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Chisago Lakes 15, Hinckley 1 (7 innings)

The Bulldogs pounded out 18 hits as they crushed one of the top teams in the Eastern Minny League, the Hinckley Knights, 15-1 at Brennan Field in Hinckley on Tuesday, June 17.  The game was shortened to seven innings because of the ten-run rule. Every Bulldog starter had at least one hit.  Beau Fandel went the distance for the Bulldogs.  He allowed one earned run on three hits, walked two and struck out 13.

The Bulldogs led 3-1 after three innings.  They scored five runs in the fourth inning and five runs in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach.  Tyler Stilp went 4-for-4, and Reed Marquardt, Fandel, and Alex Wilkey had three hits each.  Marquardt drove in four runs.  Wilkey had three RBIs, and Stilp and Nick Brown drove in two runs apiece.

Hinckley Invitational

The Bulldogs, shorthanded due to wedding activities, grad parties and long-planned family activities, played in the Hinckley Invitational at Brennan Field in Hinckley last weekend.  They lost 6-1 to the Centennial Cougars on Friday night and fell to the Sauk Rapids Cyclones 13-3 on Saturday.  Despite losing both games, the Bulldogs enjoyed the tournament.  With about a century of experience, the Knights know how to put on a good tournament.  Jacob Mickelson, who started and went six innings in the Friday night game, had his best outing of the season on the mound, other than a rough second inning.

Bulldog Banter

The Bulldogs (6-1 in the Eastern Minny League) currently have the top three hitters in the league.   Tyler Stilp is batting .591, Reed Marquardt is at .519, and Brendan Hemr is hitting .500.  The Bulldogs have had two Eastern Minny league Players of the Week – Hemr and Marquardt – and one Pitcher of the Week, Cole Hentges.

The Bulldogs have two games remaining before they take a nearly two-week break for the Fourth of July holiday.  Tomorrow night, they will head to Mark Park in Princeton to take on one of the top teams in the Eastern Minny League, the Princeton Panthers, at 7:30 p.m.  And on Sunday, June 29, they will play another tough team, the Mora Mustangs, at the Mora High School Varsity Field at 4 p.m.

Here are some extended takes on Bulldog games that were reported in last week’s Press.

Chisago Lakes 12, Isanti 2 (8 innings)

Playing in front of the home crowd in their Eastern Minny League opener, the Bulldogs hammered the Isanti Redbirds 12-2 in a game shortened to eight innings because of the ten-run rule.  It marked the first time the Redbirds had ever been ten-runned by an Eastern Minny League team.  Starter Beau Fandel went the distance to pick up the win for the Bulldogs.  He allowed two runs – one earned – on six hits, walked none and struck out ten.

The Bulldogs erupted for six runs in the bottom of the second, helped along by two fly balls that fell in front of an inexperienced Redbird right fielder.  The Bulldogs led 8-2 going into the bottom of the eighth.  Jack Boeck singled and Ty Escobedo walked to lead off the inning.  Brendan Hemr doubled to drive in Boeck.  Reed Marquardt singled and Beau Fandel grounded into a fielder’s choice, both driving in runs to make the score 11-2.  Alex Wilkey walked to load the bases.  Nick Brown singled to left to score Fandel and ended the game.

Hemr was the Eastern Minny League Player of the Week for his performance in this game.  He went 3-for-5 with two doubles, three runs scored, three RBIs and three stolen bases.  Fandel had two hits and drove in three runs.  In his Bulldog debut, Escobedo went 2-for-2 with two walks with two RBIs and two stolen bases.  As a team, the Bulldogs stole nine bases in the game.

Chisago Lakes 12, Cambridge 2 (7 innings)

Tyler Stilp and Alex Wilkey hit grand slams in back-to-back innings to lead the Bulldogs to a 12-2 win over the Cambridge (formerly Rum River) Bandits Wednesday, June 4 at Chisago Lakes High School.  The game was shortened to seven innings because of the ten-run rule.  Beau Fandel pitched another complete game gem for the Bulldogs.  He allowed two runs – one earned – on six hits, walked one and struck out 13.

In the bottom of the second, Nick Brown singled to drive in Stilp to cut the Bandit lead to 2-1.  Brendan Hemr reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the third, stole second and went to third on the catcher’s throwing error.  Reed Marquardt and Fandel walked to load the bases.  Stilp stepped to the plate and lined the first pitch deep over the wall in straightaway left for just his second home run as a Bulldog – and his first grand slam – putting the Bulldogs up 5-2.  We are not sure if there is any truth to the report that the ball was later found on the 18th green at the Chisago Lakes golf course. In the next inning, Hemr tripled to left center with one out.  Marquardt walked, and Fandel was hit by a pitch.  Stilp popped out for the second out.  The Bandits brought in Wilkey’s friend and former teammate Seth Plohasz to face Wilkey.  On a 2-1 pitch, Wilkey blasted the ball over the scoreboard in right field, scaring the osprey perched atop the light post for a no-doubter grand slam, and driving in the same three runners Stilp had driven in the previous inning  The Bulldogs led 9-2.  Joey Hemr’s single in the bottom of the sixth brought in two more runs.  In the seventh, Reece Berner doubled with one out and went to third on a passed ball.  Hemr launched a fly ball into the stratosphere in deep left, and Berner tagged and scored to end the game 12-2.

Chisago Lakes 7, Nowthen 6

Trailing 6-3 going into the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs rallied for four runs to take a 7-6 lead over the Nowthen Knights and closer Reed Marquardt set down the Knights 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth to give the Bulldogs a thrilling win.  The game was played on Sunday, June 8 at a cold, windy Nowthen Field.

