Minneapolis Lakers 2010:   Season #21

8/06 Gotham, Diaz, Reichert Named To All-Star Team

Sam Gotham, Billy Diaz, and Nick Reichert will represent the Lakers in the PN vs Riverview all-star game.    The game is Tuesday Aug 10 at 7:00 at Veteran's Field at Mtka high school.  Vintage throwback uniforms may make an appearance.

8/05 Lakers Bow Out.   Season Over

Headline performance was another stellar pitching performance by Bennett Johnson.  In the third inning, the defense failed to make plays and three runs that the Gators put up was enough for the win.   The Lakers had their chances but as was the case often this season, that big hit or big play was elusive for the local 9.    Lakers tip their caps to the Gators and wish them and all other PN teams good luck at state.

In a season that saw significant turnover including departure of Mike Merrill to the Gators, the Lakers did rebound with a solid season of baseball.  BTW, KPK owes Bennett Johnson two cases of beer as well as promised pictures.    Back to the Lakers - the cupboard is not bare and  with a bright future ahead, the Lakers can look back to 2010 as a successful rebuilding year.  The boys in blue that showed up to play can look back at another summer of hanging out with teamates, both old and new.  The managers and Lakers thank the fans that came out - good luck to all this year and we'll see you all next summer!

 

8/03 Playoff Heartbreak Again.   Lakers let another win get away.

It felt a lot like state tourney 2008 or Pub playoffs 2009 when the Lakers faced off with Bullogs, Commanding Edge, and Pub  only to falter late into the game, late, late into the night.   Dwelling won't change the outcome so we won't get into the shoulda-woulda-couldas.   We will though credit Sam Gotham with an excellent game pitched.   Without a scorebook, the Webmaster estimates that Gotham recorded close to 9Ks and had a lights out game.   Things did not work out and we move on.

Lakers look forward to game 2 of the series on Thursday Aug 5, 6:15 or Parade.  That game cannot come soon enough.

8/02 Lakers vs Albert's Gators in 2/3 series.  Winner to State.

Game 1: Tuesday Aug 3, 8:30PM,  Parade Stadium.  

Game 2: Thursday Aug 5, 6:15PM, Parade Stadium

Game 3 (if necessary): Friday Aug 6, time TBD, Parade Stadium

All games 9 innings.

7/31 Unbelievable!  Lakers Come Back and Beat Bombers

A lot of bad breaks had gone against the 2010 Lakers in few of the games this year.   Those breaks evened up in a hurry as the Lakers, left for dead and down 3-0 after 6.5 innings come back to win.  Bombers starting pitcher Mark Heise kept the Lakers at bay and frustrated Laker bats through six innings.  Lakers defense meanwhile played well to keep the game close.  In the bottom of seven, Miller leads off with a base hit.  Solty pinch hitting for Clark hits one at the pitcher who throws the ball into center field.  Gotham follows up with a flare hit, then a Skjefte rocket to right leaves the bases loaded.  With the score 3-1, and Bomber infield mysteriously in (no outs), Clark scores from third when the Bombers can't make a play.  A wild pitch ties the game and then Reichert bounces one over the shortstop for the walkoff winning run.

After the game, most Lakers head over to Kier's Paulapalooza fundraiser for some beer and great food and hospitality from the Palmer-Klein family.  Paulapalooza 2010 - much subdued from 2009 but still a great time and still going at the time this article went to press.  Kier and Easy up 6-0 in bags.

Next up, 2/3 playoffs vs. TBD (Pub or Gators).

 

7/29 Lakers Beat Shamrocks

In a game that resembled more of a homerun contest than baseball game, the Lakers outslug Shamrocks and come out on top 12-7.  Dunning field may want to consider softball rules where teams are limited to home run limitations as 6 were hit.   Lakers pounded out 13 hits including home runs from Luke Muellerleille, Nick Rechert, and Sam Bunnett.  The game was tied at 6-6 going into the seventh when the Lakers were able to bat around and put a up a crooked number.   On the hill for the Lakers, MC Sammer, Gotham, and Cappriotti pitched well and combined to, well, "limit" the Shamrocks to 7 runs.  Lakers head to single elimination playoffs this Saturday at 5:00PM vs Richtown Bombers at Parade.

