The Rochester Royals drubbed the Austin Greyhounds 16-2 Thursday at Mayo Field.

Friday, August 13, 1999

The Rochester Royals drubbed the Austin Greyhounds 16-2 Thursday at Mayo Field.

The win insured the Royals the No. 1 seed from Section 2B in the 16-team Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament, beginning Thursday in Marshall and Granite Falls.

The win was also not totally unexpected. The Hounds, already pleased with their No. 2 seed, didn’t go out of their way to beat Rochester. In order to earn the No. 1 seed, the Hounds would’ve had to beat the Royals twice, making winning just once all the more unattractive.

So Austin rolled the dice and used center fielder Tate Cummins as its starting pitcher.

"He’s not a regular pitcher," skipper Bryant Olsen said. "We knew they were going to hit."

Cummins did hit a home run to keep the game from being totally one-sided.

After the game, the Hounds (11-16) selected two pitchers and a catcher in a pre-state player draft.

Tony Kamps, a one-time Minnesota State University, Mankato ballplayer, and current Minnesota State players Ryan Krautkremer and Andy Schmidt will join Austin for its title bid. Krautkremer and Kamps, of Mankato’s town team, will be put in the rotation. In fact, Krautkremer will start the Hounds’ opener on Aug. 22 at 11 a.m. (The Hounds find out who their opponent is next week.) Hounds aces Brian Toov and Tim Brandt will remain in the pitching rotation, with Toov moving to right field when he isn’t pitching.

"The bottom line is we need to put hitters in the lineup and Krautkremer and Kamps will both bat 3-4-or-5 for us," Olsen said.

They can also pitch. Austin handed Krautkremer his only loss on the year by claiming the state-elimination game in Waseca on Tuesday by a score of 7-5. The lefthander is 12-1 this season with "the best pick-off move in the state," Olsen said.

Schmidt will play behind Garrent Swank. Schmidt, also from Waseca, was added as insurance should Swank go down.

Austin will practice throughout the week leading up to the tournament.