TIGERS OFFICIALLY STREAKY
Win 6th Straight After as Many Losses

--By Brett Kruschke

To quote Frank the Tank from Old School, "We're goin' streakin'!" Here's Belle Plaine's season: lose four, win four; lose six, win six. All that to get to .500, 10-10 overall and 9-7 in the Carver Central. El Tigre defeated Arlington 8-5 last Tuesday, Winthrop at Fairfax 11-2 on Friday, then St. Peter 4-0 and Shakopee's Indians 2-1 on Sunday. Last night the club hosted Victoria; details to come in next week's Herald.

Sunday night BP will host league-leading LeSueur, currently sitting at 9-2 in league-play. Game time is 6:00pm. Tuesday will feature a 7:30pm visit from the Gaylord Islanders, a treat sure to be enjoyed by season-ticket holder Cassidy Hiles and the gang.

Arlington 5 @ BP 8 (Tuesday, June 17th)
The Little Brown Jug. Paul Bunyan's Axe. The Mayor's Cup. And now… the Battle for the Helmet. Since Belle Plaine swiped a pair of helmets from the A's' shack and a win at the last meeting, the Tigers declared Arlington would have to win one of them back and a traveling trophy was born. Taking the ball on this rivalry evening was righthander Shane Hofmann.

Hofmann cruised, chucking seven innings of one-run ball (unearned) with eight strikeouts. The offense was led by Pat "Bonfire Boy" Moriarty, who went 4-for-5 with four RBI. Pat "Like My New Haircut?" Schultz tallied two hits and drove in three.

Zip Zellmann got handled like a piece of airport luggage in relief, but was rescued by Dave "A Heart Attack Waiting to Happen-On the Mound and at Hardee's" Feldt. The A's scored two in the eighth and ninth and brought the tying run to the plate before Feldt worked out and notched the save.

BP 11 vs. Winthrop 2 @ Fairfax (Friday, June 20th)
As Dan Weldon approached the plate for his first at-bat since August 2001, a chorus of "On Eagle's Wings" slowly rose from the dugout. He promptly grounded out to the pitcher and finished 1-for-6, but the point is, D-Dub was back. Back again.

The Tigers got off early with one in the first, and three in the third and fourth. Mike Murphy had plenty of cushion and gutted out five innings to pick up his paycheck with victory #2. Zip Zellmann changed his evil ways from last game, working four frames of hitless relief. Play fair, Gambler, cuz your stuff's too nasty.

Pat Schultz submitted an odd linescore, driving in five runs with but one hit. Jeff Witt snapped out of a four-year slump with a three-hit, three-RBI effort.

St. Peter 0 @ BP 4 (Sunday, June 22nd)
Tom Lacina, who could serve as Rod Beck's body double, started for the Saints. He locked horns with the equally effective Shane Hofmann through five, as the score stood at zero. In the sixth Team Tigertown broke through with two, and two more in the seventh. The final run came on a triple from Adam Hoffman, scoring Weldon. Weldon, who's still getting his legs back, probably could've cooked a microwave dinner in the time it took him to score from first.

Hofmann was dominant, posting 10 K's and yielding just two hits. He has not given up an earned run in his last 19 innings. Worths! Why don't you refinance while these rates are so low, Shane will soon be saying.

Shakopee Indians 1 @ BP 2 (Sunday, June 22nd)
The .500 mark was finally within reach as Game #2 of this Doubleheader Sunday loomed. Dan Huber was given the ball and with it did marvelous things. He was faced by Shakopee lefty (and ex-Golden Gopher) Tim Theis. Look for him in a Chaska uniform by next year.

Dan Huber doubled to lead off the bottom of the first, and scored on a two-out wild pitch. Huber would score again in the fifth on a squirrely play that saw Daron Anderson reach on a fielder's choice and E-5. The Indians tabbed one in the sixth but it was the seventh inning where the game was won. With two out and two out, Lance Siedow sent one toward the gap in left-center, when like a flash of light Jeff Witt raced toward the ball. He reached up and snagged it, saving at least a run, probably two. What a play.

Huber was getting high in pitch count, but wouldn't turn it over to the bullpen, despite the new impressive setup down the right-field line. (Chairs… and everything.) He struck out batters nine and ten to close it out, running the win streak to six and the team to, finally, the .500 mark.

This page was created and maintained by Nick Kornder, Sports Information Director at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. The views and ideas on this page are that of the author, and not those of the University of Minnesota.