May 31, 2006
TIGERS “OPEN” FOR BUSINESS
--by Brett KruschkeThe Tigers lost a one-run battle to Hamburg last Tuesday (May 23), 4-3, before coming back and gaining a big win on Friday, 7-4 over the Class ‘B’ Prior Lake Jays. Both games were at the friendly confines of Tiger Park. Last night, Belle Plaine hosted upstart Waconia; look online (www.bptigertown.com) for all the exciting details.
Team Tigertown’s record entering the Waconia game was 2-2 in the Carver Central League, 4-3 overall. This week is a busy one for the local nine, as Thursday night they host Winthrop at 7:30 pm, on “Little League Night.” All uniformed Little Leaguers will receive a free hot dog! And, as always, 12-and-under are admitted free to all town team games.
Friday is the Tiger Open golf tournament at Valley View, starting at 1:00 pm. It’s not too late if you still want to sign up! Just contact yours truly at 612-327-2715, or Shane Hofmann at 952-484-2319.
On Saturday, the locals will trek to Henderson to take on the newly-formed Tigers, out of the newly-formed Diamond River Valley League. Henderson is off to a quick start already; game time is set for 4:00 pm. On Sunday, Belle Plaine will trek to Victoria for a make-up game from May 14; game time will be 6:00 pm. Finally, on Tuesday night, the Tigers head to Winthrop for a 7:30 pm thriller.
The following weekend is the 8th annual Tigertown Classic, but we’ll save all those details for next week. (If you can’t wait, the bracket is currently online.) We’ll see you on the golf course! And, at the ballpark.
| 5/23/06 | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
| Hamburg | 0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
6 |
3 |
| Belle Plaine | 0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
8 |
3 |
The Tigers lost their second game in a row by one run, as they were tripped by the Hawks, 4-3 at Tiger Park. Hamburg improved to 4-1 with the victory.
Mike Schultz went five innings for the Tigers, giving up four runs on six hits. What kept the Tigers in the game was stellar relief work from Jonny Schulz and Ryan Witt, who combined to go four scoreless – and hitless – innings. For Schulz, he has now gone six innings this year, giving up no runs and only one hit. Go, Jonny, go.
After falling behind 4-2 in the top of the sixth, the Chatfield Choo-Choo rallied for a run in the bottom of the sixth, making it a one-run game. Belle Plaine’s best chance to tie the game came in the 7th, when with two outs Nick Volek singled to left, only to have Ben Jass thrown out at the plate as he was waved in from second.
Volek, the only Tiger with multiple hits, finished 2-for-4. Rookies Bradley Lawson and Eric Lyons picked up their first career town team hits – look for this nugget to someday appear in the “30 Years Ago This Week” column.
The Tigers struck out 13 times, yet no-one took home The Sombrero, much to Ryan Witt’s chagrin. The home team’s three errors brought their season total to 26.
| Belle Plaine TIGERS (3-3, 1-2) | ||||||
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
Avg. |
|
| Volek, cf | 4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
.227 |
| Kreft, 1b | 4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.133 |
| P. Schultz, rf | 4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.261 |
| Hartmann, c | 4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.400 |
| J. Schulz, dh-p | 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.368 |
| Mi. Schultz, p | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
| R. Witt, p | 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.059 |
| Feldt, lf | 4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.294 |
| Ma. Schultz, pr | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
| Jass, 2b | 4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.214 |
| Lawson, ss | 3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.333 |
| Lyons, 3b | 2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
.250 |
| TOTALS | 33 |
3 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
.242 |
| 2B – P. Schultz. 3B – none. HR – none. | ||||||
| HBP – none. SB – none. | ||||||
| Pitcher | IP |
H |
R/ER |
BB/K |
NP |
ERA |
| Mi. Schultz (L, 0-1) | 5 |
6 |
4/4 |
2/2 |
71 |
3.75 |
| J. Schulz | 3 |
0 |
0/0 |
2/3 |
45 |
0.00 |
| R. Witt | 1 |
0 |
0/0 |
1/0 |
24 |
6.75 |
| 5/26/06 | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
| Prior Lake | 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
| Belle Plaine | 2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
X |
7 |
12 |
3 |
It was the Shane Hofmann Show at Tiger Park, as the 11 year vet did it on the mound and more surprisingly, at the dish. Hofmann went seven innings and only allowed four hits and two runs (one earned). After giving up hits to the first two batters of the game, he did not give up another hit until the seventh inning. “Ace” dropped his ERA to 0.90 (2 ER in 20 IP) in the process.
At the plate, all Hofmann did was go 4-for-5 with four RBI, a Michael Cuddyer-like resurgence. His four hits set the pace for a season-high 12 for the Tigers. Just as importantly, the Tigers also drew seven walks on the night.
It should be pointed out that the Tigers were benefactors of a controversial call in the seventh inning. With one out and the bases loaded, a ground ball was sent to short, and Bradley Lawson booted the ball as he was shielded by the runner heading to third. The Tigers didn’t complain, but the man in blue ruled that not only was the runner out, but that it was a double play! The Tigers enjoyed their good fortune and quickly scurried off the field.
Belle Plaine held a 7-2 lead into the ninth, but reliever Ben Jass was touched for a couple runs and needed help from Ryan Witt, who recorded his first save of the year.
| Belle Plaine TIGERS (4-3, 2-2) | ||||||
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
Avg. |
|
| Schuneman, cf | 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
.133 |
| Kreft, 1b | 3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
.167 |
| Ma. Schultz, ph | 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
| P. Schultz, c | 4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
.296 |
| P. Dressen, ph | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1.000 |
| Hartmann, 3b | 4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
.417 |
| Kruschke, pr | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
| Feldt, rf | 3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.250 |
| Lyons, 2b | 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.200 |
| S. Hofmann, p-rf | 5 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
.667 |
| Schuster, dh | 4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
.167 |
| Lawson, ss | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.333 |
| Jass, 2b | 3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.235 |
| N. Selly, ph | 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.250 |
| R. Witt, p | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.059 |
| Volek, lf | 3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.200 |
| TOTALS | 35 |
7 |
12 |
5 |
7 |
.343 |
| 2B – S. Hofmann. 3B – none. HR – none. | ||||||
| HBP – none. SB – Kruschke, Jass. | ||||||
| Pitcher | IP |
H |
R/ER |
BB/K |
NP |
ERA |
| S. Hofmann (W, 2-0) | 7 |
4 |
2/1 |
4/4 |
112 |
0.90 |
| Jass | 1.2 |
1 |
2/1 |
5/1 |
62 |
5.40 |
| R. Witt (Sv, 1) | 0.1 |
0 |
0/0 |
0/1 |
4 |
6.23 |
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.