Tigers of MACA down Tigers of Marshall

Softball: Tigers 8, Marshall 2

Friday was a day to cheer for followers of the MACA softball Tigers. It was an afternoon of non-conference diamond action.

Coach Mary Holmberg's Tigers kept their record unblemished with a nifty 8-2 win in front of the home fans. The Tigers' line score in this April 20 showcase was eight runs, eleven hits and two errors. The Marshall Tigers posted 2-2-2 numbers.

It was truly an afternoon for the MACA Tigers to roar.

The first two innings were scoreless after which the MACA engines started humming. First there was a one-run rally in the third. Then, a big four-run fourth. And after that: two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Again, McKenzie VanBatavia had an instrumental role. (This is the spelling I will now opt for, after seeing her name in the Morris Area honor roll. I had seen it spelled differently in some other credible places. I sent an email to coach Holmberg regarding this but she didn't answer.)

McKenzie had things totally under control from the pitching rubber through six innings. She flirted with a perfect game.

Marshall was finally able to tee off a little vs. her in the seventh. That's when Marshall pushed its two runs home, but no way would Marshall summon enough momentum to come from behind. The Marshall bats did produce a double and triple in the seventh.

Marshall came out of the day still seeking its first win.

VanBatavia was a force offensively with a hit and two RBIs. Tracy Meichsner was likewise a major force, going three-for-four with two RBIs and four stolen bases. Her two-run single provided key spark in the fourth inning rally.

Sadie Fischer was aggressive at the plate and went three-for-three with two RBIs. Holly Amundson had two hits in four at-bats and drove in a run.

Steph Hennen went one-for-three and Jaimie Bergerson one-for-four.

On to pitching: Here, VanBatavia was only slightly nicked by the seventh inning, and picked up the win with a seven-strikeout performance. She walked zero.

Her pitching rivals were Miranda Fischer (the loser) and Callie Graff.

  

Tigers 10, Benson-Hancock 1

The run total of ten looks impressive from MACA's Thursday softball action at home. Another stat that might be deemed just as significant was the zero errors.

Indeed the MACA Tigers played an all-around game to delight the home fans. This game ended in a 10-1 triumph for coach Holmberg's orange and black squad. It was a WCC-South game that had rival Benson-Hancock as the opponent. The MACA line score was ten runs, nine hits and no errors. B-H had a 1-9-4 line.

McKenzie VanBatavia had her typical important pitching role. She struck out nine Brave-Owl batters while walking just one. She scattered eight hits. She allowed the one earned run.

On this day the ace was spelled for one inning. The ball was handed to Brianna Abril who pitched a solid frame, fanning a batter, walking none and giving up one hit.

The Benson-Hancock pitching duties were divided between Kayla Jones, who was tagged with the loss, and Kendra Schmidgall. Jones pitched five innings and couldn't cool the Tiger bats. The Tigers achieved nine hits and drew three walks vs. Jones.

Schmidgall allowed no hits in her one inning, but MACA was able to push across an unearned run. Schmidgall was hurt by some wildness.

Benson-Hancock wasn't able to push across a run until the sixth.

The Tigers got busy scoring in the second inning with three runs and went on to add one in the third, five in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Steph Hennen zeroed in on the B-H pitching to go three-for-three. Brooke Wente picked up two RBIs as part of going one-for-two.

Jaimie Bergerson joined Hennen with multiple hits, fashioning two-for-four numbers.

Other Tigers hitting safely were Sadie Fischer, Holly Amundson and Brooke Johnson.

The Brave Owls had three in their ranks posting a multiple-hit game. They just couldn't parlay this into much run-scoring. McKenzie Jensen, Kendra Schmidgall and Alissa Hughes each had two hits.

Brave Owls with one hit each were Kayla Jones, Jenna Hanson and Abby Tollefson.

  

Baseball: Benson 5, Tigers 2

The MACA baseball Tigers succumbed to a big inning by Benson, the fourth, Thursday (4/19) at Benson.

The Braves plated four runs in that rally, lifted especially by a timely and decisive blast off Morgan Staton's bat. Staton sent a drive down the left field line. It was like a dagger for the Tigers, who were trying to work out of a bases-loaded situation.

