SLP Orioles Advance in Section 6AAAA Baseball

 Memorial Day would be memorable for the St. Louis Park Orioles as Drew Boyum struck out five batters and allowed only four hits to help beat the Armstrong Falcons 3-1 in the opening round of the Section 6AAAA Baseball Tournament Monday night at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.  

It looked like the Falcons would get the early lead in the top of the first inning with Grant Proctor reaching first base on an error by Oriole shortstop Ben Farley and Dayton Franke advancing Proctor to second on a single.  But Farley redeemed himself after the error by starting a double play to prevent Armstrong from scoring.  St. Louis Park would take the lead in the bottom of the inning on a RBI single that scored leadoff batter Stanley Regguinti.  

The Orioles would add another run in the bottom of the second that started with a double by Zach Helfmann.  Henry Odens singled to move Helfmann to third and he stole second, putting two runners in scoring position.  Then came Brady Walsh.  He hit a ground ball to Armstrong pitcher Dylan Inniger and Walsh was out at first.  Franke relayed the ball to Proctor at third and Odens was thrown out.  Helfmann would cross the plate for the Orioles second run.  

St. Louis Park would complete the scoring in the bottom of the fifth when Regguinti was hit by a pitch and he would score on Farley's double.  The Orioles would have a golden opportunity to widen their lead in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded but Regguinti would fly out to the right fielder Drew Kuempel to keep their run total at three.  

Boyum would help preserve the Oriole lead by allowing only two base runners in the final four innings.  He gave up a leadoff single to Isaac Pilon in the top of the sixth and with two outs in the top of the seventh, Inniger reached base on Farley's second error.  But the St. Louis Park shortstop would would catch a fly ball from Eric Berg to send the fans who packed the St. Louis Park end of the bleachers home happy.  

The Orioles improved their record to 13-8 and will head to Plymouth on Tuesday, June 1 to face the top seeded Wayzata Trojans. Time TBD.  The Falcons fell to 9-12 and will also be in action on the first as they host the Minneapolis South Tigers with the time also TBD.  

St. Louis Park Wins Battle of Orioles

 It was "The Battle of the Orioles" Wednesday night as the St. Louis Park Orioles scored three first inning runs to beat the Osseo Orioles 6-1 in the regular season finale at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.  

There were plenty of orange and black clad fans on the two banks of bleachers.  They got to see St. Louis Park score three runs in the bottom of the first inning that started with a one out double by Ben Farley and  Drew Boyum was hit by a pitch.  Both runners would cross the plate on Ethan Schmitz's two run double.  St. Louis Park added a run to their ledger on Stefano Giovanelli's RBI single that scored Schmitz.  

Osseo would score their lone run of the game in the top of the third when Tyler Rose score on a wild pitch from Boyum, who relieved starting pitcher Kristofer Hokenson.  

St. Louis Park would score two runs in the bottom of the fourth without recording a hit.  Giovanelli walked and Henry Odens was hit by a pitch.  They both came home when Brady Walsh reached base on a throwing error by Osseo pitcher Matthew Kitzman.  Their final run came across in the bottom of the fifth on a wild pitch that enabled Farley to cross the plate.  

St. Louis Park ended the regular season with a record of 12-8.  They will open Section 6AAAA tournament play on Monday, May 31.  If the game is at Derrick Keller Field, it will start at 6 PM.  If it's an away game, time, site and opponent TBD.  

Prior to the start of the game, St. Louis Park assistant coach Riley Hannon, who previously served as the team's student manager threw out the ceremonial first pitch in celebration of his birthday on the 27th.  

Senior Night Success for SLP Orioles

 Tuesday night was Senior Night for the St. Louis Park girls lacrosse team but it was junior Ryan Rasmussen who led the Orioles with five goals en route to a 15-8 win over the Mound-Westonka Whitehawks in the regular season finale.  

The Whitehawks would get the early lead on a free possession goal from Alicia Hatlestad.  The Orioles would even the score on a goal from Anna Jensen and Rasmussen would put them ahead 1:30 later.  Liz Trubeck would even the score for Mound-Westonka.  St. Louis Park would score three straight goals in a span of 1:15.  Emilia Johnson began the run, followed by Jensen that came from an inside pass by Abby Meyer and Rasmussen would find the net a second time.  Avery Robbins would end the Orioles run on a free possession goal.  Jensen would pick up the hat trick to increase the St. Louis Park lead to 6-3.  Mound-Westonka would cut the lead to one on goals from Hatlestad and Grace McCutcheon.  St. Louis Park would wrap up the first half scoring on a center slot goal from Gretchen Fandel Thompson to give the Orioles a 7-5 halftime lead.  

