Wessel's Coors Light Closes out 2011

[Beno 22]

Article in the Effingham Daily News

Wessel’s Coors Light Finishes tied for 13th in NAFA World Series

Wessel’s Coors Light tied for 13th place at NAFA World Series Fastpitch Tourney in Rockford, IL August 11-14. Coors Light finished with a record of 3-2. The World Series’ had 36 teams from 13 different states and Canada competing for the World Series title. The NAFA tourney took place at the beautiful 8 Diamond Sportscore complex.
Coors Light played their first game on Thursday against Kelso, MO. The team fought hard but lost to Tom Jansen of Kelso, MO a team that finished 4th. Aaron Witges had 2 hits for Wessel’s as Gary Niebrugge took the loss.
Friday Wessel’s began their long run through the loser’s bracket with their 1st win. They defeated Jack Daniel’s of Ohio. 9-0 Chad Buehnerkemper started the scoring with a 2 run single in the 1st inning. John Niebrugge had a double and a 2 run home run, Jim Raddatz had 2 singles and an RBI and Marcus Millsap added 2 singles as well. Gary Niebrugge was the winning pitcher. He pitched a 3 hit shutout.
On Saturday, Coors Light picked up a forfeit victory over JP’s from Nebraska. The next game was against Saw Dust City out of Wisconsin and they won 3-1. There was a 90 minute rain delay but Jason Einhorn went the distance pitching a 5 hitter. Jon Lee had a single, triple and 2 RBI’s. Buehnerkemper added 2 singles.
The rains hit again causing the 3rd delay of the tournament. All games were changed to 5 innings on Sunday. Coors Light lost to RM Kurtz out of Pennsylvania 6-5 on Sunday to end their tournament. They lead 5-1 after 3 innings. RM Kurts scored 4 runs with 2 outs in the top of the 4th inning. They had chances to score in the final 2 innings but the hitters did not come up with the key hit. Einhorn took the loss. Darren Zerrusen worked a scoreless 5th. Sean Lee had a 3 run homerun in the 1st. It was a tough way to end the tournament and the season. Overall it was a good run against great competition.
Wessel’s Coors Light would finish in a tie for 13th place and 3-2 record in the tournament. They did not have anyone voted to the All World Team but did have John Niebrugge, Jim Raddatz, and Jon Lee hit .500 for the tournament. Sean Lee led the team with 5 RBI’s. Jason Einhorn and Gary Niebrugge both had 1 pitching victory.
Final order of finish – 1. Memphis Firebirds(Tennessee) 2.Blues FP (Michigan) 3. Crow Bar (South Dakota) 4. Kelso Fastpitch (Missouri)
Wessel’s Coors Light has completed their solid 2011 season. They ended with a record of 23-23. In 2011, Coors Light won the ASA Wood Bat State Championship! They also finished 3rd in the Altamont 4th of July. Gary Niebrugge led the team in 12 pitching wins and a 4.93 ERA. Marcus Millsap led the team with 12 homeruns and 44 RBI’s. Kris Zalman led the team in average at .412 and John Niebrugge was at .405.
Manager Buehnerkemper added “The competition in this tournament was great. We did not see a weak team. We played well and competed hard. We were satisfied with our results in such a competitive tourney. It was a tough way to end the season on Sunday but sometimes the ball does not bounce your way. The season got off to a rough start as we were developing young pitchers and dealt with a lot of injuries. We turned things around in July. Winning the wood bat State Championship against the best pitchers in the state was the highlight of the year. Everyone on this team has contributed and gave everything they had. We would like to thank our sponsors Wessel’s Grocery and Koerner’s Distributing.

2011 WCL Roster
Chad Buehnerkemper – Mgr. Gary Niebrugge
Jim Raddatz – Coach Eric Roley
Kris Zalman Brent Bohnoff
Josh Pruemer John Niebrugge
Sean Lee Marcsu Millsap
John Lee Todd Thoele
Tim Schumacher Jaden Widderscheim
Todd Venters Scott Moeller
Kent Niebrugge Paul Mersman

Jason Einhorn, Aaron Witges, Darren Zerrusen, Steve Boswell were major contributors to the team that went to the NAFA World Series.