The Becker Bulldog VFW Baseball team, sponsored by VFW Post 8731 of Monticello, qualified for the 2014 VFW state tournament in Brainerd with their outstanding performance in the District 6 tournament last weekend.
Twenty teams from Central Minnesota participated in the tournament.
The Bulldogs started out the tournament with two quality wins against St. Cloud Blue (Cathedral High School) 15-5 and 12-0.
They followed up those wins with two nail biter games against Sartell (7-6) and Cold Spring (6-5 in eight innings). Advancing to the championship round, the Bulldogs took on Brainerd and lost a heartbreaker, 7-6 in nine innings. Needing just one more win to qualify for state, the Bulldogs needed to beat Sartell again to be eligible. Becker came out strong and jumped to a huge 10-1 lead before finishing with a 10-6 victory and a state tournament berth.
Nine districts and 10 teams will be represented at the tournament from all across the state. Over 120 teams in Minnesota participate in the VFW baseball program each summer. This will be Becker s first-ever VFW state tournament berth.
The VFW baseball team is made up of players 16 and under. The team finished in third place during league play with an 11-4 record and currently stand at 19-10 overall. The state tournament starts with a team banquet Wednesday and the Bulldogs will play their first game Thursday at 10:30 a.m. (opponent still unknown).
The team consists of Cody Gruenhagen, Clayton Gallus, Jake Fobbe, Tyler Thorson, John Mann, Austin Rasmussen, Matt Yoerg, Casey Vesledahl, Beau Pauly and Andrew Stanger. The team is coached by Corey Stanger.