That rally began with Brady McDonald and Tyler Krienke singling. They were joined on the basepaths by the walking Matt Ahrndt.

Staton's blast cleared the bases and he ended up at second. He then arrived at third thanks to a Tanner Mikkelson sacrifice fly. He crossed home plate, firming up Benson's lead, on Anthony Berreau's single.

The damage had been done from MACA's standpoint. Benson won in the 5-2 final.

The Tigers scored one run each in the third and fifth innings. Tanner Picht picked up the RBI for each of these, singling each time.

Mac Beyer pitched four innings and was tagged with the loss. He gave up five hits and five runs (all earned) while striking out one and walking three.

Jake Torgerson succeeded Beyer on the hill. He allowed one hit and no runs, fanned three batters and walked none.

Beyer and Torgerson were up against Luke Schwarz in the pitching department. Schwarz did a workmanlike job, pitching a complete game, fanning four batters and walking three. He gave up six hits and two runs (earned).

Picht finished two-for-four with those two RBIs. Tom Holland rapped two hits in four at-bats. Beyer and Lincoln Berget each enjoyed a one-for-three afternoon.

Staton with his three RBIs stood out in Benson's boxscore. Krienke rapped two hits in three at-bats. Berreau stole two bases on his one-for-three afternoon with two RBIs. Brady McDonald and Luke Schwarz both went one-for-three.

The line scores were as follows: Benson 5-6-1 (runs-hits-errors), Morris Area Chokio Alberta 2-6-1.

The Tigers came out of the day at 1-3, searching for some momentum.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Language evolves but not always swimmingly

I'm taken aback every time I see the words "convince to." This is a testament to the power of the books written by Edwin Newman many years ago.

Edwin is no longer with us. He was a television journalist back when the leading "network news" filtered out most that was silly, fallacious or provocative. He was also a wordsmith.

Today I'm rather certain Newman would consider his battles to be lost. College English teachers might be in a like situation.

The idea of a complex system of rules for carefully grooming the English language might be dated. This is an age now where a U.S. congressman might send a text message that seems like caveman talk. Brevity and directness are everything.

There has always been something to be said for brevity and directness. When I was young those goals had to be pursued under that complex umbrella of rules Newman subscribed to.

The newsman wrote two books that noted breakdowns in handling of the English language. Manual typewriters were still the norm. People wrote a lot of their stuff longhand with ink pen. People were far less inclined to write things impulsively or to get attention for their material immediately.

Email made communications instantaneous. The speed of communications is something we take for granted today. Young people have grown up in such a world. It seems a miracle we have totally conquered boredom.

I wouldn't trade today's environment for that of my youth. But we are, after all, human. We cannot perfect our environment. Communications are instantaneous but they can be sloppy. I'm not sure kids would be receptive if they were told they need a little more discipline.

And they would certainly view those old (1970s) books by Edwin Newman as quaint. Newman was addressing a world where writing seemed a refined and exclusive craft. He put much stock in how the New York Times handled things.

We were a much more New York Times-centric world then. The political conservatives didn't like that but they were much more confined to a limited space. The explosion in electronic media is what empowered political conservatives.

Newman shamed the New York Times on what he considered rule-breaking with "convince to." We should be so lucky as to be able to focus on an issue like this today, when people type "2" for "to" and don't get laughed at.

I was reminded of the "convince to" thing lately when I saw an informational flyer around Morris. Here's the quote: "Stevens Forward! has teamed up with UMM students to find out how well Stevens County meets the needs of retirees - what would convince you to stay in the county post-retirement, or why you have chosen to stay."

Convince. . .to.
Ahem.

This construction appeared to stick in Newman's craw.

"You may convince that," Newman wrote. "You may convince of. You may not convince to."

So the appropriate wording would be? It would be "persuade," according to the conventional rules. You may persuade someone to act but you convince someone of the truth of a statement or proposition.

