8/17/2014 Lakers run (25th season)  comes to an end with a third place finish at State

This was a tough one.   Tommy pitches well.   The Lakers hit and play well and have the Millers on the ropes with 4 run leads twice powered by homers from both Lucas Skjefte and Jack Hogan.  The knockout punch however is not delivered.   For the second time in a week against the Millers between bad hops or inconsistent strike zone, grounders in the sun, etc. the Lakers can't seem to catch a break.   The Millers tie it in the eighth and walk off in the ninth.   Lakers tip their caps to the Millers.  When all is said and done, Minnetonka is one of the best teams of all time in Class A, but we respectuflly think that we that we are one of the top if not THE top team in the state this year.  We just won't have a championship to show for it.

Weekend game recaps for all games here:   http://classa.leagues.mnbaseball.org/News/4333

Season recap:  Just a little over 2 months ago while Hogan, Podo, and Dancyzk were on their playoff run at UST, and Tony was getting plunked in the Big Ten tourney,  the Lakers opened up with wins at St. Anthony followed with a win at Dunning vs. the  Capitals.  They follow that with a statement league 4-2 win over Angels and then proceed to go on to a 30-4 regular season run - the best in club history.  While quality pitching rotation of 10+ pitchers held up pretty well, some attrition on the arms did take place thoughout the season and as the Lakers entered the final weekend of state, things started to get thin for a staff  that needed to win 5 games.   That said, on elimination Saturday, both Tommy and Grant were still rock solid while the opponents were deep in the well trying to find someone who could keep pace with the Laker offense.  The Lakers still had the arms waiting to pitch on Sunday but just couldn't close the door on Saturday.

The Lakers would like to thank fans and family as without your support the season's wouldn't be as enjoyable.  The manager and GM would like to thank players for making this season a memorable one.  While the whole team deserves recognition, special props to Jeff Miller who just about caught every inning of every game including three games just this past weekend.

Looking ahead, the invitation has already gone out to the group to see who is on board for the "five year run" before yours truly plans to call it quits after the 30th season.   For prospective players, we are always interested but are close to full.  Please reach out to Paul if interested.  For now, I guess that is it.   See you next year.

8/16/2014 Lakers Get Ready For Saturday Night Fever by Staying Alive

On Saturday morning there were two Park National teams left - your Lakers and the  Lyons Pub and come 2:30PM, there was one as the Lakers stand victorious.  Grant Soderberg goes all 9 innings and guts out a tight zone and good hitting Pub ballclub.   Lakers score most of their runs in the first three innnigs off of Pub ace Billy Meister.  They then sweat it out but Grant makes the pitches he needed to make and the defense helped him out with some nice plays.  Three teams left - the Lakers will play the loser of Capitals/Millers at 6:00PM.  Win or go home.

8/15/2014 Lakers Come Back to Beat The Roosters 8-7

Lakers stave off elimination as they come back from a late 7-1 deficit in the seventh inning to beat the St. Paul Roosters.  Lakers could not get too much going early.  Edwards pitches well but in the seventh inning. the Roosters string together a bunch of two out hits to take a seemingly convincing lead late in the game.  In the bottom of the same inning however, Rob Veith starts a multi hit barrage as the Lakers bat around and at the end of the inning, the score reads 8-7 Lake Show.   Tommy Dancyzk gets the win in relief.  Game 2 of the weekend is at noon on Sat vs Lyons Pub.

8/10/2014 Lakers fall to Millers 5-3

Both teams got off to quick starts scoring 2 in the first innings.  Then the game became a pitchers dual.  Schuld was on the mound for the Lakers and threw well, but the potent Miller line up were able to scratch a few bleeders, infield singles and ground ball hits together to get a few more runs after the first. Offensively the Lakers attacked early and then scored one later on a Lucas Sac Fly scoring his brother Tony in the 6th, but were unable to put anything together in the late innings.  Lakers now have the tough road through the losers bracket, with the potential of 5 additional games starting friday night at 8:30.

8/9/2014 Lakers advance with 8-1 win over Bandits.

The Lakers took advantage of depleted Bloomington pitching staff to put up eight runs on the way to a 8-1 win over Bloomington.  Rob Veith, Jack Hogan, and :Lucas Skjefte posted multiple hits including doubles from both Veith and Hogan.  Kris Edwards took the ball and pitched a 4 hit complete game with no earned runs given up and two of the hits being bunt singles.   Lakers advance to play Minnetonka Millers who beat Lyon's Pub 6-5.  The Millers had a 6-2 lead going into the final inning, but as the Lakers watched on from the hill, the Pub mounted a comeback only to fall short when the batter struck out with the tying run at third and the go-ahead run was at second.     Lakers will take on Millers at 4:00PM on Sunday at Haddox.

This link to the Minnesota baseball website has additional details on the game as well as a news story for all games including previews of the next round:

http://www.mnbaseball.org/News/4323

8/8/2014 Lakers head to State Tourney.  Open up against the Bandits.  Game is Saturday at 10:00AM at Haddox.

The Lakers head to the 2014 tourney as the top seed from Park National.  As a result of this they receive a first round bye and will face the Bloomington Bandits who beat the Roestown A's Thursda night 14-8.   If the Lakers win, they will face the winner of the game between the Millers and Lyon's Pub on Sunday at 4:00PM.  If they lose, they play on Sunday at 10:00AM in the losers bracket.   Link to the class A tourney brackets are here:

http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=saintpaul&sid=240029844

Also, the Minnesota Baseball Association has information and articles on the Class A tourney:

http://www.mnbaseball.org/

The folllowing link has a tourney preview:

http://www.mnbaseball.org/News/4323

 

8/5/2014 Lakers beat Cobras 4-1

Lakers and Cobras square off in a final tune up game for state for both teams. Lakers use 5 pitchers with all of them throwing efficiently and limiting the Cobras potent offense. Offensively the Lakers hit some balls hard early but then scored all 4 of their runs in the bottom of the 3rd.  This was highlighted by a Rob Veith 3 RBI double.  Schneider and Chris made a couple of nice defensive plays in the top of the 7th to eliminate the Cobra attempt at a comeback.  Next up is state where the Lakers play at 10 am on Sat morning against a to be determined team based off of the result of thursdays first game of state.

