Reusse: Baseball Day Minnesota presents the game’s many aspects but especially agony and ecstasy

There was considerable faith put into the future of baseball in Waconia in 2017, when a dusty ballfield was turned into the splendid Lions Field for the sum of $1.4 million. This has become a favored location for main events in the game’s Minnesota grassroots.

Waconia has been a co-host for the state amateur tournament, it’s busy in the summer with American Legion games and tournaments, and on Saturday, it was home for the second Baseball Day Minnesota.

When it comes to geography, there is no better spot than Waconia. It’s on the edge of the state’s population centers and a gateway to those baseball-loving burgs to the west.

The games started at 10 a.m. with Duluth Marshall vs. Montevideo, followed by Perham vs. Rockford, Maple Grove vs. Mounds View, and Waconia vs. Chaska.

Marshall was recruited in the hope that Owen Marsolek, a lefthander headed for Western Kentucky, would be the pitching choice. And that was the case: a 1-0 shutout with 15 strikeouts in his seven innings.

The second game was intended to feature another lefthander in Rockford’s Will Haas. Last June, it was Haas’ one-hit shutout that gave the Rockets the state Class 2A title with a 6-0 win over Foley.

Haas was committed to Tennessee by then. He had considerable assistance in Rockford’s quest for a repeat from righthander Patrick Binnebose. He’s headed for Iowa Central, a junior college that often is a stopping point on the way to a major college.

Haas was throwing a slider a couple of weeks ago in the sixth inning against Albany. He felt a pain in his arm and left the game.

“We thought it was tendinitis,” Haas said before Saturday’s game. “I pitched again, and it still was there. So, we went for a full look at it.”

Yup. The pitcher’s most common affliction: a tear in the UCL, described as partial. There are now a couple of options for those tears, but the likelihood is that Haas will undergo full Tommy John surgery.

The Southeastern Conference is more like a Class AA minor league than a collegiate conference when it comes to level of talent. The College World Series has become a glorified SEC Invitational.

So with those standards, how did Tennessee react when informed Haas would be arriving as a freshman unable to pitch for a year?

“The coaches were very positive,” Haas said. “They deal with this so often, it was almost like, ‘If you’re going to have a UCL injury, you might as well get it over with early.’ ”

Haas didn’t suggest this Saturday, but in a program like that, Haas might have been redshirted as a freshman anyway.

As for the surgery, Haas is putting it off as he tries to assist Rockford as state champ in its effort to repeat by serving as the designated hitter. He was batting fourth Saturday, against Perham — long the home to outstanding baseball.

So much so that there was recent sadness in the area with the death of Al Stigman, who pitched Perham to a state amateur title in 1967.

Brother Dick signed a pro contract and pitched effectively in the big leagues, including with the Twins. Al was said to be equally talented but turned down pro teams to stay home with wife Bev and family and work for Land O’Lakes.

“I did see some news about Al’s death,” said James Mulcahy, the Perham High coach. “The oldtimers were talking about Al being a great pitcher.”

Perham was the consolation winner in the Class 2A tournament a year ago. Mulcahy had arranged a home-and-home series with Rockford, with the Rockets scheduled to make the 2½-hour drive northwest this weekend.

“I got a call saying, ‘You want to move the game one day to play in the Baseball Day event in Waconia?’ ” Mulcahy said. “I said, ‘OK, as long as you make the trip to our place next year.’ ”

The Yellowjackets were able to piece together a two-run inning against Binnebose and then held for a 2-1 victory. The game ended with reliever Ashton Detloff facing Haas with two outs and runners at second and third in the bottom of the seventh.

The lefty-hitting Haas made it a long at-bat, but it ended with a chopper to first base. The Perham delegation, sizable considering the long drive to sit in the cold, let out a cheer, and Mulcahy’s team celebrated.

Mulcahy met a California lady at Concordia (Moorhead) as a college student, got married, moved out there, coached at a large high school, was divorced, and came back to Minnesota with the kids.

Perham — good baseball, less pressure on the coach.

Several yards away, Drew Ellingson, a slender, tall junior, was being interviewed. He was the winning pitcher and now was wearing a straw cowboy hat, a bit cockeyed on his head.

He was asked whether the young lad with the hat is a quirky fellow.

“Yes, he is,” Mulcahy said.

Winning and smiles. Can’t beat it.