It seems silly to assert in this age of "caveman" text messaging (which I don't use), but "convince" should not be used with an infinitive. "Persuade," meanwhile, is quite acceptable with both an infinitive or a "that" clause in both active and passive constructions. As if anybody cares anymore.

Our language is fluid. What starts out as rule-breaking creeps into the norm. We have seen the classroom understanding of "convince" and "persuade" break down. It hardly seems a biggie.

People associated with our august U of M-Morris have no problem "convincing to."

Oh, and there's another nitpicking observation I might make: "Stevens Forward!" has that exclamation point which was omitted in the flyer's text. There is a logo on the flyer that has the exclamation point.

Why would retirees want to stay in Stevens County? I don't know, but our county has lost about 2,000 in population over the last 32 years. I'm skeptical this trend can be blunted by anything like Stevens Forward! or the UMM Office of Community Engagement.

I put a post on my companion website ("Morris of Course") this morning which shares my general assessment of Stevens Forward!
Great ideas to be sure, but perhaps a deficiency with practicality. I invite you to read that post by clicking on the permalink below:

http://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/04/stevens-forward-re-focusing-in-more.html

 

UMM came into being when every little town around here had its own football and basketball teams. Middle-age families with kids were in every neighborhood. It seems to me we need to preserve such families as a bedrock for our community life.

Retirees? They appear to be doing well financially relative to younger categories. Is that why we're prioritizing retaining them?

We of course want everyone to stay. But I'm not sure I understand the special concerted push for retirees unless it's that money factor. And that could change if Republicans advance to really seize the reins of government.

Republicans will make austerity more of a shared thing, not just a burden for young people who are coalescing in "Occupy."

That flyer around town asks for volunteers to submit to an hour-long interview by a UMM student. Maybe us older folks should be interviewing them. We could ask if student debt is going to stay manageable, and whether their degrees can truly be parlayed into the intended rewards.

Life is going to be a slog for all age groups, I predict. And it won't be hard to CONVINCE everybody of the soundness of that suggestion.

PERSUADING people to stay here, or to come here to study, may become daunting.

Newman's books were entitled "Strictly Speaking" and "A Civil Tongue." The fact I can remember these titles so long after the fact is a tribute to the late journalist's wisdom. His jaw would drop if he could see the world of cable TV news today.

Not too civil.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA girls, boys turn back Eagles on diamond

The spring sports slate didn't miss a beat Tuesday as the MACA girls visited Lac qui Parle Valley while the baseball Tigers hosted the LQPV Eagles.

It was mission accomplished for both squads in terms of garnering the win.

Softball: Tigers 17, LQPV 1

Coach Mary Holmberg's Tigers scored early and often in getting an advantage vs. the Eagles in the usually-windy Eagle country.

Lifted by a big second inning in particular, the softball Tigers assumed command, winning in the end 17-1.

The second inning rally generated six runs. By itself that rally was enough to back the pitching of Mackenzie Van Batavia who is getting established as the MACA ace.

The ten-run rule kept this game shorter than the standard length. So, Van Batavia taxed her pitching arm for just five innings.

On this day she allowed a mere three hits while amassing a fine strikeout total of eleven. She walked five batters, and the one run she allowed was earned.

Her pitching opponent was Alyssa Harms who worked the full five despite getting roughed up. Just eleven of the 17 runs that Harms allowed were earned.

Lac qui Parle committed three errors.

The MACA line score was 17 runs, eleven hits and no errors. Errorless ball at this early stage of the season puts a smile on fans' faces to be sure.

The Tigers scored in every inning.

Van Batavia missed a shutout in the fifth when the Eagles pushed home their lone run. She wielded a potent bat to complement her pitching work. She pounded two hits in four at-bats and scored two runs.

Steph Hennen was a perfect two-for-two and crossed home plate three times. Tracey Meichsner was busy on the basepaths too, recording two hits in three at-bats and scoring three runs.

Olivia Reimers made noise with her bat, finishing three-for-four.

The LQPV hits were by McKenzie Long, Questa Stensrud and Kaylee Holtz.

Baseball: Tigers 5, LQPV 3

The baseball Tigers entertained fans at home with a 5-3 win. The Tigers outhit Lac qui Parle 9-4.