8/4/2014 Lakers add exhibition game vs Cobras

Two Park National teams both headed to the state tourney - Lakers and Cobras will square off at Round Lake Stadium in Eden Prairie on Tuesday Aug 5, 7:30 PM first pitch. 

8/2/2014 Lakers head back to State Tourney with 10-0 win over Rats.

On Saturday morning, the Lakers continued where they left off from Wednesday by firing on all cylinders and when this happens, they are tough to beat.  Let's see..  Some anxiety for the managers as the three key players (well, just two because Dancyzk was not pitching) who live closest to Parade and are biking to the game are late.  Eddie (starting pitcher) shows up marginally on time but Hogan and Danchick get lost?  Tommy calls Paul from his cell and apparently is cannot see the  Minneapolis skyline from his bike.  OK, onto the game.  As alluded, Lakers fire on all cylinders and jump on the rats in the first inning. Merrill leads the attack with a double and then just about everyone else hits.  The scoreboard shows 5-0 after the first.  After some contentious words between the clubs, the Lakers continue to pour it on.  Pitching and defense were stellar.  Kris Edwards cruises towards a no-no - this would have been second of the series.   Eddie would later surrender the no-hitter by result of a Riverrat hit up the  middle but that was all the Rats could muster.  Very quick game as shortly afterr the Basilica church bells ring for high noon, the shutout is complete as Lakers head back to state.  Game notes:

  • In two games, Edwards and Schuld combined to give up just one hit.  Schuld  0 and Eddie with only 1 hit surrendered.
  • The lone Rat that made it to second base got promply doubled off on a nice play by Pods.
  • The Lakers surrendered only two baserunners for the entire series.
  • Bennet Johnson returned from Europe.
  • Lakers celebrated the win with a postgame BBQ.  Those that stuck around enjoyed a multitude of games including bags,  the dart game, football, mini golf.  Lakers polished  off margaritas, champagne, beer, and then celebrated more at Dancyzk's pool party.
  • Congrats to the other two Pnash teams Pub and Cobras who will be joining us at state.  Congrats to the rest of the Pnash for another competiive year.
  • Marking a new era in PNash and Minnesota amateur baseball, Park National and Lakers exploded onto social media and Twitter for this playoff series.  Dancyzk (Lakers Bullpen) live tweets from the bench.  Follow us at @LakersBaseball for all the fun  and excitement.
  • Lakers go to State as PN top seed.  Stay tuned.  More details to follow.

7/30/2014 Lakers take out Rats 18-0 in game one

The Lakers had a full roster at the game and came to play.  A lot of storylines, but biggest is Schuld throws a complete game no hitter, with the only runner reaching base on an error by the first batter of the game.  Schuld also struck out 13 Rats in 7 innings pitched.  Offensively the Lakers pounded out 22 hits and scored 18 runs.  Schneider had 4 hits and right behind hime were Reichert and Tony with 3 hits each.  Tony, Reichert and Hogan all had 3 RBI on the night and 11 Laker hitters have at least 1 RBI.  Good parking lot showing for the Lakers but as the last couple Lakers are leaving (after 1 am) the Rats still have at least 5 in the parking, keeping their streak alive of winning the parking lot.  Probably a trip out to Cantebury to bet on the Ponies on thursday for a few of the Lakers and then back at it for Game 2 on Sat at 11 am.

7/28/2014 Lakers to take on River Rats in 2/3s

In the first round of playoffs, the River Rats beat Baseball 365 to become the lowest remaining seed to advance to the second round of playoffs in the Park National league.  As top seed, the Lakers therefore will face the River Rats.  Schedule is as follows - all games at Parade

Game 1:   Rats vs. Lakers,   Wed, July 30,  7:00PM
Game 2:  Lakers vs Rats, Sat Aug 2.  11:00AM
Game 3:  If necessary Rats vs Lakers, Sun Aug 3. Time TBD

The other two Park National playoff series pitts Angels vs Cobras and Lyons Pub vs Merchants.  

7/27/2014 Lakers 4, Continental Diamond 3.

Pitchers dual as Will Philips comes back into action after a trip to Europe and throws 7+ innings.  He was cruising until the top of the 8th and then after the 2nd rain delay his control wasn't quite as strong.  Genrich comes in and throws the 8th and Becker gets the save throwing the 9th.  Offensively was a distributed attack as all of the Lakers in the game got on base at least once and the 7 hits were alll spaced around as there wasn't a multi hit game.  Miller had the lone extra base hit while Rob got 2 RBI with his single in the bottom of the 7th.  Chris and Reichert collected the other RBI with one each.  As mentioned above there were 2 rain delays totaling about 10 min total and the weather couldn't decide if it wanted to be sunny or cloudy or storm.  We also had an appearance by the former "Skip" of the Lakers in Matt Soltvedt, he did refuse to come into the duggout (even during thr rain delays).

7/24/2014 Lakers beat the Blaine Fusion 8-3

The Lakers came out and were hitting the ball well, scoring 8 runs and collecting 15 hits including 5 doubles.  All 10 Lakers that had an AB got a hit with Merrill, Jeff and Clark having 2 hit games and Tony having 3 hits including 2 doubles and 3 RBI.  Jeff also had 2 RBI to add to his team leading RBI total.  Grant started on the hill and threw 6 innings facing one batter over the minimum and did it rather efficiently only throwing 53 pitches.  Genrich came in and threw the last 3 innings, picking up the save with the not often seen throw 3 or more innings maintaining the lead and completing the game.  Defensively the Lakers were solid and Rob made a great sliding catch in the top of the 9th to slow down a Fusion attempt of a comeback.  One game remaining Sunday before the Lakers open up league playoffs next Wednesday at Parade.

