Milaca claims
second place
at state meet
Posted 8/1/02

Milaca extended the Minnesota Baseball Alliance Tier II State Tournament to the limit before losing to Eagan 4-3 in the championship game Monday night under the lights at Winsted.

The tournament is for players ages 16 and under and games are seven innings.

Milaca won the MBA West Division regular-season crown with a 15-1 record.

It opened its bid at the state tournament by stopping Dassel-Cokato 7-5 Saturday, July 20 and Howard Lake 4-3 Sunday, July 21.

That advanced Milaca to the winners bracket semifinals in the double-elimination tournament where it lost to Eagan 5-2 Wednesday, July 24, also at Winsted.

Still alive, Milaca roared back with four-straight wins to gain the championship game.

Milaca tipped the Annandale Stars 2-1 Saturday, then topped Big Lake 11-3 and Dassel-Cokato 9-4 Sunday.

The win over Dassel-Cokato advanced Milaca to a showdown against Eagan Monday night.

Milaca, with one loss in the double-elimination meet, needed to defeat unbeaten Eagan twice to win the state crown.

Milaca kept its title hopes alive by topping Eagan 4-3 early Monday evening, forcing one more game.

Eagan then won the title by edging Milaca 4-3.

"The team came up with a great effort in the tournament," said Coach Roger Loegering. "We bounced back from the loss in the semifinals and extended the tournament as far as it could go.

"It was a great way to follow up our regular-season title."

Eagan 5, Milaca 2

Eagan, behind four runs in the second inning, built a 5-0 lead before Milaca rallied for two runs in the seventh inning.

Milaca scored its seventh-inning runs behind consecutive singles by Chris Larsen, Lee Plath and Levi Plath.

Andy Kotsmith, Tony Thompson and Josh Loegering also had singles for Milaca.

Thompson, a right-hander, pitched the distance, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out two.

Milaca 2, Annandale 1

Milaca broke a 1-1 tie and scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the sixth inning when Thompson led the frame off with a double, then scored on a single by Loegering.

Thompson also had a single and a walk while Kotsmith had a pair of singles and two stolen bases to lead Milacaís offense.

Loegering, a right-hander, pitched the first four innings, allowing just one run, three hits and one walk while striking out two. Thompson, who picked up the win, pitched three innings, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out two.

Milaca 11, Big Lake 3

Milaca broke a 1-1 deadlock by scoring four runs in the bottom of the third inning and six more in the bottom of the fourth frame.

Lee Plath led off Milacaís fourth-inning explosion with a single. Steven Vedders followed with a single before Levi Plath singled to drive home his brother. Kotsmith followed with a two-run single. Ben Johnson walked and Thompson followed with a two-run single. The final run of the inning was scored on a sacrifice fly by Loegering.

The game was called after five innings because of an eight-run rule.

Johnson, a right-hander, pitched the first four innings to gain the win, allowing three runs, four hits and two walks while striking out seven. Thompson blanked Big Lake over the final inning, allowing no hits or walks.

Kotsmith, Thompson and Levi Plath each had a pair of singles to lead Milacaís 10-hit attack.

Outfielders Lee Plath, Larsen and Vedders paced Milacaís defense.

Milaca 9, Dassel-Cokato 4

Milaca topped its six-run inning against Big Lake by scoring seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning against Dassel-Cokato.

Johnson started the inning with a single, then scored on a double by Thompson. Fetters, Loegering, and Larsen also had run-scoring doubles in the inning.

The outburst broke a 2-2 tie and gave Milaca a 9-2 lead. Dassel-Cokato cut the final margin to 9-4 by scoring twice in the top of the seventh inning. Milaca had also scored solo runs in the first and third innings.

Kotsmith cracked three singles and Thompson had a double and a single to lead Milacaís 12-hit attack.

Thompson pitched the first four innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out three. Fetters then pitched one-third of an inning, allowing no hits and two walks.

Levi Plath, who picked up the win, then pitched one and two-thirds innings, allowing one hit and no walks. Johnson pitched the final frame, allowing three hits and no walks.

Milaca 4, Eagan 4

Milaca took an early lead by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning and it proved to be enough for Loegering and Johnson, who shared pitching duties.

Loegering pitched the first four innings to notch the win. He allowed six hits and five walks while striking out three. Johnson pitched the final three innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Fetters and Lee Plath each had a two-run double to account for Milacaís first-inning runs. Kotsmith finished with three singles.

Eagan 4, Milaca 3

Milaca took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning behind a two-run double by Fetters and a run-scoring single by Larsen.

However, Eagan rallied by scoring a run in the second and three more in the fifth inning.

Loegering pitched the first four frames, allowing three runs, 12 hits and no walks. Johnson pitched the final three innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk while fanning two.

Thompson had three singles in Milacaís seven-hit attack.

Milaca finished the season with a 21-3 overall record.

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This was the first season for the Milaca Micky Mantle (16-and-under) team and Coach Loegering was grateful for the help the team received.

"Weíre grateful to the Milaca Baseball Association for organizing the team, setting up the schedule and providing us with equipment," said Loegering. "Iím grateful to the parents for their support and getting the boys to practices and games and Iím grateful to the local businesses that financially supported the baseball association.

"I believe the program was well worth the investment. It gave the boys something that was positive and fun to do during the summer.

"I also want to thank the team members for their positive encouragement to each other, their good attitudes and sportsmanship and their hard play. Several other coaches commented on the good group of boys we had. They represented Milaca very well. And, I want to thank my coaches, Phil Thompson and Jim Plath."