Above: Members of the Cook County Junior American Legion baseball team include (front row from left) Riley Tiboni, Josh Prom, Andrew Miller, Ero Wallin, Dillon Sjogren and Garrett Curran. In back (from left) are Tim Miller, Ward Wallin, Adam Dorr, Luc Stadler, Joe Deschampe, Arleigh Jorgenson and manager Issac Sandstrom. Not pictured are Connor Somnis, Tim Perfetto, Ryder McMillen and Tate Crawford. Left: coaches Tim Miller, Arleigh Jorgenson and Ward Wallin with the trophy the team won in Marble to advance to the state championship. Photos courtesy Mitch Dorr
All of the dedication and hard work the kids and coaches have been putting in the last few years is paying off in a big way.
On Saturday, August 4, the Vikings beat International Falls 3-1 to punch their ticket to play in the Minnesota DII Junior Legion state baseball championship that will be held Thursday, August 9 in Montevideo.
Regional tournament play began Tuesday, July 31 when the team faced Brookston, a squad made up mainly of South Ridge high school players.
Andrew Miller took the mound and threw 77 pitches before Adam Dorr relieved him. The contest was tight throughout, said head coach Arleigh Jorgenson.
“We were trailing 3-2 when we batted in the bottom of the sixth. We had the bases loaded with two outs when Ero Wallin hit a sharp grounder to their third baseman. As Tate Crawford was bearing down on him from second, his throw to the first baseman was low and got by. Timmy Perfetto, our runner on third, tied the score. Tate scored from second, and Andrew Miller sped from first to home as the throw to the catcher got away.”
Up 5-3 going into the top of the seventh, things were looking up for the Vikings, but as Jorgenson noted, “We opened the top of the seventh with two errors and a wild pitch!
“One run scored to make it 5-4. But, Adam got out of a jam with a ground ball to second and a great play by Ryder McMillan. An infield fly to Ryder again at second, and fly to Garrett Curran at shortstop ended the game.”
On Friday, August 3 the team traveled to Marble, Minnesota to face Esko.
“Dillon Sjogren was the story,” Jorgenson said. “He pitched a four-hit, complete game shutout. We prevailed 6-0.”
The next day the Vikings played International Falls in the winner’s bracket. Miller was on the mound for the Vikings, and he pitched brilliantly.
“Andrew Miller was too much for the hot-hitting [Bronko] team,” coach said, adding “It was our bats that lit it up in the first inning.
With two outs, Andrew Miller hit one into the right-center gap and over the heads of both outfielders. Josh Prom beat out a high hopping infield grounder, and Ero Wallin drove them both in with his deep double into the left-center gap. Joe Deschampe came up and did the same, lofting another deep ball into the left-center gap. It was all we would need. Andrew struck out ten and finished the game with 100 pitches even.”
That win sewed up a ticket to the state tournament, but there was more ball to be played.
“On Sunday, we came to realize the level of our accomplishment the day before,” Jorgenson said. “We were unsuccessful on two tries to keep the District Championship for ourselves but had to settle for second place. International Falls out-hit us and out-defended us twice. But, no worries, we are both heading to Montevideo on Thursday to play for the state championship.
Noted Jorgenson, “We are happy and confident.”
Leave a Reply