Following a Senior Night halftime ceremony, The Orioles would double up the Whitehawks with three unanswered goals, starting with Lilly Fandel Thompson, followed by Grace Schultz and Meyer from the center slot.  Hatlestad would account for two of Mound-Westonka's three second half goals with the third coming from Robbins.  But it was Rasmussen, the junior who would score three of the Orioles next four goals and contribute to the fourth.  She would pick up an assist on Gretchen Fandel Thompson's second goal and display outstanding speed as she went around the left side of the net and put the ball in.  St. Louis Park would conclude the scoring :16 later on a goal from Jarielyz Lopez-Barrera.  

The Orioles ended their season with a record of 5-8.  Section 6 play begins next Tuesday June 1.  The Whitehawks fell to 6-7 and wrap up the regular season on Thursday, May 27 when they travel to Waconia to face the Wildcats at 6:30.  

A Hopkins Royal Spoil on Senior Night

 Friday night was Senior Night for the St. Louis Park Orioles at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park but starting pitcher Ryan McGie had two singles and held the Orioles to three hits to lead the Hopkins Royals to a 3-1 win.  

Jack Mausser led off the top of the second inning with a single, stole second base and advanced to third on a passed ball by Oriole catcher Tait Myers.  Then McGie drive home Mausser with an RBI single.  

Hopkins would go up by three runs in the top of the fourth  as the first four batters would reach base.  Brock Zimmer singled then McGie drove him home.  Luke Nordean reached base on an error that enabled McGie to score.  The damage would be done when Jackson View lined out to Henry Odens at second base and he applied the tag on Americo Sculati for an unassisted double play.  Following a single by Jack Preimesberger, Nordean was thrown out at home plate and that would complete the Royals scoring.  

The Orioles did bring home a run in the bottom of the fifth with all the action coming after two outs.  Stanley Regguinti and Ben Farley drew walks, then Drew Boyum reached base on an error by Preimsberger but that was all St. Louis Park could muster for runs.  

There would be some life for St. Louis Park in the bottom of the seventh that started when Zach Helfmann walked and advanced to second base on a wild pitch.  But the Oriole bats were as silent as a Tom and Jerry cartoon and couldn't get any other runners aboard after View relieved McGie with one out in the seventh.  

Following the game, seven Oriole seniors were recognized.  Boyum, Ethan Schmitz, Max Wyatt, Cole Kaupang, Nick Lanoux, Connor Coleman and the absent Eastyn Samoy.  

Hopkins has won seven of their last eight games to improve their record to 12-6.  They will travel to St. Paul on Monday, May 24 to face the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders at 4:30 PM.  St. Louis Park ended their three game winning streak and now has a record of 11-8.  They will end their regular season on Wednesday, May 26 hosting the Osseo Orioles at 6 PM at Derrick Keller Field.  

Hokenson Helps SLP Orioles beat Rogers Royals

 A big throng gathered at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park for ALS Night Wednesday and they saw Kristofer Hokenson drive in the game winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning to lead the St. Louis Park Orioles to a 4-3 win over the Rogers Royals.  

The Orioles took the early lead in the bottom of the first inning when Stanley Regguinti scored on an error by Royals third baseman Matthew Garding.  

Rogers would even the score in the top of the third on Rychen Downs' ground rule double that bounce over the fence and enabled Max Robinson to cross home plate.  St. Louis Park would regain the lead in the bottom of the third on Drew Boyum's RBI single that scored Regguinti and Ben Farley would put the Orioles ahead by two when he scored after Ethan Schmitz reached first base on an error by Rogers second baseman Jack Olsen.  

Both teams would tally in the fifth inning.  The Royals would tie the game with two runs on Olsen's RBI double that scored Zach Evenson and Olsen headed home on a grounded out to Oriole second baseman Ethan Schmitz by Austin Shingledecker.  The Orioles would score the game winning run as Ben Farley was hit by a pitch, stole second base and went to third on a wild pitch.  Then Hokenson hit a sacrifice fly to left field and Farley was able to tag up and cross the plate.  

Rogers did have opportunities to regain the lead.  In the top of the sixth, Nathan Gerding led off the inning with a walk but he was picked off first base on a throw from St. Louis Park catcher Tait Myers.  Hokenson, pitching in relief of starting pitcher Stefano Giovanelli hit Tyson Vylasek in the face with a pitch and he had to leave the game.  Hokenson would retire the next two batters after giving up a walk to pinch hitter Chase Baxter.  

