Submitted photo/information Pictured is Myron Fluegge holding the team trophy won by the MN Lumberjacks 75AA team at Sunset Park in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Submitted information

Ten years ago the MN Lumberjacks 65AA slow pitch softball team won its first-ever Senior Softball USA (SSUSA) World Championships tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 2021 the team won the 75AA division championship. The 75AA team made a return trip to Las Vegas this year from September 16-18 and once again came back with a National Championship.

New Ulm resident Myron Fluegge, age 79, was the one constant on all three championships. Fluegge pitched three of the five games played and ended with a 3-0 record. In 19 innings he gave up just four walks, pitching from 50 feet to a mat that covers home plate and is 19 inches wide by 34.5 inches long.

There were 25 teams in the 75+ age that played in Las Vegas, divided into four rating divisions. The MN Lumberjacks played three preliminary games against 75AAA teams, a rating one step above their own. In their first game the Lumberjacks won 19-10 over Git-R-Done from CA. The So. California Warriors were the only team to defeat the MN team, 20-19. In the final preliminary game the Lumberjacks won 14-12 against Scrap Iron Stampede from Colorado.

The final tournament play was a best 2 of 3 vs. the Top Gun Olde Dawgs 75AA team from California. In the first game the Lumberjacks came from behind by scoring three runs in the bottom of sixth inning to go ahead 16-14 and hung on for the win. The Lumberjacks finished the series with a 15-10 over the same team in game two. With the win the MN Lumberjacks’ 13 players came home with a championship team trophy and certificates to order out free individual personalized championship rings.

The SSUSA World Championships is the largest softball tourney in North America. A total of 646 teams will be competing out in Las Vegas from September 12-29 at eight softball complexes. Men’s ages are 40, 50, 55 up to age 85. Women’s ages are 40, 50, and 55.

Fluegge’s teammates are mainly from the Twin Cities area and up north by Bemidji and Detroit Lakes. The team played SSUSA qualifier tournaments in Coon Rapids, MN; Waterloo, IA; Little Canada, MN; and Rochester, MN during the season.

“I am thankful that God has given me good health to play softball and enjoy the camaraderie of teammates and competition,” Fluegge said.