HSGN Turns Six August 1

 To quote the title of an AA Milne classic anthology of poems Now We Are Six, that's how many years HSGN will be on the blogosphere Monday, August 1.  

HSGN was started after the author's previous website examiner.com went out of business in 2016.  Since then, there have been more than 700 posts on high school sports and game shows, focusing on St. Louis Park games, since the author of this blog is a long time public address announcer for Oriole athletic events.  

One of the big highlights of the last high school sport season other than writing about St. Louis Park or state tournaments was the volleyball match between two perennial small school powerhouses, the Southwest Christian Stars and the Mayer Lutheran Crusaders in the Stars home gym in Chaska.  Before a packed house, Southwest Christian defeated Mayer Lutheran in five sets.  It was a very well played match and it showed that Minnesota, thanks to the perennial success of the University of Minnesota and Concordia University volleyball teams has become a hotbed just like hockey.

Now for some highlights on the high school front.  Larry McKenzie, who coached the Minneapolis Patrick Henry Patriots to four consecutive state Class AAA titles and added two more when he moved over to Minneapolis North, retired with 481 wins.  He also had a stint on the bench at Holy Angels.  

Kristofer Hokenson, who helped lead the St. Louis Park baseball team to their first state tournament berth since 1952 and will play next season for head coach John Anderson at Minnesota, is playing for the Northwoods League's Minnesota Mud Puppies.  They are the road team of the Thunder Bay Border Cats, due to COVID travel restrictions.  Hokenson the StarTribune Metro Player of the Year has played in 11 games and his batting average is .194.  He has struck out nine times in 36 at bats.  It takes awhile to adjust from high school to college baseball and hopefully he will have a successful college career.  

A sign that summer is  starting to wind down.  Fall sports practice begins in two weeks.  HSGN will have dates for St. Louis Park teams opening games around that time.  

The Passing of a Game Show Pioneer

 Before Wayne Brady asked the audience "Who wants to make a deal?" and Steve Harvey turned the syndicated version of Family Feud into a hit, he was the first African American to host a game show.  

On July 7, Adam Wade, who hosted the short-lived CBS game show Musical Chairs, passed away at the age of 87.  

Musical Chairs featured four contestants who competed to complete the next line of lyrics sung by Wade or a musical guest.  Among the guests who appeared on the show were a young Irene Cara, Search for Tomorrow star Mary Stuart and groups such as The Spinners, The Tokens and Sister Sledge.  Also appearing was kids show host Shari Lewis.  Let's not forget Derek Smith and the Musical Chairs Orchestra.  

In some instances, instead of contestants trying to choose the next line, they were asked a trivia question. 

The show was created and produced by Jerome Schnur and Don Kirschner.  The show's announcer was then WNBC-TV sportscaster, who also worked for NBC,   Pat Hernon.  

Three rounds were played on each show and the contestant who had the lowest score in the third round was eliminated.  Their chair was pulled back, just like the MTV game show Remote Control more than a decade later.  There were two different bonus rounds and in some shows, the winning player had their earnings doubled.  

Unfortunately, the show was a ratings flop and CBS canceled the show after 16 weeks.  But the show's cancellation wasn't all bad news for Wade.  He met his future wife Jeree on the show and in 1989, they were married.  

A footnote on Wade.  He made an early game show appearance in 1960 on the original version of To Tell the Truth after he had a couple of hit songs The Writing on the Wall and Take Good Care of Her.  He also worked with Dr. Jonas Salk on the polio vaccine.  

But for 16 weeks in 1975, Wade was a game show pioneer when he came on stage and sang the last line of the show's theme song "Let's play a game of Musical Chairs and give ourselves a round of applause."  

Busy Week for St. Louis Park Teams in State Tournaments

 St. Louis Park area teams competed in state tournaments this week as the Oriole baseball team made their first trip to state in 70 years and three Benilde-St. Margaret's teams took home medals.  

