2023 Week 7 Recap- 

 

Game 1-

On the road again in week 7, the Legends travelled to play the Hippos. After a brief rain delay in the first inning, we got rolling, again. We stacked up hits up and down the lineup, while Jared Anderson doubled twice, and Grant Ryerse had a loud home run to dead center to lead the charge. Lucky, Ryerse, and Wynn Stoxen combined to shutout the Hippos on just 4 hits in the 5-inning W. Final score Legends 15 - Hippos 0 in 5 innings.

 

Game 2-

More of the same in game 2, as we scored in every inning, while Erik Lundgren and Christian Holcomb held the Hippos to 1 run over 5 innings. Jared Anderson had 2 hits, and Keir Anderson had a "walk-off" sac fly in the bottom of the 5th. Final score Legends 11 - Hippos 1 in 5 innings. 

 

 

2023 Week 8 Preview-

Now 13-1, we are on the road yet again to play the Diamond Jaxx in St. Paul. We've never played the Jaxx. Should be a fun series.

2023 Week 6 Recap- 

 

Congrats to Grant Ryerse (6/7, GS HR, 2BB, HBP, 8RBI, 6R, SB) on being named the TCMABL 18+ Player of the Week for Week 6!

 

Game 1-

After a week off for the All-Star/4th of July break, we were eager to get back at it this week against the Saints in Stillwater. Things started off with a bang, literally, as lead off hitter and All-Star CF Jackson Nelson blasted a solo shot to right to start the scoring. We continued to add on in the first, with the exclamation coming in the form of a 2-out Grand Slam from SS Michael Walsh to make the score 7-0. The bats were quiet for the next two innings, but that wouldn't last long as we added on 7 runs in both the 4th and 5th innings, leading to a franchise record 22 runs. Tons of offensive lines to highlight... Jackson Nelson went 3-4 with a HR & 2B. Jared Anderson was 1-3 with a 2B. Carl Engbretson drew 4 walks. Grant Ryerse was 2-3 with 2RBI. Rob McLain was 2-3 with a 2B and RBI. John Libbey 1-2 with a 2B, BB and RBI. Michael Walsh 1-1 with a HR, BB and 4RBI. All to be outdone by the pitching staff as Jon Lucktenberg (4IP, 3K) and Wynn Stoxen (1IP, 1K) combined for the 5-inning CG No-Hitter. Final score Legends 22 - Saints 0 in 5 innings. 

 

Game 2-

The noon game was much closer, for most of the game. We were up 1-0 after the first, and 5-0 after the second, stringing together some timely knocks. The Saints would battle though, making the score 5-4 heading to the bottom of the 4th. A pitching change by the Saints allowed us to get rolling, as we put up 11 runs over the next 3 frames for the 6-inning "walk-off" 16-4. Jared Anderson had a huge second game, going 4-4 with 2 doubles and a 3-run bomb. Grant Ryerse was scheduled to pitch the top of the 7th, but decided he'd rather go home early and crushed our second Grand Slam of the day to end the game. Ryerse had 4 hits and 6 RBI in the game. Jackson Nelson added 2 more hits and Carl Engbretson walked 4 more times, bringing his total on the day to 8(!). Pitch-by-committee worked once again, as John Toraason, John Libbey, John Harper, and Erik Lundgren all pitched in the win. Harper struck out the side in his inning of work. Final score Legends 16 - Saints 4 in 6 innings.

 

 

2023 Week 7 Preview-

Now 11-1, the Legends continue our road trip as we head back to St. Paul to take on the Hippos.

2023 Week 5 Recap- 

 

Game 1-

Saturday rain that continued into Sunday morning put our week 5 games in jeopardy. A few of our guys got to the True Blue home field early and immediately got to work prepping the diamond. It would have been for naught until the St. Paul field crew showed up with the right tools to make the field playable. Maybe anticipating a rain-out, our bats took a while to get going, not cracking the hit column until the 4th inning when the score was already 1-0 in favor of the True Blue. Carl Engbretson's single to break up the no-no in the 4th eventually came around to score and tie the game at 1. It also sparked the fire as we put together 7 straight baserunners in the 5th for a 4-run inning to take a 5-1 lead. 5 would prove to be more than enough as Lucky made quick work all day long, going 6 innings with 7 Ks for the W. Carl Engbretson and Austin Fuller each had 2 hits while Grant Ryerse worked a scoreless 7th on the mound to wrap things up. Final score Legends 5 - True Blue 1.