Pitching was at centerstage with Sam Mattson accomplishing a gem on the hill. Coach Mark Torgerson had to beam as Mattson set down 15 Eagle batters on strikes. Mattson finished with a four-hitter in this WCC-South triumph.

Not only is the 15 (K's) stat significant, Sam had a skein of eleven consecutive outs via strikeout. This began after LQPV got a run pushed across via wild pitch in the first.

Don't get the impression this win was a cakewalk. The visiting Eagles led 3-2 in the top of the fifth. Sam Haas, who wielded a potent bat for the visitor (two triples), raced home from third on a squeeze bunt, gaining LQPV that one-run edge. Colby Siegert was the Eagle who laid down that bunt.

Morris Area Chokio Alberta scored a run in the bottom of the fifth to tie things up.

The sixth inning proved pivotal, as Mattson bore down to get a goose egg on the scoreboard and MACA rallied for two runs in the bottom. There would be no further scoring.

Jacob Torgerson gave fuel in the sixth rally, singling and then coming around on Bryce Jergenson's double. Tom Holland hit a fly ball deep enough to get a run in via sacrifice.

The MACA offensive highlights included a solo home run off Mac Beyer's bat.

The MACA line score was five runs, nine hits and two errors.

Holland had a two-for-three afternoon with two RBIs at Chizek Field. Chandler Erickson's bat resounded with a double as part of going two-for-three with an RBI.

Jacob Torgerson scored two runs to go with his two-for-three numbers. Tanner Picht had a one-for-four line in the boxscore.

Beyer with his homer and Jergenson with his double rounded out the hitting attack.

Mattson issued just one walk. He gave up four hits and three runs (two earned).

The losing pitcher was Brandon Bornhorst who worked the whole way, fanning five.

Haas had all but one of the LQPV hits. His three-for-four stats were complemented by two runs scored. Nathan Kelm had the other LQPV safety.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

It's time to focus on MACA spring sports

Sports fans may not talk about it, but I think there's always a bit of a letdown going from winter to spring. The weather just doesn't seem quite ready, on a lot of days, for this move.

I learn today (Tuesday, 4/17) that the Tiger softball game scheduled for yesterday was postponed. That surprises me. Sure, the weather was like hell on Sunday but it wasn't nearly so bad Monday.
Yes, there was a somewhat harsh wind. But I really expected the game to be played.

The Morris Area school calendar announced that the softball Tigers would play at New London-Spicer. I also think I spotted (yet another) school calendar mistake. I made note of such mistakes last winter and wondered why District #769 couldn't push a primarily online way of reporting school schedule information.

The system should encourage the habit of people simply going online.

Our school calendar reported that the MACA baseball team would be playing at New London-Spicer Monday, just like the softball team. It says "BB-NLS-A-5 pm."
Subsequent to seeing that, I could find no other confirmation this game was in fact on the slate. In fact, I learn from a media source that New London-Spicer was scheduled to play Montevideo on Monday, April 16.

I'll ask again: Why have a school calendar, and why pay to have it published and distributed, if fans find they have to confirm this information elsewhere?

The school calendar is printed to be used. Perhaps it's a complete waste of money.

The online world is a panacea in connection to all such issues. This is why we have the "virtual community" listed as a "Destiny Driver" for "Stevens Forward!"

Remember Stevens Forward? I'm hearing there is a new push to make the program effective as opposed to just an on-paper, hot air, fogbound listing of platitudes or whatnot - the kind of vacuous happy talk that tends to come and go in the bureaucratic world.

Stevens County may have lost as much as 2,000 in population since 1980. So, we don't need empty platitudes. Let's make this "destiny driver" really work!
So when I talk about how it's time to move away from ink-on-paper media to the new frontier, maybe you all should start listening and not just stare at me with blank eyes and a weak smile. OK?

I am pleased to report today on both softball and baseball - the Tigers' first games of 2012. I hope I have all the names spelled correctly, especially the MACA softball pitcher. Don't ever hesitate to get in touch with me.

