Sports Memories: Legion baseball team sweeps games

Sports Memories by Tom Jones

Tom Jones

10 years

• Tim Engstrom won the advance champion trophy for the spring league of the Flying Lea Disc Golf Club.
• The Albert Lea VFW baseball team swept Faribault in a doubleheader by scores of 19-9 and 20-3. Taylor Heavner got the win in game one with Tanner Bellrichard getting the win in the second game.
• The Albert Lea American Legion Post 56 baseball team swept two games against the Rochester Patriots at Hayek Field. Chris Enderson struck out six batters to get the win in game one. Tyler Steele pitched a complete game to pick up the win in game two.
• Pitcher Glen Perkins and catcher Kurt Suzuki were selected to represent the Minnesota Twins in Major League Baseball’s All-Star game that was being played at Target Field.

20 years

• United South Central’s Adam Schrader was named the Albert Lea Tribune’s Baseball Player of the Year.
• The Albert Lea Elks U-12 girls’ soccer team traveled to Hudson, Wisconsin and came home with the championship at the Hudson Border Battle. Sop-hie Miller scored three goals in the championship game as Albert Lea defeated the host team 4-0.
• Devin Kaasa picked up the win in game one and Michael Greibrok in game two as the Glenville-Emmons American Legion baseball team swept New Richland Post 75 10-2 and 13-4. With the sweep, coach Louie Toulouse’s squad was 5-8 on the season.

50 years

• The Albert Lea “A” American Legion baseball team swept two games from East Mankato. Darrel Johnsrud picked up a 6-3 victory in game one, firing a five-hitter.
• Despite home runs from Darleen Underwood, Sharon Meyer and Kathy Freeze, Kentucky Fried Chicken fell to Eddie’s Bar 18-17 in women’s “A” softball play.
• Mark Indrelie took first place in the fourth, fifth and sixth grade division at the Minnesota AAU Freestyle Wrestling Tournament that was held in Albert Lea. Bruce Mullenbach took first in the 50-pound weight class.
• Former Minnesota Twin Cesar Tovar hit a two-run single in the ninth inning that helped give Billy Martin’s Texas Rangers a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins in a game played at Metropolitan Stadium.
• The Albert Lea Chess Club drew in a match with chess power Mason City. Albert Lea team members included Kelly Callahan, Jim Gonzales, Jim Johnson, Chuck Kortz, Jerry Iverson, Janis Polis, Ehren Qual and Gerhard Qual.
• Minnesota Twins second baseman Rod Carew was leading in votes over Cookie Rojas of the Kansas City Royals to start for the American League in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game being played in Pittsburg.
• Long-time New York Yankees owner Del Webb died of complications of cancer at the Methodist Hospital in Rochester. He had been a partner in the Yankees from 1945 to 1966.
• The Hayward baseball team picked up their eighth win of the season with a 9-2 win over Waseca. Jeff Lester threw a complete game in the win, striking out thirteen. Einer Otterson paced Hayward with four hits.

Alumni update

Gretta Melstad, a 1994 graduate of Albert Lea High School and head softball coach at Augustana University in Sioux Falls since 2007, notched her 800th career coaching win in the Vikings 11-1 win over Winona State University in the first game of a doubleheader played on April 20. She led the Vikings to a 50-15 record this past season which included an appearance in the final eight of the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

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