Hoffmann Wins First as Tigers End CCL Skid (--by Brett Kruschke)
May 18th, 2005
The local nine lost to Elko 13-6 Wednesday in a game that fell apart late, before dumping the Victoria Vics 3-1 on Sunday for a much-needed CCL victory. The win was manager Shane Hofmann’s first, and the Tigers’ first Carver Cental League triumph of the year. The Big Grrr now stands at 1-3 in league play, 2-4 overall.
Last Friday’s exhibition battle versus Northfield – and “All-You-Can-Eat” Pork Burger Night – could not go on as scheduled, due to poor field conditions at Tiger Park. The game will not be made up; however, Pork Burger Night will be re-scheduled, so stay tuned.
Last night El Tigre played host to Plato – check www.bptigertown.com for results and highlights; a game report will also appear in next week’s Herald.
On Friday, Team Tigertown ventures to St. Francis and will hope to live to tell about it. Game time is 8:00 pm. Next Tuesday, May 24, Belle Plaine will battle Veseli, at Union Hill. In case of rain, the game will be played in Huck’s Bar.
Elko 13 @ BP 6 (Wednesday, May 11th)
| 5/11/05 | 1 |
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9 |
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| Elko Express | 0 |
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0 |
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4 |
6 |
13 |
10 |
2 |
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| Belle Plaine | 0 |
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0 |
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9 |
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The good thing about having a 23-man roster is when ten people can’t make it, you’ve still got enough to field a starting lineup, coach 3rd, keep book and the pitching chart. Facing these long odds was once-again interim manager Brett Kruschke, who decided before the game a loss would not count against his record – only wins.
The name of the game is pitching, and the name of the pitcher was Mike Schultz. The right-handed ace-in-waiting went six innings, scattering five hits, three runs (two earned), with an impressive ten strikeouts. Of course, brother Pat was his battery-mate, so they’ve only been doing this for about 15 years now.
Belle Plaine trailed 3-0 until tying it up with a three-run sixth. In the eighth, Elko put four on the board in a manner that can only be called “The Kruschk-light Zone.” Dave Feldt wasn’t exactly Davy Crockett firing his bb-gun either, but the veteran “defensive replacement” had some issues in left, and then just to make him feel better, first-time starter Nick Volek let a base hit get past him in right field, and three runs scored.
Chatfield’s Gritty Warriors rebounded with three in the bottom to make it 7-6, but a bases-loaded strikeout by the usually clutch Pat Schultz thwarted the rally. As Ty Webb once consoled Danny Noonan, “Don’t worry – you miss it, we lose.”
The ninth didn’t get any better for the Tigers in the field, as Jackson Thiesfeldt relieved Feldt after a leadoff walk in the ninth. Eleven men would bat before three outs were recorded, leading to six runs and a 13-6 lead that soon became the final score.
Three locals did some major damage on “Dollar Dog Night,” leading Brad Schultz to eventually cast his hot dog tongs down in disgust.
Victoria 1 @ BP 3 (Sunday, May 15th)
| 5/15/05 | 1 |
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| Victoria | 0 |
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1 |
5 |
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| Belle Plaine | 0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
X |
3 |
7 |
1 |
Although the bright sunshine was welcome for a change, it was a tough day on the eyes between that, a red-on-red uniform battle, and Mike Poppitz’s new silver tooth. Dave Kreft would get the starting assignment, in hopes of rescuing El Tigre from the CCL basement.
It turns out Kreft was as brilliant as the silver sparkle from the visiting dugout. The cagey right-hander went seven innings, yielding four hits and no runs. Add seven strikeouts to boot, and it was one tasty box-score. Kreft has given up only two earned runs in 18 innings, and moonlights as Belle Plaine’s Community Development Director. Then again, he is Superman.
El Tigerino drew first blood in the second, when Nate Hartmann scored on a Ryan Witt fielder’s choice. Further damage was nixed when Kreft lined out with the bases loaded. In the fifth, Kreft reached via error and came around to score on an RBI single by Mike Dhaene, making it 2-0.
Belle Plaine loaded the bases again in the seventh, and again came away empty on an unorthodox inning-ending play at third base. In the eighth, the Tigers finally notched that third run, when Tim Schuster singled in newcomer Scott Schaffler. Schaffler, the second piece to the Le Sueur trade along with shortstop Mike Dhaene, debuted with a 2-for-4 effort.
Mike Schultz worked the last two innings for the home team, and despite allowing a ninth inning run to break up the shutout, got tough and struck out the game’s final two batters to record his first save. That’s 13 strikeouts over eight innings in the last two games for Schultz, the one-time manual scoreboard operator out at Tiger Park.
This page was created and maintained by Nick Kornder, Sports Information Director at Northern State University. The views and ideas on this page are that of the author, and not those of Northern State University.