7/25 Lakers come back and beat Bombers 4-3

Bennett walked 2 of the first 3 and the other reached on an error.  All 3 scored and the Lakers found themselves down early.  After that hicup Bennett threw well and left after 6 with the score tied 3-3.  Gotham came in a pitched the 7th and got the W as he also scored the winning run in the bottom of the 7th with no outs.  Also after the 1st the D picked it up as Gotham in CF and Clark in LF made great running catches on the warning track on very well hit balls.  Luke Muel*@*#*@ had a day going 4-4 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI.  Gotham had to score from first on 2 of Luke's doubles, which before the game there was a conversation about hoping they wouldn't have to go first to home.  Post Game saw the Samanant clan in full force and some nice grilling and drinks courtesy of Miller, Clark and the Samanants (of course Grill Master Gotham).  One tune up game on thurs and then "Bloody Saturday" as someone in the league refers to the single elims as. 

7/23 Lakers Lose  Another Close One to Pub 2-1

In a pitching duel of the Billies, Pub ace Billy Meister comes out on top 2-1.  Lakers #1 Diaz pitches well but Lakers defense trips just slightly and 2 runs is all Lyon's Pub needed to secure the win.  Lakers close out league  play vs Bombers on Sunday at 2:00PM at the Fort.   -  the Lakers will likely finish 6 in Park National and look forward towards a strong playoff run towards a state tourney berth.

More:  Way back when, Billy Diaz was 19, he passed up his eligibility of Legion to pitch for the Lakers.  His first big league game was vs. the Pub at NEAF back when it was the #2 field in Park National and they cut the grass.  Lyon's Pub, John Mayer, Douge Schildgen, and Co.  welcomed Billy to the league by blowing him and the then "SW Lakers" out of the park. Fast forward to about 5 years later,  Diaz pitched the then upstart Lakers to a convincing win over perrenial power Lyon's Pub at NEAF in a game in which fireballer Dave Schmeichel closed.  A surgery and maybe about 5 or so years later it was good to see Billy back out there again pitching well.  Kudos to  Diaz, Lyon's Pub and all amateur baeball "warriors" who continue to play the game at a level of excellence for over a a decade.

7/21 Lakers 5 inning win over Blue Sox 11-0

Lakers get the W on a night where the game started with Marching Bands in the parking lot for the Aquatennial and a Fly over by 5 planes in formation.  Scoring started in the first for the Lakers crossing 1 on a Reichert Sac fly. In the 2nd bistro and Reichert both had 2 RBI doubles. Laker scoring continued with 1 in the 3rd, 4 in the 4th and 1 in the 5th.  Lakers starting pitcher, MC Sammer, goes 5 inning CG shutout in the win in front of some of the players he coaches.  Good D also played behind the MC.  Parking lot saw 1 cooler for every 2 Lakers that stayed.  Got the first at bat of the year for mountain and it was good to see EZ back at the ball park.  Day off then Pub Fri at NEAF.

7/20 Lakers Home team for some reason against commanding edge but lose 2-1

Lakers starting pitcher comes to the park without cleats and is thrown into pitching quicker than he thought as St Thomas summer team wanted to be the visitors at their park.  Bennett settled in and threw well in the CG loss.  Lakers let a big opportunity in the 2nd slip away as they had bases loaded with no-one out and only got one run on a RBI walk by Skip.  Clark decided to end the inning with a weak grounder to the pitcher for an inning ending double play.  D played well and now the Lakers have three league games in 5 days.

7/19 Lakers lose to Pub 3-1

The Lakers played a tough team on Monday and came up short 3-1.  The Lakers hit the ball well but the Pub D made some good plays, especially the CF who saved at least 2 runs on diving catches.  Glasser returned and threw well going all 6 innings with the D playing well behind him.  The scoring started for the Pub with a bloop single to right and a line drive double to Left Center. Two ground out RBI gave the Pub an early lead.  Lakers don't score until the 6th, Skjefte single followed by a Gotham double with 2 outs.  Unfortunately there was a controversial call causing the bases to be empty with 2 outs insted of Rubin on first with one out.  Oh well the busy week continues with St Thomas summer team on tues, Blue Sox on wed and rematch with the Pub on fri at NEAF.

7/18 Lakers Fall To SPPD

Tough day for the Lakers.  Solty stressed as 94 closing caused some to be Late.  Gotham cant read a schedule and thinks game is at 2:30, he shows up at 2:25 with helmets.  SPPD only had 7 players until about 10 min after game was supposed to start, 1 pm.  Billy threw well for 5 innings.  Lakers had some opportunities but did not capitalize.  KPK goes 2 for 2 with a HPB, he wanted this to be mentioned. In the bottom of the 6th tied 1-1 the SPPD catcher goes big fly for a 3 run HR. Lakers lose.

