Tigers shine with wind raging as backdrop

The weather didn't seem fit for man or beast, really. A relentless wind blew across the west central Minnesota prairie. The temperature was more typical of March than of late April.

Only very important business would make a person want to spend a significant amount of time outside. Morris Area Chokio Alberta baseball and softball constituted very important business.

Administrators strive to avoid postponements in springtime. You never know, the weather could get worse. So the thumbs-up was given for the baseball and softball tournaments slated for this past weekend (April 29-30).

Perhaps the uncomfortable nature of the weather would "numb away" after a while. Hopefully that was the case for the hardy MACA fans who enjoyed abundant Tiger success on the diamond.

Coach Lyle Rambow's Tigers scored 32 runs to just seven for the opposition, over three games played. The dominance led to three wins, the first of which was on Friday evening.

The Tigers rolled past Pelican Rapids 17-5 in the Friday phase. Matt Lembcke hurled for the win with his four innings, striking out seven batters.

Matt and his mates resumed play on Saturday with a rematch against Pelican Rapids. This was a more subdued game offensively and the Tigers came out the winner 4-1.

The Tigers were back to scoring in double digits when they wrapped up their tournament action with an 11-1 win in five innings over MACCRAY.

All this success kept the MACA season record unblemished at 8-0.

Tigers 4, Pelican Rapids 1

The Tigers executed a double steal to secure the lead for good in the third inning. The orange and black athletes scored two runs in that inning and plated their other two in the fourth.

Their line score was four runs on eight hits and two errors, while Pelican Rapids had 1-2-1 numbers.

Pelican Rapids pushed a run home on a ground ball in the first inning, then had the door slammed on them by the Tiger pitching duo of Sam Mattson (the winner) and Evan Schultz (awarded the save).

Mattson struck out seven batters and walked two, while allowing two hits and one run (earned). Schultz fanned a batter and walked none.

Patrick Coleman was the losing pitcher.

It was Alex Erickson who scored on the double steal that gave MACA the lead. Erickson wielded an effective bat, going three-for-three, and his single in the third drove in a run.

Tyler Hansen, who finished two-for-three with a double, singled to drive in a run in the fourth. Also hitting safely for the Tigers were Eric Riley (one-for-three), Mitch Kill (one-for-two) and Ethan Bruer (one-for-two).

Tanner Grahn and Jed Hanson hit safely for Pelican Rapids.

Tigers 11, MACCRAY 1

Ryan Beyer crossed home plate with the run giving the Tigers the ten-run lead that would end this game in five innings. Beyer scampered home on a Cole Riley single that came with two outs.

Alex Erickson had a role in the offense although his consecutive hitting streak was stopped. We're not talking a consecutive game hitting streak, we're talking at-bats!

Erickson chalked up hits in ten straight at-bats, but in the 11-1 win over MACCRAY he settled for one-for-two. The senior has a stratospheric .857 average over a skein of four games. He drove in a run with a single against MACCRAY.

MACCRAY's loss was only its second this season.

Mitch Kill and Ethan Bruer subdued the Wolverine bats with their reliable pitching. Kill turned in four innings on the hill and was the winner. He fanned four batters and walked two while allowing three hits and one run (earned).

Bruer finished up with one inning, allowing no hits, striking out two batters and walking none.

Tyler Donner was the losing pitcher.

The Tigers went on the attack with a six-run second inning. They followed that up with a four-run third and the final game-ending run in the fifth.

It was a glittering performance by coach Rambow's crew that saw zero errors committed and a team total ten hits.

Tyler Hansen had a two-for-two showing in the boxscore including a double, and he drove in four runs. Ryan Beyer went one-for-two with an RBI.

Eric Riley had two hits in three at-bats and drove in a run. Cole Riley posted one-for-three numbers with an RBI.

Ethan Bruer picked up an RBI to go with his one-for-two numbers Brody Bahr and Aaron Vold both finished one-for-two.

The Wolverines who hit safely were Jamie Boonstra, Jerrod Holmgren and Riley Aeikens. Holmgren scored the only MACCRAY run.

Softball: Tigers finish in second

The MACA girls were dealt their first loss of the season, after recording ten wins, Saturday in the home invite.

The Tigers battled St. Cloud Apollo in a low-scoring game with the championship at stake. The outcome was a 2-1 loss.

Leading up to that, coach Mary Holmberg's Tigers turned back Moorhead (score of 2-1) and West Central Area (11-1).

Moorhead beat Ortonville for fifth place and MACCRAY topped West Central Area for third. Eight teams had their athletes in Morris on this very blustery and unseasonably cool day. Spring truly seemed distant.

Dani Schultz showed authority at bat - no surprise there - and this seasoned hitter had seven hits in ten at-bats.

Kelsey DeCamp honed in on the opponent's pitching for five hits including two doubles and a home run, in eight at-bats.

The hit parade also included: Sadie Fischer (two-for-nine), Mackenzie Weatherly (three-for-eight), Haley Scheldorf (two-for-eight), Haley Henrichs (two-for-nine), Katie Holzheimer (three-for-seven) and Holly Amundson (two-for-three).

Weatherly exuded her usual confident air on the pitching rubber. Her resilient arm was good for nearly 18 innings. She was the pitcher of record in all three games. Mackenzie VanBatavia also pitched for MACA.

Surely the weather has to take a more mild turn sometime soon.
(". . .And don't call me Shirley." - Leslie Nielsen, RIP).

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