The Becker Buzzards picked up a 5-2 win last Friday against the Luxemburg Brewmeisters on a beautiful baseball evening that also marked the team’s Alumni Night.

Former players Doug Watercott, Mark Wold, Mark Graham, Gary Anderson, Gary Gilbert, Mike Doetkott and Big Al Pfingsten joined the team on the field for the National Anthem before the game. Then, the old timers used some timely heckling during the game to motivate the Buzzards to the win.

Ben Johnson started things off for the Buzzards in the first inning, batting lead-off and scoring the early run to tie the score at one. After the Brewmeisters’ first run inning, they wouldn’t score again until a single run in the seventh inning, as the Buzzard pitching staff was on point all night.

Rich Petty and Jason Pfingsten scored runs in the third inning for the Buzzards, and then the team added a pair of runs in the 5th inning to put the game away.  

Todd Klaers started on the mound for the Buzzards and gave way to the crafty veteran, Brian Kolbinger, who kept the Brewmeister’s off balance with his array of off-speed braking balls.

After the game, the current Buzzards mingled with the Alumni in attendance to reminisce about some of the biggest memories in the past 16 years since the beginning of the Buzzards’ franchise.

Making the list of top moments was the rivalry with the Edina team (several near bench-clearing brawls), the home run given up by Loren Holthaus (purportedly still in orbit around the earth) and Mike Walberg’s tumbling, slow motion divot that lives in the memories of all those who were in attendance.

Big Al Pfingsten was honored as the team’s all-time “Fan of the Year” since his retirement after one game played and one toe fractured.

Wold was given a “cooler thief” award in a nod to his propensity for dipping his fingers into teammates’ coolers in search of a cold beverage, while Anderson was honored as the team’s most-dedicated player in franchise history for his promotion of all things Buzzards.

Current Buzzard and co-team founder Deron Trovall was honored for best nickname, “Sparrow,” which was earned when he once pulled two muscles on the same play in practice.

According to Manager Jason Baune, plans are in place to hold an annual Alumni game in an effort to honor the team’s quirky history each season.  Baune hopes for greater attendance at the future games, where ball players can gather and share stories of America’s greatest game.