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Tigers Consolation Champions Pat Schultz Leads Way in Arlington / Green Isle Tourney (--by Brett Kruschke)
The Tigertown Express was dumped 10-1 by St. Cloud Orthopedic on Friday, but stormed back to win three straight and take the consolation championship in the 16-team Miller Lite Invitational, held this weekend in Arlington and Green Isle. Belle Plaine blitzed by Fairfax behind Mike Schultz’s 4-0, one-hit shutout on Saturday, then finally broke out the sticks on Sunday with 24 runs over two games. Final scores were 11-5 against the defending Miller Lite Invitational champions, Essig, and 13-3 over the Prior Lake Mudcats, thanks to an eight-run sixth that ended the game via the 10-run rule.
Pat Schultz was far-and-away the engineer of the Tiger Train, going 9-for-12 on the weekend, with seven RBI, three doubles, three walks, three steals, and six runs scored. The Tiger catcher raised his average from .292 to .383 in the process, and supplied his usual stellar defense behind the plate.
Two other key contributors were outfielder Tim Schuster and infielder / pitcher Ryan Witt. Schuster was an on-base machine, going 5-for-9 with four runs, three walks, two RBI and two hit-by-pitches. Witt went 5-for-14 with five RBI, and pulled double-duty on Sunday with a pair of relief appearances, allowing two unearned runs over three innings and gaining a save in the consolation championship. In six innings this year, Witt has yet to allow an earned run.
For the full tournament bracket and results, go to www.greenisleirish.net, or www.arlingtonas.net.
Last Tuesday’s St. Peter at Belle Plaine game was rained out, and will be made up on Monday, July 11 th, 7:30 pm at Tiger Park. Try not to get confused here, but last night, the Tigers traveled to St. Peter to finally begin the meat of the Carver Central League schedule. Results are posted online at www.bptigertown.com, or wait for a summary in next week’s Herald.
Tomorrow night (Thursday), the Gaylord Islanders will visit the Borough, with first pitch slated for 7:30 pm. On Sunday, it’s a good, old-fashioned road double-header, as La Tigra will trek to Carver at 1:00 pm, then to Jordan for a 6:00 pm battle. On Tuesday, the road-tested locals will head west to Brownton (7:30 pm).
Closing out the month, the Mighty Grr will host St. Patrick in an exhibition game next Thursday, June 30 th. At that point, the Tigers will pause for the long weekend over the 4 th before returning for the July stretch run and the playoffs. Like Harry Caray said, you can’t beat good old fun at the ballpark.
BP 1 vs. St. Cloud Orthopedic 10 (Friday, June 17, at Arlington)
| 6/17/05 | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| St. Cloud Ortho | 1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
10 |
7 |
1 |
| Belle Plaine | 0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
5 |
After the bitter taste of defeat in last week’s consolation championship of the Tigertown Classic, this time the Tigers knew what they wanted and had their eyes on the prize from the very beginning: the only way to go back and win a consolation championship was to lose one of their first two games in this tournament.
It was an emotional homecoming of sorts for the goateed wonder, Dave Kreft, who previously played with Arlington for oh, who-knows-how-long. With his buddies flipping cheeseburgers in the neatly designed bowling shirts he patented, onward he trudged. Off a raised mound and with a little extra giddy-up on his fastball, Kreft was looking to improve to 4-0 while hoping to reduce his already microscopic 0.79 ERA.
It wasn’t to be. The Tigers were still in the game, trailing 3-1 after six, but that’s when the Kreft-O-Matic 2000 hit the wall. An error, a pair of walks and a double chased the right-hander and turned things over to Dave Feldt, who was beaten like a rented mule. When the top of the seventh finally ended, a 10-1 blowout was on our hands (and some grease from honestly the best tasting fried onions-cheeseburger I ever had).
BP 4 vs. Fairfax 0 (Saturday, June 18, at Green Isle)
| 6/18/05 | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| Belle Plaine | 0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
| Fairfax | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
Mike Schultz took a no-hitter into the sixth before giving up a leadoff single, then completed the one-hit, seven-inning shutout in his best game as a Tiger. Holding a 2-0 lead with two on in the sixth, left-fielder Tim Schuster gambled and made a fantastic diving catch (of course, he doesn’t have far to dive), killing a potential rally for the Cardinals.
