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The fourth-ranked Wildcats clinched a tie for the North Suburban Conference championship by beating three conference opponents last week to raise their record to 15-1 overall and 11-1 in the conference.

CL 6, Spring Lake Park 5

Dan Kaiser's sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning scored pinch runner Andrew Verhey and gave the Wildcats a 6-5 win over Spring Lake Park Monday, May 7 at Chisago Lakes.

Spring Lake Park scored the first run of the game on two walks and two singles in the top of the second. Eric Reed led off the bottom of the inning with a single, went to third on Bob LeVasseur's well-executed hit-and-run single and scored on Dan Kaiser's groundout to tie the game at 1-1.

The Panthers scored a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third to retake the lead. The Wildcats answered with a big inning in the bottom of the third. Tom Fitzer led off with a single and scored on Adam Gemuenden's double to deep right-center. One out later, Eric Reed drove in Gemuenden with a single. LeVasseur again delivered a well-executed hit-and-run single to move Reed to third. A Panther error allowed Reed to score and moved LeVasseur to second. Mike Welle singled to drive in LeVasseur and give the Wildcats a 5-2 lead.

The Panthers rallied in the top of the fifth. They loaded the bases with no outs on an error, a single and a hit batter. The next batter hit a grounder for a force at second, scoring one run and leaving runners at the corners. A single drove in another run and put runners at first and second. After a strikeout, the next batter lined a single to right. As the runner tried to score from second to tie the game, right fielder Fitzer charged the ball, scooped it up and fired a perfect strike to catcher Reed. The runner tried to slide around Reed, but Reed reached back and slapped the tag on him for the out, keeping the score at 5-4 Wildcats.

But the Panthers weren't done yet, using a single and a double to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the sixth.

Jeff Hollister walked to lead off the bottom of the seventh for the Wildcats. Reed laid down a nice bunt to sacrifice Hollister to second and pinch runner Andrew Verhey replaced Hollister. The Panthers intentionally walked LeVasseur to set up the double play. Welle hit a slow roller toward third. The third baseman charged the ball, spun around and raced toward third for the force. The Panther shortstop had moved to cover third. Realizing he couldn't beat the speedy Verhey to the bag, the third baseman fired a hard throw to the shortstop. The ball bounded off the shortstop's glove and rolled a few feet away, and all hands were safe. Kaiser worked the count full and his medium-deep fly ball to right easily scored Verhey to give the Wildcats a 6-5 win.

Ryan Rivard pitched the seventh inning to pick up the win.

CL 9, Robbinsdale Cooper 1

The Wildcats took a 5-0 lead after two innings and rode six shutout innings from starter Mike Welle to a 9-1 win over the Robbinsdale Cooper Hawks Wednesday, May 9 at Cooper.

Andy Slagle walked and Tom Fitzer singled to lead off the game. Jeff Hollister and Bob LeVasseur each singled with one out to drive in a run and the Wildcats led 2-0 after one inning. In the second, Eric Reed and Chris Wille singled and Andy Slagle walked to load the bases with no outs. Tom Fitzer hit a ground ball to third. The third baseman fired the ball to the catcher, who dropped the ball for an error, allowing Reed to score. Adam Gemuenden then singled to drive in two runs and put the Wildcats up 5-0.

The Wildcats added to their lead in the fifth. Welle singled and Wille walked. Courtesy runner Andrew Verhey and Wille pulled off a double steal, putting runners at second and third with one out. Andy Slagle bounced a single up the middle to drive in two runs. In the seventh, Eric Reed and Andy Slagle singled to put runners on first and second with one out. Tim Johnson singled to drive in Reed. Ross Jones and Aaron Rivard walked to drive in another run. Cooper scored its only run in the bottom of the seventh to make the final score Chisago Lakes 9, Robbinsdale Cooper 1.

CL 13, Columbia Heights 3

The Wildcats beat Columbia Heights for the second time this season, beating the Hylanders 13-3 at Chisago Lakes Friday, May 11. The win guaranteed the Wildcats a tie for the conference championship. The game was shortened to four-and-a-half innings because of the ten-run rule.

Leading hitters for the Wildcats included Tom Fitzer, who was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two stolen bases and an RBI; Adam Gemuenden, 2-for-2 with a double, a sacrifice fly and two RBI's; and Jeff Hollister, 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. In the fourth inning, Andrew Verhey electrified the crowd with his first career triple. Dan Kaiser pitched the first four innings to earn the victory.

"That's our sixth conference title in the last ten years," said Wildcat head coach Pat Collins. "We won five in the Rum River Conference and this is our first North Suburban Conference championship. It's a nice tradition and it shows that we've always been pretty good. We've got good kids playing a good sport and playing it well. This season, we have enough good hitters to put pressure on the other team's pitching and defense through the whole lineup. We've made sure to beat the weaker teams, like we should, and we've beaten some good teams, too."

The Wildcats were scheduled to face second-place Benilde-St. Margaret's Wednesday, May 16 at home. If they beat Benilde, the Wildcats will clinch the conference championship outright. The Wildcats return home Saturday night, May 19, to host the Mahtomedi Zephyrs at 7:30 p.m. at Chisago Lakes High School.

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