Waconia Lakers baseball NEWS

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May 11/24
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Waconia Lakers

NEWS

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Posted Jun 1/15 - Waconia Lakers New Website

We have moved! Please visit our new website at www.waconiabaseball.com *Due to some issues, we will still be using this site to facilitate our 2015 WBA Softball tournament registration.

Posted Jun 10/14 - WBA Softball Tournament

Click on this news header or on the "SB Regist" button on the left to sign up!

Posted May 16/14 - Waconia Lakers New Website

Please go to the new Waconia baseball site (www.WaconiaBaseball.com) for news and statistics. You will be able to see full play by play when clicking on "Read More" button of the articles.

Posted May 12/14 - Lakers Win Big Against Tough Opponent

The Waconia Lakers had an early season test against last years CRVL North champion Winsted Wildcats Sunday afternoon. They had a stellar pitching performance from Josh Lenz and a huge day at the plate from Craig LaPlante. Josh Lenz was almost unhittable on the mound going 7 innings giving up 1 run on 4 hits and striking out an astounding 13 Winsted batters. "I knew there was a lot on the line not only playing Winsted, but trying to earn the player of the game and get a free buffet to Unhinged pizza," Lenz commented after receiving the award. The Lakers got on the board early after back to back walks to start the game a base hit by Chris Bullis put the Lakers up one. They added another in the second after Craig Laplante's lead off double. LaPlante wasn't done as he hit a lead-off home run in the 4th to start a 3 run rally and then capped it off with another lead-off home run in the 5 run 8th that was capped off by a bases clearing double by Kevin "Bulk" Bullis as the Lakers vaulted to a 10-1 lead, in which the Lakers went on to win 10-2. Ryan Naughton finished the last couple innings with 2 strikouts and an unearned run. Craig LaPlante had this to say after his outstanding performance came up short of the player of the game, "I'm happy with the win, but I am not happy with not receiving the player of the game and getting my free buffet to Unhinged pizza. I love Unhinged pizza, nom nom." Even though Craig was displeased, the Lakers were happy with the output of Ben Smothers who had 3 hits and scored 3 runs. Kodey Simon, Jeff Chrest and Chris Bullis each had 2 of the Lakers 14 hits. The Lakers will be playing a make-up game on Wednesday against the Cologne Hollanders at Lions Field in Waconia.

Posted May 5/14 - Lakers Win Season Opener

The Lakers won their first game of the 2014 season by a score of 7-4 over the Norwood Indians. "It wasn't pretty, but we are happy we got a W," Jeff Chrest said after the game. It wasn't pretty indeed as only 1 of the 4 runs that the Lakers allowed was earned. Evan Buhr started the game going 6 innings and seemed to settle in after a shaky start and poor defense by the Lakers. "I was just trying to throw strikes and it finally started to happen in the 4th inning," Buhr said. Buhr did strikeout 8 Indians and got the win. The Lakers started the game with a sac fly from a hungover Tom "Train Wreck" Lyons, which was followed up by another run off of an Indians error. Norwood came back to tie it in the bottom half, but the Lakers scored again in the second only to be tied again after 2. The Lakers pulled away in the 6th scoring 3 runs with 2 coming from a double from Laker legend Jeremy Salden. Ronnie Olson relieved Buhr the last 3 innings to record the save giving up one unearned run and striking out 2. The Lakers tallied up 10 walks on the day with 6 split between Salden and Olson. Olson also was 2-2 at the plate with an RBI. Kevin Bullis used his bulk to get 2 hits of his own in his first start in right field. "This was the first time my girlfriend was at a game, so I knew I not only had to look good but I had to play good too." Bullis said. The Lakers next game is against CRVL North rival Winsted on Sunday at 4 pm.

Posted Apr 28/14 - **Waconia Laker Beer Bust**

Come down to the Waconia Bowling Alley for all you can drink beer on Saturday, May 3rd.

From 6-10 pm. $15 gets you a cup and helps support the Waconia Laker baseball team.

Posted Apr 27/14 - Opening Day Postponed

The Waconia Lakers opening day game vs. the Cologne Hollanders is postponed. The game has not yet been resceduled. "I could feel the rain a comin in my knees," Jeremy Salden said about the postponement.

Posted Oct 21/13 - Postseason Awards

The 2013 Postseason awards have been handed out to the Lakers.

MVP - Jeremy Salden - This is Jeremy's first MVP award. Jeremy batted 333 with 20 rbi's 14 runs scored and one home run. "I have been waiting 34 years for this award. It really is a dream come true."

Pitcher of the Year - Evan Buhr - Evan's first year with the Lakers was a success. He went 7-1 and threw 57 innings with a 2.83 era and a whopping 31 strikeouts. "Such an honor being in the same list of former Laker POY's as Chris Bullis and Peter Brown, I just love baseball."

Sportsmanship Award - Kevin Bullis - Kevin's hard work and training regimen allowed him to be an easy choice to win the award. "I work out upper body for a reason and now I know what that reason is."

Posted Oct 1/13 - Possibility of New Laker Grandstand

http://sunpatriot.com/2013/08/15/wba-reveals-new-grandstand-plan/

Posted Aug 11/13 - Laker Season Ends

The Waconia Lakers season ended in a 6-5 loss to the Brownton Bruins. "The fat lady sung," Chris Bullis said as the Lakers walked off the field in defeat. This ends the streak of back to back state tournament appearances. The Lakers finished the season with a 20-8 record. "301 days until next season," Lakers star shortstop Ben Smothers shouted at the top of his lungs to conclude a respectable season.

Posted Aug 4/13 - Lakers Still Alive for State Tournament

The Waconia Lakers are still in the hunt for a State Tournament berth after the first weekend of the CRVL Regional Tournament. The Lakers started hot on Friday night vs. the Young America Cardinals. In the bottom of the first Ben Smothers and Ronnie Olson had back to back singles to start the inning. Chris Bullis then reached on an error scoring Smothers for the first run of the game, which was followed by back to back walks to put the Lakers up 2-0. After a YA run in the second the Lakers had a 4 run inning in the 4th started by a Robbie Smothers lead off home run. "Kevin Bullis showed me how to hit a home run at batting practice, so I give all the credit to him," Smothers commented on his first career Laker home run. The Lakers had rbi's from Nick Litfin, Olson and Train Lyons to go up 6-1 in the 4 run 4th. The score stayed stagnant as YA was baffled by Chris Bullis' pitching. "I was happy to get my first league win of the season," Bullis said. He went all 9 innings giving up one earned run and striking out 9. Lyons, Olson and B. Smothers all had multiple hit games. The Lakers outhit the Plato Blue Jays, but fell 6-1 Sunday afternoon. The Lakers got on the board first after a Jeff Chrest double, Ronnie Olson drove him in with a single up the middle. Evan Buhr was perfect through 5 innings until Plato had back to back hits tying the game at 1 a piece. The following inning a lead-off drag bunt led to an inside the park home run consisting of 3 Laker errors. The Lakers stranded a runner on 2nd in the top of the 8th and then a grand slam by Plato in the bottom half pushed the lead to 5 and Plato punched their ticket to the State tournament. Jeremy Salden led the Laker offense with 2 hits. "We hit the ball really well, but they kept making diving plays," Josh Lenz said after the game. The Lakers now play Friday night against Brownton at 8:00 pm in Glencoe. The winner of the match-up will be granted a state berth.

Posted Jul 26/13 - Lakers Sweep Saints

The Waconia Lakers were clicking on all cyclinders on their way to sweep the St. Boni Saints in the best of three series on Friday night. The Lakers got on the board early on a rbi single from Jeremy Salden in the first. The Lakers managed to score 4 runs in both the 5th and 7th inning to put the game at 10-0 for a 7 inning shortened game. Ryan Naughton threw a complete game 4 hitter and struck out 9 in his dominant performance. "I wanted to pitch well in the last home game; home games are the best," Naughton said. Nine Lakers had hits led by Ronnie Olson, who had 2 bone crushing singles and a double. Peter Brown also had three hits and 2 rbi's. Ben Smothers and Jeremy Salden each had two hits on the night. With the win the Lakers advanced to the CRVL regional tournament. "I'm happy and to win and get to go out to downtown Waconia," Train Lyons said cracking open a beer. The Lakers will play Young America at 8:00 pm in Glencoe for the first round of the tournament.

