II Jr.

The Minnesota American Legion Baseball Div. II Jr. State Tournament took place in St. Charles on Aug. 9-11. Watch for an update next week.

Div. I-A

Minnesota American Legion Baseball this year expanded the Tier 1-A tournament to be the Div. I-A tournament, increasing its prominence and allowing second squads and teams from schools with mid-level enrollments to compete. It was held July 29-Aug. 1 at Alimagnet Park in Burnsville.

What’s a second squad? Some places support multiple teams, with the second or third team having a name or color, such as Eden Prairie #2 or St. Michael Golds. As for mid-level enrollments, that means teams like Zimmerman or Red Wing. They are too large for Div. II but not big enough to truly compete against big-school rosters.

Holy Family Legion won the tournament, made up of players from Holy Family Catholic School in Victoria and sponsored by a baseball association instead of Legion post, which happens in some places without posts.

The team defeated Red Wing Post 54 by a score of 8-0 in the title game of the double-elimination tournament. Holy Family knocked out Richfield Post 435 in a 10-inning game to get there, winning 4-3. Richfield tried to play its way back in but were stopped by Red Wing in a 10-3 contest.