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by CHUCK FITZER

Chisago Lakes 8, Mora 6

The Bulldogs built a 6-1 lead against the Mora Blue Devils and then survived a late rally to win 8-6 Wednesday, June 19 at Pat Collins Field at Chisago Lakes High School.  Hunter Lindstrom started and pitched seven innings for the win.

The Bulldogs trailed 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the first inning when Beau Fandel was hit by a pitch.  Alex Wilkey walked, and Fandel aggressively took third when a pitch rolled a few feet away from the catcher.  Fandel scored when Tyler Stilp beat out a slow roller to shortstop.  Dusty Rhodes and Brendan Hemr walked to force in another run, and the Bulldogs led 2-1.  

In the bottom of the second, Reed Marquardt lined a single to right and went to second on a passed ball.  Fandel hit a hard grounder to third that bounced off the third baseman’s glove and rolled into left field.  Marquardt scored to make it 3-1.  The Bulldogs added three more runs in the fifth.  Marquardt led off with a walk and, one out later, advanced to third on two wild pitches.  Wilkey walked and stole second.  Tyler Stilp hit a grounder to short against a drawn-in infield.  After a botched rundown and throwing error by the Blue Devils, both Marquardt and Wilkey had scored, and Stilp stood on second.  Hemr singled to left to score Stilp, and the Bulldogs led 6-1.

The Blue Devils rallied in the top of the seventh.  Two walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs.  One out later, a single to left drove in a run.  After a lineout, Josh Norby drilled a double into the left field corner.  As two runners crossed the plate, left fielder Tanner Marquardt chased the ball down and threw to cutoff man Fandel.  Fandel whirled and threw a perfect strike to catcher Nick Brown, who tagged the runner out on a very close play to end the inning.  

Mora had cut the Bulldog lead to 6-4.  The Bulldogs responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.  Stilp doubled to deep right center  Ryan Sanvik came into pinch run for him.  Sandvik went to third on a wild pitch.  Dusty Rhodes hit a fly ball not very deep into right center.  The speedy Sanvik scored easily from third.  One out later, pinch hitter Adam Brown drilled a double to the wall in left center.  Marquardt lined a single to right to score Brown, and the Bulldogs led 8-4.

Bailey Kasprowicz came in to relieve Lindstrom and set down the Blue Devils 1-2-3 in the top of the eighth.  With one out in the top of the ninth, a single, an error and a hit batter loaded the bases for the Blue Devils.  The next batter flew out.  One run scored on a wild pitch, and a single drove in another, cutting the Bulldog lead to 8-6. Kasprowicz struck out the final batter of the game on three pitches.

Winning pitcher Lindstrom gave up four earned runs on nine hits, walked three and struck out three.  Kasprowicz allowed two unearned runs on two hits, walked none, and struck out three.

Quamba 6, Chisago Lakes 3

Baseball is a strange game sometimes.  The Bulldogs dominated the matchup with the Quamba Cubs, outhitting them 12-4, but a great catch by Cubs’ center fielder Logan Parker-Sjoberg kept the game tied in the top of the fifth.  The Cubs took advantage of some wildness by Bulldog pitcher Reed Marquardt in the seventh inning and scored three runs, going on to beat the Bulldogs 6-3 Friday, June 21 at Quamba.

Marquardt led off the game with a triple to deep right center and, one out later, scored on a single by Beau Fandel.  With two outs, Fandel stole second.  Nate Zingerman hit a ground ball right down the first base line that looked like it would end the inning.  But the ball hit first base and rolled to the left.  Zingerman easily reached first, and a hustling Fandel kept going, scoring from second without a throw to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.  

In the bottom of the fourth, a single, a ground out and another single led to the first Cubs run.  The Cubs led 3-2 in the top of the fifth, when Alex Wilkey launched a 1-0 pitch high and deep to right.  The ball kept carrying and dropped over the fence for a home run, tying the game at 3-3.  With one out, Dusty Rhodes walked and Bailey Kasprowicz reached on an error.  Dylan Magnuson drilled a high fly ball to deep left center that looked like it would scored two runs.  But Parker-Sjoberg raced over and dove on the warning track to make the catch, robbing Magnuson of an extra base hit and keeping the game tied at 3-3.

