WILLMAR -- Jeff Gallagher has chalked up over 300 wins as American Legion baseball coach at Montevideo.
Still, the state tournament was the one thing missing from his impressive resume.
"It hasn't been that long that they split the tournament into two divisions," said Gallagher, in his 25th season. "We had to compete with the Willmars, the Alexandrias and the Marshalls in the past. We could compete with one or two of them each year, but it's hard with so many bigger towns because they had so many more kids to pick nine starters from."
Now Montevideo is getting picked on from teams its own size and Gallagher's squads are pushing back. Montevideo is 18-5 this season and earned its first state tournament berth, in any class, since 1975.
Division II teams include enrollments of 400 or less.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We run well and have good overall team speed," said Gallagher, who also has over 300 wins as both high school baseball and wrestling coach at Montevideo. "And we hit the ball well and pitch well enough. We're not overpowering in any area, but we're fundamentally sound."
Montevideo will open against Royalton at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Willmar.
Montevideo is hitting .333 as a team this season, led by Gallagher's son, James, a two-time All-Area picher/infielder, who sports a .413 average with 31 runs, eight triples, 27 RBI and 12 stolen bases.
Mike Tanhoff, an outfielder, is hitting .409 with 29 runs scored and 13 stolen bases. Five others are hitting over .300 this season -- John Schmit (.377, 21 runs, 25 RBI), Mike Hinde (.368, 23 runs), Jon Altena (.346) and Tyler Kanten (.314, 21 runs).
On the mound, James Gallagher has a 7-0 record and a 1.83 ERA in 421/3 innings. Kanten is 5-0 with a 3.58 ERA in 41 innings, Brady Johnson 3-2 with a 2.19 ERA in 32 innings and Altena 3-2 with a 3.04 ERA in 282/3 innings.
Montevideo also earned state berths in 1945 and '61.
besides 1975 ... Gallagher also has chalked up over 300 wins as coach in both high school baseball and wrestling at Montevideo ... The last area team to win a Division II state title was Paynesville in 2003. Sacred Heart won in 2000 ... This is the fourth time Willmar has hosted the tournament in the last 10 years ... Jordan beat Pipestone 8-0 in last year's championship ... Jordan, LaCrescent and Nashwauk-Keewatin were also in the tournament last season.
