SLP Orioles Eliminate Mpls. South Tigers

 Tuesday night was a big night for Josh Middleton as he drove in three runs and struck out eight batters to lead the St. Louis Park Orioles to an 8-3 win over the Minneapolis South Tigers in a Section 6AAAA elimination round game at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.  

Middleton would drive in the Oriole first run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single that scored Graham Sullivan, who led off the game with a walk.  

In the top of the second, the Tigers would take the lead with three runs, aided by two St. Louis Park errors.  Two of the runs would come on an RBI single from Elias Solberg that scored Alex Menth and Tariku Westrum Ostrom.  The Orioles would tie the game in their half of the inning as Aaron Bilden led off with a triple, then crossed the plate on a fielder's choice by Ryan Moran.  Moran would head home on Middleton's RBI single, his second of the game.  

St. Louis Park would take the lead for good in the bottom of the third on an error by South shortstop Gavy Schacher that enabled Andruw Vela to head home and Griffin Krone to take second base.  Krone would account for the Orioles fifth run on a sacrifice fly from Moran.  

The long ball would prevail for St. Louis Park in the bottom of the fourth when Zach Helfmann hit a two run homer over the right center field fence, his seventh of the season.  

Middleton would settle into a groove on the mound over the last three innings as he recorded five of his eight strikeouts and only allowed three Tiger hitters to reach base.  Alex Menth hit a two out double in the top of the fifth but he retired Westrum Ostrum on a called third strike.  He would leave two runner stranded in the top of the sixth thanks to Vela's outstanding fielding at shortstop.  In addition, he brought home St. Louis Park's final run in the bottom of the sixth on a ground out to Schacher at shortstop that enabled Sullivan to cross the plate following a triple.  

The Orioles improved their record to 10-12 and will face the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers in another elimination round game on Friday, June 3 at 4 PM at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis.  Minneapolis South concluded their season with a record of 12-9.  

Stormy Night for SLP Orioles

 The Chanhassen Storm, ranked fourth in Minnesota girls high school lacrosse, should their speed and tenacity as Ali McPartland scored six goals to lead them to an 18-1 drubbing of the host St. Louis Park Orioles in the regular season finale Thursday night.  

McPartland would strike early for the Storm, scoring 1:00 into the game.  She would score her second goal as Chanhassen increased their lead to five with four goals in a stretch of !:12.  Also tallying were Gabb Bjugen, Sophie Cook and Hannah Grimm (no relation to St. Louis Park's Kate Grimm).  It would be Hannah Grim who would begin the Storm's next five goal run as she caught an inside pass from Allie Welder.  McPartland would get her first hat trick off a pass from Tatumn Nyen and Welder would account for two of Chanhassen's final first half goals, sandwiched by Hannah Grimm's second goal.  The Storm led 10-0 at the half.  

Heading into the second half, as running time would be the status quo with the game at a high margin.  McPrtland would continue to put the ball past Oriole goal Carina Otos three straight times to score a double hat trick.  The Storm would extend their unanswered goal streak to 17 as Bjugan would score two goals and Ava Stewart and Welder would also get a hat trick.  Welder would also pick up four assists, giving her seven points for the game.  But there would be some good news for Oriole fans when Lily Fandel Thompson went around the right side of the goal and put it past Storm goalie Katie Colleran.  It would be the only St. Louis Park goal of the game as Stewart would wrap up the scoring with 2:13 left to play.  

The Storm concluded their regular season with a record of 10-3.  The Orioles ended their regular season with their fifth straight loss and fell to 4-9.  Section play begins next week.  

Chaska Hawks Hang Ten on SLP Orioles

 Tuesday night was Senior Night for the St. Louis Park Orioles but it was home runs by Karson Attebury and Maddox Foss that helped the Chaska Hawks beat the Orioles 10-7 at Derrick Keller Field.  