In the top of the seventh, Hokenson struck out the first two batters, then gave up up singles to Olsen and Shingledecker that put the tying run at second base.  Could the game head to the bottom of the seventh and a potential walkoff win for the Orioles?  The answer would be know when home plate umpire Scott Schuler ruled that Rychan Davis checked his swing and Hokenson recorded his third strikeout of the inning to pick up the save. 

Prior to the start of the game, Giovanelli's mother Lynn, who was diagnosed with ALS threw out the first pitch.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 11-7 and will host the Hopkins Royals on Friday, May 21 at 6 PM at Derrick Keller Field.  It will also be Senior Night.  Rogers ended a five game winniing streak and fell to 11-6.  They will host the Champlin Park Rebels on Thursday, May 20 at 4:30 PM.  

SLP Orioles Clobber Cooper Hawks

 As the weather got chilly Tuesday night at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park, the St. Louis Park Orioles bats heated up with a five run fifth inning to beat the Cooper Hawks 12-2.  

The game ended after six innings due to the ten rule.  

The Orioles would strike first in the bottom of the second inning as Zach Helfmann's two run double down the left field line scored Kristofer Hokenson and Stefano Giovanelli.  Helfmann would account for St. Louis Park's third run on a wild pitch from Cooper starting pitcher Parker Risvold.  

Heading in to the top of the third, the Hawks would bounce back to cut the lead to one on Ian Asher's two RBI double that scored Sam Thomas and Donte Williams but St. Louis Park would add a run to their ledger when Drew Boyum walked, stole second , went to third on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on Hokenson's sacrifice fly.  

Hokenson would help put the Orioles further ahead in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two RBI double.  He also scored a run on Ethan Schmitz's RBI single.  St. Louis Park's run total for the inning would be five on a two run single from Henry Odens.  

Pitching would also play a role for St. Louis Park as Nick Lanoux would pitch a six inning complete striking out nine batters and not allowing a walk.  

The Orioles would send the fans home in the bottom of the six when five straight batters reached base without a base hit.  Ben Farley was hit by a pitch, and he would score the inning's first run on a balk by Cooper relief pitcher Matthew Gerding.  Gerding had trouble getting the ball over the plate and he would walk four straight batters, including a run following Stefano Giovanelli's base on balls.  Helfmann would pick up his third RBI of the game to score Hokenson and the game would come to an end.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 10-7 and returns to action on Wednesday, May 19 at 6 PM as they host the Rogers Royals at Derrick Keller Field.  Cooper falls to 1-11 and will also be in action on the 19th, hosting the Fridley Tigers at 4:30 PM.  

Visitation Blazers Blaze Past SLP Orioles

 Freshman Molly Kolar had a big game Thursday afternoon as she scored six goals to lead the Visitation Blazers to a 14-10 win over the host St. Louis Park Orioles.  

The game was rescheduled from April 13 due to busing issues with Visitation.  

The Blazers were on fire early in the first half, scoring three straight goals.  Camden Wright caught the ball near the penalty circle, cut to the center slot and scored :42 into the game.  Elizabeth McCarr would put Visitation ahead by two and Mia Hoffman tallied :19 later.  As for the Orioles, they would vault ahead with four unanswered goals.  The first two came on free possessions from Abby Meyer and Ryan Rasmussen.  Jarrielyz Lopez-Barrera would put the ball into the net twice.  The first came from a pass by Rasmussen, the second by Meyer and St. Louis Park led 4-3.  But :25 later, Kolar would score on a free possession to even the score at four.  The Orioles would forge ahead on Erin Brosseau's inside pass to Rasmussen that resulted in her second goal.  The Blazers would get back into the lead for good on Kolar's second goal.  Teresa Cavanaugh would send the ball to the net following a pass from Alison Kenkel :41 later.  McCarr and Hoffman would score their second goals and Visitation led 8-5.  St. Louis Park added a goal from Emilia Johnson with 2:08 left in the half and Cavanaugh put her second ball in the net with :32.9 left to give the Blazers a 9-6 halftime lead.  

The second half would turn out to be a scoring showcase for both teams with Kolar scoring four of the five Blazer goals.  Hoffman would pick up the hat trick for the only non Kolar goal.  Rasmussen would score all four Oriole goals, though they didn't come close to overtaking Visitation.  Rasmussen's third goal came on outstanding speed as she circled around the right side of the net and put it past Blazer goalkeeper Lola Brouwer.  