First up was the St. Louis Park baseball team's first trip to the state tournament since 1952 as they faced the Maple Grove Crimson in the Class AAAA quarterfinals on June 14 at CHS Field in St. Paul.  The Orioles took a 1-0 lead on Kristofer Hokenson's RBI that scored Stanley Regguinti in the top of the first inning but the Crimson, playing in their ninth state tournament, scored twice in the second and third innings to keep the Orioles from playing for the Class AAAA title.  St. Louis Park was plagued by three errors, including Ben Farley's error that would add a run to Maple Grove's ledger and the Orioles were sent to the consolation bracket with a 5-2 defeat.  

Things did not get any better the next morning at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis in the Battle of the Parks as St. Louis Park was routed by the Park of Cottage Grove Wolfpack 10-0 in a game shortened to five innings due to the 10 run rule.  The Wolfpack put the game away with eight runs in the third inning and Jackson Tessman pitched a one hitter and struck out nine batters to end the Orioles season.  But there is a bright spot to the Orioles state tournament run.  Hokenson was one of seven players nominated for the Mr. Baseball award that goes to the state's top player.  

If you're a Benilde-St. Margaret's fan, the news is better.  Both the boys and girls lacrosse teams and the baseball team competed in state tournaments and brought back to campus trophies and medals.  Starting with the girls lacrosse team,  the Red Knights beat the Gentry Warriors in the quarterfinals 8-7 and lost to their Metro West Conference rival the Chanhassen Storm in the semifinals 11-8. BSM was not finished as they faced the Rosemount Irish in the third place game and Maggie Gtaczyk scored a hat trick to lead them to an 8-7 victory.  

As for their male lacrosse counterparts, the Red Knights would win their second consecutive state title.  BSM had no problem with the Moorhead Spuds in the quarterfinals as Carsen Brandt scored four goals and assisted on two others to lead them to a 19-4 win.  Brandt would help BSM earn a championship berth with seven assists as they beat the Stillwater Ponies in the semifinals 15-10 and set up a rematch with the Prior Lake Lakers.  The Red Knights would win the championship trophy on Mitch Dokman's overtime goal 10-9.  

It all leads to the week's top highlight as the BSM baseball team took home their first Class AAA title trophy. In the quarterfinals, BSM capitalized on four Winona errors to beat the Winhawks 4-1.  The Red Knights battled back in the semifinals with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to beat the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks 10-8.   Facing the top seeded Mankato West Scarlets, the score was tied at three son the game went into extra innings.  The Scarlets failed to tally in the top of the eighth inning.  In the bottom of the inning, Tomas Lee singled and Sam Monk lined the ball off the left field wall to clinch the Class AAA championship.  Caleb Koskie, son of former Twin Corey Koskie pitched six and one third innings and struck out 12 batters.  

A big week for St. Louis Park area teams.  There were highlights.  There were lowlights.  And that concludes the high school sports season in Minnesota.  Fall sports practice begins August 15.  

2022 Class AAAA State Baseball Tournament Preview

 2022 MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS AAAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

                                  (Games played Tuesday, June 14 at CHS Field, St. Paul)

10:00:  Park (Cottage Grove) vs. Farmington (Seed 1)

 1:00:  St. Louis Park (Seed 5) vs. Maple Grove (Seed 4)

 4:30:  Sartell-St. Stephen vs. Stillwater (Seed 2)

 7:30:  Chanhassen vs. Andover (Seed 3)

Examining the Field:  The opening game of the Class AAAA tournament is a rematch of last year's Class AAAA final as the Park of Cottage Grove Wolfpack faces the defending Class AAAA champion Farmington Tigers.  The Wolfpack, in their fifth trip to state, have won eight of their last nine games and that includes a victory over the Rosemount Irish in the Section 3 final.  The Tigers, in their third trip to state have been the dominate team in Class AAAA this season and got a two hitter from Hunter Frost in the Section 1 final against the Lakeville South Cougars.  Two of their three losses have been to South Suburban Conference rival Lakeville North.  Can the Tigers remain in the hunt to bring their second straight title trophy down Highway 3?  