Zingerman and Rhodes led off the seventh with singles, but two strikeouts and a popup ended the inning.  In the bottom of the inning, Kasprowicz hit the leadoff batter and allowed a single to the next batter.  Marquardt relieved Kasprowicz and walked the first two batters he faced, forcing in the go ahead run.  After a strikeout, a single drove in one run and a wild pitch scored another.  Marquardt struck out the next two batters, but the Cubs now led 6-3. Wilkey singled to lead off the top of the ninth, and Zingerman was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second.  But Rhodes struck out, Reece Berner flied out, and Magnuson took a called third strike to end the game.

Isanti 2, Chisago Lakes 1

Beau Fandel pitched a complete game and appeared headed for a shutout, but an outfielder who fell down trying to catch a fly ball and an error led to two runs in the bottom of the eighth and the Isanti Redbirds beat the Bulldogs 2-1 Sunday, June 23 at Redbirds Field, in a game that took less than two hours.  Once again, the Bulldogs outhit their opponents (8-4), but struggled to score.  The Redbirds’ Phil Bray, who pitched for the Bulldogs in the state tournament as a draftee last year, pitched a complete game for the Redbirds for the win.

With one out in the top of the second, Dusty Rhodes drilled a ball to deep right field that looked like it had a chance to go out.  But the ball hit off the top of the wall, and Rhodes had to settle for a double.  The Bulldogs failed to take advantage of Rhodes’ double, and the game remained scoreless.  Nick Brown led off the top of the fifth with a double to deep right center.  Aaron Keeney sacrificed him to second and, one out later, Tyler Stilp singled to right to drive in Brown for a 1-0 Bulldog lead.  Fandel followed with a single, but Alex Wilkey struck out to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Fandel was dominant on the mounds.  He only allowed one baserunner in the first four innings, on an error, and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth.  The Bulldogs had a great scoring threat in the top of the eighth.  Stilp singled to lead off.  After Fandel flew out, Wilkey walked.  Reece Berner came in to run for Wilkey.  Stilp advanced to third on a fly out by Nate Zingerman.  Berner missed two steal signs after that, remaining on first.  But Rhodes flied out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Redbird Brandon Kamprud launched a high line drive to deep left field, straight over the head of left fielder Zingerman.  Zingerman raced back and had the ball in his sights, but as he twisted around he tripped over his own feet and fell down.  The ball hit the turf and Kamprud ended up on second with a double.  After a strikeout, Luke Selken doubled to right to score Kamprud, tying the game at 1-1.  Fandel struck out the next batter for the second out.   James Green hit a slow bouncer to short.  Shortstop Reed Marquardt charged the ball, gloved it on a hop and fired toward first.  The wild throw skipped past first baseman Wilkey and Selken scored all the way from second to give the Redbirds a 2-1 lead.  The next batter grounded out, but the damage was done.

The Bulldogs put themselves in position to at least tie the game in the top of the ninth.  Brandon Hemr dropped a beautiful bunt down the third base line, easily beating the throw to first for a single.  Nick Brown then bunted a ball to the left of pitcher Bray.  Bray threw to first to get Brown.  Hemr noticed that neither the shortstop nor the third baseman were near third, so he kept going as he rounded second and raced to third, beating both fielders there with a headfirst dive.  Aaron Keeney lined a 1-0 pitch right at Bray, who snatched it out of the air for the second out.  Marquardt struck out swinging to end the game, and the Bulldogs lost a tough one.

In eight innings of work, Fandel allowed two runs – one earned – on just four hits, didn’t walk anyone and struck out nine  His opponent, Bray, allowed one earned run on eight hits, walked two and struck out 12.

Bulldog Banter

The Bulldogs (2-3 in Eastern Minny League play) will welcome the Nowthen Knights to Pat Collins Field at Chisago Lakes High School for an Eastern Minny League matchup at 7:30 p.m.  On Saturday, they will head to Larson Field in Cambridge at noon to finish game that was suspended due to lightning, with the Bulldogs leading the Rum River Bandits 6-1 in the top of the fifth. 

 On Sunday, the Bulldogs will finish up another game suspended due to lightning.  They will travel to St. Francis High School at 12:30 p.m. to finish the game with the game with the East Bethel Bandits, with the Bulldogs leading 4-0 going into the top of the fourth.

 

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