--by Brett Kruschke
The 5th-seeded Tigers almost pulled the upset, but couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead at Waconia and lost 4-3 on a two-out single in the ninth. The top-seeded Lakers entered with a 20-9 record, while the Tigers came in at 9-19 and losers of 12 of their previous 14.
The loss to Waconia came on the heels of a 3-0 victory for the Tigers over Carver, on Friday night. Last night, the Tigers rematched with Carver at home, as the Black Sox defeated Winthrop 20-17 on Sunday to eliminate the Eagles. Check www.bptigertown.com for an update on this season-hangs-in-the-balance game.
If the Tigers lost, it is time to get out the golf clubs, as the season is over. If the T-Town Express reigned victorious last night, they will play Thursday night at 7:30 pm, either at Brownton or as hosts to Waconia, depending on the outcome of that battle. (Yes – the scenarios get a little dizzying – please see the accompanying playoff bracket for help. Also, the Tiger website should have these updates and matchups the following morning.)
If the Tigers play and win Thursday, they will play Saturday for the CCL-Red championship, and more importantly, seeding privledges in Region 6C play, which will begin Wednesday, August 2nd. But let’s not put the ox before the cart. Go Tigers!
Tigers 3 vs. Carver 0, at Belle Plaine (Friday, July
21)
Having lost 12 of 13, momentum wasn’t exactly something the Tigers had
on their side as they entered the playoffs. Throw in the fact that Tigertown
was victim of the infamous “Carver sweep” earlier this year, and
the locals were desperate. In fact, the Tigers played with a sense of desperation
that may have been the key to their 3-0 victory.
If so, Shane Hofmann definitely served the role of head janitor, displaying an impressive set of keys that included a complete game, seven-hit shutout. Also dangling from his chain was nine big strikeouts among his 128 pitches. Hofmann walked only one batter on the evening.
The Black Sox put at least one man in scoring position in five of the nine innings, but each time were denied by the right-handed ace. No situation was larger than the eighth, when Hofmann struck out cleanup hitter Tim Campbell looking on a full count, with runners at first and second and two outs.
The Tigers clung to a 2-0 lead at the time, and served as visitors on the scoreboard as Carver arranged to play the game in Belle Plaine, due to a lack of lights at their home field.
El Tigre plated the game’s decisive first run when eight-hitter Peter Schuneman doubled in Matt Schultz all the way from first base. Schuneman was thrown out trying to stretch his double into a triple, and the Tigers weren’t heard from again until the eighth.
In the eighth, Nick Volek was hit by a pitch with one out, was wild pitched to second, and scored on a two-out single by Dave Kreft. In the ninth, the Big Grr added their third and final run when Black Sox starter Jay Trocke came apart like a cheap rental suit. Trocke dripped veteran savvy to that point, but after recording the inning’s first out, walked the bases loaded on 12 straight pitches (insert Harry Doyle sound byte here). Ross Tichy relieved, but was greeted by a sacrfice fly off the bat of Matt Schultz, making it 3-0.
Kreft and Schuneman led the way with two hits each, while both of Schuneman’s safeties were doubles. Brett Kruschke coached a stellar game at 3rd base, making zero mistakes that anyone would dare recall.
Tigers 3 @ Waconia 4 (Sunday, July 23)
The Tigers entered this battle without their # 3 hitter and veteran catcher,
Pat Schultz, who was off to his honeymoon after getting married the day before.
But as I’ve been telling Pat all year, he can’t hit lefties anyway,
so he wouldn’t have been in the lineup against Laker southpaw Travis
Van Doren (yeah, right).
The backdrop for this game turned out eerily similar. The Tigers lost 7-2 to Waconia on May 30, but on June 25, Mike Schultz lost at Waconia when he worked 8.1 innings, throwing 133 pitches as the Lakers rallied for two in the ninth to win, 4-3. On this night, Mike Schultz worked 8.1 innings and took the loss in the 9th, throwing 135 pitches.
The 135th pitch was Schultz’s last, as leadoff hitter Blaine Walstrom smoked a one-out, one-hop triple off the wall in right, just beating the relay throw ahead of third baseman Paul Dressen’s tag. Ryan Witt relieved, and fielded a hot comebacker to record the second out. But on his fourth pitch, 3-hitter Dan Chrest sent a single up the middle, ending the ballgame.
The Tigers took a 3-1 lead in the fourth, scoring two runs
on a fielder’s choice and an error on the same play, which allowed Nate
Hartmann and Shane Hofmann to both “come on down”. In the fifth,
the Lakers tied it up on a two-run double by cleanup hitter Dana Hegman.
The Tigers failed to get down a couple of bunts, and also ran into a tag on
a double play, that could have led to a fourth run. But loser’s remorse
is always a game of “if’s”. It could also be said that Mike
Schultz – to his credit – pitched out of several tough spots where
the Lakers could have taken advantage.
Offensively, the Tigers scraped together only five hits off complete game victor Travis “Don’t Call Me Mimi” Van Doren, with Adam Hoffman and Matt Schultz leading the way with two apiece. Hoffman also drove in the Tigers’ first run with an RBI single in the third.
It should be noted that this game lasted approximately 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 8 seconds longer than Mike and Matt Schultz’s co-best man’s speech at their brother’s wedding on Saturday.
This page was created and maintained by Nick Kornder, Sports Information Director at Northern State University. The views and ideas on this page are that of the author, and not those of Northern State University.