Youth Sports

     The Aitkin Gobbler Flying 12s captured 2nd place in last weekends State Tournament. They played five games in the blistering heat Sunday after winning two games on Saturday. Carrie Baierl fills us in on their weekend, "We started with an 8-4 win over Prior Lake and a 7-1 win over Oakdale. Aubrey Aspelin pitched well striking out 12 hitters against Oakdale. Sunday in their next game they fell to Byron 5-1 sending them into the losers bracket. The pitching was on point the rest of the day in 93 degree heat.  Audrey and Evie Wendlandt both put in strong performances. These girls didn't quit. They shutout Woodbury 5-0 with Rehse Rikala crushing an inside the park homerun. Next, they faced Oakdale again and came away with a 5-2 win securing their spot as one of the top three teams in the State. Next up was East Ridge and Aitkin came out swinging. They put up nine runs in the first inning and went on to win 15-7. That win brought them face to face Byron one more time for the State Championship. They held Byron to just two runs but couldn't capitalize on the runners they had on base. They left it all on the field. The heart, determination, teamwork and fight these girls showed all weekend was incredible. They made memories, had fun and played the sport they love together. So incredibly proud of these girls." (Carrie Baierl photos)

     The weekend was not as kind to the 14U team as they went 1-3. They started with a 4-3 win over Minnesota Stampede. They were then shutout by Mn. Elks 11-0. Tony Klee on the rest of the weekend, "We lost to the Elks 11-0. We just couldn't get our bats going. Kenzie pitched well and good catching by Leah Palm and Izzy Spicer. We had some costly errors in the field as well. Next, we lost to ISA West from Sommerset, Wisconsin. It was back and forth and we lost 11-7. Grace pitched well but they had some well placed hits. We lost 6-4 to Mn. Apex to end out State Tournament run. Kenzie and Grace combined on the mound. Not the way we wanted to go out but the girls learned a lot and had fun."

     The 16U team was in an odd situation in their part of the tourney. They opened with a 5-2 win over Lok-in, beat Clutch Hitters Posey 5-1 and Valkyrie 9-4 sending them into the bracket unbeaten. Their next game was a 3-1 loss to Mn. Blast White and suddenly their tournament was over.

      The Aitkin Sr. Legion team had a tough weekend on the iron range this week as they dropped four games. They lost to LeSueur-Henderson in the opener 12-7. Cole Trotter took the loss on the hill but did try to help his own cause going 2-3 with a pair of runs batted in. Owen Foday was 2-3, Nolan Dotzler was 1-4 with two runs batted in and Karson Hasskamp, Kyler Rikala, Noah Janzen and Jack Jacobson each had one hit.

Aitkin                 7  9 3

L. Henderson  12 12 3

    Aitkin lost 8-0 to Cloquet. Jack Jacobson picked up the loss, striking out five. Nolan Dotzler, Karson Hasskamp and Noah Janzen each had one hit.

Aitkin       0 3 2

Cloquet  8 9 1

    They followed that up with an 11-1 loss to Ely. Karson Hasskamp took the loss and Kyler Rikala was 2-2 and Hasskamp finished 1-2.

Aitkin  1 3 2

Ely      11 7 0

    The weekend ended with a 16-7 loss to Fergus Falls. Nolan Dotzler was 3-4, Kyler Rikala was 2-3 and Noah Janzen was also 2-3. Karson Hasskamp, Aiden Flanagan, Cole Trotter and Ty Burgstaler each had one hit in the loss. Dotzler took the loss on the mound.

Aitkin      7 11  7

Fergus  16 14 0

      The Aitkin Jr. Legion 86ers swept a doubleheader at home Monday from the Grand Rapids Jr. Legion team winning the second game 12-2 after edging them in the opener 12-8.

     In the second game Levi Paulbeck went the distance on the mound walking two and striking out eight. He threw 96 pitches, 56 for strikes in the victory. Aitkin took a 4-0 lead in the first. Andy Hanson and Bo Sanford each walked, Eli McNevin doubled to score one run. A ground out made it 2-0 and a pair of passed balls scored two runs. Two more runs in the second made it 6-0. A single by Noelan Jones scored one and a passed ball scored another. It was 6-2 in the third when Aitkin scored four more runs. Madden Dotzler walked, Luke Jacobson walked, Andy Hanson walked, a passed ball scored a run, Sanford grounded out for a run, Karson Hasskamp doubled for a run and McNevin reached on an error, scoring a run. They made it 12-2 in the fourth. Garrett Trotter walked, Dotzler singled, Hanson singled and a double steal plated the second run of the inning. Paulbeck took down Grand Rapids in order in the fifth ending the contest. McNevin was 2-3 and drove in a run, Hasskamp was 1-3 with two runs batted in and Hanson, Jones and Dotzler each had one hit in the win. The 86ers moved their record to 13-3 with the sweep.

