winsted Wildcats
By Kip Kovar
The 2020 amateur baseball season will be one to remember for a variety of reasons . Not only did the season get started late , but the Winsted Wildcats had one of their best regular seasons in the past decade .
Winsted opened the season with seven-straight wins in the Crow River Valley League . That hot start earned them the No . 2 seed in the Region 7C Tournament .
After COVID-19 threw a wrench in things last summer , the Winsted Wildcats are scheduled to host the 2022 Region 7C Tournament . The team and community have already started to make improvements to , and around the fi eld .
Due to a grant from the Minnesota Twins Community Fund , the Wildcats have had some help with their improvements . New fencing was put up around the entire fi eld this past fall .
Another big improvement fans will see this season is the new scoreboard . The new scoreboard at Denis M . Campbell fi eld was installed this past fall and will be a big upgrade from the previous scoreboard .
The Plato Bluejays are the hosts for the 2021 Region 7C Tournament . Then , it will be the Winsted Wildcats ’ chance to showcase their park to area baseball fans in 2021 . The Region 7C Tournament runs on the fi rst two weekends in August . 2020 Season Recap The Wildcats were the surprise team of the season this year in the Crow River Valley League . After a hot start , the Wildcats secured a bye and the No . 2 seed in the Region 7C Tournament . It was the second year in a row Winsted qualifi ed for the region tournament .
In the opening round of the Region 7C Tournament , the Wildcats ran into an ace pitcher
who could do no wrong . Mayer ’ s Will LaLonde was too much to handle as the Wildcats dropped their fi rst game of the tournament to the Blazers .
Winsted ’ s season would ultimately come to an end with a loss to the Green Isle Irish in their second game of the tournament . History of the Wildcats The Winsted Wildcats have four members in the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame . They are : Denis M . Campbell ( 1980 ), Francis Kappel ( 1989 ), Ken Norman ( 2001 ), and Denis “ Soup ” Campbell ( 2012 ).
Winsted ’ s Shane Khan was the top pitcher for the Wildcats this season posting an ERA of 2.38 in 53 innings of work .
PHOTO BY KIP KOVAR
A new scoreboard at Denis M . Campbell Field will be a new attraction this summer for fans . The new scoreboard is just one of many improvements the Wildcats have made as they get ready to host the Region 7C Tournament in 2022 .
PHOTO BY KIP KOVAR
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