The 2008 season came to an end for the International Falls VFW baseball team this past weekend. The Falls won one game and lost two in the Sub-District Tournament at Grand Rapids.
The Falls entered the tournament as the four seed with a record of 13-13. Grand Rapids was the No. 1 seed followed by Hibbing, Chisholm the Falls and Nashwauk.
In game one, the Falls squared off with Chisholm, winning the game 6-4.
Left hander Chad Sohlman got the start on the mound going all seven innings for the complete game victory.
“We played pretty solid defense behind him,” Falls head coach Roger Jerome said. “We were focused from the beginning.”
The Falls scored the first six runs of the contest with a run in the top of the first inning and five runs in the third for a 6-0 lead.
Chisholm came back with two runs in the bottom of the third and threatened in the seventh inning, scoring two runs on a one-out double.
Sohlman forced the next batter to fly-out to center and got the final out on a ground ball to end the game and give the Falls the victory.
“I wanted to get a complete game out of Chad and that’s what I got,” Jerome said. “I think he pitched his best game of the season. He’s pitched a lot of good games for us, but he pitched very well. He got the outs that we needed.”
Michael Misner led the Falls effort going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Chris Steinbach added two RBIs while Chris Little and Ames Bryant each added two hits as the team finished with a total of 11 hits in the game.
In the second game of the tournament the Falls faced tournament host Grand Rapids. The Falls was the only team to defeat Rapids in regular season play and Rapids avenged the loss, handing the Falls a 10-2 loss in the process.
Rapids took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. The Falls would get one run back in the top of the fourth inning, but Rapids tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the fourth to put the game out of reach at 8-1.
Little got the start on the mound for the Falls pitching the first three and a third innings of the contest. Jordan Christianson finished the fourth inning and Colin Barton pitched the final three innings for the Falls.
Alex Brues led the Falls from the plate with a pair of singles including a triple. Little added a pair of singles while Christianson and Misner each had one hit in the contest.
The loss dropped the Falls down into the losers bracket where the team would meet Chisholm. Chisholm stayed alive in the double-elimination tournament with a victory over Nashwauk.
The Falls opened the game with hits from Little, Bryant and Adam Potter and took an early 2-0 lead. Chisholm started the bottom of the first inning with four consecutive hits, plating six runs to take a 6-2 lead.
“We were kind of off of our game and lackadaisical in the beginning,” Jerome said. “We sat the team down and refocused them after that.”
The Falls chipped away at the Chisholm lead but could not close the gap, falling 8-5.
Christianson pitched the first two and a third innings for the Falls with Barton going the rest of the way.
“Barton did a very nice job finishing up,” Jerome said. “He kept us in the game.”
Bruess led the team’s offensive effort going 2-for-4 with a pair doubles. Bryant also went 2-for-4 with a double while Misner, Little, Barton and Potter each added a hit.
The loss ended the season for the Falls, finishing with a final record of 14-15.
“This is really a great group of kids to work with,” Jerome said. “They were very coachable kids and they are just great kids to be around. I am sorry to see the season end, I was hoping we could get to the District Tournament.
“Some of these kids will not be VFW eligible next season and I am hoping that our American Legion program can be re-established somehow so they can continue to play summer ball. There is a decent nucleus of kids coming back and a good group of kids coming up for the 13 and 14 year old league. With the success that they had this season, I think next year’s team could be a very competitive team.”
Jerome was assisted this season by Dan Eldien, Bill Sohlman, Brian Jesperson and Jake Casareto.