7/16 Lakers beat Rats 8-1

Erickson throws all 7 to get the win.  He used the early run support and was able to get out of some jams he got into.  Bistro had 3 RBI and the Lakers also took advantage of some Rat miscues.  Lakers scored 2 in the first, 4 in the third and 2 in the 4th to get their 8 runs and the Rats got their one run on a sac fly with the bases loaded and no outs.

 7/13 Lakers take out Bombers 7-4

Diaz and Bennett combine for the pitching.  The Lakers get timely hitting and play solid D.  More to follow.

7/12 Lakers lose to Berries 4-3

Details to come..

7/11 Lakers over Hopkins Berries 5-2

For Laker management, it felt like 2008 all over again as Matt and Paul waste most of Saturday and Sunday trying to find 9 guys to show up as late cancellations for soccer and other things leave the squad short.    Isn't soccer boring?  Is Jeff Miller the guy in the Shark costume at MOA?    Marty steps up, and the 9 guys that do show up play well in a 5-2 win over quality opponent Hopkins Berries.

Sam Gotham goes all 7 innings and for the most part, cruises to a masterful performance in striking out  about 7 Berries and giving up only one hit.  The lone hit was a home run as Sam leaves a fastball high over the plate that the Berry hitter put over left.  Speaking of Berries, are there lots of berries in Hopkins?  What kind of a knickname is that?  The other Hopkins score came via some close calls for the leadoff runner who maybe should have been called out on the basepaths.

Offensively, Skjefte shakes off sickness to start the scoring with a monster homer to left that barely missed the fancy black car on the hill.   Lucas' two hits along with Capriotti multi-hit day add to about 8 or so hits on the day for the local 9.   The Lakers  also take advantage of some Hopkins miscues.  Bistro gets his pitch with bases loaded but "pops out" to the right field fence.   All in all, a solid performance.  Next up, the Lakers go right back to Big Willow to play the same team at an early 5:30 PM start on Monday.  Erickson is pitching.

More:  Julie now tells me that there is some kind of rasberry festival in Hopkins with street dancing and the works.   Whatever.  Lakers are nonetheless appreciative of the hospitality shown by Hopkins.  Other Laker news. Marty and Jennifer expecting another baby.  Marty meets Rubin for the first time even though they have been teamates for 2 years - typical.....  Jared Mountain turns 40:  Invites Lou to his party but not the rest of us - too hung over to show up to help depleted squad.   Lou blows off old squad probably to watch stupid soccer.  We didn't need you anyhow....  Kier of little help and value to the team although he apparently did deliver the Bistro crusher - so was it or was it not in an impound lot?

7/8 Lakers 7, Air Freight 2

Bennett Johnson throws a CG to get the win against a good Air Freight team.  Bistro goes big fly for the 3rd time with a 3 RBI HR in the 3rd.  Luke Mulerlelie has a 3 hit game.  For the most part the Lakers played a pretty good game.  Good pitching, good defense and timely hitting.  Nick Reichert is planning to miss sundays game against the Berries to watch the world cup final.  It will be the first game he misses in 2 years and it is to watch soccer.  Lakers next 2 games are against the Berries then have the Bombers on tuesday.

7/7 Lakers & Maple Plain tie 3-3

Both teams played well and ended up in a tie due to no lights at the field.  MC Sammer pitched 8 innings and Deno came in, in the 9th taking the 2 3 4 hitters for MP down in order with 2 K's. Skjefte and Miller did well at the plate, scoring all of the Lakers runs.  Miller hit his first HR as a Laker, the debate is on about actual distance traveled.  Skjefte did well from the 2 hole reaching base on both hits and walks and using his speed to run the bases.  He scored in the first and third, on one scoring from first on a Gotham double.  Air Freight Game moved to Thursday the 8th at 6:15 at Concordia St Paul.

 7/6 Lakers 8, Rocks 0

Well the Lakers decided to show up for a ball game.  Diaz and Gotham City combined for the shutout and the Lakers played solid D behind them.  Rubin makes a great catch over his head in CF and after being congratulated by the team when the half inning ends he comes back to the duggout and decides this will be a good time to throw up.  Reichert then cleans up the mess with Berto's water jug.  Bistro hit a shot about 415 feet to RC for a double and Miller had a good game at the plate.  Post game we discovered the Berto cannot do a jumping 360 and we had the great return of the "24 Bistro Can Crusher."  Hopefully Skip abandons the rule about having to sit the game if you don't show up 30 min before game time.  If he doesn't we may be playing with 2 guys to start the game in Maple Plain.

