The day's competition started out good enough for our Tigers of the softball world. This was Section 3AA action at Marshall - too far away from here IMHO. How has Marshall been able to corner so much section-level action? This happens in winter too. Obviously the task of getting on the road can be more concerning in winter. And then the drive back can be late at night too.
I remember the days when so many big post-season basketball games were at the UMM P.E. Center, filling the place sometimes. Today we have to head south for a lot of this.
People my age can remember when the travel burden was not so great. Games played closer to here would attract more casual-interest fans from here. That's opposed to the "hardcore," a word some are inclined to use. Bless the parents for their interest (though sometimes maybe they are a little overzealous). It's better to have a mixed crowd of both the "hardcores" and the casual-interest, don't you think?
What might the future hold? Well in the present, Tuesday, the MACA softball team played two games and split. Because we had lost once previously in this double-elimination affair, our season was done.
The Tuesday highlight was our 4-2 win over Dassel-Cokato. Key hits were off the bats of Brianna Marty and Kaylin Steen. Marty socked a two-run double in the fifth that got the score tied two-all. Then Steen delivered an RBI single in the sixth. Now we had the lead. Marty's double was one of two hits she had on the day.
Pitcher Haley Kill worked past the two-run D-C rally of the first inning. Kill went the whole way in the pitching circle. She shut down D-C after the first.
Section softball can demand a lot of the athletes. So the Tigers' work was not done on this day. Unfortunately they did not fare as well in their second game. It has always been tough trying to be competitive against the southern Minnesota teams. I have called it a "hex" we have. Perhaps this factor bubbled up toward the end of the day yesterday. I'm sure the coach would not subscribe to that. Whatever the explanation, we succumbed to the Huskies of Jackson County Central. The score was 12-2.
A downcast feeling among MACA fans, to be sure. We actually gained the first lead. This was with Cate Kehoe's squeeze bunt. Lauren Hottovy was the Tiger coming home on the play. Encouraging, yes, but it would not last. The Huskies took command. The southern Minnesota mystique on the softball diamond? JCC plated six runs in the fifth frame. That ended the game promptly. JCC was up by ten. Sigh.
JCC's Bailey Finck was a nemesis for us. Finck was a perfect four-for-four and drove in two runs. "Nemesis" also describes Brittany Tuffevson and Hadley Wachol, each of whom had three hits. In all the Huskies rapped 15 hits. Six of those hits were two-baggers.
The Tigers' season may be done but there's considerable satisfaction with our 21-4 record. My coverage of the Tigers' first two post-season games was placed on my companion blog, "Morris of Course." These home wins were over Montevideo and Litchfield. Here is the permalink:
Baseball: New London-Spicer 2, Tigers 1
It's all over for our baseball Tigers too. Tuesday saw the Tigers in action at one of those places to the south of here. Not really a routine drive - it was to Montevideo. This Section 3AA action had the Tigers matched against NL-Spicer.
We got the 1-0 lead thanks to Ozzy Jerome's single that scored Andrew Marty. That was in the first inning. The Wildcats answered with a run in the third and then scored what would prove to be the game-winner in the fifth. Final score: 2-1.
New London-Spicer got key offensive spark from Bennett Schultz: two hits, an RBI. On the mound for the victor: Grant Paffrath who allowed just the one MACA run on four hits in seven innings.
Riley Asmus pitched the whole way for our Tigers. Please note that both the runs he allowed were unearned. As with Paffrath, he allowed just four hits. Riley walked two batters, struck out two.
The Tigers closed out 2023 with a won-lost over .500, at 12-11. My coverage of the Minnewaska and Paynesville games is on my "Morris of Course" site. It was a split for us. Here is the permalink for my Tuesday post:
Transitioning into summer
Parents of the student-athletes should realize that all the post-season competition with its various layers, structures and schedules can get confusing for the more casual fans and school supporters. Be gentle with those of us who can get disoriented sometimes.
It would help greatly if we had a newspaper that availed itself of its own website to keep all of us informed. The means is there: the paper has a website all set up, in theory could be a real asset. Maybe someone on the newspaper staff could start a video podcast focusing on sports. This is being done in some places now like in Bonanza Valley (for BBE). It's not all that hard.
It's easy to come up with a theory as to why the paper does not do this. The newspaper company wants people to buy the paper. The huge problem with that is that the print paper only comes out once a week. When I check the paper's website I see tons of links for UMM Cougar sports and the "UMAC." But that news is reported comprehensively on UMM's own website, so I really don't get it.
We all ought to feel natural enthusiasm for our MACA Tiger teams - these kids have their roots right here in Stevens County. In fact, you should not even need to feel financial incentive to report on the Tiger teams. I have natural, organic enthusiasm for doing it. How can you not feel that?
I have two blog sites because I decided long ago that I needed an alternate site for when I got really invested in sports coverage. Sometimes politics demands my attention, not that I can change any minds on political matters. We are deep red Trump country here in Stevens County.
You know why UMM has become so challenged on enrollment? It was explained to me at the Willie's Cafe the other day, by a very well-placed UMM person, that "Trump got rid of the foreign students, and that was our cash cow."
When you get right down to it, Trump destroys everything he touches. Our fascination with the orange man is an outright national disease. So I can keep writing about this here online, even though my thoughts do not break through. Just listen to the older guys in the middle section of DeToy's between about 6 and 8 a.m. Republicans good, Democrats bad. I guess that's all you need to know about life, here in Morris. I have to be cautious.
A thank you
Look, I really do not know how many MACA fans reach my sites to consume my sports coverage. Numbers are available but I'm not totally sure how valid they are. But I'm delighted if a few fans visit and maybe get a smile on their faces reading what I have to offer.
I am not penned in with having to write "newspaper style." I could do that if I had to. But I inject some color, which was how I was taught to write way back when in my school years, the Watergate era. It encouraged candor but also some cynicism. Cynicism is sometimes quite constructive.
I need to look for an update on Charlie Hanson's golfing. Are some of the track and field kids still going?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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