7/22/2014 Lakers travel to Chaska and come away with 5-3 win

Lakers and Chaska played at Veterans park in Chaska as unfortunately Chaska's normal home field was hit by the flooding this year and wont be playable until 2015.  Anyways on to the game, this was a pitchers dual early with Matt Schuld throwing for the Lakers and Chaska having a former pitcher for the U throwing, Lubinsky.  Schuld gives up one in the first as the ball is carrying early.  He then settles in and throws 6 innings with 11 K's.  Genrich and Tommy finish off the last 3 innings and get another 5 K's between them.  Lakers offense gets a few hits early but are unable to scratch any runs accross until the top of the 8th when they score all 5.  Hogan and Clark each have 3 hits and Reichert has 2 xtra base hits including a 3 run HR.  Derek finishes off the scoring with an RBI single scoring his brother Grant.  Next up is a game in EP versus Blaine. 

7/21/2014 Lakers blank Bluesox 6-0 and claim 1st place in the Park National

First place was on the line and were facing a Bluesox team that had beaten them earlier in the year.  Slow start for the Lakers offensively but Edwards was throwing well allowing the Laker bats to come around.  The story offensively was Tony having a 3 hit day, including and RBI triple, and the Lakers being very aggressive on the base paths to the tune of 5 stolen bases and a taking an extra base on more than one occassion. Miller also had a couple more RBI. As previously mentioned Edwards threw well for a complete game one hit shutout with 7 K's.  After the game the Lakers grilled out and celebrated taking 1st place in the Park National.  The Lakers have tied for first before but lost out on the tie breaker, this time the Lakers win out on the tie breaker.  Couple beverages were handed out as end of the league season awards.  Miller got MVP, Schneider Defensive MVP, Veith ROY, Danzyck off field ROY (Kier award) and was awarded a 25 oz Straw-ber-ita and the pitching staff shared the pitcher of the year as it has been a great year on the mound for all of the Laker pitchers.  Lakers get a bye in the first round of the P-Nash playoffs and will start league playoffs on Wed July 30th at 7pm at Parade.  Before that there are a few non league games Tues, Thurs and Sun.

7/18/2014 Lakers 2, Prior Lake 1

Just one day after Victoria Debacle, Prior Lake shows the proper way to host a town ball game at their great ballpark facility by doing everything right.  The Lakers "Iron 10" enjoys the atmosphere put on by the hosts which included the bands Uncle Cracker and Smash Mouth blaring in the background from the nearby Prior Lake Music festival. Main storyline for the game is Laker pitching.  GSoda started and struck out about 10 batters in 6 innings of work to earn the win.  Nick Becker pitches a quality seventh, eighth, and ninth inning to preserve the win and gets the save.  Second storyliine for the game is debut of youngest Laker Joe Samanant filling in at second base. (Side note, Joe becomes the 205th member of the Lakers as viewed from the "history" page on the left.)   Joe played a clean second base and also had a quality at-bat which moved DSoda over to second base who later scored on an Merrill RBI single for the go ahead run.  GSoda also helps himself with a key RBI single earlier in the game.  Not a lot of offense from your local 9, but the Lakers pitched well and play solid D and that wins ballgames.  

Next up, is Park National league finale vs BlueSox back at Parade, Monday, 6:15.  BBQ afterwards - friends, family, and fans invited.

7/17/2014 Lakers 7, Victoria 0

In baseball when one team forfeits to another, 7-0 is often the assigned score for a seven inning game.  Well this one was a forfeit with an exclamation as Victoria cancels game but does not bother to inform the visitors.  The Victoria manager put this game on the schedule back in February.  The game was listed on BOTH the Lakers and Victoria's schedule on  both teams's web pages.  As early as this week, Victoria's website was announcing a busy week with games at "Hopkins Tuesday, Lakers Thursday, and Sunday at Prior Lake".  Well, Victoria decides to cancel the game for some reason but not notify the Lakers, therefore causing a whole team to drive down there and the umpire as they didn't let Zar know the game was canceled.  We will call it bush league.  We want to appologize to our fans who drove all the way to Victoria to watch a baseball game that didn't happen.

The Lakers that traveled tried to make the best of a bad situation and threw and took BP (HR Derby style on a 300 foot SB field, with most of the Lakers shagging in the OF with a beer in their hands).  At one point there were about a dozen fans watching BP including a mother that brought her son to the park to watch his first ever baseball game.  Hopefully this doesnt turn him off from the game and watching Genrich's 320 ft Majestic blasts to LF makes him want to learn how to hit properly.  Reichert appeared to try harder in BP then he does in some games sprinting after fly balls and doing pushups in the OF.  The Lakers HR leader, J-Mill, only had two in two rounds so he must be a gamer.  Reichert, Tony, Schneider, Hogan and Genrich all went on streaks and had at least 5 HRs in a round.

After a history of schedule gaffes, this is the last straw.   Since the Lakers will never again schedule a game vs Victoria, the last official game of record between the two clubs will be the 10-1 dismantling of Victoria at their own park in 2013.