In the seventh, right-field replacement Dave Feldt delivered a clutch two-out, two-run single to right field to give the Tigers some insurance and a 4-0 lead. The man he replaced was Nick Volek, who started the game as right-fielder and number-two hitter, and worked a full count walk (as the beer batter, no less) in the first inning. However, no sooner did Volek happily reach first base, than did Fairfax approach the umpire with scorebook in hand, pointing out that Volek was incorrectly listed as # 35 on the lineup card (he wore # 13; Manager Hofmann was later fined $3 in kangaroo court).
Not only was our sunglass-toting rookie removed from first and called out, he was ejected from the ballgame! Kind of a wimpy way to get thrown out your first game, but at the same time I’m not sure a wrong number on the lineup card warrants a player ejection. Nonetheless, instant karma hunted the Cardinals down like the Grim Reaper himself and from that point on, it was just a matter of how for the Tigers.
Schultz gained his first victory of the year (and second career), posting four strikeouts and two walks while working with battery-mate and big brother, Pat. Mike would also like to mention that BBQ Days buttons are available from all the queen candidates, so whoever you get yours from, they are all the same $2 button. Just to point that out.
BP 11 vs. Essig 5 (Sunday, June 19, at Green Isle)
| 6/19/05 | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| Belle Plaine | 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
11 |
10 |
4 |
| Essig | 0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
8 |
1 |
Essig and the Tigers last met in 2002, and if my selective memory serves me correct, yours truly delivered the game-winning RBI in a 4-3 victory. Yeah, it was a hot afternoon; I was down 0-2 and fouled off 15 straight pitches… but I digress (and embellish). Essig entered the 16-team field as defending champions of the Miller Lite Invite, and was in the loser’s bracket thanks to an opening round, 2-1 loss to Green Isle, where a pair of last-inning dropped fly balls led to an Irish victory. (Note: The Irish went on to win the tournament, defeating Watkins in the championship game.)
Essig beat Le Sueur and came in with a 12-3 mark on the season, while Tiger hurler Jonny Schulz already had four losses himself this season, and was seeking his first win. But as they say, “that’s why they play the games!”
Belle Plaine wasted no time, batting around and posting a four-spot in the first inning. Pat Schultz was in the middle of the action, as usual, with a two-run single. The Blue Jays chipped away to make it 4-3 in the fourth, but the T-Town Express had one more big burst left in it – a five-spot in the fifth inning. Ryan Witt delivered the inning’s big hit, a two-out, two-run single.
The Tigers started getting a little weary, posting three errors over the last three innings, which led to two unearned runs in the seventh. But it was not nearly enough to derail the Tiger Train, as Witt closed things out in relief of Schulz’s second career victory.
In what could be a record for a seven-inning game, Tiger batters were plunked six different times by Essig pitching.
BP 13 vs. Prior Lake Mudcats 3 (Sunday, June 19, at Green Isle, 6 innings)
| 6/19/05 | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
R |
H |
E |
| Prior Lake Mudcats | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
| Belle Plaine (4-11, 2-4) | 1 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
13 |
10 |
0 |
This was it… a second crack in a week at a coveted consolation championship. Would the name forever be changed from Tigertown to “Titletown?” Only time could possibly answer that question, and only if the Tigers could first do their part.
Dan “New Arm Angle” Huber took to the hill, and the Tiger offense supported him early and often. One in the first, three in the second (thanks to a two out, two-run single from Pat Schultz), and one in the fourth gave the locals a commanding 5-0 lead. Along the way and throughout the day, sensational middle infield defense was displayed by the combo of shortstop Mike Dhaene and second-sacker Adam “Spaghetti Legs” Hoffman. Hoffman completed Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth on Saturday, played two games in the searing heat on Sunday afternoon, and looked no worse for the wear. Not sure how many other Tigers could pull that off. Half our guys get tired on the way back from the concession stand.
In the fifth, Huber was visibly tiring, and the 7-8-9 batters reached and scored in succession to begin the inning, making it 5-3. Trouble abounded. But a 6-4-3 double play and a strikeout ended the threat, as Huber gutted out the 43-pitch inning.
In the home half of the sixth, the Tigers coaxed an amazing five of their twelve free passes for the game, but really took the wind out of the Mudcats’ sails when Tim Schuster executed a squeeze bunt to make it 6-3. After that, the Tigers chipped away and Adam Hoffman delivered a two-run single, and three batters later the game-ender was Ryan Witt’s bases loaded double, which brought the 10-run rule into effect.
To the tune of Gilligan’s Island, sing it with me now: No Kreft! No Weldon! No Zippy Z, not a single luxury… Dan Huber getting thrown at? (As primitive as can be.) So join us here each week my friends, you’re sure to get a smile – from a couple 13, 14 castaways, here on Tigertown Isle!
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.