Although Hadley was not able to win its first-round state-tournament game Saturday (August 17) against the Cologne Hollanders, the atmosphere at the beautiful ballpark in Delano was festive and baseball fans were treated to a good ball game in the bright sunshine.
One bad inning did the Buttermakers in. After knotting the score at 1-1 with a couple of hits and a Cologne error in the bottom of the fifth, Hadley had an error — followed by three straight Cologne hits — and fell behind 5-1 after seven innings. It could have been 6-1, but a dandy relay from center fielder Justin Benda to shortstop Derek Platt to catcher Trent Carlson cut down the run and the plate and brought the Buttermakers up to bat.
Hadley was able to score just one more run and ended up on the short end of a 5-2 score, ending another fine season for the Buttermakers who again “peaked” at playoff time.
Benda had a couple of great catches in center field and stroked a pair of hits as both he and veteran outfielder Joe Larson played stellar all-around games. Larson had a key hit, scored a run, made a couple of spectacular catches in right field and gunned down a runner at the plate early in the game with a terrific throw all the way home.
I enjoyed watching the Buttermakers at another state tournament and (with son Chad) was also able to travel to Maple Lake and see two games. After watching the Perham Pirates finally edge the host Maple Lake Lakers in 12 innings of competitive action (Perham won a walkoff homer over the left-field fence in the bottom of the 12th, 6-5), we watched a short-handed Luverne squad (only 11 of their players and one drafted pitcher) earn a hard-fought 4-3 win over the Carver Black Sox to stay alive in the tournament.
The Redbirds will now tangle with pre-tournament favorite New Market at Maple Lake Sunday (August 25) with game time scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Fairmont plays Lake City Saturday (the 24th), also at Maple Lake, beginning at 1:30 p.m. The Martins and Redbirds are among the 32 Class C teams remaining.
Raymond, a perennial state-tournament entrant, plays Perham in Maple Lake Sunday, following the Luverne vs. New Market game, at approximately 7 p.m. The Rockets have drafted Starbuck ace Austin VerSteeg to bolster their pitching staff. Austin is the grandson of Dean Garoutte of Heron Lake. He is the oldest son of Dean’s youngest daughter, Denise, and was a recent three-sport star at Minnewaska High School.
Denise graduated from Heron Lake-Okabena-Lakefield in its first-year of existence in the spring of 1988 after playing sports for the HL-O Scarlet Knights before becoming a Silver Bullet as a senior. Denise and husband Randy VerSteeg live in Starbuck and Austin pitches for Concordia College in Moorhead in the spring and for the Starbuck Stars (“Town Ball”) in the summer.
Speaking of the state amateur baseball tournament — it’s a better deal than a Minnesota Twins game. The admission charge of $7 got you into both games — we saw one in Delano and two in Maple Lake — and the concessions were good and reasonably priced.
Compare that to a Twins ticket at $60 and concession prices that are absolutely unrealistic. A hamburger (with mandatory fries) cost $14 at Target Field.
I’ve said this before. I don’t understand why anyone would rather go to a Timberwolves game — with those high-priced tickets and over-priced concessions — than to a high school state-tournament basketball game. Yet, the crowds for the Timberwolves are much larger than they are at the state-tournament games at the same venue. I still think that Williams Arena is where all of the state basketball tournament should be played.
So, the same is true of amateur baseball — it’s the best deal in town. During the regular season, we charge $3 for home games at Laker Field in Heron Lake. Most people don’t scoff at that — but some do. Really $3 to see your locals play compared to how much to watch the overpaid professionals.
It costs a lot of money to operate an amateur baseball team through a 12-week long season. Two umpires usually get $90 apiece. So that alone is a big expense. I’ve told complaining fans that they don’t need to pay $3 to get in, but they will have to umpire one inning. I’ve had few takers on that one — but, as always, I do hear some “umpiring” from the stands, just like what happens during a high school basketball game.
Have a good week as summer continues to wind down. The Twins are still in first place after winning four straight games in the Texas heat at Arlington. Cleveland split its series with the Yankees.
The newly-paired Heron Lake-Okabena and Fulda High School volleyball team swings into action Thursday (August 22), hosting Worthington at Okabena. HL-O’s cross country teams run at Fairmont Friday morning (August 23) and “Meet the Coyotes” night is Monday, the 26th for both volleyball and football.
Adrian opens its football season at Tyler (against Russell-Tyler-Ruthton) on Thursday evening,
August 29. Murray County Central hosts Yellow Medicine the same night and HL-O / Fulda hosts Hills-Beaver Creek (at Fulda), also on Thursday, the 29th.
Adrian, MCC / Fulda and HL-O all run in the huge Paul Metcalf Invitational cross country meet at the Mountain Lake Golf Course on Wednesday morning August 28.