7/15/2014 Lakers sweep Cobras with a 8-2 win

Lakers and Cobras match up in Mpls at Parade a couple miles away from the ASG at Target field and the Lakers are able to get the win vs a very good Cobra squad.  Matt Schuld starts on the bump for the Lakers and gets into trouble in the first by plunking 2 and walking 1, but he gets out of the jam unscathed.  Cobras get their first hit off him in the bottom of the 5th where they are able to string together a couple hits and score 2 runs on sac flies.  Mahlon throws the 6th and Danyzck throws the 7th to secure the win.  Offensively the Lakers are stagnent until the top of the 5th where they are able to score 7 runs with everything starting with 2 outs.  Veith and Podo each have a couple of hits and the Lakers are able to take advantage of 4 Cobra errors on the night.  Next up are a couple of Non-League town ball games, at Victoria on Thurs and Prior Lake on Fri.

7/11/2014 Lakers hold off Bloomington for 6-5 win

Genrich starts on the hill for the Lakers and throws 6 innings getting into and out of a lot of trouble, but ends up only letting up 2 runs.  Dylan comes in and throws 2+ innings but struggles with his location in the 9th so Zimmerman comes in (editor's note, half the fans at the park were here just to see Mahlon play).  Mahlon came in with bases loaded, picks off runner at 2nd and gives up a couple hits but the game ends with the often seen 9-3-6-2 double play with the potential tying run tagged out at the plate.  Defensively the Lakers were solid, with only one error, that didn't lead to any damage.  Miller and Reichert continued to swing the bat well with Miller having 3 hits and 2 RBI (should have been 4 hits but a baserunning miscue led to one being a fielders choice), and Reichert having 2 hits and a walk.  Chris also had a hit, walk and 2 runs scored.  Lakers will enjoy the weekend off and come back with a game against the Cobras on Tuesday, 8:30 at Parade.

7/10/2014 Lakers beat Patriots 9-2

In what was a very relaxed game for both teams the Lakers were able to take advantage of the Patriots miscues and come away with a 9-2 victory.  Edwards starts on the hill for the Lakers and struggles in the first giving up 2 early runs, but then settles in and cruises through 6 innings.  Mahlon comes in, throws the 7th and strikes out the side.  Offensively the game was highlighted with a Podo triple to lead off the game and later getting to third on a catcher's balk where the catcher threw his mask at the ball to keep it foul.  Miller and Reichert each had 2 hits and 2 RBI in the game.  Defense played well with another OF assist when Veith through out a runner at the plate by about 10 feet.  Next up the Lakers play at Bloomington on Friday, Note the game is at Dredd Scott.

7/8/2014 Lakers shutout Hopkins 8-0

Lakers return from the break for the 4th of July and get a 8-0 win at Hopkins.  Matt Schuld gets his first few innings on the mound for the Lakers after appearing in a handful of games as a pinch runner.  Schuld looked good allowing 2 hits and striking out 8 through 4 innings.  Laker pitchers combine for 12 strikeouts vs 0 walks on the game and Grant and Tommy come in after Matt and throw 2 and 1 shutout innings respectively.  The first 2 innings of the game move quickly as there are a combined 8 strikeouts and 3 baserunners for the 2 teams.  Then in the top of the 3rd the Lakers string some hits together and score 6 runs.  The Lakers then add 1 run each in the 4th and 6th innings.  Offensively Tony has 3 hits and 3 RBI, while J-Mill and BK each have 2 hits and 2 RBI.  It was nice to get the win coming off of the break and to start off the finaly stretch of games before the playoffs.  Next up is a game on thursday vs the Patriots for the first of three remaining league games for the Lakers.

7/1/2014 Lakers 8, Lyon's Pub 2

Lakers sweep the season series against the Pub with an 8-2.  Tommy Dancyzk pitches the 6 strong innings.  They weren't perfect as the Pub was able to get on base and threaten at times but Tommy was able to pitch himself out of some jams with some help from the defense with about 3 double plays turned.  Offensively the Lakers hit the ball pretty well for most of the game but the Pub was able to make some defensive plays early to get out of their own jams.  The game remained tight until the sixth inning where the Lakers strung together some hits including doubles by Merrill, Hogan, and Miller to put up the eight runs needed to secure the win.  Mahlon Zimmerman closes the game out with a 1-2-3 seventh in a non-save situation.  Chris made an interesting catch.   Matt Schuld got in the game for a pitch.    It was cold.  Next up a nice long break for the 4th of July weekend.  Happy Indpendence day to Laker Nation, Park National, and America.   After the break, the Lakers have three games in the week coming back: Hopkins on July 8,   Patriots on July 10, and Bloomingtion on July 11.

6/30/2014 Lakers come back to beat 365 by a score of 5-4

Pitchers dual through the first 5 innings as the Lakers and the Nate Cousins led Baseball 365 are scoreless going into the top of the 6th.  365 scores 4 in the top of the 6th and the look on Paul's face was here we go again.  Then in the bottom of the 6th the Lakers string together 4 doubles and a couple singles to score 5.  It was nice to see the bats show up in a league game.  Grant and Kris split the game with Sodo throwing the first 4 and Kris the last 3.  Even though G's stats look better, Kris picks up the win.  Reichert and Lucas have doubles to the wall in the inning the Lakers rallied and Schneider had two doubles on the game.  There was a nice BBQ after the game (thanks to Paul for organizing and all the fans for showing up).  Next up, Pub on Tues at 8:30.

6/27/2014 Lakers 9 Esox 2

Reeling from a stinging doubleheader loss the night before, the Lakers returned to action in Eden Prairie and got a little better against the ESOX.  The grass was cut for a change and the weather was perfect as thunderstorms stalled.  I don't have the scorebook, but the Lakers took to double digits in hits highlighted by a Jeff Miller home run and Dylan Frederick double.   Hogan and Riechert also squared up and hit well and the DSoda broke out of slump with a base hit.  GSoda hit well.  Veith played shortstop (was anything hit to him?).     Pitching wise, Will Phillips and Dylan combined for the win.   They had lots of strikeouts and not so much walks.  Dylan threw arguably the nastiest pitch we have seen this year.  Pedistrian like game as there was no flag, national anthem or beer.   JMills catches 9 innings and as a result logs 57 innings in 6 days.     In Brazil-soccer-like fashion, the Esox lineup's names announced by the press box operator were mostly single-word names.   Next up is the mascot-name-less Baseball 365 team on Monday at 6:15PM and then the Pub Tuesday 8:30 at Parade.

