Sleepy Eye Jr. Legion Fights Back to Force a Decisive Match | News, Sports, Jobs

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Carson Uecker of Sleepy Eye Junior Legion slides into home plate during a Southwest Sub-State Junior Legion baseball tournament game against Slayton on Monday in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD — For the Sleepy Eye Junior Legion baseball team, resiliency has been a defining characteristic of the season so far.

“It takes a lot of perseverance and toughness,” said head coach Brandon Streich. “And we’ve been a resilient group all year, honestly. We do a good job of not getting too high, not getting too low, and staying level with the playing field. You can see that. Today was great and the playoffs were great.”

That resilience was on display as Sleepy Eye overcame two deficits on Monday to advance to the DII Southwest Sub-State Junior Legion Baseball Championship game on Tuesday.

Sleepy Eye posted a 3-2 win over Slayton before beating Luverne 5-4 on Monday at Riverside Park. Sleepy Eye trailed Slayton 1-0 and Luverne 3-0 on points entering the game.

“I think it’s just our energy, honestly,” said Carson Uecker of Sleepy Eye. “If one person is down, the whole team is down. But everyone just picks each other up after one bad at-bat. Everyone gets up, then the energy is good and we fight back.”

Uecker was the star of Sleepy Eye’s revenge game against Luverne, who had knocked them into the elimination bracket with a 5-3 win on Sunday. Not only did Uecker earn the save on the mound, striking out two in two hitless innings, but he also belted an inside-the-park homer in the fifth inning to drive in two runs and give Sleepy Eye the lead.

“I hit a home run in high school dance against (Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart),” said Uecker. “But that one (tonight) felt a lot better. That one just felt so good against these guys that ended our season last year and we lost to them yesterday. It just felt really good.”

Uecker was a combined 5 for 7 in the two games with three runs scored and three RBIs with a stolen base for good measure. On the mound, Uecker said confidence was the key to keeping Luverne off the bases in the final two innings.

“At the bottom of the order I was hunting fastballs,” he said. “Top of the order, same thing. Changing the speed of the pitchers was a good thing. I’m not saying I’m fast, but pretty fast, and just changing their timing.”

Uecker wasn’t the only Sleepy Eye player to contribute to the day’s victory. In Game 1, Kayden Klein picked up a complete-game win on the mound, striking out three and allowing two runs on eight hits and no walks. At the plate, Cole Eckstein was 2 for 4 with a run scored, while Uecker was 2 for 3 with a run scored. Klein was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Landon Wendinger had a hit and an RBI.

Slayton struck first in the second inning with a double and a single to drive in a run. Sleepy Eye struck back in the fifth, with Klein and Uecker singleding. Wendiger got another single to drive in Gavin Fischer, courtesy of Klein, then Uecker scored on a sacrifice fly by Merrick Mathiowetz. Sleepy Eye added another run in the fifth, with Eckstein singled and coming home on a single by Klein.

Tyler Mathiowetz earned the win in Game 2, striking out two and driving four runs on six hits and four walks. Batting, Uecker was 3 for 4 with three RBIs, while Tyler Mathiowetz had a hit and a run scored. Eckstein added a run scored and an RBI, while Klein was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Although Sunday’s match was similar to Monday’s match between Luverne and Sleepy Eye, Sleepy Eye managed to secure a different outcome in the second match.

“Yesterday they got out to a quick lead and last night we scored a couple of runs in the seventh inning,” said Streich. “I think we’ve used that momentum and gained the confidence to say, ‘We can do this.’ We came in today and were 3-0 down, but we kept our confidence and it showed. We came in handy at key moments.”

Mathiowetz allowed a single and an uncharacteristic walk in the first inning, setting up a double that scored two runs for Luverne. Another double gave Luverne a 3-0 lead in the first, which it maintained through the second, allowing only one hit in the first two innings.

Eckstein broke the scoreless streak for Sleepy Eye, scoring on a fielder’s choice and a single by Uecker to bring him home. Uecker scored on a pitching error on a single by Mathiowetz to cut the lead to 3-2.

Luverne got a run back in the third, with another walk and a double, making it a 4-2 game. Luverne and Sleepy Eye both had scoreless fourth innings, keeping it a two-run game.

In the fifth inning, Tyler Mathiowetz laid down a bunt to lead off, reached in time to earn a hit, and an overthrow to the base on the play took him all the way to third. Eckstein capitalized with a sacrifice fly, bringing home Tyler Mathiowetz. After a single by Klein, Uecker was able to hit a pitch to deep right-center field for his go-ahead home run.

That was all Sleepy Eye needed, as Uecker held on in the sixth and seventh innings to make the save, sending Sleepy Eye into a revenge game against Luverne.

The championship game will be played Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Riverside Park, with the winner advancing to the DII Junior Legion State Tournament in St. Charles.