The Austin Greyhounds will battle for the Section 2B title tonight in Rochester.

Thursday, August 12, 1999

The Austin Greyhounds will battle for the Section 2B title tonight in Rochester.

Well, the Hounds won’t actually battle. Let’s just say they’ll show up and play.

With its Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament berth in hand, it’s unlikely fans will see the Austin town team’s best effort. Austin would have to beat Rochester twice to win the double-elimination tournament and earn a No. 1 seed.

"We’re happy where we are at No. 2," said Hounds skipper Bryant Olson, who will save his top pitchers, Brian Toov and Tim Brandt, by throwing the kitchen sink at the Royals – centerfielder Tate Cummins and shortstop Tim Kaplan likely will pitch.

The real game will begin after the Royals and Hounds finish playing. That’s when the two teams will hold a player draft. As state tournament participants, Austin and Rochester will be able to draft three players each from the other teams in Section 2B. The players must be pitchers or catchers.

That means Ryan Krautkremer, the 12-1 Waseca pitcher who the Hounds beat for the rights to state on Tuesday, may be a Hound for the state tournament.

"It’s possible," said Olsen, who also has his eyes on Tony Camps of Mankato. Both Camps and Krautkremer would bring good sticks into the Hounds lineup as well.

Because it will likely retain its No. 1 seed, Rochester will get the No. 1 pick.

One thing’s for certain, Austin will be taking three pitchers – "we’re going to stock up," Olsen said – and no catchers.

"We’ve got the best catcher in the league," Olsen said, referring to Garrett Swank.

Swank and Co. will begin state play in Granite Falls on Aug. 22 at 11 a.m. The Hounds do not yet know who they will play; brackets for the 16-team Class B tournament will be released next week.

The Class B and C tournaments are held in Marshall and Granite Falls over three weekends beginning Aug. 19. The Class A tournament will be in the Twin Cities and features mostly metro teams.