6/26/214 Unmentionable

Webmaster on duty is too distraught to talk about what happened on Jun 26,2014.   If you really want to know, check the boxes on the right for the scores.    Moving forward, Lakers continue with a busy streak of 6 games in 5 days with a game Friday at RLS in EP vs the Esox.  After that, the LakeShow gets a much needed weekend off before two key league games against B365 and then the Pub early next week. 

 

6/24/14 Lakers and Pub go extras and Lakers win 6-5 with a walk off in the 11th

In what ESPN has dubbed an instant classic, the Lakers beat the pub 6-5 in 11.  First off, tip of the cap to Billy Meister, Pub pitcher, for throwing the entire game.  He was easily over 170 pitches and probably close to 200.  As for the game, Lakers score first, Pub ties it up and takes lead, Lakers tie it up then take lead, Pub ties it up the the top of the 6th but the Lakers score one in the bottom for a one run lead going into the 7th.  The rain starts to fall and the Pub scratch accross a run to tie it up.  We go extra and the pub score one in the top of the 9th, with the Lakers answering with one in the bottom of the 9th.  Lakers finally put it in the books with a walk off RBI single off the bat of Ben Kuhlman.  Offensively the Lakers had 18 hits, 6 SB's and 7 of the 9 Laker starters had multi-hit games, and all 9 had at least one hit.  Highlights are that both Bens (Kuhlman and Podo) had 3 singles, Veith had 2 hits and 2 SBs and Reichert having the loan extra base hit, for either team, with a double for one of his 2 hits.  Side note, Lakers bench chased approximately 75 foul balls in the parking lot with Joe Samanant sitting in the stands just watching for most of the game.  Defensively the Lakers misplayed a few balls but Rob Veith made 3 good throws from RF with only one resulting in an out.  Schneider made a play up the middle from his 2B position that was just rediculous.  Edwards starts on the bump for the Lakers and gives up 4 runs, but gets out of a few jams and gets the no decision.  Tommy comes in and pitches the last 4 innings and gets the win.  Laker pitchers combined to give up 11 hits, while striking out 9.  Next up double header at Parade on Thursday vs Rats and BlueSox

6/2314 Lakers battle with Burnsville and come away with 3-2 win

Lakers travel down to Burnsville and are able to hold on to a 3-2 win.  Both starting pitchers throw well with what we will call an inconsistent strike zone both ways, but the Lakers get on the board first with a Tony Skjefte 2 run HR in the 3rd inning and tally one more in the 7th with Chris scoring on a bases loaded wild pitch.  Other offensive highlights are few in number but Rob Veith had 3 hits with a SB and Chris had 2 singles.  Defensively the Lakers play error free baseball behind their pitchers with Tony making a couple nice plays in the hole at SS and still throwing out the runners by a couple steps.  Grant starts on the bump and throws 6.2 innings, getting in and out of a few jams and striking out 4 while walking 4.  Tommy throws the next 1.1 innings and Mahlon comes in and throws a perfect 9th for his first save as a Laker.  Next up is a 8:30 game at Parade vs the Pub.

6/22 Lakers 10, Stockmen's Irish 0

Lakers have the typical Sunday showing without their full line up and still are able to walk away with a 10-0 win over the Stockmen's Irish, who also had 10 players at the game.  Will Philips starts on the bump for the Lakers and throws 6 innings giving up 3 hits and striking out 5.  Becker comes on and throws a 1-2-3 top of the 7th to seal the win (game was scheduled for 9 innings, ended after 7 for the 10 run rule).  Offensively the Lakers had 9 hits and 7 walks.  Miller, Schneider and Veith all had 2 hits with Miller and Schneider also each having 3 RBI.  Podo scored 3 times from his leadoff spot in the order and his lone hit was a triple to left center.  Busy week continues for the Lakers, Monday at Burnsville.

6/19 Lakers vs BlueSox rained out

With storms and flooding in the area the Thursday night game was postponed early in the day.  The Lakers now have two games to make up with the BlueSox and both are still in the works.  Next up a game at EP on Sunday vs Stockmen's.

6/18 Lakers blank Cobras 6-0

First things first, Lakers won the Parking Lot for the first time in a long time following a late game at Parade.  On to the game, Edwards starts on the hill and throws a CG shutout against a very potent Cobra lineup.  Looking at the book, he walked 4 and hit 2 but had a couple double plays turned and only gave up 2 hits.  Of the three double plays turned only one was the traditional 6-4-3.  There was also a strike em out throw em out double play and Podo threw a runner out at third after making the catch in CF.  That ended up being a big play in the first inning as the Cobras had the bases loaded and one out, and the out at third was prior to the runner touching home, so there was no run on the play.  Lakers offense threatened a couple times, but didn't do much besides in the bottom of the 5th, where they scored all of their runs.  Tony and Schneider each had a couple hits and Hogan produced 2 RBI and had another SB.  Next up will be the BlueSox at Parade on Thursday.

6/17/14 Lakers beat the River Rats 11-7

In what turned out to be a much closer game than it appeared it was going to be early, the Lakers hold on to take out the Rats 11-7.  Lakers got out to an early 9-2 lead and then the Rats close the gap scoring 5 in the bottom of the 4th.  Tommy Danzyck comes in and throws 2 and 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and then Mahlon Zimmerman gets his first Laker appearance on the mound throwing a 1-2-3 bottom of the 7th.  Kuhlman got the start in RF and threw out a runner at the plate and at 2nd but the umpire said the tag missed the runner at 2nd so he only got 1 assist.  Later in the game Cody throws out a runner at the plate, and it happened to be the same runner BK threw out at the plate in the first inning.  Offensively BK, Tony, Lucas amongst others got multiple hits as the Lakers took advantage of early opportunities and scored 11 for their highest run total of the year thus far.  Next up a battle with the Cobra Kai in the late game at Parade on Wednesday. 