Posted Jul 25/13 - Lakers Win First of Three Game Series

The Waconia Lakers gave the fans what they wanted; a playoff win. The Lakers took the first of the three game series against the St. Boni Saints on Wednesday night by the score of 4-2. The Lakers had 6 hits and 7 lineouts to score their 4 runs. Ben Smothers led the game off with a strategic strikeout to get to first on the passed ball and later scored on another passed ball. The Lakers got their second run of the game in the 2nd on a Ben Smothers single to score Nick Litfin. The Saints tied the score in the 4th on three hits and a Laker error. The Lakers regained the lead in the 7th inning after a double by Litfin and a walk by Ronnie Olson, Jeremy Salden reached on an error by the Saints and a single from Craig LaPlante. "That hit was for all my struggling peeps in Detroit, holla" Craig LaPlante exclaimed pumping his chest. Luckily the Lakers only needed the four runs as Evan Buhr whisked away the St. Boni hitters. Buhr went all 9 innings only allowing 5 hits and striking out 7. "My arm felt nice, probably because of the painkillers," Buhr said of his lingering arm soreness. The Lakers were 7-7 stealing bases with Ben Smothers being 2-2 along with collecting two hits an rbi and a run scored. The Lakers next game is at their home park on Friday vs. St. Boni. They will look to close out the series with a win.

Posted Jul 22/13 - Lakers End Season as #2 in North Division

The Lakers lost two tough games over the last weekend of the regular season. In a non-conference game vs. St. Louis Park on Friday night the Lakers had a 1-0 lead in the top of the 9th inning when a ball was lost in the lights led to a 4 run 9th inning for St. Louis Park. Ryan Naughton pitched famously going 8 1/3 innings and giving up 2 earned runs, but took the loss. The Lakers only had 4 hits on the night and their runs were scored on Ben Smothers stealing home in the 6th and a rbi triple by Kevin Bullis in the 9th. "I know we lost, but I was pretty pumped to hit a triple and up my average," Kevin Bullis said. In the Lakers season finale vs. the Winsted Wildcats first place in the North Division was on the line. The Lakers threatened in the top of the 1st, but after Ben Smothers was thrown out at home the Lakers hit into the first of three double plays ended the inning. Winsted took the lead in the 2nd after back to back hits, a Laker error scored one followed by a 2 out single put Winsted up 2-0. The Lakers pushed their first run across in the 4th with a rbi double by Kodey Simon to score Chris Bullis who began the inning with a single. The Lakers struck again in the 9th after a lead-off single by Ronnie Olson and a sacrifice bunt by Bullis put Olson at third, Winsted threw a pass ball to allow Olson to get to third. Train Lyons crushed a dribbler down third to allow the game tying run to score. In the 11th, Winsted reached on an error and scored on a base hit to right to end the game. Chris Bullis pitched the first 10 innings for the Lakers giving up one earned run and striking out 9 Wildcats. "We are happy about getting to play more baseball," Bullis said referring to the #1 seed in the north getting a bye for the first round of playoffs. Kodey Simon was the lone offensive star providing 2 hits and an rbi. The Lakers finished the regular season at 17-6 and 15-5 in the CRVL to receive the #2 seed in the CRVL North Division. Their first playoff game is in Waconia vs. the St. Boni Saints on Wednesday at 7:30 pm.

Posted Jul 18/13 - Lakers Beat Brownton

The Lakers bashed out 14 hits on their way to a 9-3 victory over Brownton Tuesday night. The Lakers got on the board early as Jeremy Salden started the 2nd inning with a base hit followed by a Craig LaPlante double off the fence. Robbie Smothers and Jeff Chrest had back to back rbi singles to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead. The Lakers followed the 2nd inning with runs in four consecutive innings. Evan Buhr started for the Lakers going the first three, but took himself out of the game due to bilateral leg weakness. Ronnie Olson came in relief earning the win pitching 4 innings and allowing no runs. "We have some good and some bad memories from playing at Brownton (referring to the 2011 state tournmant) and we're thrilled to add this to the good," the Smothers brothers said at the same time. Of the 14 Laker hits Olson collected three and Salden, LaPlante and Chris Bullis got two of their own with Bullis adding 2 rbi to his team leading 18 rbi's. The Lakers have a showdown Sunday afternoon vs. the Winsted Wildcats to see who will receive the #1 seed in the north.

Posted Jul 15/13 - Lakers Win and Lose Over Weekend

The Waconia Lakers let Friday night's game slip away against the Hamburg Hawks. After tying the game in the 5th inning at two a piece the Lakers struck again to take a 3-2 lead after Eric Aeling's rbi single to center. Chris Bullis pitched well the whole game, but with 2 outs in the 9th inning Hamburg started their rally with a single to right. After an error by Waconia put runners on 2nd and 3rd, a passed ball tied the game followed by a go ahead single for Hamburg. Jeff Chrest then started the Laker 9th with a lead off double then advanced to third on a balk. With no outs the Lakers weren't able to get a clutch hit to score the tying run and lost 4-3. The Lakers only had 7 hits on the night and had three rallies squashed by double plays. Chris Bullis threw a complete game and only gave up 2 earned runs while striking out 6. The Lakers got an outstanding pitching performance from Craig LaPlante in a 10-0 shutout over the St. Boni Saints. LaPlante went 6 innings in the shortened game only giving up one base hit that was inches from going foul and stuck out 7. "I haven't pitched without a beard this year, which seemed to help my curveball and location on my fastball," the Detroit native said on his performance. The Lakers struck quickly scoring 8 of their 10 runs in the first 2 innings. Eric Aeling was the key contributor going 3-3 with 2 rbi's in the game. Robbie Smothers, Ronnie Olson and Train Lyons all had 2 hits with Lyons adding 3 rbi's. After the weekend split the Lakers are now 16-4 overall on the season. They play the Brownton Bruins at Brownton on Wednesday night.

Posted Jul 10/13 - Waconia Blazes Past Mayer

After a long break the Waconia Lakers got on track beating the Mayer Blazers 6-2 on Tuesday night. Ryan Naughton was steady only giving up 2 earned run in 6 innings and striking out 6. After an early run by Mayer in the top of the first Waconia answered back with back to back doubles by Ben Smothers and Ronnie Olson. The Lakers struck again with 4 runs in the 3rd inning with Jeremy Salden producing a rbi double, which was later capped off by a Kevin Bullis 2-run triple. "That was my first triple in 13 years," Bullis stammered as he awkwardly slid into third. Nick Huckreide added an rbi double in the 5th inning for his first Laker hit to bring the lead to 6-1. "Every at bat I would get the heebie jeebies because I wanted to get my first hit so bad," Huckreide described his monumental moment. Josh Lenz then came in and shut the door the last 3 innings to earn his first save of the season. Leading the way for the Lakers were Jeremy Salden and Ronnie Olson, who had 2 hits a piece. Kodey Simon reached base 3 times and scored 2 runs. The Lakers are now 13-3 in the CRVL and play at home vs. the Hamburg Hawks Friday night.

Posted Jul 1/13 - Smothers Brothers Crush Watertown

After an early 2-0 deficit the Lakers scored all their runs in three consecutive innings to take a 6-2 lead. The Lakers got an outstanding game from Ben and Robbie Smothers combining for 4 hits and 2 rbi's from the pair. My mom said she would take us to Ground Round if we had a good game and I really wanted a Long Island, they are fabulous there," Robbie Smothers said after the game. The Lakers also got a superb start from Evan Buhr. He threw a complete game only giving up 1 earned run and struck out 4. After 2 early runs the Red Devils could only scrap 1 more run across the board, due to Buhr's steady mix of off-speed pitches. The Lakers have a long 10 day break until their next bout vs. The Mayer Blazers.

Posted Jun 27/13 - Lakers Split Back to Back Weekday Games

Ryan Naugton was lights out against the New Germany Dutchmen on Tuesday night. He threw a complete game shut out against a scrappy Dutchmen team that had given the Lakers their first loss of the season. "I took this game personal, I would take no prisoners," Naughton fiercely said after his stellar performance. The Lakers got off to a 2-0 lead early in the game then plated 3 more in the 6th to go up 5-0 and added an insurance run in the 8th to take the final lead of 6-0. Dan Butz was the offensive juggernaut going 2-3 with 2 walks, 2 runs and 2 rbi's. Kodey Simon also had 2 singles. After the win the Lakers improved to 11-2 in the Crow River Valley League. A lackluster performance by the Lakers ended in a 4-1 loss to the Plato Blue Jays on Wednesday night. Two home runs by the Blue Jays proved costly as it led to all 4 of their runs. "I was like a waiter serving up bomb platters," Chris Bullis said as his only 2 mistakes were taken advantage of. Both teams had 7 hits on the night, but the Lakers were all singles and could only push 1 run across in the 8th and ended the game with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th. Of the Lakers 7 hits, Jeff Chrest and Kodey Simon had 2 each. Chris Bullis pitched a complete game and took the loss. "I can't believe we lost the one game I'm gone," Jeremy Salden texted from South Dakota. The loss makes the Lakers 13-3 on the year and 11-3 in the CRVL. The Lakers next game is at home vs. the Watertown Red Devils at 4:00 pm. The game will be broadcasted on KTWN radio.

