A's, Redhawks, Patriots, Pine Island figure to stack up well in Firecracker Tournament

Jun. 29—ROCHESTER — The 16-team American Legion baseball Firecracker Tournament returns to Rochester on Friday, beginning with pool play.

The 14th-year event, which will utilize four sites — Rochester Baseball Complex, Century, Mayo and John Adams Middle School — finishes with a 2 p.m. Sunday championship game at the Rochester Baseball Complex.

Among the non-Rochester presumed heavyweights entered are Eau Claire (Wis.), Eastview and Plattsmouth (Neb.). Eden Prairie is also entered but is bringing its lesser of two teams.

Also regarded as contenders are Rochester teams the A's, Redhawks and Patriots, as well as smaller school team Pine Island which has some stars.

Here is a look at the A's, Redhawks, Patriots and Pine Island and their prospects.

The A's didn't waste any time earning the No. 1 seed in a First District tournament that is still three weeks away.

The A's take a 9-3 record into the Firecracker Tournament. They have benefited from a lineup that returned almost everybody from Century's high school team.

The two top players are 2023 graduates Ryan Ohm and Peyton Milene. Ohm, who just returned from playing in the Minnesota High School All-Star Series, is the team's pitching ace (1.56 ERA) and is also batting .400. Milene, a strong left-handed pitcher, is batting .467. Jerry Fletcher is next (.448), followed by Owen Kelly (.433), Ohm and Ian Vasquez (.350). The combination of Fletcher at third base, Ohm at shortstop and Jack Eustice gives the A's one of the best infields around.

Ohm, Milene and Mike Ruff are the team's top three starters.

A's coach Todd Stellmaker believes that his team can compete with anyone in this tournament.

"I like our chances," he said. "When we start playing some of the top-level teams now, we'll see how our depth and hitting can hold up. But it's our defense that we've been best at."

Neither Kelly nor Eustice will be available Saturday or Sunday.

The Redhawks don't have nearly the full complement of players they had this past high school season. Five players from that Big Nine Conference championship team are not a part of this Redhawks bunch, most of them opting exclusively for club baseball instead.

That has necessitated a youth movement for the Redhawks this summer. After a slow start, the young guys are coming around and the Redhawks enter the Firecracker 7-6 overall.

"Over the last two weeks, we've started to take those steps," said Redhawks coach Tom Senne, who has three incoming sophomores in the starting lineup. "This has been a good experience (for the young guys). We've had to feed them to the wolves a little bit. But these guys are adjusting."

The Redhawks' top players continue to be their veterans. Center fielder Mason Leimbek has led that crew. The 2023 graduate is batting an incredible .550 and just returned from playing in the Minnesota High School All-Star Series.

"Mason has quick hands and when he hits the ball it comes off the bat differently than a lot of players," Senne said. "He finds the sweet spot."

Kyle Prindle (.433 batting average) has also excelled, as has Carson Beavers (.435). Prindle played this past school year at Edgewood College in Madison, Wis., but meets the age requirement to continue to play American Legion baseball this summer. Beavers won't be available for the Firecracker Tournament.

Top pitchers are Zach Condon and Alex Sadowy. Condon has an ERA of 1.94, Sadowy 2.15. Kasey Carlson, who Senne had shut down as a pitcher for most of this Legion season to give his arm a rest, is expected to pitch in the Firecracker.

The Patriots might not have the biggest names in the tournament or even in Rochester. But the Patriots are battlers and enter the Firecracker with a sturdy 6-4 overall record.

"We're scrappy," Patriots coach Aaron Hegrenes said. "We focus on playing good defense and throwing strikes. We let our defense work. We get a very good team effort."

The top hitters are Ben Satre and Aiden Smoley.

"Our hottest hitter is Ben Satre," Hegrenes said. "He's been hitting everything in sight."

The No. 1 and 2 pitchers are Aaron Terpstra and Adam Hegrenes.

Aaron Hegrenes likes the timing of this Firecracker Tournament. The number of games his team has played has slowed of late.

"We're looking forward to this," he said. "We'd hit the soft part of our schedule."

Pine Island enters 5-1, its only loss to Cannon Falls on a day it was missing a number of its top players.

Pine Island has one of the top players in southeastern Minnesota, incoming senior Nick Bauer. Bauer, who touches the upper 80s with his fastball, has pitched in just one game this summer and struck out seven in four innings of work. He's hitting is off the charts with his .667 average.

Landon Lowrie is batting .471 and Alex Knox .467. Other top pitchers are Ivan Loy (1.05 ERA in 13 1/3 innings) and incoming-sophomore Knox (0.60 ERA in 11 2/3 innings).

Pine Island coach Dan Drazen likes his team a lot.

"We have a great mix of players," Drazen said. "Our high school team was extremely young this (spring) and a lot of those have carried over into the summer. Our hitting has been very solid and defensively we have improved."

Pine Island will be among the smallest-school teams in the Firecracker. Drazen doesn't mind that a bit.

"We like getting a chance to compete against the big guys," he said. "The Firecracker is always a fun tournament. The competition is extremely strong."

Tournament schedule