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With a 3-3 record, the Chisago Lakes Wildcats found themselves with only five points heading into last week, placing them in the middle of the District 10-Northend standings. Good, but certainly not good enough, and they knew it. Looking to climb the ladder, the ‘Cats rolled into a crucial part of their schedule, facing Braham last Tuesday before finishing the week with two games against Princeton.

Chisago Lakes 9

Braham 3

Part of the reason why the Wildcats have been so inconsistent this season has been their offense. However, last Tuesday versus Braham, Chisago’s bats showed what they can do, pounding out nine runs in a 9-3 win.

Karl Lee and Derrick Olson got the Wildcats going right away, each notching RBI’s in the top of the first, leading to an early 2-0 lead. After Braham answered back with a run in the second, Olson did his job once again in the top of the third, knocking in Kyle Collins with a sacrifice fly, giving the ‘Cats a two run lead.

Then, leading 3-2 after four, the Wildcats bombed the Bombers with five runs, putting the game out of reach. Olson, Shawn Rancourt, and Levi Jones drove in runs in the inning. For Olson, his fifth inning RBI was his third of the game. The four run burst improved the Chisago lead to 7-2.

Still not done, Olson and the ‘Cats dealt Braham a final blow in the sixth, scoring two runs, including one run off the bat of Olson, his fourth RBI of the game. The two runs catapulted the Wildcats to a 9-2 lead, paving the way for a 9-3 win.

“Olson was huge. He had four RBI’s and all of them were clutch at bats,” remarked Trent Grams, Chisago Lakes American Legion head coach. “Whenever we needed a run he got it for us.”

The win gave the Wildcats their fourth win of the season, putting last week’s disappointing performance behind them where they lost three of four to St. Francis and Delano. That after all was the goal all along.

“After last week, that disappointing loss to Delano, it was huge for us to pick up a two point win,” mentioned Grams. “It helped us move back into the top half of the standings and it was nice to get some confidence back, especially at the plate.”

Game One-

Chisago Lakes 12

Princeton 4

That confidence at the plate grew leaps and bounds last Thursday. Facing Princeton in the first game of a doubleheader, the bats went back to work, this time pounding out 12 runs in a 12-4 win.

The Wildcats needed just four innings to do their damage. Batting in the third, down 1-0, Danny Reed highlighted an answer, accounting for one of the two Chisago runs in that inning, giving the ‘Cats their first lead of the game at 2-1.

That lead exploded in the fourth as the Wildcats added six more. Batting with the bases loaded, Mark Unger provided the fireworks with a two-run double. Shawn Rancourt also came through with an RBI single in the inning, helping to extend their lead to 8-2.

Not to be outdone, Thomas Moody added to the scoring in the top of the sixth, accounting for the ‘Cats second home run of the game with a solo blast, one of two runs scored by Chisago in the sixth, making the score 10-2.

“He got a couple home runs,” replied Grams. “Reed has two or three now this summer, and Moody’s been hitting the ball hard all year. I just told him to drop his shoulder a little bit to get some loft and he’s been working really hard on that.”

Two more runs in the seventh, including another RBI single by Rancourt, put a final stamp on a 12-4 convincing win, the Wildcats fifth win of the year.

“We got them (bats) going right away,” mentioned Grams, referring to his team’s hitting display. “Twelve runs should win a lot of games for you that’s for sure.”

On the mound, Zander Mueller picked up his first win of the year after being handed three no decisions in his first three starts of the season.

Game Two-

Princeton 11

Chisago Lakes 10

(8 innings)

In game two of the doubleheader, things started to fall apart for Chisago. Definitely not at the plate, where they scored 10 more runs, giving them 22 runs in two games, but in the field, where seven costly errors led to an 11-10 loss in eight innings, snapping their winning streak at two.

The score-fest began with a bang, especially for the Wildcats as they scored the first three runs of the game thanks to RBI’s by Collins, Jones, and Rancourt. However, the wheels began to fall off in the top of the third. Leading 3-0, Princeton answered back with five runs, only two earned, taking a short lived 5-3 lead.

Struggling in the field, Chisago did their best to make up for it at the plate, striking for three more runs in the bottom of the third, re-taking the lead, 6-5. Moody and Lee did the damage for the ‘Cats, accounting for the three runs, two of which came on a Lee two-run single.

“We were hitting the ball well, we were scoring some runs, but whenever we did something on offense, our defense let us down,” replied Grams.

In this case, the Wildcats defense stalled in the fifth. Leading 9-5 through four after Chisago added three more runs, the Tigers once again stormed back, thanks in large part to a shaky Chisago defense. Princeton added four of their own, two unearned, tying the game 9-9.

The Wildcats gave one final push when Reed knocked in a run in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single, but the Tigers finished the game with one in the sixth and one in the eighth to steal an ugly 11-10 win.

“Way too many physical errors,” said Grams. “They were physical, not mental. Everyone was in the right position to make the play, it just didn’t happen. That’s something we can fix though. Without the errors, it would’ve been more like a 10-4 game, but we know we can fix those mistakes. We’re not too worried about it right now as long as we can fix them.”

The loss dropped the Wildcats to 5-4 on the season, putting them in fourth place behind St. Francis, Hinckley, and Braham in the standings. Up next, the ‘Cats face Pine City and North Branch this week, both at home.

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