Success breeds success, and that is the case for the Winsted Wildcats amateur baseball team.

The Wildcats, once again, made a deep run in the Class C state tournament in 2009, finishing fourth – the second time in three years Winsted has finished fourth (2007).

It was a year for the memory banks for the Wildcats and their fans, as they finished the 2009 regular season with a 13-5 Crow River Valley League record to win the North Division of the league.

The Wildcats followed that up by advancing to the Region 7C tournament, where they were the champions for the first time in history.

Following the region championship, Winsted advanced to the Class C state tournament, where they finished fourth.

On the season, the Wildcats finished with a 27-14 overall record, and were led by the 2009 CRVL MVP – Tony Kley.

Over the past decade, Winsted has advanced to the Class C state tournament four times, finishing fourth the last two times they were there (2007 and 2009). In 2003 and 2006, Winsted was also at state, but failed to place.

Changes are coming for the Wildcats this year due to a state rule which says that any team that places fourth or higher in the Class C state tournament in two out of three years has to move up to Class B for two seasons.

The Wildcats are looking forward to the challenge of Class B, where they will be playing in a section that includes Dassel-Cokato, Hutchinson, Delano, Maple Lake, St. Michael, Hamel, and Plato.

While Winsted will be playing against those teams during the season and when the playoffs roll around in August, they will be maintaining their long-standing rivalries in the CRVL.

The Wildcats will continue to play a full CRVL schedule in 2010, battling the likes of New Germany, Glencoe, and Watertown, just to name a few.

Winsted is managed by Aaron Schultz and Neil Schlagel. The two long-time Wildcats have managed since 2006.

While Winsted has enjoyed a multitude of success this past decade with four state tournament appearances, they have been unable to win a state championship.

That is something a team of the past has done. Back in 1948 the Wildcats were state champions, and followed that title season with state appearances in 1949 and 1950.

Amateur baseball in Winsted traces its beginnings back to 1935. Then, Winsted was a member of the Dairy Belt League, which also included Lester Prairie, Lake Marion, Hamburg, and Plato.

According to past player and longtime Winsted manager Francis Kappel, a long time ago, in 1947, a contest took place to select a name for the Winsted baseball club. The winning name was “Warriors.”

In those days, Winsted also had a second “class B” team, known as Specs’ Wildcats. That team was organized and run by Jerome “Specs” Campbell.

For a few years, in the early 1950s, Winsted did not have an organized ball club, due to the fact so many men were in the military. At about that same time, Specs’ team folded. When organized ball came back to Winsted in the mid 1950s, the Warriors’ name was changed to the Wildcats.

At that time, Winsted was in the Wright Star league. In 1972, Winsted joined the Crow River Valley League.

Winsted plays their home games at Denis M. Campbell Field in Winsted, with the 2010 season opening up at the end of April.

Over the years, Winsted has had three players, Francis Kappel, Ken Norman, and Denis M. Campbell (the Winsted baseball field’s namesake), inducted into the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.

For more information on the Winsted Wildcats, go to its web site at www.herald-journal.com/sports/baseball/crvl/winsted/wildcats.html, or call Aaron Schultz (320) 282-6514 or Neil Schlagel (320) 282-6506.

The Winsted Wildcats take a team photo at the 2009 state tournament. The team includes: front – Nate Fiecke, Curtis Herbolsheimer, Jace Whitcomb, Ben Machemehl, Eric Dietel, Matt Wroge; middle – Marc Kohler, Tony Kley, Justin Jacques, Hamburg draftee Mike Mueller, Jake Prehn, Gregg Kohler, Joe Kley; back – assistant manager Gene Birkholz, Aaron Schultz, Cullen Schultz, Matt Klitzke, Watertown draftee Josh Anthony, Mayer draftee Nic Haller, Steve Bisping, and Neil Schlagel.

Winsted’s Gregg Kohler and Denis “Soup” Campbell stand with the Region 7C championship trophy.