Wildcats Baseball

Garrett Zander rushes out to meet Leighton Buhr at home plate after scoring the go-ahead run for the Wildcats.

Information updated February 2020

When amateur baseball fans visit Denis M. Campbell Field this coming summer, there will be some changes to the ballpark. With the Winsted Wildcats being the hosts for the 2021 Region 7C Tournament, the team and community have already started to make improvements to, and around the field.

Due to a grant from the Minnesota Twins Community Fund, the Wildcats have had some help with their improvements. New fencing was put up around the entire field this past fall.

Another big improvement fans will see this season is the new scoreboard. The new scoreboard at Denis M. Campbell field was installed this past fall, and will be a big upgrade from the previous scoreboard.

The Plato Bluejays are the hosts for the 2020 Region 7C Tournament. Then, it will be the Winsted Wildcats’ chance to showcase their park to area baseball fans in 2021. The Region 7C Tournament runs on the first two weekends in August.

2019 Season Recap

After missing the Region 7C Tournament for the first time in four years in 2018, the Wildcats returned to the big stage again. Winsted nearly won the CRVL North Division title, but settled as the No. 7 seed in 2019.

In the opening round of the Region 7C Tournament, the Wildcats used a late rally to pick up a win. Winsted scored three runs in the top of ninth inning, to steal one away from the Glencoe Brewers in a 3-1 victory.

The Wildcats would go on to lose their next two games of the Region 7C Tournament to Young America and Green Isle. Both the Cardinals and the Irish would go on to represent Region 7C at the Class C state tournament.

In the CRVL playoffs, the Wildcats swept the Hamburg Hawks in the best-of-three-game-series. Winsted won Game 1 by a score of 9-1, and completed the sweep with a win in Game 2 by a score of 6-0, to advance to the Region 7C Tournament.

In 2019, the Wildcats were led at the plate by Nate Tesch, who had a breakout season. Tesch finished the season with a .395 batting average, which was good enough for sixth overall in the league.

Shane Khan led the way for the Wildcats on the mound. He recorded four wins while posting an ERA of 2.38 in 53 innings of work. He was also fifth in the league in strikeouts with 48.

History of the Wildcats

The Winsted Wildcats, they have four members in the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. They are: Denis M. Campbell (1980), Francis Kappel (1989), Ken Norman (2001), and Denis “Soup” Campbell (2012).