2011 END OF SEASON WRAP-UP

The Alexandria Post 87 Legion baseball team saw its summer season come to a sudden end on Friday as they dropped a pair of games in the District 7 Tournament.  After beating Marshall in a slugfest 24-13 win on Thursday, Alexandria put themselves in the winner's bracket on Friday, but they were unable to capitalize, losing to Litchfield 9-7 and Willmar 10-1.  We just didn't quite play well enough to pull it off, and unfortunately sometimes that happens in baseball.  You can be hot one day, and cold the next.  We need to give credit to our opponents, because they did play some very good baseball and showed a lot of fight.  It was definitely not the way any of our guys wanted to see it end, especially with all of the time they put in this summer as a team, but sometimes that's just how it plays out.  We will do our best to hold our heads high and go back at it as a team next spring and summer.

Game one... Alexandria 24  Marshall 13

The Alexandria Post 87 Legion baseball team opened up the District 7 Tournament with a 24-13 slugfest win over Marshall.  The bats were absolutely on fire tonight as our guys scored their 24 runs in pounding out an incredible 26 hits in the nine inning contest.  Alexandria got a hot start as they got on the board with three in the top of the first off an RBI single by Luc Beireis and a two RBI single by Jordan Domine.  They put up three more in the second with the help of RBI doubles by both Chris Vogeler and Parker Giroux to take an early 6-0 lead.  Marshall was able to rally back, however, as they scored two in the second and six in the third to wipe away that lead, going ahead 8-6 through three innings.  Beau Backhaus entered the game out of the bullpen and was able to slow down the Marshall bats and keep his team in the game from there.  He carried his team into the seventh inning, leaving the game with a 13-12 lead.  Nate Nelson came on in hopes to pick up the big save, and got an aggressive amount of insurance from his offensive teammates.  Over the final four frames, Alexandria put up a ridiculous 18 runs, including five in the sixth, two in the seventh, four in the eighth, and seven in the ninth, cruising to victory from there.  I actually have never seen anything like it.  24 runs on our end, and 37 runs total in the game.  That is unbelievable.  I was really impressed with our seniors, who came up with 21 of our hits.  It was evident that they wanted the win, and they came through for us.  Beau and Nate also did a terrific job for us out of the bullpen to allow us to stay in the game, and our defense did an awesome job of playing defense behind them while they threw strikes.  Overall, a solid effort by our guys as they get themselves into a nice position in the winner's bracket.  On the night, three Alexandria players collected four hits, including Dalton Leuschke, Chris Curry, and Vogeler.  Leuschke and Curry had four RBI each while Vogeler had three.  Eric Carlsen, Giroux, Beireis, and Domine also had impressive nights at the plate as they had three hits each.  Domine drove in five big runs for his team, Giroux scored five times, while Beireis and Carlsen scored four times each.  Aaron Billberg rounded out the hit column as he collected two safeties.  AJ Anderson got the nod on the hill and lasted 2 2/3 innings before giving way to Backhaus, who picked up the win in relief.  Backhaus went four innings allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits and a walk.  He struck out two.  Nelson got the save for Alexandria, going the final 2 1/3 innings allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk, while striking out one Marshall batter.  On a night when the ball was flying all over the park, Alexandria's defense was fantastic.  Our guys committed just one error with lots of hard hit balls, and that was huge.  A gutsy effort by all of our guys, and they hope to keep it rolling tomorrow as they take on Litchfield in the winner's bracket.  Litchfield got there by knocking off number one seed Willmar by a score of 10-5.  Willmar then came back in the late game to send Marshall home for good, beating them by a score of 10-9.  A win would put Alexandria in the driver's seat, putting them into the championship game on Saturday, with the team who gets there needing to beat them twice to advance to the State Tournament.  I was very impressed with how hard our guys played tonight, never taking a play off and running hard through every single base.  We hope to bring that same kind of energy tomorrow, and we will see how it plays out.