The top of the first inning was double trouble for Oriole starting pitcher Danny Montanez as he gave up a leadoff double to Attebury and he would score on Tate Miller's RBI double.  A two bagger from Raymond Johnson would score Miller.  It would be the only inning Montanez would pitch due to a sore elbow that caused him to leave the game in the second but before he departed, he drove home Griffin Krone with an RBI single in the bottom of the first.  

Three would be a magic number for both teams as they scored three runs in the third inning.  Chaska would get their runs starting with Attebury's homerun over the left field fence and Johnson's two RBI single brought home Matthew Magnuson and Jacob Welter.  St. Louis Park produced via the longball.  Following a single from Graham Sullivan, there would be back to back homers from Krone and Zach Helfmann.  

The Hawks would go up by four in the top of the fourth inning on Foss' two run homer.  They would also add two runs to their ledger in the top of the seventh.  The first came on an RBI single from Isaac Whicker and pinch hitter Mason McGowan's sacrifice fly that brought across Mason Tangen.  

The Orioles would put three runs across in the bottom of the seventh.  The first would be Geiber Silva's RBI single that scored Sullivan and a two run single by Andruw Vela.  But that was all St. Louis Park could due in the game that ran two hours and 26 minutes.  

Chaska improved their record to 8-6 and will return to St. Louis Park on Thursday, May 18 to face the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights at 7 PM.  St. Louis Park fell to 7-9 and will travel to Long Lake to battle the Orono Spartans on Wednesday, May 17 at 4:30 PM.  

Trojan Trouncing

 Henry Novak pitched a three hitter and got early run support with a three run first inning to lead the New Prague Trojans to a 6-0 shutout of the St. Louis Park Orioles Wednesday night at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.  

The Trojans would capitalize on three Oriole errors in the top of the first inning.  But first came back to back double from Nolan Eischens and Jake Lundquist that accounted for New Prague's first two runs.  Novak would score the third run on an error.  

In the top of the second, the Trojans would load the bases as Will Seymour, the only player not to bat in the top of the first led off with a single, Eric Berg reached base on an error by Oriole second baseman Eli Puchner and Eischens would reach on a single.  Lundquist would pick up his second RBI on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Graham Sullivan to bring Seymour home.  

Novak would allow only one hit through four innings until he gave up a pair of base hits to Danny Montanez and Griffin Krone.  Nothing would transpire and both runners were left stranded.  

St. Louis Park starting pitcher Andruw Vela settled down since the first inning, retiring nine straight batters before he gave up a double to Kyle Carlberg in the top of the seventh and he would cross the plate on Nolan Eischens' triple.  Eischens would account for New Prague's sixth and final run on a sacrifice fly to Sullivan in center field.  

The Trojans improved their record to 11-3 and will head down Highway 169 on Saturday, May 13 to face the Mankato West Scarlets at noon at Minnesota State University-Mankato.  The Orioles fell to 7-7 and will also be in action on the 13th as they head to Plymouth for a noon game with the Wayzata Trojans.  

SLP Orioles Trounce New Prague Trojans

 Recovering from a disappointing overtime loss to Apple Valley/Burnsville last Thursday, the host St. Louis Park Orioles got four goals from Ailish Fitzpatrick and Lily and Gretchen Fandel Thompson scored hat tricks to lead them to a 13-3 win over the New Prague Trojans Tuesday night.  

The Orioles took the early lead on a free shot goal from Meg Ridgway, followed by Fitzpatrick to build a two goal lead.  The Trojans bounced back to tie the game with a pair of goals from Payton Pumper but it was all the offense New Prague had in the half as St. Louis Park tacked on two more goals to regain the lead.  Lily Fandel Thompson would break through a couple of New Prague defenders and fire the ball into the net and Fitzpatrick would wrap up the first half scoring 4:00 later to give the Orioles a 4-2 halftime lead.  

