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Robbinsdale Cooper 2, Chisago Lakes 0

The Robbinsdale Cooper Hawks scored two unearned runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a scoreless tie and went on to defeat the Wildcats 2-0 at Chisago Lakes Tuesday, May 2.

The Wildcats looked like they had a chance to score a few runs in the second inning, but a couple of baserunning mistakes helped to keep them off the scoreboard. Adam Gemuenden led off the inning with a double and moved to third on Tommy Fitzer’s single. Fitzer stole second and Mike Welle walked to load the bases with no outs. The next batter, Jeff Hollister, hit a line drive to medium-deep right field. But the runner on third failed to tag and score and the runner on first was doubled off. Now the Wildcats had just a runner on second and two outs. The next batter struck out to end the inning.

The Hawks threatened in the fifth as the first two batters reached on a single and a walk. But two pitches later, Wildcat catcher Eric Reed fired the ball down to second base, catching the Hawk runner too far off the bag. The runner was tagged out in the ensuing rundown. A strikeout and a groundout ended the Hawk threat.

Wildcat starting pitcher Dan Kaiser allowed just three hits through the first six innings of play. After he gave up a sharp single to start the seventh, he was replaced by Bob LeVasseur. LeVasseur gave up a single to put runners at first and second with no outs. The next batter hit what appeared to be a double play ball, but a Wildcat infielder booted the ball on a tough hop, allowing one run to score. LeVasseur struck out the next two hitters, but a two-out single drove in the Hawks’ second run of the game.

The Wildcats made some noise in the bottom of the seventh. Eric Reed reached on an error with one out and went to second on an infield groundout. Cory Claeson then reached on another Hawk error, but Reed was cut down at home, trying to score on the play, making the final score Robbinsdale Cooper 2, Chisago Lakes 0.

“I think this was a fun game to watch as a fan,” said Wildcat head coach Pat Collins, “but frustrating for a coach.. Dan Kaiser pitched a heck of a game. And I’d like to mention Cory Claeson. When I was first trying to get Bob LeVasseur warmed up, in the bottom of the fifth inning, I asked Cory if he could give me a long at bat to allow Bob to get in a few extra pitches. Cory responded with a long at-bat, fouling off several pitches before reaching base on an error. As a team, we just couldn’t string together any hits at the right time. And we left too many guys on base.”

Cooper 000 000 2 2

Chisago Lakes 000 000 0 0

Battery: CL Kaiser, LeVasseur (7) and Reed

AB R H RBI

LeVasseur, 3b, p 4 0 1 0

Claeson, ss 2 0 0 0

Stimson, cf 3 0 0 0

Baumgard, 2b, 3b 2 0 1 0

Gemuenden, 1b 3 0 1 0

Fitzer, rf 3 0 2 0

Butcher, rf 0 0 0 0

Welle, dh 2 0 0 0

Kaiser, p 0 0 0 0

Kopp, 2b 0 0 0 0

Hollister, 1f 3 0 0 0

Willhite, lf 0 0 0 0

Reed, c 3 0 0 0

SB—Claeson 2 (9), Fitzer (4)

CL 7, North Branch 3

Eric Reed hit the Wildcats’ first home run of the season and the first of his varsity career and Bob LeVasseur pitched a complete game, allowing just two earned runs, as the Wildcats beat the Vikings 7-3 at Chisago Lakes Thursday, May 4. The win was the second in two weeks to sweep the season series with the Vikings.

The Wildcats opened the scoring in the third inning. Reed reached on an error with one out, and Zach Stimson’s double sent Reed to third. Cory Claeson hit a grounder. A bad throw home by a Viking infielder allowed Reed to score the first run of the game for the Wildcats, with Stimson moving to third on the play. Claeson stole second to put runners at second and third. Stimson scored on a balk, with Claeson moving to third. Adam Gemuenden’s sacrifice fly drove in Claeson to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

The Vikings got a run back in the top of the fourth. Matt Warren and Tony Dahlberg singled to lead off the inning. D.J. Charley’s grounder forced Warren at third, but an error on the play allowed Charley to reach first and Dahlberg to move to third. Kyle Kaminski’s infield groundout drove in Dahlberg with the Vikings’ first run of the game. The Vikings pulled to within one run in the fifth as Jeff Olson singled, stole second and scored on a single by Marty Savage.

The Wildcats came back with two more in the bottom of the inning. Reed led off with a blast over the wall in straightaway left field to put the Wildcats up 4-2. With one out, Claeson singled, stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on Lance Baumgard’s two-out single to deep short.