Game two... Alexandria 7  Litchfield 9

Alexandria squared off with Litchfield on Friday in the winner's bracket and found themselves in a back and forth battle.  The local nine got on the board first in the fourth inning off a solo blast from Dalton Leushcke, followed by an RBI double by Chris Curry, to put Alexandria up 2-0.  Litchfield was able to answer with one of their own in the bottom half to cut it to 2-1.  Alexandria then struck again in the sixth as Luc Beireis and Chris Curry opened up the frame with singles, and Aaron Billberg delivered a clutch two RBI double to plate them both, making it 4-1.  Litchfield once again answered right back, however, in the bottom half and scored four runs on six hits and a walk to jump ahead 5-4, knocking out starting pitcher Shawn Krueger.  Alexandria showed that they were not ready to give it up, though, as they then scored three runs in the top of the seventh.  Leuschke again opened the frame with a big extra base hit, this time a triple.  Eric Carlsen stepped up and hit him in with a base hit, knotting the game up at 5-5.  Then, with two runners on, Erich Murphy delivered a huge two RBI double to put his team up 7-5, and the momentum appeared to be on their side.  Litchfield though showed some more fight of their own, as they scored one in the bottom half to cut it to 7-6.  After putting Alexandria down in order in the top of the eighth, Litchfield delivered one final big blow as they scored three big runs on three hits and two walks, putting themselves in position to pull it off going ahead 9-7.  Alexandria had one last chance to try to win it in the ninth, but they were unable to come through with the big hit, losing and putting themselves in a tough spot, needing to come right back to play another game in attempt to stay alive.  Krueger got the start on the mound and lasted 5 1/3 innings, cruising through the first five frames.  The Litchfield offense got to him in the sixth, however, and he came out of the game giving up five runs, four earned, on eight hits.  He walked two and struck out three.  Nick Knoblach came on in relief and was tagged with the loss.  He went 1 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits and two walks.  Nate Nelson threw the final inning, allowing one earned run on two hits while striking out one.  Leuschke led the Alexandria offense with three hits, including a triple and a homerun.  Beireis, Curry, and Murphy all had nice games with two hits each, with Murphy driving in two.  Carlsen and Billberg both had one hit each, with Billberg driving in two.  It was a tough loss for our guys, and we really felt we should have gotten this one.  Litchfield did show lots of fight in that every time we scored runs, they were able to come right back and answer with runs of their own.  That is a credit to them, but it was definitely a tough loss.  Alexandria would need to try to come back in the elimination game against Willmar to give themselves a chance to come back the next day for another shot at a couple of wins.

Game three... Alexandria 1  Willmar 10

Perhaps it was not meant to be this year, as Alexandria fell quietly in the elimination game to Willmar by a score of 10-1.  Things didn't go our way early, as Willmar was able to score four runs in the top of the first and never looked back.  Maybe our guys were out of gas after a couple of long nine-inning games, but you can always try to dig deep and find it... it just didn't work out for us.  Logan Serum got the nod on the mound for Alexandria, lasting just 3 2/3 innings and was tagged with the loss.  In his work, he allowed eight runs, just three of which were earned, on eight hits.  He walked two and struck out one.  Nick Knoblach came on and did a fantastic job of keeping his team in the game.  He went the final 5 1/3 innings and allowed just two earned runs on four hits and a walk.  He struck out two.  We just didn't quite play well enough today to get the job done... pitching, defense, offense.  This was a day where not much was going for us, and it turned into a couple of losses.  That's how baseball goes sometimes, but we can always learn from it.  Next time around, our guys can just try to do better and play harder, things always happen for a reason.  I know they will work hard to go get it next time.  At the plate, the lone bright spot was senior Eric Carlsen, as he had two hits in the game, including a solo homerun over the center field fence in the second inning.  We were also very proud of him as coaches for his hustle, as he dove for two balls in the infield that most guys normally wouldn't get to.  We were also impressed with the hard play of Chris Curry, as even though he did not have a hit in the contest, he continued to be the first guy out to his position and the one of the first guys back into the dugout from right field.  Those are the kinds of things that everyone likes to see.  Doing the little things and making the hustle plays are always going to pay off, and are things that we can always do.  We were pleased with these efforts on a day where the scoreboard was not in our favor.  Aside from Carlsen, Alexandria was only able to collect three more hits, those coming off the bats of Chris Vogeler, Jordan Domine, and Aaron Billberg.  The bats got cold at the wrong time, but that's baseball.

Overall, although we did not reach our goal of getting to the State Tournament, I do still consider the summer season a success.  Sometimes it is tough to overlook the final results, but I do feel that our guys worked hard and became a better team.  Over the summer we got a chance to play against some very good competition, and many of the younger guys saw some good innings in the field and on the mound, and I know it will pay off for them down the road.  Our guys had a lot of fun playing the game that they love, and got to play some good baseball at a high level.  Over the summer with all of our trips, they really became a tight knit group, and the chemistry is something that will benefit them all next spring and again into summer.  These friendships will also last a lifetime.  I do want to especially thank the graduating seniors for all of their efforts and leadership over the years, and I wish them the best at college and beyond.  For those who are looking to continue playing baseball, I really look forward to keeping up with their college careers and seeing some games down the road.  Also... a big thanks to you as parents for allowing your sons to be a part of our summer baseball program, as we know it is a big commitment.  Hopefully the guys have all benefitted in more ways than one, and have become better players, and more importantly better people, because of their experiences.  It was another fun summer... as coaches, we had a blast coaching and getting to know everyone.  Best of luck in the next seasons and in the next chapters.  Thanks again, don't be strangers... we will see you around!


“Remember, results aren’t the criteria for success — it’s the effort made for achievement that is most important.”  ~ John Wooden

“Don’t compare.  Don’t try to be better than someone else.  But whatever you’re doing, try to be the best you can be."  ~ John Wooden