Incredible! Absolutely incredible! An eighth-grader starting on varsity! Not only that, contributing heavily to a win! And not only that, getting the starting pitching nod for a varsity game! And not only that, pitching the whole way! A shutout in a complete game performance!
Should I really be awestruck? Maybe such a thing is not all that rare in prep sports today. Oh I think it's still pretty rare. An eighth-grader wouldn't even get a look when I was in high school. Our Morris school actually had policies on this. I heard it right from the horse's mouth once.
We had a super promising sophomore basketball player early-on in my tenure with the Morris newspaper. Finally I couldn't help but ask the coach if this individual might start playing some varsity. I'll type the player's name: Paul Libbon. He was sculpted to be a top-notch post player IMHO. But he was languishing on 'B' team which might also have been called "the sophomore team." Everyone was more grade-conscious back then.
Parents seemed to sense there was dysfunction in the system. You'd hear whispering now and then. But there was fear of the school faculty carrying out reprisals vs. anyone seen as "rocking the boat." What I'm suggesting is that we had a teachers union that was capable of serious intimidation in those days. Keep in mind that government employees as a rule have this severe fear of change. They want to stay in a cozy comfort zone, so as to be sure of continuing in their jobs with the reliable paycheck.
So I brought up the subject of Mr. Libbon with the coach who brusquely said "we don't do that here."
Varsity was going to be juniors and seniors only. Imagine Jackson Loge being constrained by that. But he would have been. I felt the rules stunted the progression of athletes. I also felt the rules made the upperclassmen complacent - they knew
their playing time was guaranteed. I sat next to a fan one night who
commented that a certain upperclassman - he's still in town and I won't
type his name - was giving less than 100 percent on the court.
By the end of the '80s there were enhanced calls for change. And change did come. It never comes easily in education. So today we can report on an eighth-grader pitching a complete game shutout in his varsity debut. Here's a shout-out to Alex Asmus. Bravo to this eighth-grader. I'd better be ready to type his name many times. Asmus' pitching led the Tigers to a 2-0 win over Sacred Heart here in Morris.
Brett Miller shared Alex's stats of four hits allowed, two walks and two K's. Alex produced a hit at bat himself. RBIs were picked up by Johnny Kleindl and Kyle Fehr. The Saturday success upped the Tigers' won-lost mark to 8-5.
Montevideo 9, Tigers 8
The Tigers sure looked like they were in the driver's seat in this game. What could be more promising than an 8-0 lead? "It ain't over 'til it's over" of course.
"Stunned" was the word Brett Miller used, reflecting on our eventual 9-8 loss to Monte in eight innings. The difference came with a "walk-off" sacrifice fly in the 8th, putting the Thunder Hawks on top.
The Friday action at Monte had our Drew Huebner looking good on the pitching mound through five innings. We appeared to be pounding the T-Hawks for a time. We led 8-0 having outhit the foe 16-1! The undaunted T-Hawks rallied for three runs in the sixth. Oh my, another five in the seventh, and then the SAC fly to win it in the eighth.
Monte could have won in the seventh but our Tyler Berlinger in right field nailed a runner at home. Monte's game-winner was another close call at home plate, this time with the ump signalling "safe." Game over.
Ozzy Jerome did his part for the Tigers: four hits in five at-bats and an RBI. Kyle Fehr drove in four runs. Victory proved elusive even with the robust team total of 17 hits. Huebner on the hill fanned 12 batters and ended up with a no-decision.
The Tigers and T-Hawks weren't done with their day's business. Game 2 of the twin bill went to Monte too, score of 13-5. Our pitching issued eleven walks. Monte's pitching was generous too: ten walks. But Monte's pitching scattered just four hits. Riley Asmus was our pitcher of record.
Monte got decisive momentum in the fourth: eight runs scored, highlighted by Cooper Dack's two-bagger that drove in three. Monte is having a banner spring: they owned a 12-1 mark at day's end.
