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by CHUCK FITZER

Hermantown 12, Chisago Lakes 8

Catcher Kellen Meissner would likely have started the fourth-seeded Wildcat baseball team’s opening Section 7AAA playoff game at home against the fifth-seeded Hermantown Hawks, but the Wildcats’ only other catcher missed the game, so Meissner had to go behind the plate.  The Wildcats exploded for six runs in the bottom of the second inning, but Wildcat pitchers allowed multiple runs if five of the game’s seven innings, and the Hawks beat the Wildcats 12-8.  The loss sent the Wildcats to the elimination bracket for the section tourney.

With the Wildcats trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the second, they loaded the bases with no outs.  Chuck Gliman was hit by a pitch and Zander Bleymeyer walked, forcing in two runs to tie the score at 2-2.  Jadon Greene singled to right to drive in two runs.  Bleymeyer scored on a wild pitch, and Cole Stilp singled to drive in Greene to make the score 6-2.  The Wildcats added a run on an RBI single by Brayden Anderson in the fourth.  Lucas Weinzetl scored on a wild pitch in the fifth.  But in the meantime, Hermantown added seven runs and led 9-8 after five innings.  They gave themselves a little breathing room with three more runs in the top of the seventh.  The Wildcats went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, sealing their defeat.

Chisago Lakes 1, North Branch 0

Kellen Meissner threw a two-hit shutout in front an enthusiastic home crowd and Trenton Travis drove in the game’s only run with a fourth-inning single as the Wildcats beat the North Branch Vikings 1-0 to stay alive in the elimination bracket of the Section 7AAA playoffs. Meissner walked three and struck out five to come out on top in the pitcher’s duel.  Carter Drill took the complete game loss for the Vikings.  He allowed just three hits, walked five and struck out eight.  The loss eliminated the Vikings from the section playoffs and kept the Wildcats alive in their quest for the team’s first state tournament bid.

Neither team had a hit until Drill opened the bottom of the fourth with a single to center.  But he was stranded on the base paths as Meissner set down the next three Vikings to keep the game scoreless.  In the bottom of the inning, Weinzetl and Meissner walked to put runners on first and second.  Travis singled to right to drive in Weinzetl and give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.  Drill struck out Xander Breitenbach and Chuck Gilman to stop the Wildcats’ rally.

Meissner walked two in the fifth and hit a batter and allowed a walk in the sixth, but the Vikings didn’t take advantage because Meissner was virtually unhittable in this game.   He singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth and, one out later, stole second.  Breitenbach singled to center.   Meissner tried to score from second, but Viking center fielder Jackson Puelston gunned him down at the plate to keep the Wildcat lead to one run.  Spencer Miller singled to lead off the top of the seventh, but a popout, a strikeout and a groundout ended the game and the Vikings’ season.

Chisago Lakes 15, Hibbing 7

The Wildcats broke open a close game with seven runs in the top of the sixth inning and went on to beat the Hibbing Bluejackets 15-7 on Saturday, May 31 at Hibbing High School.  The loss eliminated the Bluejackets from the playoffs and kept the Wildcats alive for another round.  The Wildcats were scheduled to face the Hermantown Hawks in their next game.

In the top of the third inning, a two-run double by Trenton Travis, followed by a three-run homer to left by Kellen Meissner, gave the Wildcats a 5-1 lead.  The Bluejackets came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Wildcat lead to 5-4.  Xander Breitenbach’s fielder’s choice groundout pushed across another run in the top of the fifth.  In the top of the sixth, eight of the first ten batters reached base for the Wildcats and seven of those runners scored.  Single runs came on a double by Cole Stilp, a sacrifice fly by Lucas Weinzetl, and four straight single by Travis, Meissner, Xander Breitenbach and Nick Bjelland.  Jadon Greene capped it off with a two-run double to left to make the score 13-4.  Carson Drury’s two-run double to left in the top of the seventh made it 15-4.  The Bluejackets plated three off of reliever Chuck Gilman in the bottom of the seventh, but it was too little, too late, and the Wildcats kept it rolling with their second win in the section playoffs.

Zander Bleymeyer started and pitched six innings to pick up the win for the Wildcats.  He allowed four runs – all earned – on nine hits, walked four and struck out five.

Section Playoff  Update

By the time you read this, the Section 7AAA playoffs may be over.  The tournament moved to North Branch for the final rounds Tuesday, June 3 and Wednesday, June 4.  But with rain expected all day Tuesday, it’s likely that game were pushed back.  The Wildcats were scheduled to play Hermantown on Tuesday and, if they won that game, they would have played Rock Ridge on Tuesday for a chance to go to the section championship games on Wednesday.  If everything was pushed back a day and the Wildcats won both games, they will face top-seeded Grand Rapids twice on Thursday – and need to beat them twice – to get to the Class AAA state tournament, which starts Wednesday, June 11 in Jordan and Chaska.  You can find out game scores, dates, and times at mshsl.org or mnbaseballhub.com.

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