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State Tournament
Sweet 16 Round
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Park vs. Shoreview

One Shoreview parent said it was the worst beating the 6th ranked Shoreview team had taken all season. In a win-or-go-home game, Park clobbered Shoreview 16-4.

Coming into this game, Shoreview had a 12-2 record in their league (a good one!), averaging more than 8 runs a game, with a +44 run differential.

Scott Foltz took the hill for Park and went all seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, two walks, and one harmless error.

Park lost the coin flip and batted first, and Tre Munson led off with a solo homer to get Park on the board before the fans were comfortable in their seats. Nick Omodt followed with a single, Derrick Keller singled, Foltz singled, John Gallice singled, Paddy Clancy singled, and Dylan Vosika drove in a run with a bases loaded walk, and Park led 4-0 after one.

Shoreview battled back but Park scored a single run in the third when Vosika drove in Clancy, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, with a single. In the fifth, Park added three when Foltz singled, Grant Welsh singled, Clancy reached on an error that drove in Foltz, Munson singled in Clancy, and Omodt singled in Vosika who had reached on a fielder’s choice.

In the 6th we added a run when Vosika scored Jack Bordewick with a sac fly.

In the 7th, with Park leading 9-5, the Orioles put the game on ice with a 7-run outburst. Munson opened the inning by reaching on an error, advancing to third when the throw rolled down the right field line, and scored when the throw to third got past the third baseman (where I come from that’s a homer!) When the dust cleared, Omodt doubled, Keller singled, Bordewick singled, Foltz was beaned, Welsh singled, Vosika reached on an error, Heck singled, Munson reached on another Shoreview error, and Omodt singled, his 5th hit of the game!

Park was so far ahead by the middle of the 7th inning that David Petit batted left-handed and barely missed hitting a double (it landed a few feet foul!)
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State Tournament
Great 8 Round
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Park vs. Eastview

I never thought I’d want to beat a team more than Mahtomedi (can’t stand their coach), but Eastview’s coach woofed it up before the 9AM game, and spent the afternoon eating crow.

Before the game, coach Keller asked the Eastview coach how they did the night before.

“We 10-runned this team…they were like you guys….they hung with us for awhile, then we ended up routing ‘em. We just have too much hitting.”

For those of you who don’t remember, Park lost to Eastview in the playoffs last week, but were down only two runs going into the 6th. In the Eastview’s coach’s mind, we never had a chance! In fairness, Eastview is a great team, but Park was just a bit better.

Jimmy Heck pitched a complete game, allowing only two runs on two solo homers (both to the same Eastview batter); he walked one, hit one batter, and struck out two. For those of you who aren’t math majors, that means that Park registered 19 outs without strikeouts: 12 groundouts and 7 flyouts. Everything they hit we caught!

In the first inning, Eastview had runners on first and second but Heck got the next batter to hit to Ryne McNary at third, who stepped on third and fired to first for a double play. Later in the game, Paddy Clancy speared a liner and turned it into another double play!

Derrick Keller was stellar at short, and Max IntVeld made a great play on the run while playing third.

Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, Park rallied for four runs when Grant Welsh doubled, Jack Bordewick walked, Derrick Keller reached on an error, and Paddy Clancy singled in two. In the fifth, Park added two more when Welsh, Bordewick and Keller singled, and McNary singled in two. With Heck’s pitching, and Park’s perfect defense, that’s all it took.
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State Tournament
Final 4 Round
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Park vs. Bloomington

Park’s pitching was a bit off, and the Orioles fell to Bloomington, 12-4.

John Gallice started for Park and had one of those innings that all pitchers eventually have. It seemed like everything Bloomington hit fell in, and Park trailed 7-0 after 2/3 of an inning. McNary relieved and allowed three runs on four hits over 3-1/3 innings. David Petit mopped up, allowing two runs on four hits in two innings.

In the first inning, Park took a short-lived lead when Tre Munson singled, stole second, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on an RBI groundout by Grant Welsh. In the third, Park added a run when Welsh singled and scored on Jack Bordewick’s double. In the fifth we scored our third run when Nick Omodt had an infield single, went to third on Bordewick’s single, and scored on an RBI groundout by Derrick Keller.

Our last run, in the 7th, was scored when Keller singled in Munson, who had walked.

Bordewick and McNary each had a single and double, but Park couldn’t seem to bunch their hits together enough to score against a pretty good Bloomington junkballer.

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State Tournament
3rd Place Game
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Park vs. Mankato

Park lost to Mankato in a wild game, 15-11, and had to be satisfied with being the fourth best team in the state.

Park’s pitching was pretty well spent, but Derrick Keller took the hill with little rest, and Mankato jumped out to a large lead.

In the first, Park scored when Tre Munson reached on an error, Keller singled, and Bordewick was credited with a sac fly, though the right fielder dropped the ball.

In the fourth, Park added three when Paddy Clancy singled, Munson singled, Nick Omodt doubled, and Keller doubled.

Keller ran out of gas in the fifth, and Grant Welsh relieved, but Mankato took a 13-4 lead after five and a half.

In the bottom of the 6th, Park came off the canvass and scored seven. Max IntVeld opened the inning with a single, Clancy walked, Munson doubled, Omodt reached on an error, Vosika hit a two-run homer, Scott Foltz singled, David Petit reached on an error, Ryne McNary singled, IntVeld doubled, and Clancy singled.

Petit, who had relieved in the 6th, pitched the top of the 7th, allowed a pair, and Keller came back to the mound to get the last out. Trailing 15-11, Park could only muster a Foltz single before being retired.

Park played 49 innings of baseball in three days, and according to several neutral parties, had the best defense in the tournament.

Congrats to the U15s on a great tournament.
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Starting Friday afternoon with the top 28 U15 teams in the state, Park finished fourth!  The winner, Eden Prairie, beat Park by a single run in pool play!  Through pool play, Park had the best pitching and defense in the tournament, allowing only nine runs in three games…[More]

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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Park U15s vs. Wayzata 

Pitcher Derrick Keller allowed one run, on a solo homer, over five innings, and Park’s offense was unstoppable in an 11-1 win over Wayzata in the last league game of the season…[more]