I'm starting to wonder if I was misled by a girls basketball game program last winter that included the name "Tracey Meichsner" (with the possibly superfluous "e" in the first name). I am proud to get the "chs" letters in their proper order in this student athlete's last name.

My baseball coverage (a twin bill loss vs. BOLD) is on my companion website, "Morris of Course." Please click on the permalink below to read about Tiger baseball:
http://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/04/maca-boys-come-up-shy-in-twin-bill.html

Softball: Tigers 10, Montevideo 7

The MACA softball girls hit the ground running on Tuesday, April 10, winning with a double digits flourish in the 2012 season opener. The Tigers scored ten runs.

The big inning was the sixth when the eager Tiger offense rallied for seven runs. The foe was Montevideo. The action was here. The final score was 10-7.

Mackenzie Van Batavia was the MACA pitcher and she also had a hit in that big sixth inning.

Olivia Reimers drew a walk to begin that sixth inning outburst. Successive hits resounded off the bats of Nicole Strobel, Megan Mecklenburg and Van Batavia. Adding to the mix, by the time the rally finally subsided, were hits by Sadie Fischer and Steph Hennen and a fielder's choice.

Van Batavia was a standout in the boxscore with two hits and two RBIs, plus she pitched the whole way. She struck out four Thunder Hawk batters, walked two and gave up eight hits and seven runs (five earned). Her pitching rival was Ashley Hoehne.

Van Batavia went two-for-three including a double in her offensive showing.

Fischer's hit was a double and she drove in a run. Hennen finished one-for-three with an RBI. Nicole Strobel went one-for-three with an RBI, and Reimers and Mecklenburg both finished one-for-two.

The Morris Area Chokio Alberta line score was ten runs, seven hits and three errors.

Danielle Emkes led Monte's offense at three-for-three.

Tigers 8, BOLD 0

The Thursday (4/12) story for the MACA girls was more of same: winning. Again the home diamond was the site. The foe this time: BOLD.

Van Batavia's pitching arm was again showcased. Working seven innings again, this Tiger tossed a three-hit shutout in MACA's 8-0 win.

She fanned six batters and walked three. She easily out-dueled the BOLD pair of Emily Wallert and Paige Larson.

Fans at the local diamond cheered as MACA showed its decisive burst in the first inning: four runs. The Tigers led 4-0 after four innings after which they plated three runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.

The MACA line score was eight runs, seven hits and no errors. Van Batavia's bat resonated with a double. Fischer rapped two hits in three at-bats. Tracey Meichsner had a double as part of going two-for-two.
Olivia Reimers went one-for-three and Holly Amundson one-for-two.

Taylor Ebnet had a hit in her only at-bat for BOLD.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Cooper's laugh episode breath of fresh air

Anderson Cooper follows in the footsteps of David Brinkley. Cooper "cracked up" on the set of CNN when reporting a story the other night. He was reporting about an obscure Polish-American post-Lenten holiday.

"Dyngus Day" struck Cooper as having some oddities. Was it "pussy willows" that sent him over the top?

I like the holiday because this often-drab time of year could use some enlivening. Cooper found it charming. He also couldn't stop laughing for a spell.

While it may seem unprofessional, who could possibly object to the little incident? It was a total breath of fresh air in the often-turgid world of cable TV news.

Cooper has now been invited to a main "Dyngus Day" celebration next year. He would be given a royal designation.

Cooper "got the giggles" on CNN where a few wasted moments are hardly an issue.

CNN was the pioneering 24/7 news network but has fallen into a non-descript category. "News" has become such a ubiquitous commodity. A network can't sell itself merely being a news source. CNN has become upstaged by partisan TV.

The partisan networks really seem to "have teeth." They do purport to be news networks. They do in fact dispense news but are defined by their partisan personalities and sharp-edged commentary, often done to caricature.

The old reliable 5:30 p.m. broadcast news seems vestigial.

David Brinkley was on the "evening news" back when broadcast TV had primacy. He worked with Chet Huntley for a long time. This was the only newscast available to many of us here in western Minnesota once. That's because KCMT TV of Alexandria was affiliated with NBC.
We only heard about Walter Cronkite, or James Arness of "Gunsmoke."