Grand Rapids    2  2 3

Aitkin                  12  6 2

     The Aitkin Jr. Legion 86ers beat Grand Rapids in the opener of a doubleheader Monday night 12-8 at Woock Field. Aitkin got off to a quick 5-1 lead and kept their opponents at bay the rest of the way. It was 1-0 Grand Rapids in the first but Aitkin brought five across in their half to take a lead they would not surrender. Eli McNevin hit a grounder that was misplayed leading to the first two Aitkin runs, Garrett Trotter singled for a run and two more crossed on an error at short. After three runs by Grand Rapids made it 5-4 Aitkin put up four more runs for a 9-4 lead. Andy Hanson singled and Bo Sanford drove him home with a double to left. Karson Hasskamp singled and stole second on the front end of a double steal that scored a run and then McNevin tripled for another. Levi Paulbeck drove him home for the fourth run of the inning. Two more runs in the third made it 11-4. Luke Jacobson singled, Hanson followed with a base-hit, Sanford grounded out for a run and Hasskamp singled for another. Grand Rapids out up four runs in the fourth to make it 11-8. Aitkin got the final run of the game in the fifth as Jacobson singled and Hanson walked and after Hasskamp singled, a run scored on an error by the catcher.
    Hasskamp had a big game as he went 4-4 with a run batted in. Hanson and Jacobson each had a pair of hits, McNevin knocked in three runs and Sanford and Madden Dotzler each had two runs batted in. McNevin went the first five innings to get the win, walking six and striking out four. Jakob Bollum went the final two striking out two hitters.
Grand Rapids   8  8 3
Aitkin                 12 13 1

       The Aitkin Sr. Legion team took care of Proctor Wednesday night 12-2 at Woock Field. Nolan Dotzler went five innings giving up just 4 hits while striking out 5 and walking 3. Four Aitkin players had two hits apiece led by Dotzler with a 2-3 game driving in 2, Kyler Rikala was 2-2 with 2 runs scored, Cole Trotter was 2-4, Aiden Flanagan was 2-4 and Karson Hasskamp was 1-3 with 3 runs driven in. Noah Farrell, Andy Hanson and Jack Jacobson each had one hit in the win.

Proctor    2  4 1

Aitkin      12 12 0

WP Nolan Dotzler

LP Antrell Yoki

      The Aitkin Jr. Legion took the long trip to International Falls Tuesday but made it worthwhile with a sweep of the doubleheader against the hosts. Aitkin won the opener 6-2 behind a three-hit performance by Karson Hasskamp who also drove in two runs. Noelan Jones went 1-2 and Quinton Rikala was 1-3 with a run batted in. Jakob Bollum picked up the win on the mound going four innings, walking four and striking out one. Levi Paulbeck picked up a save. 

Aitkin  6 5 2

'Falls   2 4  1

WP Jakob Bollum

LP Brooks Deziel

     The second game saw a 9-5 Aitkin victory. Rikala had another good game at the plate with a 2-4 night and drove in two runs. Eli McNevin also knocked in a pair of runs and Hasskamp, Jordan Goeritz, Paulbeck and Braxton Fahlstrom all had one hit as well. Paulbeck got the win on the hill walking two and fanning six while McNevin went three innings, walking three and striking out five.

Aitkin    9 7 1

'Falls     5 2 7

WP Levi Paulbeck

LP  Huxley Herges

      The Aitkin American Legion team finished with a 2-1 record at Perham over the weekend. They opened with an 8-6 win over Walker, then beat Watertown 6-5 in nine innings and lost the final game to the host team 2-1.

     Aitkin scored four runs in the 6th and two more in the 9th to beat Walker. Jack Jacobson was 3-4 with two runs batted in, Nolan Dotzler was 2-5 with a pair driven in and Aiden Flanagan was 1-3 with two runs batted in. Owen Foday picked up the win on the mound giving up just one hit and striking out two. Flanagan's single in the bottom of the 9th drove in Noah Janzen with the winning run against Watertown. Andy Hanson went 6 2/3 innings to get the win, striking out 1 and giving up just one run. Karson Hasskamp was 2-4 and knocked in a run while Dotzler was 2-5. In the final game loss to Perham, Jacobson, Kyler Rikala, Brandon Kunz, Hasskamp and Hanson all had one hit and a double steal in the 5th produced the only run for Aitkin. Perham scored twice in the bottom of the 5th and that was it for the scoring. Hasskamp was the tough-luck loser on the hill, walking 3 and striking out 5 in the complete game.

     The 12U Flying Gobblers won the Gold Bracket title at the Cloquet Wood City Classic Sunday defeating Grand Rapids 10-3 in the Championship game. They advanced to the title game by beating Moose Lake 12-3 and Hermantown 8-3. Coach Kevin Wendlandt after the title win, "We saw lots of tremendous growth across the entire team in all aspects of the game. We faced the best pitcher we have seen all season against a great Hibbing team. We didn't back down and rallied to earn the #2 seed in the Gold Bracket. That momentum carried forward into Sunday where the team executed extremely well and finished with the Gold bracket Championship. A special shoutout to Rehse Rikala for being voted by her teammates for the Lumberjack Award. The award goes to the player on the team that has shown the best sportsmanship throughout the season and best all-around teammate. She also had two inside the park homeruns during the weekend."

      Monday night was a good one for Security State Bank in Majors action at Crosby. Aitkin scored a 9-1 win in the opener, here's Travis Leiviska, "Matthias Mehr and Sully Sicard pitched some solid innings. Sully was 2-3 at the plate driving in 4 runs. Also with RBI's were Caleb Aspelin, Ezra Leiviska, Tate Dotzler, Matthias and Lincoln Bennett. Jake Mehr was in attendance for the first game, and it was great to see him at the ballpark. We tied Crosby in the second game (again), this time 5-5. Tate Dotzler and Ezra Leiviska both pitched well. All of our scoring came in the 5th inning with Cale Aspelin driving in 2 and an RBI each for Sully Sicard, Ezra and Tate."

    Aitkin Eyecare also had a good night as they beat Crosby 3, 15-7. Isaiah Goeritz and Jace Doucette each had inside the park homeruns.