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Chisago Lakes 10, North Branch 0 (5 innings)

Leading 4-0 over the Vikings, the Wildcat baseball team erupted for six runs in the top of the fifth to go up 10-0. The Vikings came up empty in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Wildcats a 10-0 win by the ten-run rule. The game was played on Tuesday, April 14 at North Branch High School.

The Wildcats pounded out ten hits and took advantage of eight walks by Viking pitchers. Nick Bjelland and Quinn LeVasseur led the offense for the Wildcats. Each had two hits, including a double. Bjelland drove in three runs, and LeVasseur plated two. Kellen Meissner also had two hits and drove in a run.  Lucas Weinzetl started and went the distance for the Wildcats. In five innings he allowed no runs on just one hit – a second inning single to Spencer Miller - walked two and struck out five. Bo Pederson started and took the loss for the Vikings, allowing four runs and 3 /13 innings. Ethan Thorsen gave up six runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Princeton 5, Chisago Lakes 1

Errors and walks made the difference for the Wildcat baseball team as they lost to the Princeton Tigers 5-1 at Chisago Lakes High School on Thursday, April 16. The Wildcats actually outhit the Tigers 8-7, but the Wildcats made three errors and walked six batters. Meanwhile, the Tigers played errorless defense and walked just two Wildcats. Kellen Meissner started and took the loss for the Wildcats. He went four innings and allowed three runs – only one of which was earned – on five hits, walked two, and stuck out four. In three innings of relief, Luke Leadholm allowed two earned runs on two hits, walked four and struck out one.

Princeton took a 2-0 lead in the second, with a dropped popup making one of the runs unearned. Meissner singled with two outs in the bottom of the third. Pinch runner Leadholm stole second and scored on Lucas Weinzetl’s single to left to cut the Princeton lead to 2-1. The Tigers manufactured a run in the top of the fifth. Lukas Bratulich reached on a dropped fly ball. He stole second, reached third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a squeeze play to make the score 3-1. In the seventh, Leadholm walked two of the first three batters. A groundout moved the runners to second and third. Ethan Pederson singled to left to drive in both runners, and Princeton led 5-1. Drew Gajeski and Cole Stilp walked in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, but Meissner flew out to end the game.

Chisago Lakes 6, Forest Lake 4

Kellen Meissner’s three run triple in the second inning  sparked the Wildcats to a 6-4 win over the Forest Lake Rangers in the first game of a doubleheader at Schumacher Field in Forest Lake on Friday April 17.  Zander Bleymeyer pitched 6 2/3 innings to get the win, and Lucas Weinzetl got the save by retiring the only batter he faced.

Cole Stilp walked to lead off the top of the first inning. Kellen Meissner’s single to center moved Stilp to third, and he scored on a groundout by Weinetl. Xander Breitenbach singled to center to open the top of the second. B Brown walked and C Anderson reached on a bunt single to load the bases. Meissner’s triple to center cleared the bases, and the Wildcats led 5-0. A walk, a two-out error, and a hit batter loaded the bases for the Rangers in the bottom of the second. A single to center to drive in two runs, cutting the Wildcat lead to 5-2.

The Wildcats added a run in the top of the fifth. T Travis doubled to left, went to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout by C Anderson. The Rangers added a run in the bottom of the inning to cut the Wildcat lead to 6-3. A single opened the bottom of the seventh. One out later, a triple to right scored the baserunner to cut the lead to 6-4. Bleymeyer struck out the next batter for the second out. Weinzetl relieved Bleymeyer and induced a popup to catcher Trent Travis to end the game.

Mounds View 8, Chisago Lakes 6

Free passes led to the Wildcats’ downfall against the Mounds View Mustangs in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday, April 17 at Schumacher Field in Forest Lake. Wildcat pitchers walked eight and hit one, and four of the batters who walked and the batter who was hit scored as the Wildcats lost 8-6 to the Mustangs.The Wildcats took advantage of wildness by Mustang pitchers early in the game to take a big lead. In the top of the second, they leaded the bases with no outs on a walk to Trent Travis, Xander Breitenbach getting hit by a pitch and a walk to Zander Bleymeyer. B Brown’s sacrifice fly to left drove in the first run of the game. Cole Stilp reached on an infield hit to re-load the bases. The next three batters each drove in a run – Kellen Meissner and Lucas Weinzetl with singles and Quinn LeVasseur with a sacrifice fly – and the Wildcats led 4-0.

In the bottom of the third, a walk and two doubles plated two for the Mustangs, cutting the Wildcat lead to 4-2. A Mustang batter walked to lead off the bottom of the fourth and later scored on a double. The big blow came in the bottom of the fifth. Two Mounds View batters walked with one out. On a 1-2 pitch, Andrew Gette homered to left to give the Mustangs a 6-4 lead. They scored two more in the bottom of the sixth on a walk with the bases loaded and a sacrifice fly, making the score 8-4. And those two additional runs proved to be crucial.

Baylor Brown, Stilp, and Meissner walked to load the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh. Weinzetl singled to drive in one run. After Quinn LeVasseur struck out, Nick Bjelland hit a sacrifice fly to score Stilp, cutting the Mustang lead to 8-6. Trent Travis walked to reload the bases. But Kaden Melquist struck out to end the game.

Baseball Banter

The Wildcats (4-4) will host the St. Francis Fighting Saints tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. at Pat Collins Filed at Chisago Lakes High School. On Tuesday, April 28 they will head to Big Lake High School to take on the Hornets at 5 p.m.

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