We had Huntley and Brinkley, and Lorne Greene on "Bonanza." Let's not forget "Trampas" on "The Virginian" (Doug McClure), who must have driven James Drury crazy by upstaging him.

Brinkley was a long-time pillar in television news. He had a halting delivery sometimes that ended up getting parodied on "Saturday Night Live."
He belongs to another age, when the power of TV journalism was concentrated in the hands of a few. So the time Brinkley exhausted by getting "the giggles" was more of a story, and perhaps more of an internal issue, back then.

This was post-Chet Huntley. Brinkley was working with John Chancellor on the NBC evening news. Chancellor had just recited a seemingly routine story about the banning of red dye #6 and the possible effect on the Maraschino cherry industry.

I was too young then to realize the role Maraschinos played in adult social life. It was an era of social drinking acceptance.

Chancellor laughed just a touch. Apparently what set them off was the reference to the Maraschino Cherry Association of America. The camera went back to Brinkley. Brinkley was unable to get focused for the next story. He tried getting control of himself to start over.

It was to no avail. This could truly be a panic situation. Unprofessional as it could have been judged, only a total grouch could have found this objectionable. Brinkley had to be relieved by the network going to a commercial.

Most of us feel laughter is a great remedy and reprieve from life's grind. Most of us would have wanted to join in with Brinkley. Ditto when Anderson Cooper experienced the exact same episode.
Cooper went on to apologize to the people active with Dyngus Day. It's centered in Buffalo, New York, but given its newfound notoriety, thanks to Cooper, it could branch out. I would welcome it.

This is a drab time of year when the weather can often not make its mind up. We establish a mindset for warmer weather only to get a roundhouse punch of the colder stuff. I have joked with people that it "must be like a Missouri winter."

I heartily welcome Dyngus Day to our calendar. It's obscure but real, not like St. Urho's Day. St. Urho's is good for prompting a hearty laugh on its own. It exists partly to irritate those who think St. Patrick's Day is special.

We like to think we know what makes us laugh. As we think back to those things that have given us the "giggles," though, they might seem not that funny in the abstract.

Entertainment that is clearly scripted as comedy might leave us flat. The things we judge as truly funny might come out of nowhere. They're incidental and unscripted. Cooper was reciting a story that had no intent of being funny. Again, I think it was something about the "pussy willows."

Brinkley seemed the kind of guy who maybe enjoyed his share of beverages adorned by the "crop" in his story. That was the "Mad Men" era. Drinking alcohol was a most approved adult activity in the 1960s.

We laughed at references to excessive alcohol consumption. It was a time when you could drive 70 MPH on the state highways too. My father had a Buick station wagon and availed himself of this. He did not drink alcohol.

Being a non-drinker might stigmatize yourself back then. For my generation, choosing not to smoke marijuana would do the same thing.

My generation laughed at "Blazing Saddles." The "Blazing" movie launched the Mel Brooks franchise of comedies that entranced the boomers. I saw it at our Morris Theater where there was considerable laughing out loud.
This movie had its moments, like with the Count Basie band, but I considered it somewhat overrated. Del Sarlette of Morris would roundly disagree with me on that.

I thought Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" was a more solid and consistent piece of work.

Comedy is a very fragile entertainment form and the Brooks franchise dropped off. "History of the World Part I" was a great name but this movie went flat. The highlight at the end was Brooks' previews for "History of the World Part II," including "Jews in Space" and "A Viking Funeral."

The Brooks series of movies beginning with "Blazing Saddles" was right in line with the boomers' irreverent outlook on life. I consider the most underrated movie to be "Silent Movie." It was a true comedy silent movie, an authentic tribute to the genre, and it was fueled by Dom DeLuise in his prime. Marty Feldman was back from "Young Frankenstein."

I have told Del the hardest I have ever laughed during a movie was when the three heroes - Brooks, DeLuise and Feldman - put on medieval knight armor and sought to take a seat at the same table as Liza Minnelli at a Hollywood movie set deli. The sound effects were metal-on-metal "crunching" as the three tried the simple act of sitting down - impossible as it turned out.

