| THE
LATEST |
Saturday,
August 28, 2010
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6
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BELLE PLAINE |
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All Winter Long
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| TIGERS | 14-4 |
| Le Sueur | 10-8 |
| Chanhassen | 7-11 |
| Henderson | 7-11 |
| Waconia | 6-12 |
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Tigers 31-9 Overall |
A member of the
Minnesota Baseball
Association
Pinch-runner Ryan Witt was thrown out at the plate to end the 8th inning.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLE PLAINE HERALD
A season of high hopes and wild success came to a stumbling end Saturday in Willmar, when the Sacred Heart Saints beat the Tigers 6 to 3. Belle Plaine trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th with runners at 2nd and 3rd and one away, but consecutive outs on the basepaths left the locals with no runs and a bitter pill to swallow.
A 2-out, 2-run homer in the top of the 9th provided the final margin of victory for Sacred Heart, before the Tigers went quietly (well, sort of) in a 1-2-3 bottom of the frame.
The teams combined for 27 hits in what was expected to be more of a pitcher’s duel, but Belle Plaine committed four costly errors against none for the Saints.
Sacred Heart went on to win Sunday, 3-0 over Lastrup, and is one of four undefeated teams remaining (four teams with one loss each also remain) as the Class ‘C’ tournament heads to the final weekend.
Meanwhile the RVL’s Shakopee Indians are alive and well in Class ‘B’, as they look to defend last year’s state title. Visit www.minnesotabaseball.org for current brackets and real-time updates, or throw caution to the wind and venture to Bird Island and Willmar this holiday weekend.
The 2010 campaign comes to a close at 31-9, the most wins since the early to mid-90’s Tigers of lore (records are a tad scattershot at this point). Combined with last year’s 26-10 mark, El Tigre is 57-19 (.750) over the last two seasons. Compare that to a 161-173 (.482) compilation over the previous decade, and it’s safe to say the bar has been raised.
The Plainesmen have made 12 state tourney appearances since 1885, and three of those have come in the last four years.
The wounds are still too fresh to sweep the 2010 season under the rug just yet, but expectations are that the ball team will return largely intact for another run at postseason glory in 2011. Enjoy the off-season and we’ll see you in the spring!
Sacred Heart 6 vs. Tigers 3, at Willmar (Saturday, August 28 ~ Class ‘C’ State Tournament, Second Round)
Sacred Heart is a team not unlike Belle Plaine, in that they can fill their lineup with many of the same names. BP can throw three Schultzes and two Hubers at you, while the Saints offer four Hebrinks and two Hinderks’.
Shortstop Ryan Hebrink led off the game with a single, but was picked off by Adam Johnson and retired 1-3-4-3. Tyler Kleinhulzen doubled, and with two outs pitcher Jeremy Hinderks singled in the first run of the game.
The Chatfield Choo-Choo answered back when Shawn Larson delivered another two-out RBI single in the bottom of the frame, scoring Matt Schultz.
A real highlight of the game came when Nate Hebrink singled to right field in the second, but Shawn “Let’s Get It Tarted” Larson fired a strike to the trailing Pat Schultz to erase the runner.
Sacred Heart grabbed a pair in the 4th for a 3-1 lead, thanks in large part to a pair of Tiger errors and a sacrifice fly the wind wreaked havoc with, that otherwise might have resulted in a contested play at the plate.
Larson and Jeff Miller singled to open the home half of the 4th, and after Brad Lawson lined out to third, Jim Buesgens drew a walk to load the bases. Speedy Travis Latzke then grounded into a “controversial” double play to end the inning – I think even the first base umpire’s mother would have told you it was a blown call. So instead of at least one run, the Tigers were forced to settle for none.
In the 5th with two gone, Tim Huber reached on a wind-aided double to centerfield. Pat Schultz lined the first of three consecutive singles to score Huber, scoring soon after as Larson and Miller followed his lead.