The Vikings scored again in the sixth. Charley doubled with one out, and scored on J.T. Lindholm’s two-out single. But the Wildcats got two more back in the bottom of the inning. Shane Butcher doubled. A walk, a groundout, an error and a wild pitch allowed Butcher and Mike Welle to score. LeVasseur shut down the Vikings in the bottom of the inning to make the final score Wildcats 7, Vikings 3.

“That was a fun game,” said Wildcat head coach Pat Collins. “With all the fans from Chisago and North Branch, there was a lot of atmosphere. Bob pitched a nice game. We made some good plays in the field and we had some big hits. Eric Reed really turned on the pitch he hit over the fence. It’s always fun to see a kid hit his first home run. And since he’s only a sophomore, we get to watch him for two more years.”

North Branch 000 111 0 3

Chisago Lakes 003 0 2 x 7

Battery: CL LeVasseur and Reed

AB R H RBI

Stimson, cf 3 1 1 0

Claeson, ss 3 2 1 0

Gemuenden, 1b 2 0 0 1

Baumgard, 3b 3 0 2 1

LeVasseur, p 2 0 0 0

Fitzer, rf 2 0 1 0

Butcher, rf 1 1 1 0

McCullough, rf 0 0 0 0

Hollister, 1f 2 0 0 0

Willhite, lf 0 0 0 0

Welle, dh 3 1 0 0

Kopp, 2b 0 0 0 0

Reed, c 3 2 1 1

2B—Stimson (4), Butcher (1); HR—Reed (1); SB—Claeson 2 (11),

LeVasseur (2), Welle (1)

Spring Lake Park 5, Chisago Lakes 1

The Wildcats committed seven errors that led to four unearned runs and left 10 men on base as they lost a frustrating game to the Spring Lake Park Panthers 5-1 in front of the home crowd Monday, May 8.

The Panthers scored their only earned run in the top of the first on a double and a two-out single. They added two runs in the third on two hits, three errors and a passed ball.

The Wildcats came back with their only run of the game in the bottom of the third. Jake Kuehl hit a leadoff single, and was replaced on the basepaths by courtesy runner Shane Butcher. Butcher went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Zach Stimson’s one-out single. But, the Wildcat inning ended as the next batter grounded into a double play to keep the score at 3-1 Panthers.

In the top of the fifth, the Panthers loaded the bases with one out on a bunt single and two infield singles. The next batter flew out to shallow left, leaving the bases loaded. The next batter hit a ground ball that looked like it was going to end the inning, but an error on the play allowed a run to score. Kuehl took matters into his own hands and struck out the next batter to end the inning.

The Wildcats threatened in the bottom of the fifth inning. Two walks and an error loaded the bases with two outs for Adam Gemuenden. Gemuenden hammered a 2-1 pitch deep, but it was right at the center fielder, who caught it for the third out.

The Panthers added one more run in the bottom of the seventh on an error, a walk and a single. The final score was Spring Lake Park 5, Chisago Lakes 1.

“This was not one of our better games,” said Wildcat head coach Pat Collins. “It’s almost like we didn’t show up for this one. For the most part, we weren’t aggressive at the plate. We struck out seven times, including five times looking. Three times I even had to remind the on deck hitters to chase down balls that got to the backstop, and they know they’re supposed to do that. But even after they caught the ball that Adam hit to deep center field, I still thought we had a good chance to win it late. They had gotten all the breaks, with infield hits and balls falling just out of our grasp, and were only up by three runs after five innings. But our lack of aggressiveness hurt us.”

Spring Lake Park 102 010 1 5

Chisago Lakes 001 000 0 1

Battery: CL LeVasseur and Reed

AB R H RBI

Stimson, cf 2 0 1 1

McCullough, rf 0 0 0 0

Claeson, ss 4 0 1 0

Gemuenden, 1b 4 0 1 0

Baumgard, 2b 4 0 1 0

LeVasseur, 3b 3 0 1 0

Fitzer, rf, lf 2 0 0 0

Butcher, cr, rf 0 1 0 0

Reed, c 3 0 1 0

Kuehl, p 2 0 1 0

Kaiser, p 0 0 0 0

Hollister, dh 3 0 0 0

Willhite, lf, cf 0 0 0 0

SB—LeVasseur (3)

The Wildcats (5-8 overall, 4-5 conference) were scheduled to play at home against St. Francis Wednesday, May 10. They’ll then play three straight conference road games: at St. Francis on Friday, May 12, at Benilde-St. Margaret’s Monday, May 15 and at Totino Grace Wednesday, May 17. All games start at 4:15 p.m.

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