Also greatly funny was the scene where the three heroes chased Paul Newman with all of them in motorized wheelchairs.

People who create comedy must be very nervous. It's hard to know what will come across as truly funny.

We laugh at little things that perhaps reveal something about the frustrating nature of the human condition.

Also, "pussy willows."

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

UMM supplies diamond thrills in April

This spring has been a very cooperative one for getting the diamond sports in. The Cougars have been busy.

The men and women came out of April 10 (Tuesday) with reason for satisfaction. Both played a twin bill.

The men had a split, winning game #2 of their competition vs. the Presentation Saints. Game #1 got away from everyone in terms of fragile defense, as UMM lost in a football-like score. UMM dropped game #1 in a 21-10 final. Whew!

Then came game #2 in which the Cougars bore down in a more conventional type of game, winning 3-2.

The softball women were on the road against Bethany Lutheran on the 10th. This location was Mankato. The women won throughout this competition, 7-2 in game #1 and 7-3 in the closer.

Baseball

The men, playing at home, completed a demanding stretch of seven games in six days. They have a breather now and will return to the diamond Friday, 4/14, against Northwestern. Game-time is 3 p.m. Friday against the Eagles.

The same two teams will vie beginning at noon Saturday, this time to play two.

The UMM men remain in the hunt for qualifying for the UMAC post-season tournament. The Cougars and Presentation are both 4-5 in league.

The 4/10 twin bill began with the players getting perhaps a little taxed circling the bases. You might say it wasn't a showcase for the best baseball. The Cougars would have felt better about this had they won. The two teams combined for 37 hits.

UMM plated four runs in the bottom of the first to take a 4-2 lead. A three-run rally in the second was good for giving UMM a one-run advantage, 7-6. Presentation was on the attack pretty effectively too.

It was Presentation shining in the fourth and fifth frames, plating 13 runs to three by the Cougars.

Eric Terres was a bright spot with his acceleration on the basepaths. He built his reputation further in this category, stealing two bases to make his season stats 14 of 16.

Mike McGill showed a robust bat with four hits in five at-bats and four RBIs. Jordan Gegen drove in two runs.

Jake Johnson was given the pitching assignment for game #2. Johnson tossed his fifth complete game of the season in as many starts. He allowed four hits and two runs in UMM's 3-2 win.

McGill's bat stayed hot, this time with three-for-three numbers and two RBIs. So for the day, this Cougar was a sizzling seven-for-eight with six RBIs.

The offense of both teams was much more restrained than in game #1.

Softball

Mercedes Klimek was a standout at bat for the UMM women in their sweep over Bethany on 4/10. Klimek's bat resounded with five hits in eight at-bats on the day. She crossed home plate three times and drove in five runs. Her hits included a home run and double.

Six total Cougars had multiple hits, helping the squad to its 7-2 and 7-3 wins. These were UMAC games.

The Cougars pounded out 20 total hits - their season-best for a twin bill.
Jordan Iverson got back in the groove after having a hitting streak stopped. Against Bethany she had a hit in each game, making it seven of the last eight games in which she has hit safely.

The two wins got UMM back over .500 in UMAC play.

The success was made especially sweet by remembering the sweep loss UMM was dealt last season by Bethany. It was UMM's only such sweep setback of the 2011 spring.
The Vikings were humbled this time around.

The Cougars came out of Tuesday at 4-12 in overall and 3-2 in league.

The all-important starting pitching duties were handled by Mariah Essig and Kelli Hamilton. Both went the distance. Each picked up her second pitching win. They did well scattering hits (nine each by Bethany Lutheran in the two games). Essig fanned six batters in game #1.

Hamilton notched a career-best five strikeouts in game #2. The hurlers allowed just two earned runs between them.

UMM broke open game #1 with a six-run fifth, buoyed by six hits including a Klimek grand slam.

Game #2 was tied 3-3 after three innings. In the fourth, Klimek connected for a two-out double down the line, scoring Heather Brown. Up to bat came Molly Olson who hit UMM's second home run of the day.