Posted Jun 20/13 - Lakers Win Over Black Sox

The Waconia Lakers got a strong start from Evan Buhr and a steady offensive output to get their 12th win of the season. Evan Buhr gave up his only run of the game in the first inning. Buhr said, "I was nervous in the beginning of the game because my grandpa told me to never trust a Black Sox." As Buhr kicked his nervousness he was able to shut the Black Sox down for the next 5 innings. The Lakers got on the board in the 3rd inning on a leadoff double by Craig LaPlante who scored on a Robbie Smothers sac fly to center. The Lakers added 3 more runs in the 4th after three consecutive hits by the top of the order, hits from Tom Lyons and Craig LaPlante drove them home. Peter Brown relieved Buhr to get the save going the final three innings and giving up 2 earned runs. "My knuckleball was floating like a dragonfly and stinging like a flee tonight," Brown commented on his pitching. Of the 10 Laker hits Craig LaPlante led the offense with 3, which included 2 doubles and 2 rbi's. Tom "Train" Lyons also had a couple of hits of his own. The Lakers next game is at the Hamburg/Green Isle tournament, where they play the Montgomery Mallards at 8:30 Friday night in Hamburg.

Posted Jun 17/13 - Lenz Shuts Watertown Down

The Waconia Lakers got an outstanding performance from Concordia-St. Paul recruit Josh Lenz. He threw a complete game 6 hitter and struck out 6 against Crow River North rival Watertown Red Devils. "I felt like Curt Schilling when he had the bloody sock; my finger was bleeding, but I knew my teammates needed me," Lenz said. The Lakers got on the board in the top of the 4th after a lead-off walk to Ben Smothers, Ronnie Olson singled to right moving Ben Smothers to third and an error on Watertown allowed Smothers to score. Jeremy Salden then hit a line drive to right center to score Olson for the Lakers to go up 2-0. Watertown scored one in the bottom half of the inning on a sac fly, but after that Josh Lenz got the Lakers out of all of Watertown's scoring opportunities. "I told my daddy we would win the game for him because it's Father's Day, so I'm happy we did it," Eric Aeling said after the close game. The Lakers are now 11-2 on the season and play the Carver Black Sox on Wednesday.

Posted Jun 15/13 - Lakers Mistakes Costly in Loss

The Waconia Lakers bout against the Green Isle Irish went the Irish's way as they lost 8-2. With Ryan Naughton on the mound Green Isle got off to a quck 2-0 lead in the first inning with the help of 2 Laker errors. After Green Isle added a run in the top of the 4th the Lakers struck back with 2 of their own. Robbie Smothers started the inning with a double down the left field line. A Dan Butz single scored a run and then Ben Smothers reach on an error that scored Butz. Two runs was all the Lakers could get on 11 hits off of Green Isle starter Cody Hallahan. The Lakers could not find the big hit all night, instead hitting into 3 double plays. Robbie Smothers, Dan Butz and Tom Lyons both had a couple hits on the night. Craig LaPlante almost had two hits, if not for a questionable call in the final inning. The umpire was asked about the call and had this to say, "I may have missed a few calls on the night, but at least Craig and I will be lifelong friends." The Lakers next game is at Watertown on Sunday at 2:00 pm.

Posted Jun 12/13 - Waconia Beats Young America

The Lakers got back to their winning ways on Tuesday night with a 10-5 victory over the Young America Cardinals. The Lakers got on the board first scoring in the top of the 2nd inning on a sac fly by Jeff Chrest scoring Jeremy Salden, who led off the inning with a walk. After YA tied it up the Lakers scored in three consecutive innings going up 8-1, with the biggest hit coming from Tom "Train" Lyons hitting a moonshot over the left center fence for a two-run home run. "I only hit homeruns at Young America's field, period," Lyons exclaimed in the dugout. Evan Buhr got his 4th win for the Lakers and looked sharp until YA scraped a couple hits together threatening to make a comeback in the bottom of the 7th inning. Ronnie Olson relieved Buhr with the bases loaded and nobody out and gave up a hit that scored two runs but then shut the door for the rest of the game getting the save. The Lakers added a couple insurance runs in the 9th to take a final lead of 10-5. The Lakers ended the night with 18 hits getting 3 from Tom "Train" Lyons and Ronnie Olsen. The Smothers brothers, Craig LaPlante and Jeremy Salden had multi-hit games of their own with R. Smothers and Salden knocking in two runs. Robbie Smothers had this to say after the game, "I felt like we were mosquitos out there tonight and YA forgot their bug spray." Waconia is now 10-1 on the season and 8-1 in the Crow River Valley Leauge. The Lakers play at home on Friday against Green Isle, who is currently on top of the South division standings.

Posted Jun 9/13 - Waconia at YA Postponed

Waconia's game at Young America on Sunday has been postponed due to field condidtions.

***Game has been rescheduled for Tuesday 6/11 @7:30 in Young America***

Posted Jun 9/13 - Lakers Split over Weekend

The Waconia Lakers took down the defending Class B champs Friday night then followed up with their first loss of the season on Saturday. Waconia took down the State Champion Victoria Vics on Friday evening, in which Chris Bullis went all 9 innings only giving up 9 earned runs in the win. His bat was key driving in 4 runs on two base hits, including one double. Jeremy Salden had 3 hits with a monster Solo home run. "It was my first home run in 2 years because my back has been really sore," Salden said. It was a back and forth batttle early in the game, but the Lakers started to pull away until a Victoria 3-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs and the game on the line Chris Bullis got the last out of the game. "I knew my 140th pitch would be my best," Bullis yelled walking off the mound with the victory.

Waconia took its first loss of the season on Saturday against the New Germany Dutchmen. The Lakers got off to a slow start not scoring until the 5th inning with a 2 run base hit from Ben Smothers. The Lakers then struck again in the 8th, with two men on and a ground ball to third the third baseman threw it away allowing one runner to score, but the next runner was thrown out at home keeping the score at 4-3. In the 9th inning with Lakers on 1st and 2nd and two outs, Jeremy Salden looked to have tied the game with a single to right, until the New Germany right fielder sprawled out to catch the ball inches before hitting the ground to end the game. Steve Mielke seduced the Laker batters for all 9 innings caputuring the win for New Germany. "I felt like a kid again today," Mielke said after the game. Josh Lenz took the loss pitching 7 innings in his first appearance for the Lakers. Kevin Bullis was the lone bright spot supplying 3 hits in the game.

Posted Jun 6/13 - Lakers Have Hit Parade vs. Brewers

The Waconia Lakers bats came to life scoring 12 runs on 16 hits and had some help with 5 Brewer's errors. The Lakers started scoring runs in the 3rd inning scoring 2, 3 and 4 runs in consecutive innings, giving them a healthy 9-1 lead. Ronnie Olson led the charge racking up 4 hits on the night to go along with 3 rbi's. "Kevin broke my bat because he's so strong, so I used Craig's bat, which had a lot of hits in it tonight". Kevin Bullis also had a superb game getting 3 hits of his own including a double deep to left field. "I didn't have any diving catches, so I had to help the team by getting base hits," Bullis said with a smile. Nick Litfin, Chris Bullis and Ben Smothers added a couple hits of their own, in which Smothers had a game seperating bases clearing double in the 5th inning. Craig LaPlante had an effective start pitching 5 innings giving up only one unearned run and striking out 5. The Lakers have another string of games this weekend starting on Friday against the reigning Class B champs Victoria Vics. The game will be played in Victoria and the Lakers are thankful to have Chris Bullis getting his second start of the season.

Posted Jun 2/13 - Lakers Win Two Over Weekend

The Waconia Lakers won two Crow River games over the weekend moving their record to 7-0 on the season. The Lakers bats came to life in a windy day at Lions Field thumping the Cologne Hollanders 12-2 in seven innings. Evan Buhr went 5 innings earning the win, moving his record to 3-0. "I was just trying to keep the ball down, so they wouldn't hit one to the high school." The Lakers got a total of 15 hits including 3 from Craig LaPlante and Kodey Simon. Kodey was asked how he felt on his suberb game, "Good". Ryan Naughton went the final two innings to finish the game. Nick Litfin, Ronnie Olson and Eric Aeling all had multiple hits.

In the Lakers third game in three days they grinded out a victory against Mayer 3-1. Peter Brown was the star getting the start on the mound even without his wife's blessings. He went 6 innings giving up 1 unearned run. The Lakers got a couple rbi singles from Brown to go along with a Jeremy Salden rbi fielder's choice. Ronnie Olson relieved Brown going the last 3 innings for the save. Kevin Bullis had an incredible grab to keep the game in the Lakers favor. "My favorite part of baseball is making foul ball diving catches," Bullis said after the game. The Lakers next game is at Glencoe on Wednesday.