Visitation head coach Haley Housh is the daughter of former Edina West quarterback and city councilman Scott Housh. He also played basketball for the Cougars.  

The Blazers improved their record to 5-1 and host the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders on Saturday, May 15 at 10:30 AM.  The Orioles fell to 3-6 and return to action on Tuesday, May 18 for a 7 PM at Benilde-St. Margaret's against the Red Knights.  

Sheehan's Shutout Storms SLP Orioles

 Wednesday night was a big night for Hunter Sheehan as he pitched a two hitter and hit a single and a triple to lead the Chanhassen Storm to a 10-0 win over the St. Louis Park Orioles at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.

The game was shortened to five innings due to the ten run rule.  

Sheehan would drive in the Storm's first run in the top of the first inning on a groundout to shortstop Henry Odens that scored Josh Och. They would extend the lead to two on an RBI single from Will Reding.  

Josh Costello would drive in Chanhassen's third run as he drove in Brenden Radtke with an RBI single.  

The Storm would live up to its name in the top of the fourth when they batted around and five players crossed home plate.  A wild pitch by Oriole starting pitcher Drew Boyum and an error by right fielder Max Wyatt would aid the Chanhassen attack.  Reding, Ryan Maschka, Radtke and Mitch Cummins picked up RBIs and Sheehan would hit a one out triple.  . 

In the top of the fifth inning, the Storm would increase their lead to ten when Costello singled and Josh Kirchoff, who replaced Cummings in left field, hit a two run homer over the left field fence.  The Orioles, who managed only two hits off Sheehan would get a two out walk from Hank Bendickson but Stanley Regguinti grounded out to Och at shortstop to end the game.  

Radtke would go three for three for Chanhassen and Sheehan struck out five batters.  The only hits he gave up were Kristofer Hokenson's leadoff double in the second and Ben Farley's leadoff single in the fourth.  

The Storm improved their record to 8-5 and return to action on Friday, May 14 when they host the Champlin Park Rebels at 4:30 PM.  The Orioles fell to an identical 8-5 record and host the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars Thursday, May 13 at 6 PM.  

Kennedy Eagles Win First Game of Season

 Despite a late start, the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles ended their losing streak with a 10 goal outburst from Susan Monson that led them to a 15-14 win over the host St. Louis Park Orioles Tuesday evening.  

The game was delayed 51 minutes because the officials were late to the St. Louis Park stadium.  

The Orioles broke out of the starting gate on Abby Meyer's goal :10 into the game.  Emilia Johnson scored :27 later and Ryan Rasmussen made a spin move toward the crease and sent the ball to the net that game St. Louis Park a three goal lead.  Would a three goal lead be safe in the early going?  Not so, according to Monson as she wiped out the lead with four consecutive goals, displaying quickness and outstanding stickhandling.  Monson would set up the next Kennedy goal as she fired a pass to Sarah Conzemius and she sent it to the net.  But Monson would find the net again :19 later.  The Orioles would score three straight goals to tie the game as Rasmussen scored her second consecutive goal.  Then Margaux Pollock centered the ball to Lilly Fandel Thompson and she would tally :23 later.  Lilly Fandel Thompson would set up Rasmussen's hat trick goal and she tied the game at six.  The Eagles would regain the lead on Kaysawn Carlson's center slot goal.  The scoring would go back and forth.  First Johnson would score for the Orioles than :19 after that the Eagles got a goal from Sophia Nelson.  Rasmussen would spin like the wheel of fortune toward the net to score her fourth goal.  Monson would add to her goal total with 1:29 left in the half followed by Meyer with :25.9 to go.  Monson struck again with :06.9 in the half to give Kennedy a 10-9 halftime lead.  

Rasmussen would achieve a double hat trick in the second half with the Orioles first two goals to put them ahead 11-10.  Monson and Carlson would vault the Eagles back into the lead.  Another member of the Fandel Thompson family would enter the scorebook.  This time it was seventh grader Gretchen Fandel Thompson as she caught a pass from Jarrielyz Lopez-Barrera and fired it into the net.  Monson would score her ninth goal on a pass from Nelson.  Rasmussen would score her seventh goal to even the score at 13.  Kennedy would get back into the lead on goals from Nelson and Monson as she scored for the tenth time.  St. Louis Park would cut the lead to one on Lopez-Barrera's goal with 1:53 left but the Eagles ran out the clock to preserve the victory.  

