Advertisement
“Start walking,” Husing said to to his Chaseburg-Coon Valley amateur baseball teammate, but Raasch stayed put. He wasn’t taking anything for granted, especially being named Most Valuable Player of Monday night’s Mississippi Valley League Tournament title game against Bangor and earning a nice trophy for his efforts.
MVL commissioner Gary “Rock” Lawrynk had decided by the eighth inning of Chaseburg-Coon Valley’s 13-2 victory that Raasch was the MVP. The Blues’ designated hitter and senior-to-be for the Viterbo University baseball team had gone 4-for-4, including a towering three-run home run, and driven in four runs. And he was going to take home some well-deserved hardware even after striking out with the bases loaded in the eighth.
But it really didn’t matter by that point. The Blues (33-11) were having fun en route to winning their second straight MVL Tournament title and third since 2001. And Raasch, a 2005 Westby High School graduate, simply was enjoying the moment.
“I never expected anything like this (being named MVP),” Raasch said. “It was just a normal pregame for me: Get here at 6 p.m., take batting practice, stretching and throwing.
“This was fun. It’s fun to do well in front of the home crowd.”
An estimated crowd of 125 at Coon Valley Veterans Memorial Park got to see the Blues at their best. But then again, Chaseburg-Coon Valley has played stellar baseball since May by winning the MVL regular-season title. And now the Blues will head to Osseo, Wis., on Friday to play in the Wisconsin Baseball Association district tournament.
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had playing on a team,” Raasch said. “And obviously we’ve been pretty successful, too.”
Kirk Bey can be reached at (608) 791-8414, or at kbey@lacrossetribune.com
