IT'S PLAYOFF TIME
Waconia Here on Monday

--By Brett Kruschke

As the Christmas classic goes, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" or, at least in could be. The Tigers will find out starting next Monday how they will remember the 2003 campaign, when they open the Class 'C' Carver Central League Red playoffs at 7:30pm on Monday night, at home against Waconia. If they win, the Tigers would likely find themselves back at Le Sueur on Wednesday (7:30pm), where they lost Sunday in demoralizing fashion, 9-7. The Braves are atop the CCL ('C' and 'B') with a 16-4 record.

If the Tiger Train is derailed Monday, they will still play Wednesday (7:30pm), but from the loser's bracket. If the Tigers fall into the loser's bracket by Friday, they will play that night in an elimination game. Saturday (6pm) will be the CCL Red championship, determining the #1 and #2 seeds into Region 4C. The top two of four teams (BP, Le Sueur, Waconia, Carver) will advance to Region 4C play which begins on Wednesday, July 30th. Please see the accompanying bracket for full details.

Not to be forgotten, the Tigers will have a couple of challenging tune-up games this Wednesday and Thursday, at Green Isle and Union Hill, respectively. Both games will start at 7:30pm.

Wednesday's game at Northfield was rained out. Including a 2-0 win over Brownton last Friday and Sunday's loss at Le Sueur, Team Tigertown is 13-13 overall, with a final mark of 12-10 in the CCL. "If you wanna talk about the record-which we're not gonna do-then you can do that," as Denny Green once said.

Brownton 0 @ BP 2 (Friday, July 11th)

All b.s. aside, the Tigers played this one like they had a plane to catch. Or with rubber bats, as fan Dale Pudlitzke offered. Who really knows why-perhaps the locals were spoiled by having ace Dan Huber on the hill, who entered the game with a team-leading 2.21 ERA and a quiet confidence that he wouldn't give up another earned run the rest of the year.

Belle Plaine scored two in the first on a pair of hits against righty Blake Lindeman, but little did they know they would be scuffling on offense the rest of the night. Lindeman went on the throw a complete game five-hitter, posting goose eggs the rest of the way.

However, Huber (pictured) was dominant, taking a one-hitter into the ninth and settling for a two-hit, complete game shutout. His ERA dropped to 1.82 and record improved to 4-3, while his cap size increased from 7 1/8 to 7 ¼. He posted seven strikeouts against two walks. Check him out-with full picture portfolio-at hotornot.com.

Trace Selly (pictured) was the Alpha and Omega of the Tiger offense, collecting three of the team's five hits, its only extra-base hit and RBI. That's eight hits in 13 trips, raising his average to .333. When you're hot, you're hot; when you're not, you're not. La da da da da da, la da da da da.

BP 7 @ Le Sueur 9 (Sunday, July 13th)

Kate Hudson starred in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days", while the 2003 Tigers could be starring in "How to Lose a Game in 10 Ways." The latest gut-wrencher went down in Le Sueur; the style, hauntingly familiar.

Shane Hofmann came in having allowed three earned runs in his last 36 innings (0.75 ERA). Although he wasn't up to that standard on this day, he still turned over a 7-3 lead to the bullpen (after a leadoff double in the eighth) against the Carver Central's top team thus far in 2003.

Mike Murphy, who's been a rock for the Tigers over the years but has stuggled his last few outings, was both victim and perpetrator in what turned out to be a six-run eighth for the Braves. After a single and a sac fly made the score 7-4, a groundout meant two were out with the #8 hitter up. But a walk and then a hit-by pitch loaded the bases, when leadoff batter Mike Milam grounded one to short only to see defensive stalwart Daron Anderson make a throwing error. John Schaffler delivered a two-run single to close the book on Murphy, who's five runs were all unearned. Belle Plaine, it should be noted, played an otherwise stellar game defensively, turning in several great plays.

With Dave Feldt on in relief, an oh-so-close 0-2 pitch wasn't called, meaning of course that #3 hitter Mike Koller would deliver a floater to left to score two more for a 9-7 lead and cap the improbable comeback. After touching reliever John Schaffler early on in his relief appearance, the former Tiger draftee closed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth.

El Tigre laced 15 hits and stole four bases in the ballgame, and hit around plus one in a six-run sixth when they seized a 6-3 lead, primarily off starter Darren Culbert. And no I'm not sure why I wrote this article backwards.

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.