St. Louis Park was not done widening their lead in the second half.  Fitzpatrick would score the hat trick on a pass from Gretchen Fandel Thompson and Ridgway would score her second goal on an inside pass from Kate Grimm :13 later.  The Fandel Thompson sisters would factor into the Orioles next three goals.  Lily would score her second goal and Gretchen would tally for the next two, the second coming off a pass from Fitzpatrick.  Fitzpatrick would put her fourth ball into the net and Gretchen Fandel Thompson would get the hat trick.  Lily Fandel Thompson also recorded the hat trick on an assist from Madeline Anklam to extend their unanswered goal streak to ten.  The streak would come to an end as the Trojans Joslyn Brotemarkel would find the net with 3:06 to play.  St. Louis Park would wrap up the scoring on Margaux Pollock's goal with :28 to go.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 3-3 and will travel to Inver Grove Heights on Thursday, May 11 to face the Simley Spartans at 7 PM.  New Prague fell to 3-4 and will host a combined Mankato team on Saturday, May 13 at 12:30 PM.  

BSM Red Knights Win Battle of St. Louis Park

It was The Battle of St. Louis Park Monday night as Colin McGie's sacrifice fly scored Jack Anderson in the top of the fifth inning to lead the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights to a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Park Orioles at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.  

The Red Knights, the defending Class AAA state champions came close to an early lead in the top of the second inning when Conner Armand singled and Oriole pitcher Miles Marggraf hit Charlie Gearen and Jack Shull to load the bases but it would go for naught as Marggraf got Rowan Dodge on a called third strike and Caleb Koskie and a pop out to shortstop Andruw Vela.  St. Louis Park would bat around in the bottom of the inning as three runners crossed the plate. Courtesy runner Griffin Krone had a successful steal of home, followed by an RBI single from Josh Middleton that scored Vela and a bases loaded by Aaron Bilden scored Danny Montanez.  

BSM would come back with two runs in the top of the fifth when Easton Breyfogle scored on an error by Middleton and McGie brought home Anderson on a sacrifice fly to the left fielder Bilden.  The Orioles would go down in order in the bottom of the seventh as Andy Johnson, in relief of Koskie, struck out four batters in two innings of work, including two in thwe seventh.  

Koskie would pitch five innings and strike out 10 batters.  

The Red Knights improved their record to 9-3 and will head down I-394 to Orono on Wednesday, May 10 for a 4:30 game against the Spartans.  The Orioles fell to 5-5 and will host Orono in a game rescheduled from April 28 on Tuesday, May 9 at 6 PM at Derrick Keller Field.  

SLP Orioles Roll Past Eau Claire Regis Ramblers

 Saturday afternoon was Little League Day at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park and the little leaguers in attendance got to see an A+ performance from Axel Abrahamson as he allowed only one run in four innings pitched and hit a home run to lead the St. Louis Park Orioles to a 5-2 win over the Eau Claire Regis Ramblers.  

The Orioles scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, capitalizing on two Rambler errors.  Graham Sullivan led off with a double then Zach Helfmann hit his second home run of the season over the left center field fence to put St. Louis Park ahead 2-0.  They would add another run after Andruw Vela reached base on a fielding error from Regis second baseman Jamie Kostka and he would cross the plate on an errant throw by first baseman Cole Selwig after he made the putout on Geibar Silva.  

In the bottom of the second, Sullivan would bring home Josh Middleton to increase the lead to three.  It was Abrahamson, one of eight St. Louis Park seniors who would shine in the Saturday spotlight as he gave up only one hit in four innings.  He retired the first 11 batters before he gave up a single to lead off hitter Zander Rockow in the top of the fourth.  Abrahamson also help the Orioles cause with his bat when he drilled a homerun over the right center field fence in the bottom of the fourth inning.  

Alex Hokenson came in to pitch for St. Louis Park in the fifth inning and gave up only one hit in his first two innings of work, a single by Sam Knickebocker.  But he was erase on an unassisted line drive double to Helfmann at first base.  

