SLP Orioles Come Up Short Against BSM Red Knights

 On a rainy Friday night in St. Louis Park, the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights scored four runs in the fifth inning as they took advantage of three St. Louis Park errors to lead them to a 7-6 win over the Orioles at Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park.  

The Red Knights led off the game with a double from Caleb Koskie, son of former Twins Corey Koskie but he was stranded at second base since Oriole starting pitcher Kristofer Hokenson struck out the side.  

However, St. Louis Park would bat around in the bottom of the second as they would take the lead with four runs.  Zach Helfmann led off with a double, Andruw Vela singled and Henry Odens' single drove home Helfmann.  Vela would cross the plate on Hank Bendickson's RBI single and Brady Walsh ground out to second base scored Odens.  The fourth run would come on Stanley Regguinti's RBI single that scored Bendickson.  

BSM would cut the lead to three in the top of the third.  Two runs would score on wild pitches and an error by St. Louis Park shortstop Ben Farley would bring home Ben James.  

The Orioles would add a run in the bottom of the fourth that began with Walsh's leadoff double followed by singles from Sullivan and Hokenson following a throwing error by Red Knight catcher Sullivan Lawrence to give St. Louis Park a 5-3 lead.  

The lead didn't last as BSM would score four times in the top of the fifth due to three St. Louis Park errors.  The only hit of the inning was a one out double by James.  James, Easton Breyfogle and Tomas Lee crossed the plate for the Red Knights.  

St. Louis Park had a chance to send the fans to their warm homes happy in the bottom of the seventh.  Helfmann led off with a single, followed by Vela's double that put two runners in scoring position.  But Odens struck out and Bendickson popped to second, leaving the Orioles with one out to go.  Peter McBride, the third BSM pitcher, hit Walsh and Regguinti to load the bases.  But Sullivan hit into a force play to end the game.  

The Red Knights improved their record to 6-1 and will host the Cooper Hawks on Monday, May 2 at 7 PM.  The Orioles fell to 4-2 and host the Wayzata Trojans Saturday, April 30 at noon at Derrick Keller Field.  

Prior to the game, a moment of silence was held for former St. Louis Park head baseball coach Dan McEachran, who passed away April 14 at the age of 67.  

Orono Spartans Freeze SLP Orioles in Home Opener

 The weather was chilly Tuesday night for the St. Louis Park Girls Lacrosse team's belated home opener as Celia Dahl scored five goals to lead the Orono Spartans to a 18-5 rout of the host Orioles.  

The game marked the home debut for new Oriole head coach Kate Pearson, who replaced Kyle Sweeney.  Pearson moved to the Twin Cities from Denver.  

In the first half, the Spartans got on the scoreboard :34 into the game on Dahl's first goal from the right side of the net.  Ryan Rasmussen would tie the game and Lily Fandel Thompson would follow :13 later to put St. Louis Park in front.  The score would be even at two as Dylan Collins fired the ball part Oriole goalie Carina Otos.  St. Louis Park would regain the lead on Meg Ridgway's goal and that would be the last lead for the Orioles as Orono would wrap up the first half scoring with four unanswered goals.  Two would come from Dahl and Bridget Kringen and Lila James found the net to give the Spartans a 6-3 halftime lead.  

The second half would pick up where the Spartans left off as the extended their unanswered goal run to 10.  Two more goals would come from Dahl.  Also entering the scorebook for Orono were Layla Ragan, Haley Holzschuh, Kate McGrann and Caroline Close.  St. Louis Park got a little life when Riley Ridgway's center slot goal, ended the Orono run.  But the Spartans would send the game into running time and utilize their bench that resulted in another six goal run.  Close would score her second goal of the game and the same with James.  Macy Rasmussen (no relation to the Orioles Ryan) would get some varsity playing time and it paid off in a goal.  Dylan Collins added two more goals to extend the lead to 13 and St. Louis Park would end the run on Meg Ridgway's second goal.  That was all the offense the Orioles could generate as Holzschuh wrapped up the scoring with 1:36 to play.  

Orono improved their record to 2-1 and will travel to Waconia on Thursday, April 28 for a 4:30 game against the Wildcats.   St. Louis Park fell to 1-2 and will also be in action on the 28th as they head up Highway 169 to New Hope to take on the Cooper Hawks at 4 PM.  

Weather Picture Grim for First Full Week of SLP Oriole Athletics

 Monday starts the first full week of regular season action for the St. Louis Park athletic teams but the weather picture doesn't look good from Tuesday to later in the week.  

Looking at Monday's forecast, the outlook isn't bad with high temperatures in the upper 50s.  The Oriole baseball team opens their season on the road at Chaska Athletic Park against the Chaska Hawks.  They were supposed to have their home opener last Friday against the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars but the game was postponed due unplayable field conditions.  No word on a rescheduled date yet. 

Now here's where the weather turns wet and cold.  Tuesday, the forecast is for showers and it could impact the girls golf team's season opener.  Not affected by the weather is the synchronized swim team's home opener since it's at St. Louis Park's home indoor pool.  