UMM is part of a logjam in the UMAC standings.

More action on the road is presented Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14, with Northwestern and Crown to provide the opposition.

Viva UMM Cougar softball and baseball!

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

UMM baseball well into new campaign

There are altogether too many L's on the schedule/results page on the UMM baseball website. "L" stands for loss of course.

Getting under the Florida sun might have been a pleasure in many ways for our Cougars, but the competition wasn't kind to them. The Cougars came up empty.

So when the squad was able to go 3-0 in a recent stretch against Crown College, it was most satisfying.

March came to a close with the UMM student athletes hosting Crown in the three games over two days. It was a romp for the Cougars.

First they took care of business with a 5-0 win on March 30. This was the UMAC conference opener. It had Jake Johnson in fine form on the pitching rubber.
Throwing his third complete game of the season, Jake scattered eight hits in recording his first shutout in a Cougar uniform.

It was a classy conference debut to be sure, and it had the six feet-four Johnson setting down 12 Crown batters on strikes - his career-best.

Eric Terres didn't exactly knock the cover off the ball in driving in UMM's first run, but his grounder to short pushed in a run. Mike McGill was perched at third for that grounder. He had been advanced there by a Jordan Gegen double.

Nick Perrotte's bat resounded with a well-timed single in the fifth, a single good for scoring Scott Peterson and Neil Arvold.

Johnson had his only rough inning in the sixth but bore down to fan a batter for out No. 3. He got three straight strikes to get that final out, a dramatic moment reviewed in a colorful way by the individual writing on UMM's website. Johnson left the batter "staring into the bright blue Morris sky."

Kudos to the writer. The people behind Morris' tourism push would appreciate such descriptions.

The UMM offense tacked on single runs in the sixth and eighth, thus we get the 5-0 final. Johnson fanned at least one batter in each of the last four innings.

The boxscore shows Perrotte and McGill each with two hits. For Perrotte it was his fifth multiple-hit game. His bat produced two RBIs.

The Cougars were out on our local ball diamond again on March 31, ready to hopefully notch more success vs. Crown. Eric Terres was primed for a memorable day. He had four hits in as many at-bats in this doubleheader. Plus he worked the Crown pitchers for two walks.

The Cougars won each game by a 7-1 score.

Terres crossed home plate four times and he drove in two runs. Just as notable was his savvy on the basepaths. He sprinted to steal five bases in as many tries. He upped his season stolen base total to 13, having been caught stealing just once. The freshman came out of the day wielding a team-best .371. His runs-scored total: 9.

UMM pitching shone. The starting nods went to Logan Orazem and Ted Gray. They allowed a mere one earned run on the day (two total). They fanned eight batters and walked four.

Each notched a complete game - a "first" for both as collegians.

Everyone in the boxscore had at least one hit. Mike McGill, Nick Perrotte and Chris Thompson joined Terres with multiple-hit games. Perrotte came out of this series at .341 which was third-best, and his hit total of 14 was team-best.

Kyle Glaser had three RBIs in the doubleheader.

Orazem pitched the first game and was untouched through four innings. He ended up allowing five hits. He nearly finished with a shutout but allowed Crown to sneak across a run in the seventh with two outs.

Gray's pitching arm was put to work in the second game. He survived a jam in the fifth and was bailed out partly by a Terres fielding gem. UMM preserved a 3-1 lead and eventually notched their second 7-1 win of the day. Terres worked in deft fashion to chase down a baserunner and tag him.

The Cougar bats achieved a four-run rally in the bottom of the fifth. Crown's fielding lapses helped. The rally was achieved on five hits and three errors.

Gray allowed but one hit over the last two innings.

The success over the two days helped negate any residual sting from the Florida setbacks.

April did not start out well for the Cougars. They dropped four games between 4/3 and 4/7, playing Presentation and St. Scholastica.

Fans can come to the home diamond on Tuesday, April 10, for an abundant day of baseball: two games, set to start at 2 and 4 p.m. The foe is Presentation.
The University of Minnesota-Morris home diamond is to the east of Big Cat Stadium.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com