The 6th inning could have been the “can’t stands ya” stanza as two more Tiger errors broke the tie and contributed towards a fourth run for the Saints. The go-ahead run came in when 9-hitter Mike Johnson singled with two outs.
Sacred Heart loaded the bases with two down in the 7th, but with Nate Hebrink already 3-for-3 off starter Adam Johnson, manager Miller summoned Brad Lawson to come in and pitch. The first offering was grounded to defensive replacement Josh Terrio at third, who threw to second baseman Buesgens to end the inning.
The nightmare 8th started promisingly. After Miller drew a leadoff walk and Lawson failed to get a bunt down, he faked bunt and lined a single into left field, putting runners at first and second. Buesgens sacrificed, and the Tigers had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with one out.
Sacred Heart’s Tyler Kleinhuizen, right, pulls into second base with a first-inning double as Belle Plaine’s Jim Buesgens cradles the throw from the outfield in the Class C state amateur tournament Saturday at Bill Taunton Stadium in Willmar.
West Central Tribune photo by Rand Middleton
Latzke stepped into the box 2-for-3 on the afternoon, and sent a grounder to second base. Pinch-runner Nick Volek broke toward home but got caught in a rundown, and was tagged out.
With pinch-runner Ryan Witt remaining at second, Latzke at first, and two away, Dan Huber ripped a base hit to left. Witt was furiously waved home, but lost balance a bit along the way and was thrown out at the plate on a dead-on throw from Nate Hebrink.
With two gone in the top of the 9th and the Tigers just about ready to come in and scrap for their run, Lawson yielded a walk and Jeff Hinderks made him pay with a no-doubt-about-it blast to left-centerfield, making it 6-3.
The Tigertown Express was retired in order for the final outs, and their suspended state of disbelief became reality.
Five Tigers posted multiple hits, led by Shawn Larson’s second consecutive three-hit game at 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jeff Miller went 2-for-3 with an RBI, finishing off a sizzling playoff run (10-for-21, .476).
2010 SEASON IN REVIEW
The Tigers started out 5-4 against some stiff competition, including a thrilling 6-5 win (with five in the 9th) against the defending Class ‘B’ state champion Shakopee Indians.
BP went 19-4 over the rest of the regular season, and took 3rd place in the Black Sox Tourney in Freeport and Avon. They also sent Pat Schultz, Tim Huber, and Brad Lawson to the DRS-RVL All-Star Game in Belle Plaine on July 9th.
El Tigerino clinched the RVL-Central regular season division title with a 14-4 mark.
The Tigers won their first seven playoff games – including RVL-Central and Region 6C crowns – before succumbing to Sacred Heart 6-3 in the 2nd round of the Class ‘C’ State Tournament. The Red Caps dismissed the Mankato Mets 4-0 in 1st round action.
The Tigers beat Chanhassen 11-1 for the RVL-Central title, and St. Peter 7-2 for the Region championship along the way.
For the season, the Chatfield Nine outscored their opponents by a combined 254 to 136. During the playoffs, the total was 62 to 16.
The Tigers batted .300 as a team this year – including six regulars over .300 – and the individual batting champ goes to Pat Schultz, who hit exactly .381 for the second year in a row. It’s the fourth time in Schultz’s career he has led the team in hitting.
The team slugged 10 homers for the second consecutive year, and Pat Schultz also led the way in that department with three.
The pitching staff posted a dead-ball era ERA of 2.70, their best collective mark in at least sixteen years. While 123-inning ace Adam Johnson posted an impressive 1.90 ERA with 12 wins and 166 K’s, it was hard to top Rob Wagener’s 0.00 ERA in 39.2 innings. Wagener was only charged with one total run on the year, as he worked his way back from off-season arm surgery.
The Tigers posted nine shutouts this year, after posting ten in 2009. Over the previous ten years, BP pitching recorded 20.
Dan Huber and Matt Schultz were Tiger iron men, playing in all 40 games.
The Tiger defense regressed from 2009’s 62 errors and finished with 83.
Full season stats should be posted to www.bptigertown.com in the coming weeks.
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