Caledonia Argus

Area softball team claims two national tourney titles

Posted: 10/1/02

by Andrew Miller
Argus Sports Reporter

The Caledonia-based Team Miken/Michelob softball squad took top honors in two national tournaments on September 15 and September 22.

At the National Softball Association Class ìBî World Series Tournament in Kankakee, Illinois on September 13-15, the team posted a 7-1 record and beat Team VICC from Chicago in the finals.

Their only loss came at the hands of Team VICC earlier in the tournament, so Team Miken/Michelob had to defeat them twice in the finals in order to take home the hardware. This task proved easy enoughñ championship game scores were 22-14 and 25-10.

Outfielder Brad King was named tournament MVP after posting a batting average of .774.

On September 20, the team traveled to McAllen, Texas to compete in the Amateur Softball Association Western National Tourney. They had earned a berth in the competition after placing first in a qualifying tournament on June 2 in Minneapolis.

The squad went 6-0, defeating teams from Iowa, Minnesota, and Texas. In their initial match-up against Meridian Softball, the top-rated team in Texas, Team Miken/Michelob eked out a 22-20 victory in seven innings. Team Meridian had two runners on base in the final inning, but failed to convert, giving Team Miken/Michelob the win.

Team Miken/Michelob faced Team Meridian again in the championship round, but this time it would be without the nail-biting, final-inning suspense of the first contestñ Team Miken/Michelob ran away with a 29-13 victory.

Two of Team Miken/Michelobís players were awarded Co-MVP honorsñ outfielder Randy King, who batted .760 throughout the tournament, and shortstop Mark Augedahl, who batted .750. King and Augedahl were also named All-Americans, along with teammates Shawn Bauer, Tony Hansen, and Mike Skelton.

Their victories in the ASA tourney put the teamís season record at 74-11, and winning the championship qualified them for the ASA National Championship on October 19 and 20 in Montgomery, Alabama. The squad will face the winner of the ASA Eastern National Tourney in a best of five series to determine the national champion.

The team is currently ranked #1 in Minnesota and has been Minnesotaís state tournament champion the past three years. The group of players has been together twelve years, and 10 of the teamís 12 players are graduates of Caledonia High School. They are sponsored by Miken Sports, Schott Distributing, and Michelob Golden Draft Light.

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