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Chisago Lakes 3

Mora 0

Who would’ve thunk it?

The game where the Wildcats officially wrap up the conference title, they do so by knocking out three runs on two hits. Yes, two hits. And who would’ve thunk it, both hits were home runs. About the only thing that wasn’t a surprise in the whole game was the performance of Derrick Olson who once again pitched a gem. Olson’s performance, along with two Wildcat home runs were enough in a 3-0 win. Oh, and by the way, the conference title is the ‘Cats second straight and their fifth over the last eight seasons.

“It’s baseball, things don’t work out the same way everyday,” said Pat Collins, Chisago Lakes head baseball coach. “You rely on different parts of your team to be successful.”

Things started off with a bang, literally, as Zack Stimson cranked out a home run on the second pitch of the game. The blast put the Wildcats up 1-0. Collins and his Wildcats thought it a sign of things to come, but instead, pitching took over. After Stimson’s homer, the ‘Cats loaded the bases before Mora got out of the inning by striking out three straight hitters. Now that was the sign of things to come.

Meanwhile, Derrick Olson didn’t have a problem. He kicked the game off on the right foot and never looked back. Olson retired the Mustangs in the first and second without a problem, giving up two hits and striking out one. The game remained 1-0.

That is until the top of the third when Chisago picked up their second, and last hit of the game. Batting with one out, Kyle Collins reached on a walk. Then one batter later, Derrick Olson helped out his own cause by blasting a two-run home run over the fence, pushing the Chisago lead to 3-0. After that, the Wildcats didn’t get a hit for the rest of the game, only getting three runners on base over the final four innings (walks). As it turned out, it didn’t matter.

After giving his team a 3-0 lead, Olson bore down on the mound, holding Mora to two hits the rest of the game. The senior pitcher also struck out four batters during that stretch. His last “K” ended the game. In addition, Olson allowed just four Mustangs on base over the last five innings. For the game, Olson worked seven complete innings on the mound, striking out six and walking two. He also allowed just three hits.

“Derrick pitched his butt off, it was his fourth conference shutout this season. That’s amazing,” remarked Collins. “He’s confident with his pitches. He’s come a long way from last year. He gets down 2-0 and you know he’s going to come back. Last year, when he got down 2-0 there were some tense moments in the dugout. He’s just really worked hard. I think the big difference is his control and command, he’s just been fantastic.”

With the win, the ‘Cats improved to 11-0 in conference and 15-1 overall. More importantly, at the end of the game, Chisago once again lifted the conference trophy over their heads. They finished their run in the Rum River in style.

“When we started (as a member of the Rum River), when I got here we won two games in the first two years. Now the last two years, we’ve only lost once both years. It’s all come full circle,” mentioned Collins. “It’s been a lot of hard work from everyone involved to turn this thing around.”

Everyone involved including Chisago assistant Jay Brown who has been part of all five conference titles.

“He’s the only guy who’s been there for all of them,” said Collins. “He’s a great coach. The kids love him and he’s a great coach to work with. I love having him around. He’s got a lot of experience. You know, it’s not like a head coach-assistant coach relationship, it’s more like two head coaches. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s been here for all of them (conference titles).”

Chisago Lakes 7

Mahtomedi 5

Just hours after falling to North Branch last Thursday, their second loss of the season, the Wildcats got back to work by defeating Mahtomedi last Friday 7-5. It was the last home game of the season for Chisago.

Trailing 1-0, the Wildcats did all of their scoring in the fourth and fifth innings.

Batting in the bottom of the fourth, Kyle Collins and Karl Lee each reached base with one out, giving Derrick Olson a shot to knock them in. He came through, connecting for a three-run home run, his second homer in five days. The blast put Chisago in the lead 3-1.

However, the Zephyrs were far from finished as they came back to score four runs in the top of the fifth, re-taking the lead. Mahtomedi did their damage by banging out just two hits in the inning, however, three walks kept the pressure on as the Zephyrs moved their lead to 5-3 through four and a half.

Down by two, Chisago came right back in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs to put the game away. All four runs came with two outs. Batting with two on, Lee drove in one run with a double before Derrick Olson was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Up next was David Olson who tied the game 5-5 thanks to an RBI single. Finally, pinch-hitting for Ike Dibble with the bases loaded, Lance Baumgard stroked a two-run single, giving Chisago a 7-5 lead.

From there, Derrick Olson held the Zephyrs to just two hits over the final two innings, helping to perverse a 7-5 win. The victory was the ‘Cats 16th of the season, putting them at 16-2 overall.

“It was a good win for us. We’ve struggled underneath the lights for some reason this year so it was nice to pull that one out,” commented Collins. “Olson’s hit was the big blow and Baumgard had a huge hit. We started nine seniors and some of them out of position. We have a very good team and a lot of good players. Because of that, some kids don’t always get a chance to get in the line-up so they need to take advantage of their opportunities when they get them. It’s the first time this season I saw that, where everyone stepped up. It was a nice team effort.”

David Olson led the Wildcats at the plate, going 3-3 with an RBI. Derrick Olson finished with two hits and three RBI’s. On the mound, Ike Dibble started the game and Olson finished it.

“I really think an important part of that game was Ike Dibble’s performance,” remarked Collins. “He was scheduled to pitch and he’s been sore all year. I asked him in the bullpen before the game if he could go and he said he could go two innings. After two, I asked him again and he said he can go another inning. I asked him after the third and he said one more. His gutty performance had a lot to do with that win.”

Up next, Chisago finishes their season this week with Forest Lake and Cambridge. The section tournament begins Tuesday.

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