6/13/14 Angels 5, Lakers 1

Lakers take fathers day weekend off for weddings, graduations, work, and dads.  The resulting lineup that featured multiple pitchers including pitchers DHing for pitchers can't get the job done.  That said, tip of the cap goes to the Angels' veteran lineup as well as pitcher Kirby Morsching for a game very well played and pitched.  Bennett Johnson worked hard to keep the Angel offense at bay for most of the game but in the bottom of the sixth the Angels string together some hits to break a 1-1 tie and take a 5-1 lead and that is how the game ended.    Not a lot of highlights for your local 9.  Kris Edwards gets some pitcher at-bats and notches a base hit in his offensive debut.

With the loss, the Park National race to the top takes shape after about 7 games played with the Angels joining the Lakers, Pub,  Cobras, and possibly Baseball 365 in the running for the top spot.  The Merchants and Patriots could get back in it with the BlueSox and Rats down in the standings but good enough to beat any team.

In other news, the Lakers add former UST (and Twins AA and Saints) pitcher Matt Schuld to the staff.  Lakers return to action next week with three league games against the Riverrats, Cobras, and BlueSox.

6/11/14 Lakers travel to Miesville and come away with victory 6-0

Lakers record their second consecutive shutout with Tommy and Grant combining to blank the Mudhens 6-0. Tommy cruised through the first 4 innings, with only 2 runners getting past first base, and then Grant came in for the last 5 innings and struckout 7. Defensively the Lakers only committ one error in the book and a couple nice plays made in the field.  J-Mill hit his 2nd HR of the year and finished with 2 hits and 3 RBI.  Reichert also contributed with 2 hits and an RBI, with his double being the next pitch after Miller's HR.  Chris Samamant went 3 for 3 with a walk and 8 of the 9 Lakers starters in the order got at least one hit.  Next up is a league game back at Parade against the Angels on Friday.

6/10/14 Lakers shutout Merchants 9-0

Lakers come to Parade for their first 8:30 game of the year and walk away with the victory. Ruemmele and Edwards combine for the shutout with Tyler throwing the first 3 innings and Edwards the last 4.  Combined the worked out of a couple jams and had approximately 8 strikeouts. Defense played well behind them but still had a couple errors the pitchers were able to work around.  BK got the start at SS and made a really nice sliding play up the middle to get the out at 2nd but the Lakers were not able to turn the double play.  All 18 Lakers in attendance got in the game including Paul Samanant running in the bottom of the 6th.  The only problem was Genrich was on the bases behind him, after an RBI single, and he ran Paul off of 3rd.  Mahlon got his first AB for the Lakers and was a little ahead of the ball scorching a couple balls foul before beating out a bad throw by the Merchants 3rd baseman.  Hogan had a couple hits and Ben Podobinski made his Laker debut with 3 walks and reaching base in every plate appearance.  Reichert turned an RBI double into an RBI single and Miller got a few more RBI.  Former Laker Dane Klingaman was in attendance, in town on vacation after getting his Masters Degree in Art and living in Los Angeles and is now a Dodgers fan.  Next game the Lakers travel to Miesville on Wed.

6/8/2014 Lakers fall to Shakopee 6-5

Lakers suffer first loss of the year in a back and forth game with the Shakopee Indians.  Indians go up 1-0 in the 1st and the Lakers tie it up with one in the bottom of the 3rd.  Than Shakopee scores 2in the top of the 5th but the Lakers respond with 4 in the bottom of the inning. Trailing 5-3 the Indians score 1 in the top of the 8th and 2 in the top of the 9th and the Lakers arent able to cross any more runs.  Unfortunately the Lakers didn't play stellar defense.  Two errors on the scoreboard, could have been more, and both led to runs. Dylan pitched well going 4 innings only giving up one run in his first start of the year.  Offensively the main highlight was the 4 run 5th inning with J-Mill driving in two with a hard single to left.  Next up Merchants Tuesday at Parade.

6/6/2014 Lakers Beat Baseball 365, 10-0 in 6 Innings

The Lakers get 15 hits and Bennett throws all 6 innings with 12 strikeouts to lead the Lakers to a victory vs the newest Park National team.  Five Lakers had Multi hit games including Schneider who was 4 for 4 with 4 RBI and he scored the final run in the top of the 6th to get the Lakers the victory an inning early.  Bennett only gave up 2 hits and only 2 balls were hit to the outfield.  Even without much action the defense made all the plays required of them for an error free game. Next up, Shakopee on Sunday. 

6/4/2014 Lakers Over Merchants 7-2 

Tyler starts on the bump for the Lakers and throws 4 strong innings and Kris Edwards makes his Laker debut throwing the last 3 innings for a save.  Both pitchers threw well but were a little bit wild.  Defense played well behind them but there was a couple infield errors that led to one of the Merchants runs.  Offensively the Lakers swung it well with Merrill, Grant and J-Mill all having multi hit games and Reichert having 4 RBI.  Will Philips got to the plate in the top of the 7th and drew a 4 pitch walk much to the dismay of the Laker bench who wanted him to swing the bat.  Next up the Lakers play Baseball 365 and former Laker Sam "Bistro" Bunnett.

6/2/2014 Lakers Win Another League Game 5-2 Over Patriots. 