Kennedy improved their record to 1-8 and will head down Highway 212 to Chaska on Tuesday, May 18 to face the Hawks at 7 PM.  St. Louis Park fell to 3-5 and will host the Visitation Blazers on Thursday, May 13 at 4:30 PM.  The game was rescheduled from April 13 due to busing issues with Visitation.  

Another Walk off Win For SLP Orioles

 Friday night was Little League Night at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park and more than a dozen little leaguers and their parents saw Stanley Regguinti hit into a fielder's choice that scored Max Wyatt in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the St. Louis Park Orioles a 3-2 win over the Chaska Hawks.  

It was the second game this season that Regguinti drove in the winning run.  The first was the home opener against the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles April 15.  

Both teams were scoreless through the first two innings.  The Hawks would take the lead in the top of the third on Drew Benson's RBI double to the center field fence that scored Thomas Hanson.  The Orioles, who didn't record a hit through the first three innings against Chaska pitcher Nolan Kemp,  got their first one on an RBI single from Ben Farley to tie the game at one.  

It looked like Chaska would regain the lead in the top of the seventh inning.  Maddox Foss reached base on a throwing error by St. Louis Park pitcher Drew Boyum and Ethan Bachmann hit a triple that would send Foss home but right fielder Kristofer Hokensen relayed the ball to the cutoff man Boyum and he threw to catcher Tait Myers who applied the tag to Foss.  Bachmann would score the go ahead run on Boyum's wild pitch.  

Going into the bottom of the seventh, Farley reached base on an error by third baseman Karver Miller and Zach Helfmann drove Farley home on an RBI Double to even the score at two.  Max Wyatt would pinch run for Helfmann and he advanced to third on Myers ground out to second baseman Henry Bushey.  Regguinti would come to the plate and hit a grounder to the first baseman Benson.  He relayed the ball to home plate and Wyatt was called safe by home plate umpire Ryan Ceason to give St. Louis Park the wlk off win.  

Both pitchers Kamp and Boyum went the distance.  Kamp would walk one batter and strike out nine.  Boyum struck out four and retired 11 straight Hawks.  

The Orioles improved their record to 7-4 and return to action on Monday, May 10 when they travel to Benilde-St. Margaret's for a 7 PM showdown with the Red Knights.  The Hawks fell to 5-6 and with host the Totino-Grace Eagles on Saturday, May 8 at 7 PM at Chaska Athletic Park.  

Chaska Hawks Rout SLP Orioles

 Josie Lakowky and Aidan Hawley scored three goals apiece to lead the Chaska Hawks to an 18-4 victory over the host St. Louis Park Orioles Tuesday night.

Payton Wurtz would begin the Hawks scoring on a free shot, followed by Kennedy Sanders shot from the right side.  Wurtz would pass to Lakosky who would put Chaska ahead by three.  There would be no shutout for the Orioles as Ryan Rasmussen would score on a free shot.  Ella Long would pick up two straight assists for the Hawks.  The first would result in a goal for Sydney Hardy and the second was to Hawley and she raced down the field like the team bus heading down Highway 212 to put the ball in the net.  Margaux Pollock would tally for St. Louis Park on a free shot to cut the deficit to 5-2 but Chaska would pull even further ahead with six straight goals.  Two would come from Hawley.  Izzy Hohbein, Jenna Davis,  Lakosky, and Wurtz would also fire the yellow ball past Oriole goalie Sydney Prince.  The Orioles would add a left side goal from Emilia Johnson with 2:48 left in the first half and the Hawks led at halftime 11-3.  

It wouldn't be long in the second half before the Hawks added a goal to their ledger.  Kendall Mindt would score :44 into the half.  Lakosky, Davis and Sanders would help send the game into running time.  The Orioles would manage to score one more goal, this time from Abby Meyer and that would close out the St. Louis Park scoring.  Davis, Raegan Pluth and Mindt would also contribute to Chaska's dominance.  

Sanders and Kaylee Van Eps also were part of the state Class AAAA champion Chaska girls basketball team that ended the Hopkins Royals 78 game winning streak in the semifinals.  

The Hawks won their third consecutive game and improved their record to 4-2.  They have outscored their opponents in that stretch 50-12.  They will host the Waconia Wildcats on Thursday, May 6 at 7 PM.  

The Orioles fell to 2-2 and will also be in action on the 6th when they travel down Highway 36 to Stillwater to take on the St. Croix Prep Lions at 7 PM.