Chuck Fitzer
Recent Stories
Sports
Turnovers and run game propel CL to 2-0 start
After allowing the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets to score 13 straight points in the second quarter to cut the Wildcats lead to 21-20 at halftime, the Wildcats came out on fire in the third quarter. They forced several turnovers and scored on their first four possessions to take a 48-20 lead and went on to win 48-33 in front of the home crowd on Friday, September 6.
Sports
‘Cats clip Falcons to open 2024 season
Fullback Braxton Bender-Ehlke rushed 19 times for 162 yards and a touchdown to lead the Wildcat football team to a 28-8 win over the Foley Falcons in the season opener last Friday, August 29 at Foley High School. Quarterback Kellen Meissner added 68 yards on 18 carries and scored twice as the Wildcats piled up 312 yards rushing, controlling the ball for most of the game.
Sports
Bulldogs fall just short of state, but season still a success
Last Saturday at Brennan Field in Hinckley, the Bulldogs had a thrilling 6-2 comeback win in their Region1C elimination bracket game against the Ramsey Renegades. But in their semifinal game against the Rum River Bandits later that afternoon, they allowed six runs in the first inning and never quite got caught up, losing 11-6 and ending their season.
Sports
Bulldogs survive six errors to knock out Lumberjacks
Tyler Stilp drove in pinch runner Jack Boeck to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Bulldogs went on to beat the Elk River Lumberjacks 7-5 in the opening game of the 2024 Region 1C Playoffs. Hunter Lindstrom pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win. The game was played Saturday, July 27 at Mark Park in Princeton.
Sports
Bulldogs fall to fourth seed
The Bulldogs, with the number two seed in the Eastern Minny South playoffs seemingly wrapped up, had a strange week and, when it was all over, dropped to the number four seed in the South. Last Wednesday, they committed ten errors and lost 7-4 to a weak Ogilvie team. On Friday, they beat the Princeton Panthers 9-6. The Panthers had clinched the top seed Eastern Minny League North the night before. And on Sunday, with the number two seed still in their grasp, they lost 7-5 to the St. Francis Silverbacks, largely as the result of three stellar plays by Silverback outfielders early in the game, errors, and some bad calls by a seemingly biased umpire.
Sports
Bulldogs clip Nighthawks to claim Mug
The Mug is a traveling trophy, provided by Pizza Pub, fought over between the Chisago Lakes Bulldogs and their arch rival, the North Branch Nighthawks, in the annual Mug Game. The Nighthawks won The Mug for the first five years of the annual game, and Nighthawk players over 21 got to drink out of The Mug before it was displayed along with other trophies at the North Branch Pizza Pub. The Bulldogs finally won The Mug this year in an epic pitcher’s duel that included some controversy, defeating the Nighthawks 3-1 this past Saturday, July 13 at Pat Collins Field. This year’s game was an official Karl Oskar Days event. Beau Fandel threw a complete game one-hitter for the Bulldogs to get the win, and Jimmy Skroch, the winning pitcher for the Nighthawks in all five of the previous Mug Games, took the complete game loss.
Sports
Bulldogs win four Eastern Minny games in a row
Hunter Lindstrom pitched a complete game, and Reed Marquardt’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the third put the Bulldogs up 3-0 over the Ramsey Renegades as the Bulldogs went on to beat the Renegades 5-1 on Wednesday, June 26 at Pat Collins Field at Chisago Lakes High School. The sidearming Lindstrom kept Ramsey off balance all night. He allowed one earned run on five hits, didn’t walk anyone, and struck out eight.
Sports
Bulldogs still finding footing with busy schedule
A revised catcher’s interference call allowed the go-ahead run to score for the Osceola Braves in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the lead held, as the Braves beat the Bulldogs 4-3 Wednesday, May 29 at Oakey Park in Osceola, Wisconsin.
Sports
Wildcats fall short in consolation bracket
In the opening game of the Section 7AAA baseball playoffs, the third-seeded Duluth Denfeld Hunters had just six hits. But Wildcat pitchers walked eight batters and hit one, and five of those nine batters scored as the Hunters beat the Wildcats 6-2 Tuesday, May 28 at Duluth. Caden Gibbs drove in one Wildcat run with a first inning single, and Kellen Meissner drove in the other with a groundout in the top of the seventh. The loss sent the Wildcats to the elimination bracket, but they actually got a home game as the higher seed, after seventh-seeded Cloquet lost their playoff opener to second-seeded Hermantown.
Sports