There is no such thing as an easy win in a Park National league game and this one was no differrent.  Lakers come out swinging the bats and running and jump out to a 2-0 lead.   The Lakers then continued to miss out on opportunities stranding multiple runners on base.   Patriots chip away and tie the score at 2. Grant Soderberg starts and goes all seven while expertly pitching himself and the Lakers out of some jams.

Offensively, the Lakers were led by Lucas Skjefte who had three hits including two doubles, one of which stuck in the Parade ivy.  The biggest hit of the game came by way of Chris Samanant who in the bottom of sixth inning, doubled over the right fielders head for 2 key RBIs and some much needed insurance. 

Lakers return to action on Wednesday night vs the Metro Merchants, 6:15 at Parade.

6/1/2014 Lakers Ice Cold Spring in Eden Prairie With 8-3 Win

Lets see...  All kinds of logistical problems before the first pitch is even thrown.  With overnight rain and flooding, the managers faced a decision - with a wet field and overgrown grass, the managers faced a decision to defy all weather forecast and make the defending Class B champs drive down from Cold Spring yet risk a washout.  Future radar after all predicted another 5:30  PM monsoon.  The decision went out to play and was subsequently tweeted on @LakersBaseball.   Problem #2:   The Lakers groundskeeper has an eye appointment (on Sunday?) that renders him blind for the afternoon.  Thats fine as the Lakers know how to mow a lawn and chalk a ballfield.  Next problem:  Jeff Miller leaves his equipment in a car trunk somewhere.  Well after all that and after the worst national anthem recorded in history, the game actually starts on time.  By the way, the 5:30 future radar storm never materializes.

On to the game.  Will Phillips starts and pitches pretty well although the Lakers defense doesn't help him much.  The Lakers find themselves down by 2 early but respond with an 11 hit attack highlighted by Nick Reichert's deep line drive no-doubt shot off the "Welcome to Eden Prairie" scoreboard.  Offensively, the Laker "Sunday lineup" hits well up and down with some notable hits from just about everyone.  Grant Soderberg, Cody Wetmore hit well in their debuts and Derek felt a little more comfortable.   Dylan continues to pile up unlikely hits and the Lakers discover what was anticpated:  Rob Veith  is fast.   Chris got on base yet again and had a nice bunt RBI.   Pitching wise, Nick Becker labors some but manages to perservere and keep the Springers from scoring.  Genrich pitches well closing out the game in the final four innings.

Some fines were handed out on Sunday.   Will Phillips' baserunning gaffe was significant enough to kick start the 2014 fine tally process.  Fines were also given to Genrich (and Kuhlmann and Bennett in their absence) for continued blatant violation of the no striped pants policy.  A fine is also levied on the press box operator - it wasn't her fault but she did push the play button on the National Anthem which sounded like second grade band played through a voice audio random tone re-mixer/synthesizer.

The Lakers return to action Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with three league games, all at Parade verses the Homies,  Merchants, and Bistros Baseball 365.

6/1/2014  Lakers Sign UST Outfielder Ben Podobinski
In a move that will add depth and quality, the Lakers bring graduating UST outfielder Ben Podobinski to Park National.  He is fast.

5/29/2014 Lakers Win League Opener 4-2 Over Angels

Lakers Park National season started out in Eden Praire as all of the Mpls fields available for town ball were in use and it started out on the right foot.  The Lakers went with 3 pitchers against a very good and very deep Angels team.  Bennett Johnson started and found a little trouble in the top of the 3rd as the Angels were able to load the bases with no outs and score 2 runs.  Tyler Ruemmele comes in and throws the 4th through 6th innings only giving up a couple hits and then newcomer Tommy Danzyck comes in a gets his first save in his first opportunity for the Lakers.  The Lakers defense played well behind their 3 pitchers with only one error and the error wasnt part of the Angels 3rd inning rally.  Offensively the Lakers were looking to build off a solid game yesterday against the Capitols, but struggled early.  The Lakers score 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the 4th after a fly ball to right was dropped by the Angel OF, Through out the game took advantage of the opportunities the Angels gave them through errors.  In the bottom of the 6th, with the score tied at two, Reichert reaches on an error and Cody Wetmore pinch runs for him and shortly there after steals 2nd.  Lucas Skjefte then comes up with a big RBI double to the wall in left.  Lakers score 1 more for the final count of 4-2.  Lakers next opponent is Cold Spring, who won state in class B last year, in EP and then there are 3 league games next week.

5/29/2014 Lakers Add Pitching
The Lakers today announce the addition of three pitchers to round out an already-deep and talented staff. 

  1. Tommy Dancyzk comes to the Lakers from UST fresh off of the Tommies deep run in the NCAA playoffs.  Dancyzk served the role of closer for St. Thomas.
  2. Mahlon Zimmerman comes to the Lakers via the MNSU connection.  Mahlon was also a closer for the Mavericks.
  3. Former UST pitcher  (also played with Saints and in European leagues), Kris Edwards, to join the Lakeshow.

LakerNation welcomes the new additions and look forward to the added depth.  At the time this article went to press,Dancyzk has already earned a save for the Lakers.

5/28/2014 Lakers blank the Capitols 5-0

Lakers come back after the holiday weekend and a rain out and get the W.  Grant starts on the hill and goes 3 shut out innings.  He got into trouble with the bases loaded and no one out in the 3rd inning.  The Capitol hitter hits a line drive shot (probably hardest ball hit all night) right back at Grants knee and Soda is able to glove it and double up the runner at first.  Genrich throws the 4th through 6th innings and overcame a few walks to keep the shutout in tact.  Will Phillips comes in to throw the 7th and has a 3 up 3 down inning.  Defensively the Lakers played well and threw out 2 runners at the plate in the first inning.  J-Mill led the team offensively with 3 RBI in his last two ABs with an RBI double in the 5th and a 2 run HR in the top of the 7th.  Multiple other Lakers had hits, including Dylan getting an RBI single in his first plate appearance of the season.  Rare Park National game away from Parade Stadium as the Lakers will host the Angels at EP.

