The southern Minnesota curse?

The agony of defeat just does not seem right for MACA Tiger softball. What thrills this program delivered over the course of the 2026 spring. And it's so typical of the program too: dominating play through much of the regular season. Then we get into the post-season or the tournament. The Tigers had a sheen through the '26 spring that would befit a team headed for state. Shall I say "the glory of state." 

I am aware of how prestigious the state tournament can feel. I traveled to this event when I was with the Morris newspaper. I made a trip to Mankato when the location was shifted to there. I guess I thought the travel burden was a bit much. It is not a straight shot to drive to Mankato from Morris. 

What a headache with no Interstate highway to use. Just set "cruise control," right? Cruise along at 70 MPH! When going to Mankato I needed a road map on the passenger seat to consult. Maybe that dates me. Today there would be tech resources, right? This GPS thing. I lag with a lot of this staff. I can handle having a laptop device in front of me like right now on this Wednesday morning after the Memorial Day weekend. 

Man, things really slow down for Memorial Day weekend - too much, I would suggest. The area high school graduations reach a crescendo in the week previous. Just as big as the graduations themselves are those "graduation receptions" which seem a bigger deal now than when I was young. I sat next to an old high school classmate at Addie Cihak's wonderful reception on Northridge Drive on Sunday. 

Craig Murphy and yours truly graduated with the Morris High School Class of 1973. We're amused at being able to point out that our class motto was "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead." We had to be edgy and unconventional because that was in line with the zeitgeist of the times, i.e. the prevailing mood. Some perspective: Craig pointed out that many years ago if you gave a grad card to someone, it might have a $1 bill included! Oh, quaint. 

Does inflation scare you? Inflation is bound to get worse right now due to the stuff happening overseas. The Strait of Hormuz! But, back to happier thoughts here. And yes we can be happy even with our proud MACA softball team having come up against shoals in the section tournament. 

We can be happy that our orange and black finished with an overall record of 23-5. How many programs would love to be in our shoes? The Tigers fell twice on Tuesday, 6-1 to those JCC Huskies and 7-1 to those Pipestone Arrows. Jackson County Central ended our boys basketball season too. 

The softball action was at the "Schwan's Complex" in Marshall. Our softball facility in Morris does not have overall corporate sponsorship. But various individuals and families are acknowledged for their $ help on the grounds. Not me. I wouldn't want to be associated with the place because I feel it is substandard, not nearly as great as what seemed to be promised at the start. 

You can't fight City Hall? Wait a minute, our City Of Morris actually said "no" to a second request for funds for the softball complex. The school board was a sucker for the whole thing and voted to disgorge more $ even when it admitted that other "partners" were not coming through. The school board probably realized that it's "OPM," other people's money, so what the heck, eh? The fans are screwed at our softball complex. 

MACA softball fans can be proud of our season W/L, most definitely. But I'm struck by how often we get stopped by the southern MN teams. I shot off an email to friend and fellow athletic booster Dan Sayles bright and early on this Wednesday morning. I shall quote from it here:

 

Hello Dan - 

CONGRATS TO THE BASEBALL TEAM, 1-0 WINNER OVER 'WASKA.

Well I have been writing all spring that the big challenge for MACA softball in spite of the usual regular season success is whether we can get past the southern MN teams. I have observed this phenomenon for years and years and years. I got up this morning and went to "Minnesota Scores" and sure enough: the Tigers lost to both Jackson County Central and Pipestone in this double-elimination section tourney. What a downbeat day for the poor Tiger fans. And to add insult to injury they have to drive all the way to Marshall - and back - for top section-level games. Just like in basketball. Our last basketball game there had an 8 p.m. start time. You and I can remember the days when a lot of top-level games were played in Morris like at the P.E.Center. I guess we didn't know how good we had it. We were warned of this when the "section" and "sub-section" format was first announced. 

So the MACA softball team is denied state again. But Mary Holmberg marches forward with her incredible career milestones.

BTW I still hate the "softball complex" here in Morris. I just don't see how the fans are accommodated well enough. To be frank I think it's kind of a disgrace. It was not necessary to tear up the original UMM softball field with the cement dugouts that had "Cougars" painted on the sides. Fans liked that facility. It was planned to get the ideal sun angle for the players. 

The school board blew a lot of money on the complex. Am I alone with this skepticism? Well no, because the City of Morris developed suspicions. The city came right out and said "no" on a second request for funds. I wouldn't have known about this, had Marshall Hoffman not been at the radio station. Hoffman gave me a lot of "tips" for my blogging.

One historic problem with the section softball tournament is that it reaches its climax around Memorial Day weekend when people in the commercial media get "time off" because it's a holiday weekend and everything slows to a crawl. As for me, any time I can get game info I'm happy to type up something even if it's a holiday.

I suppose the next Morris paper will have a dry and routine summary of the Tiger softball games in Marshall. I would recommend they try to interview someone who could shed some light on why the southern MN teams are an obstacle so often. What are they doing down there?

HEY I SAW "IZZY" OF DETOY'S GET HER DIPLOMA SUNDAY IN CHOKIO!

I WAS INVITED TO ADDIE CIHAK'S RECEPTION AND ENJOYED ATTENDING, PLUS I MOWED MY WHOLE LAWN ON THE MORNING OF THE RECEPTION SO AS TO PUT MY BEST FOOT FORWARD AS A NEIGHBOR.

- Brian W.

 

Baseball: Tigers 1, Minneaska 0

It was defense and pitching to the fore in the tournament contest involving our Tigers and Minnwaska Area on Tuesday. And it was the Tigers with the best defense in this 1-0 outcome. Fans at our Chizek Field enjoyed the winning flourish. And it was Alex Asmus getting prime credit as this Tiger threw a five-hit shutout. 

This marked season's end for Minnewaska Area, record of 14-7. The Tigers move on to face Montevideo at 5 p.m. Thursday at Monte. 

The Tigers scored their one run in the fourth against 'Waska. Our line score was one run, seven hits, one error, while 'Waska's numbers were 0-5-1. 

Alex "Legends" welcome Ozzy Jerome.

Hunter Westerman had two hits and scored the run. There are two "Hunters" in the Morris lineup. Hunter Smith went one-for-three. Jack Kehoe worked the pitcher for a walk. Ozzy Jerome had a hit and a walk. 

I was in Chokio on Sunday and saw Ozzy get his high school diploma! My main reason for being in Chokio was to congratulate Izabelle Motz. But I congratulate all the C-A grads. Such an upbeat and inspiring ceremony at the Chokio school. 

Alex Asmus in addition to his pitching had a hit, a walk received and a stolen base. Riley Asmus added a hit to the mix. So did Riley Saito. 

On the hill, Alex Asmus had a strikeout harvest of 13! No walks issued! Five hits allowed. 

Now let's do it again versus Monte, right? Might not be so routine. Good luck.

The Tigers are 16-6. 

 

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