Class "C" - Central

TIGERS	14-4
Le Sueur	10-8
Chanhassen	7-11
Henderson	7-11
Waconia	6-12

Tigers 26-8 Overall

RVL-Central Playoffs RVL-West Playoffs Region 6C Playoffs Class ‘C’ State Tourney Class ‘B’ State Tourney

A member of the

Minnesota Baseball
Association

Tigers Clinch Region Berth;
Host RVL-Central Championship Saturday

The Tigers’ Adam Johnson struck out 14 batters in Friday’s 13-3 rout of Henderson. --PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLE PLAINE HERALD

Team Tigertown beat Henderson 13-3 on Friday and Le Sueur 3-0 on Sunday, putting them in the RVL-Central championship game on Saturday at 4:00 pm.  The opponent is yet to be determined – check www.bptigertown.com for updates – but the location will once again be Tiger Park.

Most importantly, the Tigers have already secured a spot in the Region 6C playoffs.  Whether they are the #1 or #2 seed from the RVL-Central will be determined on Saturday.

Belle Plaine’s next game will be Friday, August 6th, at 8:00 pm, and they will also play Sunday, August 8th, at 2:00 pm. The opponents and locations are yet to be determined, and a full bracket will appear in next week’s Herald. 

If you’d like to check out the bracket seedings before then, visit the Tiger website.  Oh wait...You already did.

East Side Merchants 8 @ Tigers 0 (Tuesday, July 20)
Winners of nine straight and 13 of 14, the Tigers welcomed the East Side Merchants – a Class ‘A’ team from St. Paul – to Tiger Park for a final tune-up before Friday’s playoff opener.  Unfortunately the local nine would not be “movin’ on up” to topple the East Side, as suggested in “The Jeffersons” theme song.

The Tigers turned in a couple sterling defensive plays early, with Josh Terrio making a sliding catch in front of the Merchants dugout in the 1st, and centerfielder Tim Huber laying out to make a sprawling catch in the 2nd.  “Country” Matt Schultz even pitched in with a shoe-string snag in the 4th.  After four frames, things were scoreless.

That’s when the East Siders plated four runs, all with two outs, and batted around against starter Dan Huber.  A pair of two-run doubles did the damage, and led to Huber’s exit after the inning concluded.

Meanwhile, the Merchants’ Brian Olson was dealing, and on his way to a complete game, six-hit shutout.  It was the third blanking of El Tigre this year.  Olson walked two and struck out seven in a masterful effort.

Tim Huber was the only Tiger to solve Olson, going 3-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.  The three hits raised Huber’s average to .370 in 27 at-bats this year.

Shawn Larson worked the final four innings, and suffered Dan Huber’s fate in yielding a four-run frame, this time the 7th.  It’s a good thing it was Fan Appreciation Night, or I’m not sure anyone would have been left by the time the 9th inning rolled around.

The Tigers tried shaking off the loss by telling themselves, “Now we’re up in the big leagues / getting our turn at-bat / as long as we live / it’s you and me baby / there ain’t nothing wrong with that”. 

Henderson 3 @ Tigers 13 (8 innings – Friday, July 23 ~ RVL-Central Playoffs)
#4 Henderson beat #5 Waconia two nights earlier, and their reward was Adam Johnson and company on Friday night at Tiger Park.  After a one-out error in the first, though, Luke Frauendienst lost one over the right-field wall, and it was suddenly 2-0 as the H-Town faithful hooted for joy.

Pat Schultz delivered a corresponding blow in the bottom of the frame to tie it at two, scoring brother Matt, who had walked.

Through 3 ½ innings the local nine looked more tense than a hostage negotiation in posting four errors, as another unearned run in the third made it 3-2, visitors.

It was all BP from that point forward, however, as Pat Schultz highlighted a six-run 4th with a three-run, two-out double.  11 men batted in the inning, chasing starter Cody Boelter.

The Tigers put up another three in the 6th, with Pat Schultz driving in his sixth run of the game on a sacrifice fly, and Travis Latzke scoring two on a double.

Meanwhile A.J. was hitting his stride, and struck out nine of the last 11 men he faced.  In all, he hung up 14 K’s.  In a strange twist, Frauendienst collected the only three hits Johnson gave up.

The game ended prematurely when two Tiger runs in the 8th put the 10-run rule into effect.

Each BP starter but one collected at least one hit, but Pat Schultz and Travis Latzke were men among boys.  Pat the Elder went 4-for-4 with a home run, a sacrifice fly, and six RBI, while Travis the Younger went 4-for-4 with a double, a hit-by-pitch, and three RBI. 

 

Le Sueur 0 @ Tigers 3 (Sunday, July 25 ~ RVL-Central Playoffs)
#2 Le Sueur pounded #3 Chanhassen 15-5 in 8 innings on Friday night, much as #1 BP did #4 Henderson.  With a berth in the Region playoffs at stake, pesky D.J. Damberger faced off against the Tigers’ Rob Wagener, he of 27 innings and no earned runs on the season.
  
“Wags” would be tested early and often as in each of the first five frames, a Tiger defender committed an error.  (It may or may not have been the same player, but due to the Fielder Protection Act of 1973, no further information will be released at this time.)

So far a lone Tiger run was standing up – a two-out double from Jim Buesgens in the 2nd, just barely scoring Matt Schultz all the way from first – but the sixth would pose as Wagener’s biggest escape act yet.

With the bases loaded and two gone, the right-hander unleashed a wild pitch and Mike Koller dashed home from third.  Catcher Pat Schultz’s throw beat the runner and the tag was applied, but after an initial ‘out’ call, the home plate umpire determined for some reason that Wagener didn’t have control of the ball, and called him safe. 

Wagener gave a look of bearded disbelief and pleaded his case for another opinion – from the base ump – and to Belle Plaine’s surprise and Le Sueur’s dismay, the call was yet again reversed and the inning was over.  The Braves put up a lengthy protest, as any team would have, but the call stood.

After a one-out double by Ed Fahey in the 7th, Wagener got two more outs and his work was done for the day:  seven scoreless innings, with no walks and six strikeouts; and an amazing, if not improbable extension, of his consecutive innings streak without an earned run to 34. 

In the 7th Dan Huber doubled with two outs, but pinch-runner Jonny Schulz was thrown out at the dish after trying to score all the way from first.  Those tight hammies have to be feeling a little bit looser today!

After Brad Lawson worked a scoreless 8th – leaving the tying run at third when he struck out Darron Culbert – the Tigers finally got some insurance off Damberger, who’d kept them at bay all afternoon.

Pat Schultz doubled with one out – his third hit, raising his average to .384 – and pinch-runner brother Mike scored an out later on brother Matt’s single. Buesgens then provided additional breathing room with his second RBI knock of the day.

In the 9th, “Rabbit Ears” Lawson brought the tying run to the plate with two outs, but got ex-Tiger Mike Milam to fly out to center, to the fielder that shall not be named.

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