Friday, July 13th, 2007

New Bremen strikes early and often

By Gary R. Rasberry
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

New Bremen's Matt McCollum connects for one of his two hits during the ACME district tournament on Thursday evening at Coldwater's Veterans Field against Fort Loramie. The Cardinals scored in every inning and cruised to an 18-3 victory over the Redskins.

COLDWATER - New Bremen plated five runs in the top of the first, more than enough to stay in the winner's bracket of the 2007 ACME District Tournament with an 18-3 win in five innings over Fort Loramie at Veterans Field in Coldwater.
The Cardinals (17-6) now face Van Wert on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the winner's bracket final. The Redskins (8-14) return to Coldwater tonight to play Minster in an elimination game at 8:15 p.m.
Things got started in a hurry for New Bremen. Corey Jutte led off by getting walked before Anthony Moeder stepped up and took Jacob Mauer's 0-1 offering over the rightfield fence to make it a 2-0 game. The Cardinals chased Mauer after just four batters without recording an out. New Bremen sent 10 men to the plate in the inning, with Matt McCollum, Brad Wendel and Jared Cox scoring in the inning to make it 5-0.
"It just kind of spiraled," said New Bremen coach Gregg McCollum. "Everyone joined in (New Bremen had 11 hits in the game).
"I thought it was real important to get out to a big start. It just kind of snowballed. We just kept hitting after that. That was our goal, to get out to a quick start."
Four more runs came in the second as nine Cardinals went to the plate. Wendel brought in one run with a standup triple with Corey Barlage driving in a run with a fielder's choice and Derrick Bruggeman driving in one with a single off reliever Andy Long.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals' pitching was pristine. Wendel, who with Moeder are the aces of the staff, was needed for just two innings as he scattered two hits on 20 pitches before getting the rest of the night off.
"That makes him available for the rest of the games," said coach McCollum.
Barlage came on in the third and allowed just four hits and three runs the rest of the game. Barlage, like Wendel, did not walk a batter.
New Bremen triggered the run rule in the top of the fourth at 12-1, then got plenty of insurance in the fifth, sending 10 men to the plate, with a number of pinch-hitters, and bringing in six runs. Hank Zwiep doubled in two runs and McCollum later added a two-run double to conclude the scoring.
  Tonight's first elimination game will be a battle of Mercer County teams as Coldwater faces Fort Recovery at 6 p.m.
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

New Bremen third baseman Corey Barlage tries to barehand the ball to make a play on a Fort Loramie hitter during their ACME district tournament contest at Coldwater's Veterans Field on Thursday evening. New Bremen advanced to the winner's bracket final with an 18-3 win over Fort Loramie.

Additional online stories on this date
A wildlife biologist has been hired to help landowners in Mercer and Auglaize counties gain money from the Farm Bill for conservation practices.
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Art Wise is steaming mad. He has been fishing Grand Lake for the better part of a century and claims the fishing has never been worse.
Now he is turning to the state for answers. [More]
ST. HENRY - Away from the bustling highway of state Route 119 lies a bank barn with a stone foundation rising out of one of the many hills on the farm property. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
FORT RECOVERY - Teachers, administrators and classified staff all received salary increases, most set at 2.6 percent for next school year, during the regular board of education meeting Thursday night.
Celina city officials are considering setting an age limit for unattended children at Bryson Pool.
Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Fortkamp said
NEW BREMEN - School board members transferred $15,000 from the general fund to the cafeteria fund in January and again in June to cover recent losses, according to Treasurer Deb Meyer.
NEW BREMEN - The school district once again has been accredited for five years by The North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, Superintendent Ann Harvey told board members this week during the regular meeting.
Celina will play host to the Junior ACME state tournament that begins Saturday and runs through next weekend.
The eight-team, double-elimination to
St. Henry Village Council members went over the first reading of a proposed ordinance to annex 7.4 acres of land into the village, reports Village Administrator Don Hess.
It may have been the long robes, unique headpieces, prominent crucifixes and rosary beads that drew Sister Barbara Ann Hoying to the religious life.
A Coldwater native, her grammar school teachers each year were Precious Blood nuns, sparking the desire to teach, help others and serve the Lord.
Brenda Broering of Maria Stein, a member of Catholic Knights of Columbus, re-cently was recognized by the National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA) for her volunteerism.
The Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is taking advantage of an increase of state matching funds this year to upgrade technology in the office.
Okay, I know I've written about mulch before in this column but I learned something the other day that just about made me stop using mulch altogether.
It seems mulch can grow a form of exploding fungus if the growing conditions are right.
Most people don't pay attention to what's in the fertilizer they apply to their lawns. They just buy it and put it on.
A free workshop, set for 6:30-8 p.m. July 19 at the Harbor Point 4-H Camp near Celina, hopes to change that mindset.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
The St. Henry American Legion Post 648 baseball team improved to 14-12 on the season with a 21-2 win over St. Marys Post 323 in seven innings on Tuesday night at K.C. Geiger Park.