 

Game 2-

Not wasting any time in game 2, our bats were hot from the first pitch, as 4 doubles in the first 2 innings got us up 3-0 and then 5-0. As quickly as the bats got hot, they also quieted down... as we didn't score the rest of the game. It wouldn't matter though, as vintage Toro was on full display. John Toraason struck out 8 over 5 scoreless innings, while Christian Holcomb came on in relief and showed how he was so dominant as a starter a few years back, striking out 2 over 2 perfect innings. Carl Engbretson and Grant Ryerse each doubled, while Jared Anderson doubled twice to pace the offense early. Final score Legends 5 - True Blue 0.

 

 

2023 Week 6 Preview-

After the July 4th break, your 9-1 Legends will travel to Stillwater to take on the 6-4 Saints in an important division matchup.

2023 Week 4 Recap- 

 

Game 1-

Looking to bounce back from our Week 3 split was going to be no easy task against the always solid North Stars. Lucky took the mound and after giving up 1 early run in the 1st, settled in and never looked back. Legends defense was back to form as we held the North Stars to 1 run over 6 innings. Grant Ryerse tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the first with an RBI single, before we would add on 3 more in the bottom of the 2nd driven by the bottom third of our lineup. The score would hold at 4-1 for most of the game until we broke things open in the bottom of the 6th by scoring 7 runs to put the game out of reach and "walk-off" with the 10-run victory. Jackson Nelson, Grant Ryerse, and Jon Lucktenberg all had 3 hits in the win. Final score Legends 11 - North Stars 1 in 6 innings.

 

Game 2-

The North Stars saved Sam Nelson for G2, and we knew we would have to bring our best to take the sweep. John Harper battled through 3 innings but was let down by some sloppy plays that allowed the North Stars to jump out to a 4-0 lead through 3 innings. We would break through in the 4th for a big inning, scoring 7 runs to take a 7-4 lead, aided by some bad hops and clutch hits. That score would hold for the next few innings thanks to Erik Lundgren delivering 4 scoreless innings in relief. We added a run in the top of the 7th for insurance but thankfully didn't need it. Jon Lucktenberg and Josh Dolezal each had 3 hits in the victory. Final score Legends 8 - North Stars 4.

 

 

2023 Week 5 Preview-

Now at 7-1, the Legends are back on the road to take on the True Blue in Week 5.

2023 Week 3 Recap- 

 

Game 1-

Week 3 found us hosting a scrappy Tomcats team that gave us all we could handle for 14 innings. Game 1 started the right way with the Legends jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st and making it 2-0 in the 4th. Lucky was on cruise control for the most part, but we couldn't pull away. Then the Tomcats broke through in the top of the 6th for 3 runs to take a 3-2 lead. Down to our last breath in the bottom of the 7th, we put together a rally to scratch across 2 runs with the walk-off winner scoring on a wild pitch. Carl Engbretson and Rob McLain each had 2 hits in the win. Final score Legends 4 - Tomcats 3.

 

Game 2-

Game 2 had a similar feel to the morning game. Deadlocked at 3 in the bottom of the 6th, the Tomcats put together a solid inning to push across 4 runs through a combination of clutch hitting and suspect defense on our part. We couldn't mount a second comeback on the day and ended up taking our first L on the season. Keir Anderson and Jon Lucktenberg each had 2 hits in the loss. Final score Legends 3 - Tomcats 7.

 

 

2023 Week 4 Preview-

After falling to 5-1, the Legends have a tough test at home hosting the North Stars in Week 4.

2023 Week 2 Recap- 

 

Game 1-

The combination of the intense heat and a slightly short-handed squad did little to deter us in game 1 over the Babycakes. Jon Lucktenberg took the mound and delivered quick work over 4 shutout innings, striking out 4 on just 50 pitches. The offensive attack took a few innings to get rolling but eventually rounded into form and exploded for an 11-run bottom of the 4th to put the game out of reach. Jared Anderson, Keir Anderson, Jackson Nelson, and Michael Walsh all had multiple hits and multiple RBI. Jared Anderson made a case for player of the week with a triple and home run in the same inning. Grant Ryerse came in to shut the door with 2 strikeouts in the 5th inning to lock up the run-rule victory. Final score Legends 15 - Babycakes 0 in 5 innings.

 

Game 2-

Scheduling conflicts took us down to a skeleton squad in game 2, but gold glove 1B Austin Fuller fought off jet lag and third base coach John Corbett traded the shorts for baseball pants to round out the lineup. John Harper took the mound and delivered 3 solid innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. Erik Lundgren made his season debut in relief and gave us 2 scoreless innings, striking out the side in the 4th. Our lineup took advantage of the chances given to us, drawing 8 walks in addition to some timely hits. Jackson Nelson and Michael Walsh each had 2 hits and 4 RBI. John Corbett proved to be an on-base machine, working 3 beautiful walks. A few runs each inning tallied up to be 14 over 5 innings. Final score Legends 14 - Babycakes 2 in 5 innings.