Posted Jun 1/13 - Lakers Take Down Cubs

The Waconia Lakers had not won their last 12 meetings against the Chaska Cubs and ended that streak with a 4-1 victory at Athletic Park in Chaska. Some timely hitting and outstanding pitching propelled the Lakers in the win. The Lakers got on the board first with Kodey Simon muscling a sac fly to right field scoring the fleet footed Tom "Train" Lyons. Chris Bullis got his first start on the mound and went 7 innings, but ran into some trouble in the 7th, with the bases loaded and 2 outs Bullis got exactly what he needed, a line drive right at shortstop Ben Smothers. The Lakers added a couple insurance runs in the 8th inning with singles from Kevin Bullis and Ben Smothers, who later scored on a Ronnie Olson double to put the Lakers up 4-1. Chris Bullis had this to say after the game, "My wife finally came to a game, so I knew if I didn't play well she wouldn't come back. I did what I had to do." The Lakers are now 5-0 and play Cologne on Saturday in Waconia at 4:00.

Posted May 29/13 - Naughton is Naughty to Saints

The Lakers pitched well and played crafty defense in their 9-1 victory over the St. Boni Saints. The Lakers bats were cold to start the game but heated up as the game wore on. St. Boni helped the Lakers with 9 walks in the game, with two of them coming back to haunt them in the 8th inning as the Lakers scored 5 of their 9 runs and put the game in the driver's seat. Laker newcomer Ryan Naughton was dynamic on the mound, going 7 innings and allowing only one earned run. He struck out seven without giving up a walk. "I had good command of all three pitches, especially my fastball" Naughton said. The Lakers got enough offense to help Naughton get his first win with 2 rbi's from Robbie Smothers, Nick Litfin and Craig LaPlante. Eric Aeling also had two hits and scored a run.

The Lakers play this Friday in a non-league game at Chaska.

Posted May 24/13 - Buhr and Bullis Go the Distance

Evan Buhr threw a complete game shutout and Chris Bullis hit a walk-off three run home run to improve the Lakers to a 3-0 record. Evan Buhr was masterful in keeping the Winsted Wildcats off-balance all night only giving up 4 hits to one of the top teams in the Crow River. He not only provided 7 innings on the mound he was 2-3 at the plate with 2 rbi's. Buhr ecstatically said, "It was just my day today, I felt like Felix Hernandez on the mound and Joe Mauer at the plate". It was a close game throughout most of the game as Josh Anthony gave Winsted a strong pitching performance as the Lakers were able to scrap a couple runs on the board. Once Anthony was lifted in the 7th the Lakers had a slew of hits getting 8 runs, which was capped off by a moon shot by Chris Bullis to end the game. "My wife told me I had to get a hit," Bullis said as he crossed the plate. Hopefully the Lakers can keep the bats alive for their make-up game against St. Boni on Tuesday, May28th.

Posted May 19/13 - St. Boni Vs. Waconia Postponed

The Lakers game vs. the Saints has been postponed for a later date due to field conditions.

Posted May 15/13 - Lakers Win 7-4 vs. Indians

After a rough start the Waconia Lakers had a big inning to take the lead against the Norwood Indians and put the game in their favor. Craig LaPlante got his first start of the season and allowed 3 runs (1 earned) in 2 1/3 innings. Waconia native Ben Smothers came in relief to pick up the win after the Lakers came back with 5 runs in the 4th inning. Kevin Bullis was the rally starter getting hit in his Schwarzenegger like bicep by a pitch. The inning concluded with Ben Smothers and Ronnie Olson hitting back to back 2 run bas hits. Kodey Simon cruised in the last three innings for his first save of the season. Along with getting the win Ben Smothers led the team with 3 hits, 2 of them being doubles.

The Lakers next game is against St. Boni at Waconia on Sunday.

Posted May 3/13 - Two Laker Games Rescheduled

Due to weather conditions the Laker's have resceduled two of their league games.

- Norwood at Waconia has been moved to Wednesday, May 15th - 7:30 pm

- Waconia at Cologne has been moved to Saturday, June 1st - 2:00 pm

Posted Mar 24/13 - Waconia Lakers' Beer Bust

The 3rd annual Lakers' Beer Bust will take place on Saturday, April 20 fom 5-10 p.m. at The Waconia Lanes. The cost is $15 for all you can drink beer. For $5 more, you can get your season pass for Lakers' home games as well. Either find a player to buy a ticket or pay the day of the event. There will also be a Bags Tournament for $20 per team. Come out and support your favorite town team!!

Posted Sep 2/12 - Lakers finish season with 2-1 loss

Chad Weiss of the Lastrop Lakers threw a gem of a game yesterday shutting down Waconia. A few opportunities were out there but other then Jeremy Saldens RBI single, that came a foot away from going extra bases for another run, there wasn't enough offense to walk away with a win. So we'll sit and watch like most other teams and start planning for next year. Finish 28-7 for the year, not bad, but of course you always want that one more win. Thanks to everyone for their support.

Posted Aug 25/12 - Lakers to play Lastrup Lakers Sat Sept 1 at 5

A match up of 2 highly rated teams throughout the year pits these 2 Laker teams against each other next Saturday, September 1, at 5:00 at Faber Field in St Cloud. Game can be heard on the Radio on KDUZ 1260AM and KTWN 1310AM, and also streamed online @ www.kduz.com.

Waconia defeated the Morris Eagles 21-3 and Lastrup defeated Jordan 5-1 on Saturday. This should be a great game. As this is a single elimination tournament this year, winner moves on to play round 4 on Sunday, September 2, 1:30, at Putz Field, loser goes home.Read More...

Posted Aug 25/12 - Lakers down Morris Eagles 21-3

When it's all working it's tough to stop. Everyone contributed to the 21-3 downing of the Morris Eagles from the first pitch to the last out. From Ben Smothers lead off on base by an error and then steals of 2nd and 3rd, to Justin Klingelhutz 2 lay out flat diving grabs in center field and come back in the final inning to Smothers drilling a grand slam to finish the game. The Lakers scored in every inning and everyone on the roster who could hit (the 3 draftee pitchers are not allowed to hit), either had a hit or had an RBI.

Chris Bullis pitched the first 5 innings followed Brian Groupmann, the draftee from Plato, and Pat Tschida, the draftee from Watertown. Excellent results from all 3 of them.

Next up are the Lastrup Lakers on Saturday on September 1, at 5 pm again on Faber Field in St Cloud. Lastrup and Waconia have been ranked in the top 10 in CLass C ranking through most of the season, often switching up on the number 1 spot. It should be a heck of a game.

Posted Aug 18/12 - Lakers beat Longhorns 5-1 move on in State Tournament

The Lakers dominated their first round game vs the Stark Longhorns with cluth hitting, great pitching and some timely good fortune, friday night in the 2012 Class C State Tournament held at Faber Field in St Cloud.

The second inning started with a Craig LaPlante walk but was forced out. Nick Litfin drilled his first of 3 singles going to 2nd on a bad throw and moving Eric Durkin from 1st to 3rd, Ben Smothers hit a solid grounder to the Stark third baseman who rushed his throw for an error and allowed both runners to score.

Now up 2-0 in the 4th, Litfin again started the inning with his second single, moved to 2nd with a Justin Klingelhutz sacrifice bunt and scored from there on a Ronnie Olson single. Runs 4 and 5 came in the 6th inning again starting with a Litfin single, a Klingelhutz walk, a Smothers' sacrifice bunt, and another Ronnie Olson single.

At 5-0 in the 7th the Longhorns finally got on the board against Laker pitcher Chris Bullis, as they put up a double, walk, single, then a sacrifice fly. But that was it. Bullis scattered 6 hits and 1 walk to go along with his 9 strikeouts for the game.

The Lakers now move on to play again at Faber Field on Saturday August 25 at 11:30 am against the Morris Eagles, champions of Region 9C. If they pull out a win they would play Saturday September 1 at 5 pm at Faber Field.

Posted Aug 12/12 - Lakers add Pitchers to State Line Up

Joining Steve Mielke (from New Germany) on the Waconia Lakers line up for the 2012 State Tournament will be Pat Tschida from Watertown and Brian Graupmann from Plato. Each of the 4 Region 7 State Qualifiers were able to add 3 pitchers from teams eliminated from the tournament.

Mielke was added prior to the regional tournament

Posted Aug 12/12 - Lakers to open State Tournament with Stark Longhorns

The Waconia Lakers, 2nd last year in the 2011 Class C Minnesota State Tournament, will face the Stark Longhorns an 11 time state participant in this years 2012 State Tournament.

The Longhorns are in the Tomahawk East League. Game time will be 5:30 on Friday August 17 at Faber Field in St Cloud.

Stark is a Township in Brown County close to Sleepy Eye.

Posted Aug 12/12 - Lakers take 2nd in Region 7C Tournament

It wasn't a great weekend for the Lakers but they accomplished a second place finish falling to to Green Isle Irish 7-1 on Saturday, then beat the Winsted Wildcats 12-7 later that night, then fell again to the Irish 4-0 Sunday.