7/1 - Lakers get W against Bandits

Lakers get the first W in a while with good pitching by Gotham and decent defense, compared to the last few games.  Skip got a big 2 out 2 RBI hit in the top of the 7th to give the Lakers a 5-3 lead.  Chen, who got the win, made the bottom of the 7th very interesting. Started with the 3 hitter hitting a HR and then a couple walks a failed suicide squeeze a close play at 2nd and finally a grounder to short to end the game.  4th of July weekend and the Lakers are back in action 7/6 against the rocks.

6/30 -Lakers lose to Merchants

6/28 Lakers fall to Angels 3-1

Lakers score early and threaten late but the Angels hold on for the victory.  Will Chen comes back and leads off with a double.  Skjefte follows up with a single up the middle and the Lakers two leaders in SB's are able to work a first and third situation to cross the first run of the game.  Billy threw all 7 for the Lakers and pitched well only giving up 2 earned runs.  For the most part the defense played well with only a couple miscues.  In the bottom of the 7th the Skip leads off with a single, Bistro walks.  Berto and Clark pinch run and Luke Mure...... lays down a great bunt advancing the runners to 2nd and 3rd.  Rubin walks on 4 pitches and the game ends on a double play by the Angels.  Lakers look to right the ship against the merchants on wed.

6/25 Rained Out Again.

After the effort to get all the way down to Parade and KPK's TC sojourn from Chicago, the heavens opened up.   At least some new Lakers were able to sign contracts while others went to the bars.   Some speculation says that the first extended break may have derailed the Laker's streak.   Hopefullly this one de-rails the current slide.   We'll find out on Monday as Lakers take on Angels.

6/23 Commanding Edge 8, Lakers 4

The Lakers' run of wins at Tommie Stadium vs comes to an end as the local nine's blues continue in a loss to the boys in purple 8-4.     Bennett Johnson started and pitched very well - well not so very well in the first inning where control problems and a couple of Tommie hits resulted in 3 runs.    He settled down to pitch 6 strong innings but as has been the case of late, the offense could not get untracked.  Some close questionsable calls went against the the Lakers including 2 consecutive calls at first base.  Luke enquired about throwing his helmet but decided against it.   Lakers did get nine hits include three from the Bistro as well as about 8 walks but the lack of any timely hits or any big innings kept the Lakers from taking the lead.  Commanding Edge (AKA St. Thomas) got some late insurance runs and that was about it.  Pub next.

6/22 - Slide continues.  Lakers fall 14-13

How to describe this?   Lets pull out all the Park National cliches:   "Toilet" as Angels may say, or maybe the Lakers found the Bombers' pit of suck - or maybe "snakebit" might be the appropriate term to describe the game, considering the Lakers played the Cobras.  Snakebit however implies that you played well and competed well but were stymied and unlucky.   The Lakers did not play well committing numerous errors too many to count.  Laker teams have traditionally prided on strong defense and the current squad seems to have hit a rut here.  Lakers try to turn things around vs Commanding Edge also known as St. Thomas.

6/18 - Lakers fall to Gators (Homies) 4-0

 Lakers couldn't get the offense going and had a few defensive woes in the OF. Three of the four Gator runs were unearned and Gators didn't give anything away.  Rubin got a couple more hits including one in the 2nd inning to help the Lakers load the bases with two outs for one of their biggest threats of the night. Gotham went all six innings on the hill and pitched well but was unable to get the W. Good thing there was a decent parking lot for the Lakers.  Low in numbers but easily outlasted the Gators.  It was highlighted when Bistro spotted a deer walking through the Parade parking lot. MC Sammer, who wasn't at the game, stopped by as he was walking to uptown to go out for the evening. Next up Cobras on Monday.

6/15 - Lakers 1 Rats 4

 Lakers return to action for first time in 6 days and the rust showed.  Low numbers for the team and a couple aliments didn't allow the Lakers to get in a grove offensively or defensively.  The Laker offense only scratched one run accross and left about 8 runners on base. Pitching was decent but a couple missed locations and free passes came back to haunt the Lakers.  The Rats took advantage of the Lakers miscues and scored runs when they got on base.  Next up for the Lakers is the Gators(Hommies).