Next up is the St. Louis Park Orioles, in their first state tournament since 1952 battling the fourth seeded Maple Grove Crimson.  The Orioles were seeded second in Section 6 and bounced back from a loss against the top seeded Hopkins Royals to take home the championship trophy.  The key to the Orioles season has been the one two pitching punch of Kristofer Hokenson and Stefano Giovannelli.  Giovannelli pitched a no-hitter in the first section game against the Minneapolis South Tigers.  They will have a difficult task ahead in the Maple Grove Crimson, playing in their ninth state tournament.  The Crimson won a pair of one run games in the Section 4 tournament and beat Andover 3-2 in the regular season.  Can the Orioles set up a showdown with Farmington or will Maple Grove dash their hopes of a state title?  

The third game of the day pits the Sartell-St. Stephen Sabers and the second seeded Stillwater Ponies.  The Sabers, in their fifth trip to state, were seeded six in Section 8, beating the top three seeds St. Michael-Albertville, Rogers and Elk River.  It gets tougher for the St. Cloud suburb as they face a tournament tested Stillwater Ponies, playing in their 11th state tournament.  This season, they have scored more than 10 runs in 11 games and are 10-1 in that department.  The Ponies have a legitimate shot to end Farmington's title reign.  

Wrapping up the day's festivities is the Chanhassen Storm and the third seeded Andover Huskies.  It's the first trip to state since 2015 for the Storm since 2015 and they beat the fourth seeded Shakopee Sabers to head to St. Paul.  The Huskies are in their second consecutive state tournament and look to build on last year's third place finish.  In four section games, Andover has outscored the opposition 25-0.  It's been a great year for the growing Anoka County metropolis, winning section titles in boys and girls hockey.  Can they add another trophy to wrap up the school year?  

Be sure to drink plenty of fluids if you head to CHS Field on the 14th.  It's going to be hot and it's not just the action on the field.  

Johnson's Four Goals Lead SLP Orioles Into Section 5 Quarterfinals

 Emilia Johnson scored four goals and two other players recorded hat tricks as the host St. Louis Park Orioles beat the Osseo/Park Center Crocs Tuesday afternoon in the first round game of the Section 5 Girls Lacrosse Tournament.  

It was Johnson who began the scoring off a pass from Meg Ridgway.  Lilly Fandel Thompson would factor into the Orioles net two goals.  She would tally after she got the pass from Madeline Anklam and helped set up Margaux Pollock first goal to put St. Louis Park ahead by three.  They would go up by four on Johnson's second goal.  The Crocs would erase the zero from their end of the scoreboard when Presley Kraemer fed Lauren Rainerson on the left side of Oriole goalkeeper Carina Otos and she put Osseo/Park Center on the board.  Riley Ridgway would counter for St. Loui Park :20 later.  O/PC came back with a goal from Kramer.  Meg Ridgway and Emilia Johnson would round out the first half scoring for St. Louis Park and Rainerson would score her second goal with :32 left in the first half.  The Orioles led 7-3 at halftime.  

Meg Ridgway would pick up her second assist of the game as she passed to Kate Grimm and found the net :21 into the second half.  Over a minute later, Pollock picked up her second goal.  The Crocs would score their first goal of the half on a free shot from Maddie Ahlquist.  The Orioles countered on Alish Fitzpatrick's center slot goal.  Meg Ridgway scored from the right side for St. Louis Park and O/PC would get three unanswered goals, coming from Hayley Eikos, Ahlquist and Rainerson.  St. Louis Park would put the game away with Emilia Johnson picking up her hat trick on a free shot followed by a free shot from O/PC's Ahlquist.  Then the Orioles would surge further ahead with a three goal burst in a span of  :35.  Grimm's outstanding passing would set up the first two goals that came from Pollock and Meg Ridgway that would give her the hat trick.  Fitzpatrick account for the third goal when her shot barely crossed the goal line.  The Crocs would get a hat trick from Rainerson on a pass from Ahlquist but St. Louis Park would score another three unanswered goals.  Pollock, Gretchen Fandel Thompson and Riley Ridgway would put the Orioles in Friday's quarterfinals.  O/PC wasn't finished yet as Kraemer scored on a free shot with :18 left.  

