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Princeton 8, Chisago Lakes 4

Leadoff hitter Bob LeVasseur scored three of the Wildcats’ four runs, but three-run innings in the third and fourth against three Wildcat pitchers helped the Princeton Tigers put away the Chisago Lakes Wildcats 8-4 Monday, May 22 at Princeton.

LeVasseur reached on an error to open the first and moved to second on a wild pitch. Tommy Fitzer sacrificed LeVasseur to third and reached first when the third baseman fumbled the ball. LeVasseur scored on Lance Baumgard’s sacrifice fly to give the Wildcats the early lead. But Princeton came right back with two runs in the bottom of the inning on two doubles and a single. A pickoff by Wildcat pitcher Jake Kuehl kept the Tigers from having an even bigger inning.

The Wildcats tied the score in the top of the third. LeVasseur walked with one out. He went to second as Fitzer reached on another error by the Tiger third baseman. The next batter, Zack Stimson, hit a grounder to short. Fitzer was forced at second, but Stimson beat the relay throw to keep the inning alive. LeVasseur moved to third on the play and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 2-2. In the bottom of the third, the Tigers scored three runs on three singles, an error, a hit batter and a run-scoring groundout to make the score 5-2. They put the game away in the fourth, scoring three runs on three more singles and a double to go up by six runs.

The Wildcats kept at it until the last out. Shane Butcher doubled to lead off the seventh and moved to third on a wild pitch. The next two batters went out. LeVasseur walked and stole second. Fitzer hit a ground ball toward short. LeVasseur timed his sprint toward third perfectly, running in front of the Tiger shortstop and distracting him just as he was about to field the ball. The shortstop booted it. Butcher scored, LeVasseur moved to third and Fitzer was safe at first on the error. Tommy McCullough struck out to end the game. Final score: Princeton 8, Chisago Lakes 4.

PRINCETON 8, CL 4

Chisago Lakes 101 000 2 4

Princeton 203 300 x 8

Battery: CL Kuehl, Claeson (3), Welle (4) and Reed, Fitzer (6)

AB R H RBI

LeVasseur 3b 2 3 0 0

Fitzer dh-c 2 0 0 0

Kopp 2b 0 0 0 0

Welle p 1 0 0 0

Stimson cf 2 0 0 0

Hollister ph 1 0 0 0

McCullough rf 1 0 0 0

Baumgard lf-ss 2 0 0 1

Kaiser ss 0 0 0 0

Gemuenden 1b-p 3 0 0 0

Claeson ss-p-2b 3 0 1 0

Butcher rf-lf 3 1 2 0

Kuehl p 1 0 0 0

Willhite lf-cf 2 0 0 0

Reed c 2 0 0 0

Jones 1b 1 0 0 0

2B—Butcher (2)

Chisago Lakes 1, Forest Lake 0

Zack Stimson drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the eighth inning and Dan Kaiser and Bob LeVasseur combined to pitch a four-hit shutout. The Wildcats played their best game of the year and beat the number one ranked Forest Lake Rangers 1-0 in extra innings at Chisago Lakes Tuesday, May 23.

Both the Wildcats and the Rangers had a lot of baserunners in the game, but neither team managed to put a run across before the Wildcats scored in the eighth.

Bob LeVasseur led off the bottom of the first inning for the Wildcats with a single, but was erased on a double play to end the inning. Adam Gemuenden singled with one out in the second. The next batter hit a grounder to short. Gemuenden’s nice takeout slide prevented the double play, but the next batter struck out to end the inning.

Eric Reed walked to lead off the third, but was erased when the next batter popped up a sacrifice bunt attempt and Reed was doubled off first. Zack Stimson singled with one out in the fourth. He tried to score on Gemuenden’s two-out single, but was thrown out at home.

The Rangers came close to scoring in the fifth. Nick Carroll walked to lead off the inning. With one out, Drew Polk was hit by a pitch, moving Carroll to second. Jed Hanson hit what looked like a double play ball, but Cory Claeson hesitated and Hanson beat the relay throw to put runners on first and third with two outs. Brooks grounded out to Baumgard at third to end the threat. Carroll was the only Forest Lake runner to get as far as third base the entire game.

The Rangers got a break in the top of the seventh when Trip Schultz walked on a very close 3-2 pitch with one out. Hanson singled with two outs to put runners at first and second, but cleanup hitter Jeff Brooks flew out to end the Ranger threat.

The Wildcats’ best threat came in the bottom of the seventh. Gemuenden singled with two outs. Cory Claeson’s bunt single moved Gemuenden to second. The Rangers brought in Jed Hanson to relieve Trip Schultz. Mike Welle, pinch-hitting for Shane Butcher, hit the second pitch from Hanson into right-center for a single. But Gemuenden was thrown out at the plate and the score remained 0-0, sending the game into extra innings.