6/14 - Burnsville game canceled due to field conditions because of rain

6/11 - Rain in Hastings

6/9 - Lakers 13, Bluesox 3

Lakers hit and pitch well and Bistro gets his 2nd bomb of the year in Lakers victory.  MC Sammer started on the mound and threw all 6 innings giving up 1 Earned run and had 6 strikeouts vs 1 walk.  The Lakers had 15 hits with Rechart (3 RBI), Gotham and Rubin having good days at the plate.  The Lakers laso ran the bases well totaling 6SB's on the day with one having controversy. Next up hastings, it could rain, and then a possible make up game on the weekend.

6/8 - Lakers Bombers Rained Out

6/6 - Lakers Sink Rocks

The Lakeshow wins a key league matchup against the Minneapolis (formerly Plymouth) Rocks 16-11.  The preceding game between Cobras and Bombers was a low scoring 1-0 affair and looking back, it was an amazing that so few runs were scored as NEAF playing conditions were treacherous.  The infield grass was very high while the dirt was very uneven.  What the grass giveth, the grass taketh away - outs that should have been outs became hits, and hits that should have been hits became outs.  Add a very tight hitters zone and we had the makings of a high scoring affair.

The Lakers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but that was shortlived.  Sam Gotham made the start and pitched well but was victimized by both the  tight strike zone and bad defense.  This allowed the Rocks to jump to a 5-2 lead.  The Lakers surged back to score a run in the second and then put up a crooked number in the fourth where they scored seven runs to take a 10-5 lead.  In this inning the entire lineup hit the ball well.  A combination of hits, errors by the Rocks, and interesting field conditions helped out.  The Lakers went on to score sixmore runs and it was a good thing too as the Rocks were also able put up six more runs and when the final out was recorded, the scoreboard read 16-11.   Bennett Johnson pitched the last three innings and despite giving up 6 runs did an admirable job considering the muddy mound conditions.  Other game notes:

  • There was about a 20 minute rain delay.  The game was further delayed when the ump sat in his Jeep Cherokee for awhile.
  • Kier made his long awaited grand entrance - not.    After months of Kier type emails, new guys were looking forward to meeting the character behind emails so his non-appearance was an event.  Greyhound oversold their seats.
  • Bennett Johnson earned ta trifecta of fines:  1.  Striped pants.  2.  Forgot cap.   3.  Poor location for the pitch.  Bennett  is the early heavy favorite to easily win the "fine title".
  • Bistro was not late.
  • In anticipation of possibly very thin numbers, Chris Samanant showed up, participated in infield,  and then sat in dugout and did his Calculus homework.
  • In just three games played, Rubin has hurled his bat at the first base dugout twice.  Repeat offense = big fine.
  • Lakers had more than three fans.
  • Bombers next on Tuesday.

 

6/4 - Lakers 10, Metro Knights 1

Bulleted highlights,
- Laker pitching recorded 16Ks.
- Chen alone recorded 8Ks.
- Cappriotti recorded a few Ks himself in his Laker debut.
- Lakers bats tallied 15 hits.   Multiple hits by Skjefte(3), Solty(3), Gotham, Reichert, possibly others.
- Every Laker in the lineup had a base hit except for Clark who blew a hammy legging it out to first on a grounder.
- Opposing bench displayed bushery by calling "out" on a foul Solty was attempting to field near the bench.
- Solty comes close to getting run but fails.  Paul gives a run at it and also fails.
- Manager makes bad calls at third base resulting in Chen and Gotham getting thrown out at home.  In postgame interviews he said "judging by the way they swung bats, I did not think they would make the throws...."
- Called shot by three seperate players, Bistro breaks out of slump and goes big fly with a grand slam.
- There was a birds nest in left field that had three eggs in it.
- To continue the "three" theme, there were three popups dropped by the opposition bringing back spirits of horriblenes past (check team email thread for details).
- Speaking of three, the Lakers have had the same three fans the last four games.   Thanks for the support from the Skjefte clan.  Cmon all other Lakers - Don't any you guys have friends, girlfriends, wives, anything?
- Bistro.   Fined and benched again.  Unable to serve full suspension and forced into action due to Clark injury.
- Lots of other Laker lore flying around not fit for public publication.  Players check the email thread....
- Onto Sunday at NEAF.  KPK returns.  Bring on the Rocks.

