Breaking down the Firecracker 92 Legion baseball tournament

Pat Ruff, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·3 min read

Jun. 23—A breakdown of Rochester's four teams in the Firecracker Tournament:

There is lots of talent here, but much of it will not be on display at the Firecracker Tournament, with players absent for a variety of reasons. The Redhawks are coming off a pair of narrow doubleheader losses to Winona. Mason Leimbek, a terrific center fielder, will be playing over the weekend. He batted .400 in the spring and has great range in the outfield.

The A's have been getting great pitching from Josh Fletcher, one of two graduated seniors on this team. Fletcher has all four of the A's pitching wins and struck out 15 while issuing no walks in a game last weekend. George Boyce leads the team in hitting, at .444. Jerry Fletcher is batting .379 and graduate Matt Haun .333. . .The A's have gotten the reputation of a gritty team, something that coach Todd Stellmaker likes very much.

Errors have been the Patriots' biggest problem. They had six of them on Wednesday in a loss to Albert Lea. The Patriots pitch well. Zach Carr and Jake Schmidt are both strong pitchers and the Patriots have about three others who can throw. Aiden Smiley and Ethan Loos have been the Patriots' top hitters. Jayden Guillette has also steadily gotten on base.

The Eagles got off to a late start due to all the success they had in their spring high school season. Lourdes reached the state tournament, where it finished third. This Legion team won't be nearly the same one that showed up in the spring, with so many of those graduated seniors having moved on. Still, there is some talent here led by Cam Powell, a solid second baseman. Gannon Fix also contributed to that Lourdes team. Eagles coach Chris Powell likes the ability of this young roster.

FRIDAY

Wayzata vs. Redhawks, 5 p.m., at Mayo

Hermanton vs. A's, 5 p.m., at Century

Lakeville North vs. Eagles, 5 p.m., at RBC Field 4

Bloomington Gold vs. Patriots, 5 p.m., at John Adams

SATURDAY

Chatfield vs. Redhawks, 9 a.m., at Mayo

North St. Paul vs. A's, 9 a.m., at Century

Albert Lea vs. Eagles, 9 a.m., at RBC Field 4

Pine Island vs. Patriots, 9 a.m., at John Adams

Chatfield vs. Wayzata, 11:30 a.m., at Mayo

Hermantown vs. North St. Paul, 11:30 a.m. at Century

Albert Lea vs. Lakeville North, 11:30 a.m., at RBC Field 4

Bloomington Gold vs. Pine Island, 11:30 a.m., at John Adams

Gold Bracket

Game 1: TBD, 2 p.m., at John Adams

Game 2: TBD, 2 p.m., at Mayo

Silver Bracket

Game 5: TBD, 2 p.m., at Century

Game 6: TBD, 2 p.m., at RBC Field 4

Bronze Bracket

Game 9: TBD, 4:30 p.m., at Mayo

Game 10: TBD, 4:30 p.m;., at John Adams

SUNDAY

Gold Bracket

Championship

Game 4: TBD, 11:30 a.m., at John Adams

Third place

Game 3: TBD, 9 a.m., at John Adams

Silver Bracket

Fifth place

Game 8: TBD, 11:30 a.m., at Mayo

Seventh place

Game 7: TBD, 9 a.m., at Mayo

Bronze Bracket

Ninth place

Game 12: TBD, 11:30 a.m., at RBC Field 4

11th place

Game 11: TBD, 9 a.m., at RBC Field 4