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Chisago Lakes 4

Hinckley 1

No rest for the weary… at all. Just two days after the spring season wrapped up in Grand Rapids at the section 7AAA baseball tournament, the Chisago Lakes American Legion squad kicked off their season, hosting Hinckley last Thursday.

Different season, same result, as the ‘Cats rolled to an easy 4-1 win thanks to pitching and a stroke of power at the plate.

The bats got things going in the first. Batting with a runner on, Mark Unger put the ‘Cats on the board with an RBI single, scoring Danny Reed for a 1-0 lead. Reed also contributed in the fourth with his first home run of the summer, catapulting the Wildcats in front 2-0. Two batters later, Chisago went deep again, this time coming off the bat of Kyle Collins whose sole home run stretched the lead to 3-0. Karl Lee added the ‘Cats fourth and final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth, pushing the lead to 4-0. Despite a late run by Hinckley in the top of the seventh, the Wildcats had more than enough room for a three run win.

“Good start,” said Trent Grams, Chisago Lakes American Legion head coach. “We played a lot of younger guys. Reed and Moody (Thomas) are the only seniors playing from a team that consistently played seven during the spring, so we’ve had to make some adjustments. The juniors as a whole are a good hitting group and they all played pretty well.”

While Reed and Collins dealt the big blows at the plate, on the mound, Ike Dibble and Derrick Olson paced the ‘Cats on the mound, allowing only three hits the entire game. Dibble worked the first four innings picking up the win. Olson pitched the last three.

“We made all the plays and didn’t make any errors,” replied Grams. “Hopefully that’s going to be the way this season is going to go. The junior class has about five guys who can throw well so were going to see them a lot this year. It was a good start.”

Now 1-0 on the season, the Wildcats look ahead to two games next week with Mora and Cambridge. Both games are scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.

Chisago Lakes 4, Hinckley 1

Hinckley 1

Chisago Lakes 4

Highlights:

Reed HR

Collins HR

Lee RBI

Unger RBI

WP: Dibble (1-0)

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