6/2 - Lakers 9, Merchants 3

The Lakers used consistent hitting, good pitching, and good defense to get their 2nd league victory and get back up to .500 on the season (both in league and overall).  EZ started on the bumb with a late arrival by MC Sammer due to a long winded Jared Mountain at the SW Laker HS banquet.  He got some ground balls that found holes and MC came in with 2 outs in the first.  Sammer threw well through the 4th and Solt made the switch to get Gotham some innings and he came in to get the Lakers 2nd 3 inning save on the young campaign.  Defense was solid behind all pitchers and Skjefte and Miller led the Laker bats.  Skjefte was 3 for 4 with a triple, 2 SB's and a couple runs scored.  Miller hit the ball well, collecting at least 2 hits.  Gotham also got a couple hits as every Laker in the starting lineup reached base, most by a base hit.  The Kangaroo court started up and a few fines have already been awarded.  Day off for the Lakers before an 8:00 Fri game in White Bear.

6/1 - Lakers shut out Redhawks 5-0

Three Laker pitchers combine for the shutout.  Diaz started the game and pitched four innings, then came Bennett Johnson for 2 innings and Chen came in to shut the door in the 7th.  Bennett was able to hit 2 of the first four batters he faced.  To be fair, the second HBP, the kid swung at a curve ball and it hit him.  The Lakers scoring started in the second when Solty hit a double, which he tried to turn into a single and a bloop single by Clark.  The rest of the game, the Lakers hit the ball pretty well with Lucas and Gotham hitting the ball pretty well.  The Lakers were able to run a little with Reichert getting his first SB and Lucas getting his first two.  The Bistro made a great sliding over the shoulder catch to stop a Redhawk threat in the 2nd inning.  Next up for the Lakers an 8:30 game at Parade against the Merchants.

5/26 - Lakers Win Pitching Battle over Bandits 6-0 in 8 Innings.

Lakers v Bandits was a game of a few firsts as well as a pitching battle.  First, the firsts:  Bennett Johnson and Lucas Skjefte made their Laker debuts on the field.  Lucas was in less than 24 hours after returning from CWS from North Carolina.  Sam Gotham made his first debut on the mound (more later).  Paul Samanant took his first cuts in well over a year.  Mountain made his first appearance fresh from Southwest playoff loss just hours earlier. Bistro became first to take advantage of extra innings to avoid mandatory suspension/benching due to gross negligence and disrespect of new team rules.

On the the game - it was pitching battle (as well a slightly wide zone) as both teams carried no-hitters into the seventh inning.  Southwest state guy from the Bandits threw very hard, hit his spots and had sharp break on his slider.  The Lakers countered with Easy, Bennnett Johnson (2Ks), and Sam Gotham who recorded 6 Ks and the win in three innings of work.  In the top of the eight inning, the Lakers scored the critical go-ahead runs on a series of singles and then broke it open on Jeff Miller's 2RBI double.  Pitching definately carried the team as players were missing and playing out of position.  There is some scoring controversy:  The lone hit given up by Gotham was initially ruled a hit, later changed to an error, but is now under review by the Solty.  We'll have to wait and see what the official is once the box scores are posted.

The Lakers finish May on a strong note - as usual, May is not pretty due to players coaching High School or in College, but June and July is where it matters.   Lakers get entire Memorial weekend off before resuming exhibition play on June 1 vs NWS Redhawks at Lighted Field (which will be played under the lights).  Lakers also look forward to return/appearance of Capriotti and Rubin.

 

5/26 - Angels 7, Lakers 6

All Park National league games are tough and this one was no differrent.  First pitch was not thrown until close to 10:00PM due to extra inning game beteen Gators and the Bombers.  Lakers jumped out in front 1-0 behind Will Chen's aggressive baserunning.  The Angels countered with some aggressive baserunning of their own which allowed them to chip away to a 3-1 lead.   In the fifth inning,  the Lakers strung together some hits and were able to surge to a 6-3 lead and in doing so, chased Angel starter Chad Naegli from the game.   Angel reliever guy started wildly and although he settled down some, he continued to put Lakers on the bases only to leave them there.  With limited options for pitching and defensive changes, the Lakers decided to stay with starter Sam Erickson late into the game.    Erickson started and pitched well but in the sixth and seventh, he gave up some timely hits to lose the lead and ultimately the game.  In two league losses this year, the Lakers carried a two run lead late into the game but were not able to hold off the opponent.