The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, helped along by three Nowthen errors.  Marquardt lined a single to right to lead off the game.  Alex Wilkey lined a single to center to send Marquardt to third.  Nick Brown grounded out, scoring Marquardt with the first run of the game.  Tom Fitzer walked.  Jeremy Knuton and Luke Gunderman both reached on errors, with two runs coring to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.  Aaron Keeney walked to load the bases, but a strikeout and a groundout ended the rally.

Bulldog starter Jacob Mickelson pitched effectively early on, allowing just one run through the first four innings.  But the Bulldogs ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth.  The first three Knight batters singled to load the bases.  The next batter hit a ground ball to shortstop Marquardt.  Marquardt threw the ball into right field, and three runs scored on the play to give Nowthen a 4-3 lead.  Two outs later, a double scored the fourth run of the inning, and the Knights led 5-3.  Luke Gunderman relieved Mickelson to start the sixth and allowed just one run over three innings.

There was little reason to expect the Bulldogs to do anything as they entered the top of the ninth.  They had managed just four baserunners over the second through eighth innings, and the bottom of the order was coming up in the ninth against hard-throwing Nowthen reliever Zane Christianson, who had dominated the Bulldogs since entering the game in the fourth inning, allowing just one hit, walking no one and striking out seven.  But baseball can be a funny game.  Christianson’s control went south as he walked Cole Hentges, Carson Luxem, and leadoff hitter Marquardt to load the bases.  Wilkey lined a 2-1 pitch to right center to drive in two runs and send Marquardt to third.  Brown struck out for the first out of the inning.  Fitzer grounded a single through the left side of the drawn-in infield to score Marquardt and tied the game at 6-6.  Knutson was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Gunderman hit a slow roller to second.  The second baseman’s only play was to first to retire Gunderman as Wilkey crossed the plate with the go-ahead run.  River Bemlott grounded out to end the inning, but the damage was done as the Wildcats led 7-6 going into the bottom of the ninth.  Fireballer Marquardt overwhelmed the Nowthen batters.  He struck out the first batter on four pitches.  The next batter stuck his bat out on a 2-1 count and lined out to right.  Marquardt blew away the final batter of the game on three pitches, completing one of the most exciting and unexpected comeback wins in Bulldog history.

Gunderman picked up the win with three innings of solid relief.  He allowed one unearned run on three hits, walked none, and struck out five.  Bulldog pitchers allowed no walks in the game, which helped to keep the game close enough for the big ninth-inning comeback.

Chisago Lakes 14, Quamba 11

With the Bulldogs trailing 11-6 in the fifth inning against the Quamba Cubs, Brendan Hemr blasted a grand slam to left field, cutting the Cub lead to 11-10.  Two innings later, with the scored tied 11-11, Beau Fandel hit a long home run to left to put the Bulldogs up 14-11.  Reed Marquardt shut the Cubs down the rest of the way to seal the win and improve the Bulldogs’ Eastern Minny League record to 5-1.  Marquardt pitched the final six innings of the game to pick up the win.  Hemr had another monster game for the Bulldogs. He went 4-for-4 with two home runs, six RBIs, four runs scored and two stolen bases.  The game was played Sunday, June 15 at Pat Collins Field at Chisago Lakes High School.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  Fandel singled to center to drive in Hemr, Marquardt scored on a passed ball, and Ty Escobedo lined a single to center to score Fandel.  Quamba tied it on the top of the second.  With two outs and the bases loaded, a swinging bunt drove in one run.  The next batter drilled a ball int the left field corner.  Two runs crossed the plate, and the runner from third attempted to score.  Left fielder Nate Zingerman fired the ball to the cutoff man, third baseman Tyler Stilp.  Stilp whirled and fired the ball to catcher Fandel.  Fandel caught the ball on top of home plate just as the runner arrived, sliding over Fandel’s glove.  Fandel, unsure if he had hung on to the ball, lifted his glove to show the ump (and himself) he had the ball, and the ump called the runner out, ending the inning with the score tied 3-3.

Joey Hemr singled to lead off the bottom of the second.  Brendan Hemr stepped to the plate and blasted a home run deep to right center, giving the Bulldog a 5-3 lead.  River Bemlott replaced Mickelson in the third inning.  Bemlott gave up a run in the top of the third.  Things unraveled in the fourth.  After giving up a walk and three straight hits, the Cubs led 7-5.  Marquardt came in to relieve Bemlott.  After a ground out, the Cubs scored three more runs on three straight hits and a groundout.  In the bottom of the inning, Fandel came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out.  He took a line drive swing, but the bat exploded in his hands and the resulting two hopper to second turned into a double play, ending the Bulldog threat.  Marquardt gave up two hits to open the top of the fifth but settled in after that.  It took two groundouts to score a run, and Marquardt struck out the next batter to cut the rally short, with the Bulldogs trailing 11-5.

Alex Wilkey singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth.  One out later, Tom Fitzer reached on an infield single to second.  Zingerman reached on a bunt single.  Joey Hemr walked to drive in one run and set the stage for a Brendan Hemr moment.  Hemr drilled the first pitch he saw well over the fence in left center, and the Wildcats now trailed by just one run, 11-10.

With two outs and the bases empty in the seventh, Brendan Hemr and Marquardt both singled.  Tyler Stilp singled to drive in Hemr, tying the score at 11-11.  Fandel stepped up to the plate and, on a 1-0 count, drilled a no doubter well beyond the left field fence to make the score 14-11.  Meanwhile, Marquardt allowed just one baserunner after the fifth inning and retired the last ten batters he faced.  With two outs in the top of the ninth, he struck out an overwhelmed Quamba pinch hitter to seal a great comeback win for the Bulldogs.

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