5/27/2014 Lakers and Stockmen's rained out

5/22/2014 Lakers begin 2014 with 8-4 win vs St. Anthony

The season starts on a positive note for the Lakers, getting the veterans some much needed at bats and were able to see some pitchers get a few innings.  Genrich starts on the mound and overcame some wildness early to throw 3 solid innings.  Will Philips and Nick Becker each throw two innings in their Laker debuts and Dylan throws the last two innings to get the save as he entered in the 8th with a 2 run lead.  Offensively the Lakers were able to swing the sticks but also take advantage of quite a few walks to help them core 8 runs.  Chris Samanant starts 2014 similarly to 2013, drawing walks early, as he goes 0-0 with 5 walks and 3 runs scored.  Schneider and Reichert are able to start the year with a couple RBI each along with Lucas Skjefte who also notched 2 hits to go with his 2 RBI.  Next week will see the Lakers begin their busy June with 3 games in 3 days after Memorial day.  This starts on Tues with the annual trip to South St Paul to play the Stockmen's Irish.

5/20/2014 Season Preview
The 2014 edition of the Minneapolis Lakers shows some substantial change:  After a 13 year run and an epic saga of back and forth that lasted for months, it is confirmed:   Sam Bunnett is moving on to the join the land of outcast Lakers in Baseball365.   In an interview, the Bistro said "I wanted to try something differrent".  Paul Samanant said:  "There are worse things in life".  So everyone moves on.  LakerNation also loses a big stick in Danny Miller (hanging them up) while Timmy Miller moves to a part time role.  Caleb Phillips moves on to North Dakota oil country and Easy, well, he joins Marty Wetherall who faded out two years ago.  Sam Gotham stays in Sioux Falls for another summer.

Enough with the old - Turning the page, the Lakers tap EP and Superior connections and continue to add young college players Cody Wetmore, Will Phillips, Nick Becker, Rob Veith, and Kent Curran.   Positionally, the Lakers look like this:  At infield, Lakers return three college infielders with successful spring campaigns:  Jack Hogan, Jack Schneider, and Tony Skjefte, return to join Lucas Skjefte and newcomer Kent Curran(Union NY).  Tony Skjefte's return for the 2014 season represents a big roster "plus" as NWL offers were on the table for Tony.  Outfield looks solid with newcomers Cody Wetmore (Emory), and Rob Veith (Superior) joining Merrill, Chris Samanant, Ben Kuhlmann, and Clark Boyesen.  Catching is a little unsettled but the Lakers will look to find catching from a combination of Jeff Miller, Danny Blasy, Clark Boyesen, Jack Schneider, and Derek Soderberg.  "Little Soda" will serve as utility at both catching and infield.  With the Bistro gone,  Nick Reichert becomes full time non-college Lakers firstbaseman after an 8 year stint with UST.  Grant Soderberg will also play some first base.

Perhaps the strength of the 2014 lakers lies in pitching:  On paper, the Laker pitching is solid and deep:  The trio of Grant Soderberg Tyler Ruemmele and Bennett Johnson are firmly committed and have all pitched well in college this year - more importantly, they all claim a clean bill of health on their arms for this spring.  They will join Dan Genrich, a healthy Dylan Frederick   Kent Curran, Nick Becker, Chris Samanant, Will Phillips, and Ben Kuhlmann to form a pretty solid slate.  As this article went to press, the Laker front office is working securing one additional arm - stay tuned.

As always, the key to 2014 is all about the pitching:  The degree to which the staff can stay intact from attrition in the form of injuries, NWL, or other factors will determine how deep the Lakers can go in the playoffs.

3/16 Schedule is Available
The 2014 schedule is now availble.   Couple of changes or additions are possible, but most of the schedule is firm.  2014 features late start as usual to accomodate collegiate schedules.  June is busy but balanced with almost exactly four games a week.  Other  xchedule notes:

  • Dropped perenial rivals that we usually have a hard time getting players to:  Blaine, St. Thomas, Hastings.
  • Chaska back on the schedule (canceled last year).   Other continuing rivalries include games against the Millers, Hopkins, Stockman's Irish, Prior Lake, etc.
  • For the first time in well over a decade, the Lakers won't open at Dunning against Rosetown, Sport and Spine, and the St.Paul Capitals.   Opener this year is vs St.Anthony at Palm Field (St. Anthony High School).
  • Lakers will host between five and seven  town ball style games at our second home field - Round Lake Stadium in Eden Prairie including  class B visitors Shakopee and Cold Spring.
  • League opener this year is also at Round Lake Stadium in Eden Prairie when the Lakers host the Minneapolis Angels.  This will be the first time ever that the Lakers played a Park National game which was NOT  at NEAF, Nieman or Parade (other PN teams have played at other ballparks but this is the first for the Lakers).
  • With addition of Baseball 365, a new team in Park National (run by Cousins brothers), we have two additional league games.   Only 3 teams will get automatic byes to the second round.
  • Burnsville is back on schedule.  As a note, the last four years, scheduled games at Bursnville have been rained out.
  • State tourney formatt this year is slightly adjusted with two rounds of games to be played over two weekends in August.  Unless you are a top finisher in your league,  every team still has to play one single elim game, but if they can advance, then it is double elim the rest of the way.

 

 

2/16 Lakers Head Into 25th Season

The Minneapolis Lakers hit the quarter century mark and turn the page towards a new season.   Scheduling is almost complete.   Check back in a few weeks for the schedule to be uploaded.  Some new changes are forthcoming with the roster as well as the Lakers prepare for opening day which will be on March 20 at St. Anthony.  Check back for roster and other news as the season approaches.



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