Things would get interesting in the top of the seventh for the Ramblers.  Selwig led off with a single and advanced to third base on Patrick Callahan's double.  Peyton Loomis would bring Selwig home on a groundout to shortstop Vela.  Then it was Truman Lokken's RBI single that brought home Callahan to cut the Oriole lead to three.  That would be the final margin when Lockow grounded out to second baseman Danny Montanez to end the game.  

Regis assistant coach Rob Fadness is the father-in-law of St. Louis Park head coach Brian Kelly.  

The Orioles improved their record to 6-4 and will host the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights on Monday, May 8 at 6 PM at Derrick Keller Field.  The Ramblers fell to 11-1 and will travel to Cadott on Tuesday, May 9 for as 5 PM game against the Hornets.  

SLP Orioles Hold Off Hopkins Royals

 Two former Lake Conference rivals met Wednesday night as Danny Montanez's two RBI double in the bottom of the first inning led the St. Louis Park Orioles to a 3-2 win over the Hopkins Royals at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.  

The Royals had a serious threat in the top of the first inning when the had the bases loaded but Gabe Ottmar hit into a force play at second base to end the threat.  In the bottom of the inning, the Orioles would vault into the lead with three runs, capitalizing on two Royal errors.  Graham Sullivan led off with a single, went to second on an error by Hopkins shortstop Dylan Lindstrom then would cross the plate on Zach Helfmann's fly ball that went off Ottmar's glove in left field.  Then Montanez came to the plate and hit a two run double to score Sullivan and Geibar Silva to put St. Louis Park ahead by three.  

Hopkins would attempt to battle back as they stole six bases through six innings.  Drew Charney and Marcus Champagne would record two stolen bases in the same inning but none of them would lead to runs.  

In the top of the seventh, the Royals had a chance to tie the game without the aid of a hit as the Orioles would commit three errors.  Champagne drew a walk and Charney was hit by a pitch,  Ethan Sawatsky and Ottmar would reach base on fielding errors that would cut the lead to one.  But Dylan Strozinsky, batting for Dylan Lindstrom, grounded out to the third baseman Ryan Moran to preserve the victory.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 4-3 and will host a doubleheader against the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars Thursday, May 4 at 5 PM at Derrick Keller Field.  Both games will consist of five innings.  Hopkins fell to 3-6 and will return to action on Friday, May 5 to face the Eden Prairie Eagles at 7:15 PM at round Lake Stadium in Eden Prairie.  

SLP Orioles Wallop Waconia Wildcats in Belated Home opener

 After playing four road games in frigid April weather, the St. Louis Park Oriole girls lacrosse team finally had their home opener Tuesday night as Gretchen Fandel Thompson and Allish Fitzpatrick scored four goals apiece to lead the Orioles to a 14-1 drubbing of the Waconia Wildcats.  

The Orioles broke out of the starting gate early on Gretchen Fandel Thompson's inside goal :37 into the game.  she would be credited with two of the first three goals.  Her sister, Lily Fandel Thompson would score the second as well as the fifth goal.  It was the sophomore, Fitzpatrick who would put the game well away in the first half with four of the last six goals, the last coming on a free shot.  Lily and Gretchen Fandel Thompson would also contribute to St. Louis Park's growing goal ledger that would end up a 9-0 halftime lead.  

In the second half, Gretchen Fandel Thompson would score her fourth goal of the game and assist on the next goal on a pass to her sister Lily that was lined into the net.  The game would be in running time and the Orioles would jump ahead to a 13 goal lead as Kate Grimm and Anna McCallon would tally.  There would be no shutout for St. Louis Park as Natalie Thiesfeld would find an opening on the right side of Oriole goalie Carina Otos to put the ball in the net.  Even the St. Louis Park reserves got playing time with the game decided s Stella Krueger, who played in the junior varsity game would score the final goal with :13 to play.  

The Orioles improved their record to 2-2 and continues their home stand Thursday, May 4 against Apple Valley/Burnsville at 6 PM.  The Wildcats fell to 0-5 and will be back in action on Tuesday, May 9 at 7 PM when they host the Chaska Hawks.