Irish pitching by Mac Zachow and Pat Gullickson just dominated the Laker bats this weekend.

In the first game Ben Smothers led off the game with a towering home run against Zachow and things looked pretty good, but they were held in check with only that one hit till he left the game in the 9th inning. The Lakers then loaded the bases with a couple extra hits from Brandon Hebig and Nick Litfin and a walk to Dan Butz but even with no outs the Lakers were unable to get anything going. The Irish were able to put up 3 runs in the 2nd, 2 in the 5th, and 2 in the 7th, giving them a 7-1 victory.

In the second game vs. the Winsted Wildcats the Lakers put together a true team game with everyone contributing. In the 2nd inning Dalton Sawyer got things going with a single, stoled second then scored on a Peter Brown double putting them ahead 1-0.

That lead was short lived as Winsted rolled up 5 runs in the 3rd inning. In the 4th the Lakers now felt the heat to their backs but Jeremy Salden and Sawyer reached on errors and scored as Eric Durkin came through with a clutch single making the score now 5-3. The Wildcats weren't dead yet and put another run on the board so after 4 it was 6-3. In the 6th again it was Brown and Durkin getting on base with a walk and a single, Nick Litfin then drove in Brown with a single of his own, Winsted adds 1, score now 7-5, but the Lakers had all the momentum from that point on..

The 7th inning saw Ronnie Olson leading off with a double followed by an RBI single by Tom Lyons who also later scored on a fielders choice. Score now 7-7, and that was it for the Wildcats. In the 8th Dan Butz, pinch hit and delivered a single, Litfin sacrificed him over to 2nd with a nice bunt, Ben Smothers was hit by a pitch, Ronnie Olson walked, followed by a Tom Lyons Sacrifice Fly giving the Lakers their first lead of the game Then walks to Salden, another single by Sawyer, consecutive walks to Brown, Durkin, Butz,and a hit by pitch to Litfin and the Lakers now held a commanding 12-7 lead that they road to the end.

Sunday again vs the Irish the pitching was to strong for this day. the Lakers were only able to get singles from Chris Bullis, Dalton Sawyer and Nick Litfin spread out throughout the 9 innings. Chris Bullis threw a tough game but gave up 2 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th and another in the 9th as the Lakers dropped a 4-0 decision.

Posted Aug 5/12 - Lakers beat Red Devils Going to State

The Waconia Lakers qualified for the 2012 Class C Sate Tournament Sunday with their 8-1 win over the Watertown Red Devils during the Region 7 Tournament in Young America. The 8 team tournament started with Waconia's 8-2 win Thursday over the Carver Black Sox and will finish next weekend, also in Young America. Four teams from Region 7 will be attending the State Tournament held in St Cloud, August 17 through September 3.

Sundays win over the Red Devils was help by excellent pitching from Cole Hytjan ( 9inn, 1run, 4hits, 2W, 2HP, 6K), and great hitting from Ben Smothers ( 2-3, double, home run, 2 walks) and Ronnie Olson (4-4, single, 3 doubles, 1 walk). Waconia had 12 hits for the game with Peter Brown getting 2, Chris Bullis, Tom Lyons, Jeff Chrest, and Nick Litfin each picking up 1.

The Lakers will face the Green Isle Irish who beat the Winsted Wildcats 9-1Sunday.This game starts on Saturday August 11 at 1:00 If they win that one they will play Sunday at 1, lose and they'll play again Saturday night at 7.

Posted Aug 2/12 - Lakers win in 1st round of Regions

The Lakers behind solid pitching from Dalton Sawyer (7 innings, 1 run, 2 w, 2hp, 5k) and Eric Durkin, (2 innings, 1K), defeated the Carver Black Sox 8-2 in the first round of the 8 team Crow River Valley Regional Tournament. Ben Smothers and Ronnie Olson started the Lakers off with back to back doubles in the first as the Lakers jumped out early 5-0 lead and continued to add to it. Tom Lyons smashed a solo home run in the 8th inning to finish the Lakers scoring.

Posted Jul 26/12 - Openings still available in WBA Softball Tournament

There are still a couple openings available for the WBA Softball Tournament. Select the "SB Regist" located to the left. If you have any questions, please email us at WaconiaBaseballAssociation@Gmail.com

Posted Jul 23/12 - Lakers beat Orphans 6-4

The Lakers went to Howard Lake for 1 of their 2 additional games and behind solid pitching from Chris Bullis (9 innings, 3 er, 7 hits 1w), good defense, and 10 hits won 6-4.

In a nip and tuck game the Lakers finally took over with 3 runs in the 7th. Down 3-2 at the time, Pat Deering led off with a solid single, Brandon Hebig put down the sacrifice bunt moving the tying run to 2nd. Ben Smothers drilled a double scoring Deering, Ronnie Olson knocked him home and moved to 2nd on a Jeremy Salden walk. Nick Litfin poked a single putting the Lakers up 5-3. The Lakers would score an insurance run in the 8th as Eric Durkin singled, stoled 2nd, moved to 3rd on a wild pitch and scored on a Smothers sacrifice fly.

Smothers and Ronnie Olson led the Lakersin hitting, Smothers going 2 for 3 with a walk and sacrifice fly, Ronnie Olson 2 for 5 with 2 RBI's.

Posted Jul 21/12 - Lakers playing extended schedule this week

With the regular season in the Crow River League ending, and the Lakers receiving a first round playoff bye, they have scheduled 2 additional games this upcoming week.

On Monday the 23 they will travel to Howard Lake to take on the Howard Lake Orphans. On Thursday the Minneapolis Angels of Class A will be coming to Waconia. Game time Thursday will be 7:30 at Lions Field.

Playoffs for the Lakers start Thursday August 2nd, 5:30 at Young America vs who ever takes the No 4 slot from the Crow River League South Division.

Posted Jul 21/12 - Lakers win 2, improve record to 21-4

This past week the Lakers upped their record to 21-4 with a 14-4, 7 inning win over St Bonifacious and a 7-4 victory over the Prior Lake Mudhens.

Tuesday against the Saints of St Boni Peter Brown and Ben Smothers tossed a 4 hitter to hold back the Saints while the Laker offense took off with 15 hits led by Dan Butz, Justin Klingelhutz, and Eric Durkin each going (3 for 4). Brandon Hebig also had a great game at the plate going 2 for 3 with a double and a triple.

Against the Mudcats Eric Durkin and Ronnie Olson combined throwing a 5 hitter. Ben Smothers, Olson, jeremy Salden, Craig LaPlante, and Jeff Chrest each contributed 2 hits as the Lakers continued to roll with 13 hits for a total of 28 over the 2 games

The Lakers currently have 11 players hitting 300 or better.

The Lakers defeated the Green Isle Irish 6-2 Sunday wrapping up the Crow River Valley North Title, behind the solid pitching of Chris Bullis and Dalton Sawyer, and a 3 run homer from Craig LaPlante.

Chris Bullis pitched 6 great innings for the Lakers, only allowing 1 run. Sawyer pitched the final 3 innings, striking out 3 batters and allowing no earned runs. After scoring 1 run in the 3rd inning, Waconia broke the game wide open in the 5th. They scored 5 runs in the inning, led by a 3-run home run by Laplante. Laplante and Ben Smothers each recorded 2 hits in the victory.

The title allows the Lakers to take the No 1 slot in the playoffs and receive a first round bye before traveling to Young America for the final rounds.

Posted Jul 14/12 - Waconia @ Victoria cancelled

Posted Jul 13/12 - Lakers defeat Young America 9-1

Cole Hytjan pitched 5 solid innings for the Lakers, giving up no runs and only allowing 3 hits. Eric Durkin and Chris Bullis pitched the final 4 innings. Waconia scored their runs early with 4 in the 2nd inning, 2 in the 3rd, 1 in the 4th, and 3 in the 5th. The damage was done with an impressive 14 hits. Leading the Lakers at the plate was Chris Bullis. He finished with 3 hits and 2 RBIs. Nick Litfin, Craig Laplante, and Dalton Sawyer each contributed 2 hits for the Lakers.

Posted Jul 10/12 - Lakers add extra game Monday July 23

The Lakers will play the Howard Lake Orphans Monday July 23 in Howard Lake at 7:30.

The Orphans currrent record is 16-5 and play in the competitive North Star League

Posted Jun 30/12 - Lakers Defeat Blazers 10-6

On Saturday afternoon the Lakers defeated the Mayer Blazers 10-6 behind the combined pitching of Craig LaPlante ( 3in, 3er, 4hits, 2W, 1k ), and Eric Durkin ( 6in, 3er, 4 hits, 6w, 1K ). Hits were spread pretty evenly across the board with Ben Smothers, Ronnie Olson, Tom Lyons, Kevin Bullis, Eric Durkin, and Justin Klingelhutz each recording 2 hits a piece. Defensively the Lakers turned 5 double plays.