Success vs. BOLD
The Tigers achieved wins in both ends of their doubleheader with the BOLD Warriors. Action was at the Olivia diamond where Drew Storck was handed the ball for our pitching in Game 1. And he responded with a complete game in this 7-3 win. Storck set down ten batters on strikes. One of the runs he allowed was unearned. He allowed just one hit and walked four.
Three Tigers posted two hits each in the boxscore: Johnny Kleindl, Trevor Buss and Kyle Fehr. Ozzy Jerome drove in two runs.
Let's take a look at Game 2 where Landon Gibson was our pitcher. The Tigers completed the sweep 8-1. Gibson fanned ten batters over his six innings on the hill. He allowed three hits and one run. Backing him was Fehr with a pair of hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Also, Riley Asmus with a three-for-four line, an RBI and run scored.
Stevens County Times website
I don't check the newspaper website often, and if I do it's just to see what they're up to over there. You never know when they might change and choose to become more dynamic, provide more of a service.
I clicked on "sports." Do you sometimes do this too? You would think our only athletic teams here were "Cougars." What's the point of doing this? Don't you all feel a little insulted? If the paper sees fit to have all these links referencing the Cougars and the UMAC, well why not delve into MACA sports too?
In principle wouldn't that be the only way to go? So why not? And isn't Cougar sports represented in state of the art fashion on UMM's own website? All the bells and whistles there? N'est-ce pas?
So what gives? I assume that many newspaper sites perform better than this, many of them markedly better. And the print version of our paper only comes out once a week. I remember a former school administrator here, quite involved with athletics, who'd have a conniption if he felt we were just a little behind in reporting sports. What would he say now? Actually nothing, as his protestations were based on politics more than anything. When I was with the paper, I did not behave as an agent for the school's PR.
In the late 1980s this community went through considerable duress in getting the whole school system to become more accountable. Public schools everywhere were doing what happens to them so often: adapting to change. It was just more uncomfortable in Morris than in other places. There are people in Morris who would never admit that this even happened. You see, that's politics too. If you're astute you know what I'm talking about. See no evil? Not a good way to go.
On a positive note I can assert that our Morris public school appears to be doing everything very well today. Way to go, school administration. As for the school board, it should not have allocated any further funds for the "softball complex." One determined school board member saw the light on that, voted no, only one. So easy to spend OPM, other people's money. Look out for mud out there.
MAHS band concert, with ice cream too!
All of you who regularly check the school calendar should make a note, always, when a band concert is coming up: Make a point to attend! These events are really exciting.
My, the Jazz I ensemble performed with a professional-like polish at times Monday night. The concert was preceded by soloists and ensembles performing in the cafeteria. This followed tradition for the spring concert. Ice cream treats are served too! I had a terrific ice cream cone. Free will offering to support scholarships.
The musicianship was boffo. I especially enjoyed the French horn players. That's the instrument that yours truly started out on. I recall becoming highly dismayed, though, when I noticed the instrument was seen as a "girls instrument." Why would it be? I grew up in a time when certain things were seen as "manly" and the male students avoided feminine things like the plague.
I just did not see why the French horn should be for girls. It's a challenging instrument to play: more delicate when it comes to intonation than the trumpet. I learned to play the trumpet to be in marching band. Eventually I switched over to trumpet ongoing. For sure it was a "boys" instrument. Flutes and clarinets? Girls.
Why oh why? Our gender notions in those days could be strange. We are more enlightened today. Donald Trump may have grown up in a time when "boys will be boys" when it came to being sexually menacing with women. Now he has gotten his comeuppance. Or did he? Republicans and evangelical Christians are still mostly supportive of the orange man. But I read of fractures in the evangelical movement now. Not sure I want to call myself a Christian any more.
It's not like we all have to become Democrats. We all just need to get brains. How is our educational system really operating in the USA, if we have so many hopeless ignoramuses who support Trump no matter what?
I could write ad nauseam about Trump. My writing is not going to affect anything. The old guys at DeToy's Restaurant in the morning will continue to "bash the Democrats" even though their own lives have been made better by Democratic Party policies.
Again, be sure to support our wonderful MAHS band program led by the most distinguished Wanda Dagen. She always looks good wearing black. Aw, she'd look good wearing any color.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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