More showers are in the forecast for Wednesday, which is another potential baseball home opener, this time against Waconia.  But that could be postponed due to wet weather.  

It gets colder Thursday with snow showers impacting the girls lacrosse team's season opener against the Hopkins Royals.  The boys tennis team is also in action that day, hosting the Chanhassen Storm.  

The weather will still be cold the rest of the week.  Will the spring sports season finally begin or will fans have to wait to see their teams next week?  

ABC Cancels Three Prime Time Game Shows

 The prime time game show lineup ABC has airing for the last few years is going to get smaller.  

That's because the network has announced the cancellation of four of its prime time game shows.  They are Match Game, Card Sharks, The Hustler and Celebrity Dating Game.  

Match Game, hosted by Alec Baldwin was a revival of the long running celebrity panel game that was originally hosted by Gene Rayburn and for several years in a 1970s revival the top rated daytime show.  

Card Sharks was hosted by Joel McHale and was a big money incarnation of the game that was previously hosted by Jim Perry, Bob Eubanks and Bill Rafferty.  It would also come back in a short-lived version in 2001 that was hosted by Pat Bullard.  

The Hustler was hosted by former late night talk show host Craig Ferguson.  It was a trivia game that featured several contestants.  But one of them was designated The Hustler and given all the answers.  The object was for contestants to choose The Hustler in order to keep them from winning the pot.  

Celebrity Dating Game was co-hosted by Zooey Deschanel and Michael Bolton.  The original version was Chuck Barris' first game show and debuted on that network in December 1965.  

ABC said that the shows were canceled due to declining ratings.  

The good news for game show fans is that Celebrity Family Feud, Press Your Luck and The $100,000 Pyramid will return.  

Will there be any new game shows this summer on ABC or will there be other programs that take its place Stay tuned this summer.  

2022 Class A State Boys Basketball Tournament Preview

 2022 MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS A BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE

                         (Games played Wednesday, March 23 at Williams Arena on University of Minnesota campus)

11:00:  Russell-Tyler-Ruthton vs. Hayfield (Seed 1)

 1:00:   Cherry (Seed 5) vs. Nevis (Seed 4)

 3:00:   Sleepy Eye St. Mary's vs. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (Seed 2)

 5:00:   Sacred Heart vs. New Life Academy (Seed 3)

Examining the Field:  There's some top notch boys basketball Wednesday at The Barn and it starts with the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights in their seventh trip to state facing the top seed and defending state champion Hayfield Vikings.  The Knights shined in the spotlight in the Section 3 final as they beat the Central Minnesota Christian Blue Jays in overtime.  They don't have a lot of height as they face the defending Class A champion Vikings who are making their sixth trip to Minneapolis.  Their only losses this season were to the Rushford-Peterson Trojans and the Maple River Eagles.  Can the Vikings make it back to back Class A titles this season.  

For the first time since 1997, the Cherry Tigers have qualified for the state tournament.  They played their opponent the Nevis Tigers on January 18 and lost 67-45.  They also faced the Hayfield Vikings on February 5 and lost 78-65.  The Nevis Tigers, in their fifth state tournament, overcame a two game losing streak and have gone 19-1 since the calendar page changed to 2022.  Their only loss since then was on March 4 to he Cass Lake-Bena Panthers.  It will be a Battle of the Tigers in the day's second quarterfinal game.  Can Nevis continue their winning streak and set up a possible rematch with Hayfield?  

Another hot team in the field is the Sleepy Eye St. Mary's Saints, making the trip to Minneapolis for the fifth time.  The Saints have not lost a game since they were defeated by Minnesota Valley Lutheran on January 25 70-62.  They will face the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars, playing in their fourth state tournament and their first since 2014.  They had some great teams back then under the leadership of a former Bloomington Jefferson Jaguar Dave Montbriand.  Now Chris Anderson is guiding the Jaguars and they have gone 19-1 since they lost to the New London-Spicer Wildcats 58-56 on January 7.  Can Anderson lead the Jaguars to a title game berth?  

Wrapping up the quarterfinal session is the only first time team in the tournament. the Sacred Heart Eagles as they take on the New Life Academy Eagles, playing in their fourth state tournament and making their first trip down I-94 since 2004.  Sacred Heart took home the Section 8 title trophy with a double overtime win over the Cass Lake-Bena Panthers.  There is joy for basketball fans in the Woodbury area after the East Ridge Raptors were beat by the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders in the Section 4AAAA final.  New Life Academy is a young team with only one senior, Kollin Kaemingk and a 6'8" junior Erick Reader.  New Life has won 16 straight games since losing on December 22 to Plainview-Elgin-Millville.  Who will win the Battle of the Birds?  

There's some great basketball action coming up this week.  