Posted Jun 24/12 - Lakers take 2nd in Hamburg Green Isle Tournament

The Lakers split a couple games on Sunday June 24 taking the first game 9-7 against the Mankato Mets and falling 7-2 to the Blue Earth Pirates in the Championship Game.

In the Mankato Game Eric Durkin took the hill for his first start of the season and threw a great game/ Chris Bullis came in in the 7th when the Mats started making some noise scoring 4 runs that inning.

Big at bats came from Chris and Kevin Bullis, each went 3-4 with Chris delivering the big blow of the day with a 3 run bases clearing double in a 7 run second inning. Nick Litfin contributed 2 solid hits and Ben Smothers, Jeremy Salden, and Peter Brown each delivered hits.

In the Championship game to No. 1 ranked Blue Earth the Lakers started well as Smothers led off with a double and scored when Chris Bullis grounded out. But the Pirates dominated all aspects of the game following that point. The Lakers only had 3 other hits for the night. Joining Smothers were Bullis, Jeremy Salden, and Nick Litfin..

The Hamburg Green Isle Tournament brings in many of the top teams in the State. While disappointed with the loss the Lakers were able to defeat some excellent teams in Nisswa, St Joes, and the Mankato Mets.

Three Lakers were selected to the All-Tournament team, Ben Smothers, Chris Bullis, and Kevin Bullis.

The Lakers have a busy week ahead with home games Tuesday and Wednesday vs. Glencoe then Hamburg followed by being in Meyer Saturday and then facing New Germany at home Sunday.

Posted Jun 23/12 - Lakers move on in Hamburg-Green Isle Tournament

Never Die might be a great motto for these Waconia Lakers. After 8 strong innings ( 5.3 by Craig LaPLante, 2er,7 hits, 1w, 5K and 2.6 by Chris Bullis, 0er, 4w 0H), the Lakers were down 3-2 in this 7 inning scheduled game to the St Joesph Saints..

But the 8th inning went to the Laker bats. Starting with a lead off single from Ben Smother and a stolen base things looked pretty good till the next two Lakers struck out. A wild pitch put Ben at 3rd but still with 2 outs. Tom Lyons was hit by the pitch so now the LAkers had 1st and 3rd with 2 outs. Kevin Bullis hit a shot between 3rd and short, the 3rd baseman dove knocking the ball down then threw wildly into right field. Lyon got up and went to third. A few pitches later Bullis stoled 2nd as Eric Durkin stood at the plate. In a great at bat where he fouled off a good 5-6 pitches to stay alive he finally got one he liked and laced it into left field for the walk-off game winning hit.

Great game. Hitting was led by Kevin Bullis 3-4, and Ben Smothers 2-4. Tom Lyons was 1-2 with a walk and HBP. Other hits were delivered by Durkin, Brandon Hebig, and Jeff Chrest.

Lakers play Sunday June 23 at 1:30 in Green Isle vs the winner of Mankato and New Prague. The winner then advances to the championship at 6:30 in Hamburg.

Posted Jun 23/12 - Lakers defeat Nisswa Lighning play Sat 5:45 at GI

Timely hitting and taking advantage of Nisswa mistakes led the LAkers to a 6-5 victory friday bight in Hamburg. in the 2nd inning starting with 2 outs both Peter Brown and Jeff Chrest reached onn Lightning errors. That followed with 3 solid singles from Justin Klingelhutz, Ben Smothers, and Eric Aeling to give Waconia a 3-1 head start.

With Brady Gibbs making his first pitching appearance of the year for the Lakers trouble came in the 4th as a hit batter followed by a single and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. Ben Smothers came in to get 2 sacrifice flies which scored 2 for the Lightning tying the score 3-3.

The Lakers came right back in the bottom of the 4th as Smothers reached on an error, Aeling was hit by a pitch, Tom Lyons drilled a single, Brandon Hebig hit by pitch, loaded the bases and with 2 outs Nick Litfin worked a walk to bring in the 5th run and score was 5-3. The Lakers added their 6th run in the 6rh with a Klingelhutz single ,stolen base, followed by error on a hot hit Eric Aeling grounder.

Smothers finished off the Lightning throwing the final 4 innings in this 7 inning game.

Posted Jun 20/12 - Lakers shutout Blue Jays 1-0

It was Tony Wischnack and the Plato Blue Jays vs. Chris Bullis and the Waconia Lakers going head to head. When the fans saw the matchup they knew they were in for a great game. They weren't diappointed.

Both Tony and Chris were honored on the All State Tournament Team after the way they led the Lakers to 2nd in last years 2011 State Tournament. Tony had been picked up as an additional pitcher in the draft after Plato was eliminated in the Regional Tournament.

If it was Yogi Berra who said " Good pitching beats good hitting.. and vice versa." he definitely would have repeated it following this game.

Wischnack had a perfect game going into the 6th inning till Eric Aeling drew a walk. Ben Smothers then laid down a bunt single to stop the potential of a no-hitter. Bullis gave up 5 hits and 5 walks
( 1 intentional) plus hit a batter compared to Wischnack's 4 hits and 1 walk. DIfference was that Chris came through with 9 strikeouts, many at clutch time, while Tony was only able to get 1 Laker batter.

The Laker run came in the bottom of the 8th when Kevin Bullis again came up with a big lead off single. Justin Klingelhutz came into to run for him. After missed attemts to move him over with a bunt Peter Brown hit into a fielders choice now taking over at first base. A pop up later made it 2 outs with Ben Smothers at the plate. Brown stoled second and Smothers followed ripping a double off the fence.

Great pitching from both pitchers. Great time for another shot form Ben.

While the Lakers only had 4 hits and 5 total baserunners on the night, 2 hits from Smothers (bunt single and double), Chris Bullis (double), Kevin Bullis (single), and Aeling (walk) they made good use of them.

Posted Jun 17/12 - Lakers/Hawks rained out till Wed 6/27

The Lakers and Hamburg Hawks tried everything possible to get their game in today but the rain just wouldn't hold up. Delayed by the rain the game started about 1/2 hour late and after 4 innings and a score of 0-0 it was forced to be called. He game will be made up Wed June 27 at 7:30 again at Lion's Field in Waconia.

Posted Jun 15/12 - Watertown rains on Lakers 5-4

The Watertown Royals scored 5 runs on 2 hits in the 4th inning which was enough for the win. The Lakers had jumped out to a 3-0 lead earlier in the game then came up with another run in the 8th inning to close the gap. They had plenty of chances to tie and go ahead but things always fell short.

Posted Jun 10/12 - Extra innings goes Lakers Way

Strong pitching from Cole Hytjan (4 innings, 1 hit, 2 walks, 1 K)Dalton Sawyer( 5innings 1 run, 3 hits, 1walk, 8K), and Chris Bullis 1 inning, 1 hit, 1K) shut the Winsted Wildcats down for a 2-1 win.

The Lakers scored early in the first as Tom Lyons drilled a single scoring Ronnie Olson who had walked and moved to 2nd on an error. The Wildcats tied it up 1-1 in the fifth as the performed a suicide squeeze to perfection. In the 10th ining with one out Kevin Bullis came in to pinch hit and drove a single off the Wildcat 3rd basemans . PeterBrown followed with a single followed by a Sawyer walk. Ben Smothers got the job done driving a fly ball deepenough into center field for Bullis to tag up and score.

Sawyer gets the win when Chris Bullis came in and recieved the save stranding Wilcat runners at 1st and 2nd to finish the game

Posted Jun 10/12 - Lakers Hammer Indians 24-4

Eric Durkin threw 4 strong innings as the Lakers jumped out to a 7 run first inning on the way to scoring 24. The first 5 of these 7 runs came in on wild pitches. Dalton Sawyer cam in to toss the final 3 as the came was called after 7 innings

Posted Jun 4/12 - Lakers sneak out of New Germany with a win

Wasn't the way the script was written but in the end the Lakers pulled out an 8-7 victory over the New Germany Dutchmen Sunday June 3. Down 7-2 after 3 the Lakers brought in Ronnie Olson who shut the Dutchman down for 5 innings. Scoring 1 in the 6th and the 8th brought the score to 7-4 entering the ninth. A hit batter and 2 walks brought up Jeremy Salden with the tying runs aboard and 2 outs. He delivered a double tying the game and was then driven in himself with a Nick Litfin single putting the Lakers ahead 8-7. Ben Smothers came in to shut down the top of the Dutchman lineup in order and the Lakers walked away with the win.