5/24 - Lakers beat Cobra's 7-4

Lakers pick up their first win in Park National play with a quality victory over a perenially tough Cobra's squad.  The Lakers got to starter Kevin Truax early and then went on to  score runs in five of the seven innings.   The Cobras mounted repeated threats but the Lakers were able to hold off the Cobra rally for the W.  Billy Diaz threw the first 4 and let Mitch Glasser come in and throw the last 3 to pick up the save.  Both threw well and the team played good defense behind them.  In the first, the Lakers scored 3 runs on 2 HBP and 4 singles.  It was good to see the bats come around as even quite a few of the outs were hard hit balls.  The Lakers welcomed Sam Gotham and Bennett Johnson for their first game and Gotham got the start at 3B and delivered with a couple big hits including an RBI double deep to left.  It was nice to see some good base running:  The Lakers had five stolen bases:  Glasser had 2, Will Chen, Jeff Miller, and Sam Gotham each had one.  On  to game 2 of the 4 games in 4 days in South Saint Paul against the Stockman's Irish at 8 pm

5/18 Lakers Drop Exhibition Game to SSC

Lakers played at McMurray over 18 years ago when they were in the St. Paul League under the names of Westside Scotts, Varon Thomas, TC Vendors, and Ryan Mazda.   Their return to McMurray vs SSC was equal of the level of play in those days.  Not much excitement at the park and the Lakers just kinda went through the motions.  Reichert had 2 of the 3 Laker hits.  EZ started on the mound and wanted to be sure we put in here he it a flyball to the warning track.  It was good to see dub T in his return farewell stint prior to skipping town for good.   We now have the coming weekend off will see an increased availability of veteran pitching plus the continued return college players for the summer.   This will be timely as the Lakers open next week with four in a row including Monday league matchup with Cobras.

5/18 Lakers 8, Prior Lake Jays 4

From accounts at the field:  After a quiet start to the season, the Laker bats woke up vs Prior Lake Jays led by Nick Reichert who had multiple hits including a home run.  Billy Diaz led the way with six strong innings pitched.  The game was initially supposed to be 9 innings but then was changed to 7 due to Prior Lake JV rescheduled rainouts.   The Lakers relinquished the lead through 7 but then went ahead to stay in the eight inning.   Will Chen gutted it out and closed the game by pitching on a sore arm - Will pitched two days earlier and is coming off a shoulder strain.   Nonetheless a good first win. 

5/17 - Gators come back for 4-2 win over Lakers

Glasser made his 2010 Laker debut and starts on the mound and throws 3 scoreless innings.  MC Sammer comes to throw the last 4 after his coaching gig ended.  Lakers got up early 2-0 and the bats cooled off.  In the top of the 6th the Gators got 4 runs and the Lakers couldn't get much going against former Laker pitcher for the Gators.  Lakers goal for Tues, win and score more than 2 runs.

5/16 - Laker drop game to Esox 6-2

Bryan Deno gets his 2nd Lakers start with EZ and Chen in relief, but the Esox bats get the better of the Lakers.  The 3 pitchers threw well but some of the balls of the Esox bats found holes in the Braemar OF.  Chen led the laker offense scoring both runs and also had 2 doubles and 2 SBs. It was nice to see some of the Lakers, new and old make the first appearance of the year.  Vets Case, Samanant and Weatherall made their return and Jeff Miller made his Laker debut.

5/9 - Lakers shake off rust in loss to Rosetown 4-2

The Lakers threw together a lineup Sunday afternoon, mother's day, and fell to Rosetown 4-2.  Bryan Deno, EZ and MC Sammer combined to pitch the 6 innings and they all got to swing the bat as well as the Lakers only brought 9 bodies to the ballpark, including KPK from the windy city.  All 3 threw well as they were able to mix up their pitches and find the strike zone.  The defense behind them was solid in the infield but a ball or two was misplayed in the outfield.  The bats were a little rusty but in the 7th the Lakers crossed 2 runs and left the bases loaded. Luke led off with a single and Bistro, Solt, Reichart and MC Sammer followed it up with singles.  A couples K's and a hard hit grounder ended the threat and the game.  Thanks for Luke for skipping the all-star game and KPK for coming into town so the Lakers didn't have to forfeit.  Next up Esox.

 

Want schedule a game in 2010?
Contact manager paul.samanant@honeywell.com or call 612-750-2021



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