 

2023 Week 3 Preview-

Now 4-0 to start the season, we are back home at Donaldson in Week 3 to take on the Tomcats.

2023 Week 1 Recap- 

 

Game 1-

Opening week for 2023 started with a bang. Playing the Sea Donkeys in the battle for Donaldson is always highly anticipated, and to do so in Week 1 only added to the excitement. The Donkeys ambushed established ace Jon Lucktenberg early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st. Lucky settled in as the game went on, holding the Donkeys to 5 runs over 6+ innings. Solid Legends defense quickly rounded back into form to help the cause. Offensively, a deep Legends lineup provided plenty of firepower in this back-and-forth affair. Carl Engbretson and Grant Ryerse both had 2 hits and an RBI, Michael Walsh added a run scoring single, while newcomer Josh Dolezal had a loud RBI double as part of his 2 hit, 2 RBI game. Closer Grant Ryerse came in for the 7th and stranded the tying run on 3rd base as the Legends escaped with a narrow victory. Final score Legends 6 - Sea Donkeys 5.

 

Game 2-

The Legends rolled out a pitch-by-committee approach in Game 2 as John Toraason, John Harper, John Libbey, Christian Holcomb, and Grant Ryerse all pitched brilliantly to hold a dangerous Sea Donkeys lineup to 3 hits and 2 runs over 7 innings. Despite solid pitching and stellar defense, it looked like the effort might not be enough as our offense was scoreless through four innings, unable to find that big hit we desperately needed. However, the floodgates opened in the top of the 5th for 4 runs. And again for 3 runs in the 6th. And 1 more in the 7th for good measure. The breakout happened up and down the lineup as every starter recorded at least one hit. Keir Anderson came through with a clutch 2-RBI double to take the lead, while John Libbey and Jared Anderson each tripled to kick off their annual race for team leader in three-baggers. Grant Ryerse did it all as he added 2 RBI and a scoreless 7th inning on the mound to lock up the W and a massive sweep. Final score Legends 8 - Sea Donkeys 2.

 

 

2023 Week 2 Preview-

After the Memorial Day break, the 2-0 Legends will travel to Eagan to take on our good friends the Babycakes.

2023 Season Preview-

A regular season record of 16-6 was the best in Legends history. We won our second playoff game in team history, but failed to advance to Championship Weekend. For 2023 we return most of our core. We lost original Legends Rollie Olson and Derek Rydlund, as well as Josh Thyen. We have added Jackson Nelson (OF), Josh Dolezal (UTIL) and Wynn Stoxen (P) full time for this season.  

2022 Playoff Recap- 

 

Round 1-

Round 1 of the 2022 TCMABL playoffs was a matchup against the True Blue. Erik Lundgren got the start and battled for 3+ innings, keeping us in the game until John Toraason came in relief and dominated for the next 5.2 innings, striking out 6 and only allowing 3 baserunners. The offense struggled to get going, but eventually broke through for a 7 run 6th inning. The bottom half of the lineup stepped up big time as Josh Thyen, Jon Lucktenberg, Andrew Young and Michael Walsh all had multiple hits or multiple RBI. Grant Ryerse also tallied 2 knocks and 3 RBI. Final score Legends 11 - True Blue 5.

 

Round 2-

We struggled to keep pace with the Expos in Round 2, as they came out strong and never looked back. Not our cleanest game, but Grant Ryerse did have 2 more hits to cap off his brilliant All-Star season. Final score Legends 1 - Expos 11.

 

 

2023 Season Preview-

A lot to be proud of in 2022, and lot to work on to continue competing at a high level. See you next spring. 

2022 Week 11 Recap- 

 

Game 1-

Week 11 was our 5th Game of the Week on the 2022 season. Game 1 was a pitcher's duel for the ages. Jon Lucktenberg went toe-to-toe with Evan Acosta as the two combined for 21 strikeouts in 6 innings of work. The Expos got on the board with a solo shot in the top of the 6th, but we finally broke through with a 4-run bottom of the 6th. Jared & Keir Anderson both provided 2-run base knocks for all the offense we would need. Grant Ryerse shut the door for the save, setting up a huge Game 2, with a playoff bye on the line. Final score Legends 4 - Expos 2. 

 

Game 2-

The Legends struggled coming out of the gate in Game 2, giving up 6 runs in the first inning... Most unearned. Erik Lundgren would come in relief and stepped up big time, holding the Expos scoreless for 5 innings. We would scratch our way back into the game offensively, as Jared Anderson had 3 hits and Carl Engbretson hit a 2-run HR. However, it wasn't enough to climb out of the early hole we dug. Final score Legends 4 - Expos 6.

 

 

2022 Playoff Preview-

Final record on the 2022 season ends up being 16-6, our all-time best. We earned the #3 seed and will play the True Blue in the first round in Burnsville.