Posted on May 25th by CJ Stewert, the Waconia Lakers were ranked #1 for Class C teams in Minnesota. With a modest 4-2 record at the time of the posting, this high ranking is most likely due to the teams strong second place finish in last years State Tournament. Class C Rankings

Posted Jun 2/12 - Good week for Lakers; Win 2

The Lakers defeated the Mayer Blazers 11-1 Wednesday and followed that up with an 8-5 win vs the Winsted Wildcats Thursday. Jesse Maistrovich pitched a solid 7 innings giving up 4 hits, 2 walks, in their win vs the Blazers. Chris Bullis led the offensive attack with 4 hits and a HBP, including 2 RBI's. Ben Smothers and Ronnie Olson each also contributed 2 hits. On Thursday the Wildcats came to Lion's Field where Cole Hyjtan pitched the first 5 innings for the Lakers allowing only 3 hits and 3 unearned runs. Dalton Sawyer (2 innings), Peter Brown, and Chris Bullis finished up for the Lakers. Sawyer had a huge day with his 3 strike outs pitching and a 3 for 3 day with a walk at the plate. Bullis also had a good day striking out 3 in his inning of pitching while going 3 for 4.

Posted May 24/12 - Lakers down Brewers 6-1

The Waconia Lakers added 3 runs in the 8th inning and 1 in the 9th as their 2-1 lead till then was to close for comfort. Great pitching from Chris Bullis (4 innings, 0 runs, 4 strikeouts, 2 hits, 1 walk), Peter Brown ( 1 inning, 1 unearned run, 1 hit), Ronnie Olson ( 4 innings, 0 runs, 1 strikeout, 2 hits, 1 walk) held the Glencoe Brewers at bay. Seven of the Lakers 9 hits were supplied by their 6-7-8 hitters as Brown was 3-4 and Nick Litfin and Tom Lyons contributed 2 hits a piece. Ben Smothers again carried the defense with some unbelieveable plays.

Posted May 20/12 - Lakers defeat St Boni Saints 10-1

Coming off Friday's disappointing loss the Lakers continued to hit the ball led by Jeremy Salden's 4-4 and Chris Bullis' 4-5 performances. Jesse Maistrovich got the start and delivered 6 strong innings followed by Ronnie Olson in the final 3. Jesse takes the win with Ronnie getting a save.

Posted May 20/12 - Lakers fall to Brownton

The Lakers blew a 7-1 lead giving up 2 in the 6th and 6 in the 8th falling to the Brownton Bruins. The8th was one of those inning you tryto forget. The inning started with 2 hit by pitch followed by a couple of infield hits and 3 errors. Nothing during that inning went the way it should have. But then that's baseball. Final score was 10-9 Brownton. Chances were there for a Laker come back when Jeremy Salden singled to start the 8th and was sacrificed to 2nd, butthe Lakers couldn't come up with the big hit to drive him in.

Posted May 13/12 - Lakers drop 2-1 game to Watertown

The Lakers dropped a tough one, leaving 10 baserunners in scoring positiion, unable to get the key hits. It was a beautiful day in a fast paced game domininated by good pitching. The Lakers tossed Ben Smothers for 5, Peter Brown for 3, finished up with Chris Bullis in the end. An example of how the game went: Kevin Bullis added another key single to start the 9th inning, Eric Aeling and Ben Smothers worked walks and the bases were loaded with no one out. Watertown moved the infield up and got the ground ball out at the plate. Still bases loaded 1 out. A wild pitch looked like it would tie the score butthe ball bounced right back to the Watertown catcher who flipped to pitcher Jared Duske to get Aeling at the plate. Waconia still had runners at 2nd and 3rd but Duske came up with another key strikeout to end the game. Good pitching by Justin Kohls and Jared Duske getting the key outs when needed to give Watertown the win.

Posted May 9/12 - Kevin Bullis Leads Lakers in 9-0 victory.

Given his first chance to start in 2 years due to a torn labrum, surgery, and then a retear, Kevin Bullis had a perfect night. Four for four with a walk and 3 RBI's, but the highlight of the night was an amazing over the head, running then diving no look catch for a key out to secure the 9-0 shutout for the Lakers over the Cologne Hollanders. The Lakers tallied 9 runs on 11 hits while holding the Hollanders to 5 hits. Next up for the Lakers will be the Watertown Red Devils this Sunday May 13, 4 pm @ Lions Field.

Posted May 6/12 - Cologne Rainout Rescheduled

The Lakers Vs. Cologne Hollanders game rained out Sunday May 6th has been rescheduled for Wednesday night 7:30 May 9th at Lions Field in Waconia.

Posted May 5/12 - Sat May 5th Canceled

Tonight vs. the Chanhassen Red Birds has been canceled due to rain.

Posted Apr 29/12 - 2012 Starts out with win for Lakers

Using 4 pitchers the Waconia Lakers out dueled the Carver Black Sox 4-2 opening their 2012 schedule. After 4 scoreless innings the Lakers jumped out for all 4 runs in the 5th when Ronnie Olson legged out an infield single that amazingly scored 2 runners, Peter Brown drove in Olson and Chris Bullis later that same inning . Olson and Justin Klingelhutz led the Lakers each going 2 for 3. There was little doubt that pitching this time of the year was way ahead of hitting. New Laker Cole Hytjan started and threw the first 3 shutout innings, followed by Ben Smothers for 3, Peter Brown for 1, and Olson closed the game tossing the final 2. Smothers was credited with the win with Olson getting the save. Next up the Lakers take on the Chanhassen Red Birds, Saturday Night, May 5th, 7pm in their beautiful new stadium at their high school followed by a Sunday 2pm home opener for the Lakers as they face the Cologne Hollanders. The Lakers play at Lion's Field across from Waconia High School.

Posted Mar 12/12 - Party Time Saloon Sat 4/14 5-9

Celebrate the great 2011 season and look forward to 2012 Saturday 4/14/12 from 5-9 at the Saloon. Beer Bust tickets sell for $10. Purchase a Lakers' Season ticket for an additional $5. If your taste don't fancy a cold beer come anyways for the fun. Beer Bust tickets and Season Tickets available from any Laker player or coach or stop by the Saloon or CDP. Cost is $10 per or both for a total of $15. Thanks for your great support.

Guess it just wasn't meant to be.The year started out with 234 teams in Class C Amateur Baseball, on Labor Day only the Waconia Lakers and the Isanti Redbirds were left playing. Behind great pitching from Chris Bullis (12.1 innings, 1 earned run) the Lakers stood toe to toe against a very good Isanti Redbird team, but none of the close plays went Waconia's way and in the end the score read 4-3 Redbirds. The title deservingly goes to them.

The Lakers out hit the Redbirds 11-8 but time after time the Redbirds pulled a rabbit out of their hat with great defensive plays nipping Waconia runners as the potential winning run failed to count.

That's it till 2012. Lakers go from a 5 win 2010 season, to 29 in 2011 and 2nd place in the State Class C Tournament. Nice job guys.

Posted Sep 5/11 - 4 "Lakers" make State All-Tournament Team

Four Lakers, well 3 and Plato draftee Tony Wischnack (we'll call him a Laker), took home hardware for their exceptional play in the 2011 State Class C Amateur Baseball Tournament.

Joining Tony with a .375 batting average was catcher/DH Jeremy Salden, 2nd baseman Ronnie Olson .333 batting average who led the team with 10 hits and 3 doubles, and Chris Bullis .292 batting average, pitched 26.1 innings with an ERA of 1.03, 2 wins 1 loss. Tony finished with 2 wins, 1 loss, 1 save, and a ERA of 1.90.

Posted Sep 4/11 - Lakers to play for State Championship

After an 11-5 loss to the Isanti Redbirds on Saturday the Lakers came back Sunday to take a 6-3 victory over the Mankato Mets. This sets up a rematch with the Redbirds Monday at 1 in Brownton. If successful in the 1:00 game the Lakers would have to repeat the win immediately following that game to claim the State Class C Championship since this is a double elimination.

In Saturdays game vs. Ianti, Waconia spotted the Redbirds 5 runs in the first in a mistake filled game. They came back to make it 5-3 but couldn't stop the bleeding.

In Sundays Lakers/Mets game Peter Brown pitched a strong game for the first 6 innings followed up by Dalton Sawyer for for 2 and 2/3. Plato draftee Tony Wischnack came in to get the save getting the final out. Down 3-1 a big 5 run 8th inning by the Lakers was led by a key double by Jeremy Salden that tied the score at 3-3 then Craig LaPlante was intentionally walked . With bases now loaded and one out Nick Litfin drove the ball to the fence clearing the bases and giving Waconia the 6-3 advantage.

Posted Sep 2/11 - Lakers defeat Big Lake 5-2

Great team win with contributions from everyone give the Lakers a 5-2 win. Riding the arm of Chris Bullis the Lakers blew a great chance in the 6th to score but couldn't wait till the 7th when the damage was done. Down 2-0 to the White Caps, Craig LaPlante led off the 7th with a towering homerun, and following a groundout Peter Brown and Andrew Fredericksen connected for singles. Bunting for a hit didn't work and with runners at first and third down by a run now with 2outs Ben Smothers worked a 3-2 count into a walk. With bases loaded Ronnie Olson,the Crow Rivers leading hitter this past year, again delivered a booming double to left which cleared the bases and moved the score to 4-2.

