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Chisago Lakes 6, Mora 4

In their final league game of the season, the Bulldog baseball team took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second with the help of some shoddy defense by the Mora Blue Devils, and Bulldog pitchers struck out 17 batters as the Bulldogs beat the Blue Devils 6-4 on Wednesday, July 22 at Mora High School. The game had been moved from Chisago Lakes to Mora due to an American Legion tournament taking place at Chisago Lakes High School, so the game was still a home game for the Bulldogs.

Tommy Meyer started and picked up the win for the Bulldogs. In five innings, he allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits, didn’t walk anyone and struck out seven. Beau Fandel earned the save. In four innings, he allowed one earned run on two hits, walked no one and stuck out ten of the 14 batters he faced. The hard-luck loser was Mora’s Derek Graves, who has been one of the premier pitchers in the Eastern Minny League for over a decade. Of the six runs he allowed, only two were earned.

Calvin Coppersmith reached on a dropped fly ball by the left fielder to lead off the bottom of the first. Brendan Hemr followed with a grounder to deep short. He easily beat the throw to first, and the ball skipped past the first baseman and went down the right field line. The two speedsters raced around the bases. Coppersmith score standing up, as Hemr cruised into third. Reed Marquardt popped a single over the head of the third baseman to score Hemr, and the Bulldogs led 2-0. Ty Escobedo walked to lead off the second inning, and Caden Coppersmith singled to move him to second. Brayden Anderson laid down a nice sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. After Joey Hemr struck out, Calvin Coppersmith lined a two-run double to left center to score both runners, and the Bulldogs doubled their lead to 4-0.

In the top of the third, with runners on first and second and two outs, Austin Peterson lined a double in the gap in left center to score both runners and cut the Bulldog lead to 4-2. Fandel walked with one out in the bottom of the third. Ty Escobedo lined a single to right. Pinch runner Cole Hentges turned the corner at second and headed for third. The off-target relay throw from shortstop Logan Graves skipped past the third basemen. Hentges scored to make it 5-2 and Escobedo came all the way around to third. In the top of the fourth, Wyatt Foss singled to left with one out and advanced to second on a passed ball. Owen Szoka popped a single to center to move Foss to third. One out later, he scored on a single by Logan Graves. But Derek Graves struck out looking to end the inning, and the Bulldogs still led 5-3.

The Bulldogs manufactured another run in the bottom of the seventh. Brendan Hemr reached on an error with one out, stole second and moved to third on a groundout by Marquardt. Fandel ripped a ground ball through the hole on the left side of the infield to score Hemr, and the Bulldogs led 6-3. With one out in the top of the ninth, Mason Nelson singled, and moved to second on a passed ball. Logan Graves reached first on a swinging bunt single, moving Nelson to third. Logan Graves took off to steal second. He beat catcher Joey Hemr’s throw. Marquardt fired the ball home, but Nelson scored standing up as Logan Graves moved to third. But Fandel struck out Derek Graves on the next pitch and struck out Mike McKee swinging to end the game.

Chisago Lakes 11, Albertville 7 (7 innings)

The Bulldogs exploded for seven runs in the top of the fourth to erase a 5-0 deficit and scored four more in the fifth on their way to an 11-7 win over the Albertville Anglers on Sunday, July 26 at Albertville. The game was shortened to seven innings due to the extreme heat and humidity. River Bemlott pitched four innings in relief to get the win. He allowed two earned runs on three hits, walked two and struck out five.

The Bulldogs did little at the plate as the Anglers built a 5-0 lead in the first two innings off starter Cole Hentges. But the Bulldogs used eight singles and two walks to score eight runs in the top of the fourth. Four players – Jacob Mickelson, Brendan Hemr, Zander Bleymeyer, and Carter Anderson – each drove in a run with a single.  Carson Luxem had a two-run single, and Tommy Fiter walked to drive in the other run. The Bulldogs might have scored more, but after Joey Hemr singled to load the bases with two outs, Carter Anderson was thrown out after rounding second too far, ending the inning with the Bulldogs leading 7-5.

Albertville tied it up 7-7 in the bottom of the fourth on a double, two singles and two wild pitches. But the game wasn’t tied for long. Mickelson and Brayden Anderson had back-to-back singles to open the top of the fifth. Brendan Hemr stepped to the plate and launched a 1-0 pitch high and deep over the center field fence for a three-run homer, and the Bulldogs led 10-7. Two outs later, Carter Anderon lined a single to center to score Luxem to make the score 11-7. Bemlott shut out the Anglers over the final three innings to seal the win.

Bulldog Banter

Two Bulldogs won Eastern Minny League awards, based on their play in the regular season. Jacob Mickelson tied for the greatest number of wins by a pitcher with five, and Reed Marquardt had the highest number of RBIs with 19. Congratulations to both players!

The Bulldogs (20-7 overall, 10-4 Eastern Minny League) have two more non-league games scheduled before the playoffs start. They have a rematch with the Mora Blue Devils scheduled for tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at Mora High School. And on Sonday, they will welcome the Isanti Redbirds to Chisago Lakes High School for the final home game of the year, with a 4 p.m. start.

The Bulldogs will begin the District 1B playoffs on Saturday, August 8, taking on the St. Joseph Joes at 10:30 a.m. at Cold Spring. We will have a playoff preview in next week’s Press.

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