2022 Class AA State Boys Basketball Tournament Preview

 2022 MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS AA BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE

                               (Games played Tuesday, March 22 at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus)

6:00:  Glencoe-Silver Lake vs. Minneapolis North (Seed 1)

8:00:  Morris Area/Chokio Alberta (Seed 5) vs. Minnehaha Academy (Seed 4)

                              (Games played Tuesday, March 22 at Target Center. Minneapolis. )

Examining the Field:  The Class AA portion at Williams Arena opens with the Glencoe-Silver Lake Panthers in their third trip down Highway 212 to Minneapolis but their first since 2001.  The Panthers bounced back after ending the regular season with two straight losses to beat the Maple River Eagles in the Section 2 finals.  They will face the top seeded Minneapolis North Polars, playing in their 25th state tournament.  The Polars have been one of the top Class AA teams in Minnesota this season and have won seven straight games.  They did play the Minnehaha Academy Redhawks in the season opener December 11 and beat them 84-81.  Is a semifinal rematch possible?  

Closing the day at Williams Arena a team with a long name but playing outstanding basketball, the Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta Tigers.  The Tigers, playing in their sixth state tournament held on to beat the Redwood Valley Cardinals in the Section 3 final.  The Redhawks have dropped from Class AAA to AA and are three wins away from the south Minneapolis school's fifth straight state title.  Minnehaha have rebounded from a 1-4 start to finish the season 16-6.  Can the Redhawks run continue?  

Over at Target Center. the Perham Yellowjackets head down Highway 10 for the sixth time.  The Yellowjackets were seeded third in Section 8, and beat top seeds Pelican Rapids and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.  The Warriors are unbeaten against instate teams with their only loss to DeForest from Wisconsin.  The Section 1 final at Mayo Civic Auditorium in Rochester turned out to be a dandy with Caledonia coming through a tough section with a triple overtime win over the Plainview-Elgin-Millville Bulldogs.  The Warriors have been successful in football with five straight Class AA titles.  Can they add one in basketball?  

Ending the day is the Pequot Lakes Patriots and the Annandale Cardinals.  The Patriots are in their fourth state tournament and first since 2007.  They have won five straight games and beat the perennial Section 7 power the Esko Eskomos 58-50 in the section final.  The Cardinals, in their 8th trip down Highway 55 to Minneapolis have not lost a game since December 16 when they lost 63-58 to the Albany Huskies.  One of the favorites to watch in Class AA.  

Next the Class A preview.  

2022 Class AAA State Boys Basketball Tournament Preview

 2022 MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS AAA BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE

             (Games played Tuesday, March 22 at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus)

10:00:  Hermantown vs. Totino-Grace (Seed 1)

12:00:  Mound-Westonka (Seed 5) vs. Mankato East (Seed 4)

  2:00:  Austin vs. Princeton (Seed 2)

  4:00:  St. Cloud Tech vs. DeLaSalle (Seed 3)

Examining the Field:  Opening up the Williams Arena portion of the state tournament is the Hermantown Hawks, in their third trip to state facing the top seeded Totino-Grace Eagles.  Hermantown is best known for its success in boys hockey where the Hawks wrapped up the Class A title two weeks ago.  But the Hawks, seeded third in Section 7 have a tough task ahead in the top seeded Totino-Grace Eagles.  The Eagles are in their sixth state tournament and they have been the top Class AAA team most of the season and have won seven straight games, including the Section 4 final against the unbeaten Columbia Heights Hylanders.  Can the Eagles add another trophy to their case after the girls basketball team won the state Class AAA title over Becker or will the Hawks pull the upset.  

For the first time since 1974, the Mound-Westonka Whitehawks are back in the state tournament.  They made it to the Class A title game and fell to the Melrose Dutchmen, led by Mark Olberding 38-32.  The Whitehawks were the number three seed in Section 6 and beat Orono in the section final.  The Mankato East bus drivers seem to be getting paid overtime for frequent trips down Highway 169 to the Twin Cities since the boys and girls hockey and girls basketball teams have qualified for the state tournament.  Thr Cougars are playing in their 10th state tournament and beat the New Ulm Eagles in the Section 2 final.  Will the Whitehawks play for their first state title in almost 50 years or will the Cougars finally bring home a title trophy to the Key City?  

The third quarterfinal game might be the last game for veteran Austin Packer head coach Kris Fadness.  He will be retiring after this season and he leads the Packers to their 34th trip to Minneapolis.  They did beat Mankato East in the regular season 73-71 in overtime and have gone 8-2 since losing three straight games in February.  The Princeton Tigers are on a 16 game winning streak since they lost to Orono on January 15 76-74.  An interesting out state match up to watch.  

Concluding the Class AAA quarterfinals is the St. Cloud Tech Tigers and a perennia power, the third seeded DeLaSalle Islanders.  The Tigers, in their new building in the Granite City are in their 11th state tournament and have won five consecutive games, including a 71-69 win over the Alexandria Cardinals in the Section 8 final.  The Islanders in their 27th state tournament and defeated the undefeated South St. Paul Packers in the Section 4 final.  Can DeLaSalle add another trophy to its bulging trophy case?  

Next, the Class AA preview