The Orioles improved their record to 8-5 and will face the Armstrong Falcons in the Section 5 quarterfinals on Friday June 3 in Plymouth at 7 PM.  The Crocs concluded their regular season with a 1-13 record.  

SLP Orioles Advance to Section Winners Bracket Final

 It was the bottom of the order that put the St. Louis Park Orioles on top as the ninth batter Henry Odens hit a two run triple in the bottom of the third inning to lead them to a 4-1 win over the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers Saturday afternoon in the Section 6AAAA Baseball Tournament at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.  

Orioles starting pitcher Kristofer Hokenson breezed through the first three innings like traffic heading down Dakota Ave.  He struck out the first five batters and seven of the first nine.  He was supported by the St. Louis Park offense that scored three runs in the bottom of the second.  With one out, Graham Sullivan walked and Brady Walsh was hit by a pitch.  Odens came to the plate and drove both runners home with a two run triple.  He would also cross the plate on Ben Farley's RBI single.  

There would be no consecutive no-hitters for the Orioles as Hokenson faced the Lakers in the top of the fourth.  Andrew Fazio and Alex Barbatsis would hit consecutive singles but it would go for naught since Hokenson fanned Aidan Moran.  

Both teams would tally in the fifth.  Southwest got their run that started with Mason Olson's single and he advanced to third on Finn Joshi's base hit.  Joshi would get picked off at second base and Olson would steal home.  St. Louis Park would add another run when Odens got his third RBI of the game on a single that scored Walsh.  It would wrap up the scoring and the Orioles had a chance to widen their lead in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded.  Unfortunately, it didn't come since Andru Vela and Sullivan flied out to end the game.  

Hokenson, who will play next season at the University of Minnesota, pitched a complete game and strick out 13 batters.  

St. Louis Park won their fifth straight game and improved their record to 16-6.  They will play in the winners bracket final on Wednesday, June 1 against the Hopkins Royals at 4:30 PM.  Minneapolis Southwest had their 12 game winning streak come to an end and fell to 19-2.  The Lakers will face the Edina Hornets on Tuesday, May 31 at 4:30 PM, also at Hopkins High School.  

A No-No For Stefano

 Friday night was a big night for Stefano Giovannelli as he pitched a no-hitter, hit a bases clearing triple and struck out 11 batters to lead the St. Louis Park Orioles to a 6-0 win over the Minneapolis South Tigers in the opening round of the Section 6AAAA Baseball Tournament at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.  

Neither team would tally in the game's first three innings though the Tigers leadoff hitter Gavin Jensen reached base on a throwing error by second baseman Henry Odens.  But first baseman Brady Walsh threw to shortstop Ben Farley covering second base and tagged out Jensen.  

Giovannelli would account for the Orioles first run in the bottom of the fourth and would score on a wild pitch.  

St. Louis Park would break the game open in the bottom of the fifth.  Walsh was hit by a pitch, Odens singled putting two runners aboard and Farley walked to load the bases.  Up to bat was Giovannelli and he hit a bases loaded triple to put the Orioles ahead by four.  

Farley would come through in the bottom of the sixth as he stroked a two run double to score courtesy runner Thomas Moot and Odens.  

The game headed into the top of the seventh.  Could Giovannelli enter the record book?  He got off to a rough start when Tariku Westru-Ostrum would reached base safely .  But it was ruled an error due to third baseman Andrew Vela bobbling the ball.  Giovannelli would give up a walk to Justin Benjamin with two outs.  Collin Davis, South's starting pitcher came to the plate and it looked like the Tigers would end any chance of a no-hitter.  He hit a long drive to left field and Stanley Regguinti playing near the left field fence hung on to the ball to end the game.  

Giovannelli commented on how he got out of the seventh inning jam following the game.  

"Staying comfortable and felling comfortable."  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 15-6 and will host the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers in the second round of the winners bracket Saturday, May 28 at 12 noon at Derrick Keller Field.  Minneapolis South fell to 13-6 and will play an elimination bracket game, also on the 28th against the Armstrong Falcons at 11 AM in Plymouth.