Reed led off the bottom of the eighth with a single. David Willhite bunted, attempting to sacrifice Reed to second. Hanson fielded the ball about thirty feet up the first base line, but slipped a little as he tried to set his feet for the throw. The fleet Willhite beat Hanson’s throw to first. The hurried throw got away from Ranger first baseman Eric Zentzis, allowing Reed to advance to third. An alert Willhite ran to second after he noticed no one was covering the base. The Rangers intentionally walked the next Wildcat batter, Bob LeVasseur, to set up a force at home.

On an 0-1 count, Wildcat batter Tommy Fitzer hit a high one-hopper to third. Christian Fogarty’s throw home beat Reed for the force, but Fitzer reached first, leaving the bases loaded.

Then Stimson and Hanson had a classic duel. Stimson worked the count to 3-2 and then fouled off a couple of pitches. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Stimson hit a fly ball to deep right field. The ball went over the head of the drawn-in right fielder and dropped for a single. Willhite scored the winning run and the Wildcats celebrated their first one run victory of the season, a dramatic 1-0 victory over the top-ranked Forest Lake Rangers.

“That was no fluke,” said a happy Wildcat head coach Pat Collins. “We’re a pretty good team, even though our record doesn’t show it. We made two errors and they only made one. But their error came at a crucial time in the eighth inning and contributed to our run.

“There were good defensive plays both ways and we came up with some big plays. Eric Reed picked a guy off first to end the top of the eighth for Forest Lake, then came right back with a big hit to lead off the bottom of the eighth. Adam Gemuenden had a takeout slide on a double play ball in the second. Both Dan Kaiser and Bob LeVasseur pitched well, allowing just four hits to one of the top teams in the state,” Collins concluded.

Section Playoffs

Anoka 2, Chisago Lakes 1

The Wildcats, seeded ninth in the South Subsection of the Section 7AAA playoffs, missed several scoring opportunities as they lost their opening round playoff game to the Anoka Tornadoes 2-1. The loss was the Wildcats’ eighth one-run loss and ended their season.

Bob LeVasseur reached on an error to start the game. Cory Claeson sacrificed him to second. Lance Baumgard walked with two out, but Adam Gemuenden grounded out to end the inning. In the second, Mike Welle led off with a double over the left fielder’s head. Tommy Fitzer sacrificed him to third. Eric Reed tried to squeeze Welle home, but Welle was thrown out at the plate.

The Tornadoes scored all the runs they would need in the second. After a leadoff single, the next batter hit a grounder to deep short. Cory Claeson tried to backhand the ball, but couldn’t come up with it cleanly, leaving both runners safe. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. The next batter hit a fly ball to deep left. The wind carried it over the head of Wildcat left fielder Shane Butcher and two runs scored to give the Tornadoes a 2-0 lead.

The Wildcats threatened again in the fourth. Gemuenden singled to lead off the inning. Mike Welle singled to left center, with Gemuenden going all the way to third. The throw went to third. Gemuenden was safe and Welle went to second on the throw. The Wildcats tried another squeeze play, but Tommy Fitzer popped the ball down the third base line. It looked like the ball was going drop in, but the Anoka pitcher raced toward the line, dove for the ball and caught it. He tagged Gemuenden, who’d already gone by, to complete the double play. Eric Reed singled in Welle to pull the Wildcats within one.

The Wildcats’ final good scoring opportunity came in the sixth. Mike Welle singled with one out and went to second on Fitzer’s grounder to first. The next batter, Eric Reed, walked on a 3-2 pitch. Welle got trapped in a rundown between second and third, ending the Wildcat scoring threat. With a runner on first and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, right fielder Fitzer made a nice running catch on a line drive into the gap in right–center to help keep the score close. But the Wildcats went quietly in the seventh as the Tornado pitcher struck out the side, leaving the final score Anoka 2, Chisago Lakes 1.

“This game was our entire season in a nutshell,” said Wildcat head coach Pat Collins. “We pitched well. We played a good defensive game, but the one error we made led to the winning runs. We couldn’t get a bunt down or get a timely hit to score any more runs.”

Collins continued, “This year’s group of Wildcats is one of my all time favorite teams as a coach. They played hard, had fun, and kept all of the games close. We just couldn’t get many breaks this season. One of the few times we did get a break or two was in the win against Forest Lake.”

ANOKA 2, CL 1

Chisago Lakes 000 100 0 1

Princeton 020 000 x 2

Battery: CL Kaiser and Reed

AB R H RBI

LeVasseur 3b 4 0 1 0

Claeson ss 3 0 0 0

Stimson cf 3 0 1 0

Baumgard 2b 2 0 0 0

Gemuenden 1b 2 0 0 0

Welle dh 3 1 3 0

Kaiser p 0 0 0 0

Fitzer rf 2 0 0 0

Willhite rf 0 0 0 0

Reed c 2 0 1 1

Butcher lf 3 0 0 0

2B—Welle (2)

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