Insurance was added in the 8th as LaPlante again delivered a big hit. Pat Deering went in to run for him and promptly headed safely into second. With 2 out Fredericksen again delivered a timely single, the throw went wild, and Deering raced around third scoring the insurance run making the score 5-2.

The Lakers are now 1 of 2 teams still undefeated in this 32 team State Tournament. They play Isanti Saturday Sept 3 at 7:00 again at Glencoe Vollmer Field.

Posted Aug 29/11 - Waconia Lakers vs Big Lake White Caps

The Lakers take on the White Caps from Big Lake this coming Friday Night Sept 2, 5:00 in Glencoe. The winner moves on to to play Saturday Sept. 3, 7:00 also in Glencoe vs the winner of the Nisswa/Isanti game, the loser of the Waconia/Big Lake game moves on to play at 1:00 also on Saturday, this time in Brownton vs the winner of the Fairmont/Miltona elimination game.

http://www.ludmedia.com/MBA/2011/brackets/2011-C-Bracket.pdf

Game will also be broadcast on 1310

Posted Aug 28/11 - Smothers Home Run in 9th lifts Lakers to 6-5 win

In a hard fought battle the Lakers defeated the New Prague Orioles 6-5 as Ben Smothers delivered the deciding solo shot in the top half of the 9th inning.

The Lakers were down 3-0 entering the 6th missing great opportunities in both the the 2nd and 3rd innings, but they were pounding at the door. In the 6th inning they put 5 runs on the board and things looked good as Andrew Fredericksen in relief of Craig LaPlante was throwing great stuff. Freddy entered the game in the 5th and shut the Orioles down into the 8th.

At 5-3 in the 8th the Orioles worked 2 runners on base and as it always happens blooped a bleeder into right making the score 5-5.

As noted, the 9th inning belonged to Smothers as he crushed the ball over the left center field fence putting the Lakers out in front for good.

Good defense, great relief for for 4 innings from Fredericksen and Tony Wischnack picks up the win pitching the final one and a third.

Next up: the Big Lake White Caps, winners of Region 1, game time: 5:00 at Glencoe Friday night, Sept 2.

Hope to see you there

Posted Aug 27/11 - Lakers win 2-1 in 14 innings advance to Elite 8

If you like excitement Brownton was the place to be Friday night as the Waconia Lakers defeated the Prior Lake Mudcats 2-1 in 14 innings.

Again Waconia was led by the great pitching of Plato draftee Tony Wischnack (9 innings, 1 unearned run) and Chris Bullis who picked up the win tossing the final 5 innings.

Both teams found themselves with chances to take home the victory as pitching dominated both sides. Prior Lake ended up fanning 15 Laker hitters, giving up 8 hits, 3 walks (2 costly in the 14th) and committed 4 errors, while Laker pitching fanned 13 Mudcat hitters, gave up 8 hits, walked 5, and committed 2 errors.

Prior Lake took an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd, but in the 6th Laker shortstop Ben Smothers ripped a one out double and one out later Bullis copied that driving home the tieing run.

The game was nip and tuck till the 14th when the Prior Lake pitching wheels started to feel the pressure. Bullis led off with only Waconia's 2nd walk of the night, Jeremy Salden sacrificed bunted him to 2nd, Craig LaPlante grounded out to 2nd moving Bullis over to 3rd. Nick Litfin then worked a 3-2 count into ball 4 placing runners on the corners with 2 outs.The Mudcat lefthander had already picked a Laker runner off and as the Waconia bench was instructing Litfin to hang tight to first base the Mudcat lefty threw wildly over and Bullis trotted home with the winning run. Unbelieveable.

The Lakers now move into double elimination and take on the New Prague Orioles, Sunday Aug 28, at 1:30 also in Brownton.

Posted Aug 20/11 - Lakers move into Sweet 16

The Lakers defeated the Pipestone A's 6-2 friday night in the first round of the Class C State Amateur Baseball Tournament. This is Waconia's first trip to the tournament since 1931, the only other appearance by Waconia.

The Lakers froced the A's into many mistakes and rode the arm of draftee Tony Wischnack for the full nine innings. Wischnack was picked up from the Plato Blue Jays after the Lakers secured the #1 pick of the regional draft with their 10-9 win over the Winsted Wildcats last Sunday. Tony gives the Lakers a great deal of experience having played in 16 previous State Tournaments including Plato's 2007 State Championship.

Up next for the Lakers are the Prior Lake Mudcats next Friday Night, August 26, in Brownton at 7:30.

Posted Aug 15/11 - Lakers win 7C Crown

Congratulations to the Lakers for their exciting 10-9 win over the Winsted Wildcats Sunday.They now move on to play Pipestone Friday night, August 19th in Glencoe at 7:30

Posted Aug 7/11 - Lakers defeat Wildcats advance to State Tournament

Following Saturday's 10-1 win over Plato, the Lakers advanced Sunday to play the Winsted Wildcats. The Wildcats had a Crow River season Record of 19-1. Their only loss was an 8-1 decision to the Lakers early in the year, the Wildcats followed that up with a 6-1 season win and a 3-0 victory over the Lakers that gave them higher seeding in the Section 7C tournment.

Those 2 losses were not enough to slow the Lakers down though. Behind the pitching of Chris Bullis, the Lakers down 2-0 entering the 5th inning scored their 3 runs on a walk to Jeff Chrest, followed by Ben Smothers being hit by a pitch, then a Ronnie Olson's walk. Bullis then drove a shot down the left field line scoring Chrest and Smothers leaving Olson standing at third. Moments later with 2 out Craig LaPlante hit one in the hole where the Winsted's second baseman made a diving grab, but his throw was off line and Olson trotted across home with what turned out to be the winning run.

Posted Aug 7/11 - Waconia Advances to State Tournament

With a 10-1 victory Saturday over the Plato Blue Jays and Sundays 3-2 victory over the Winsted Wildcats, the Waconia Lakers guaranteed themselves a place in the 2011 Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Class C Tournament being played in Brownton, Glencoe and Hutchinson starting August 19th.

Along with the winner of next Saturdays 4:00 Plato/Winsted game, Waconia will represent section 7C in the 32 team tournament. Class C is the largest of the 3 classes of teams. Waconia still plays Sunday at 1:00 against the winner of Plato/Winsted ( both games to be played in Watertown). Although they beat both teams this past weekend this game represents who goes in as the #1 seed and who is listed as the #2. Both teams will play Friday night Aug 19, one at 5:00, @ 7:30, in Glencoe against the two region 13C (Southwestern Minnesota) teams.

Posted Aug 6/11 - Lakers to Play Wildcats for trip to State

The Lakers looked pretty good Saturday as they defeated the Plato Blue Jays 10-1 and now move on to Sunday's 4:00 game vs. the Winsted Wildcats in Watertown. Craig LaPlante pitched a gem of a game for 7 innings and Andrew Fredericksen finshed it off. Hits came in bunches for the Lakers and they took advantage of a couple Plato mistakes to take control of the game.

With the Waconia pitchers tossing a 3 hitter, the Laker bats also came to life with 3 hits from Nick Litfin, Ben Smothers and Chris Bullis. Jeff Chrest had 2 hits and 2 walks.

Posted Aug 1/11 - Lakers to play at 1:00 Saturday Afternoon

Following the loss to the Winsted Wildcats, Sunday afternoon, the Lakers drafted Jared Duske of the Watertown Red Devils. Waconia recieved the 2nd seed in the Crow River Valley League (CRVL)-North, and now move on to play the 1st seed from the CRVL-South on Saturday, Aug 6 at 1:00 in Watertown. The CRVL-South seeding game between the Brownton Bruins and Plato Blue Jays is scheduled for 7:30 on Monday 8/1 @ Barney Tadsen Field in Brownton. The winner of that game will be designated the home team on Saturday vs. the Lakers, while the loser will face the Wildcats at 4:00. All 4 teams will play again on Sunday 8/7, with the matchups and times TBD. Hope to see you there!

Posted Aug 1/11 - Lakers lose CRVL-North seeding game to the Wildcats

In a well played game Sunday afternoon the Winsted Wildcats defeated the Lakers 3-0. The Wildcats were able to scratch together a couple of runs, while the Lakers were unable to take advantage of their opportunities.

Andrew Fredricksen started and took the loss for the Lakers, surrendering only one run in 5 1/3 innings to the potent Wildcat lineup. Winsted scored their first run by taking advantage of a line drive single that turned into a triple after bouncing awkwardly past right-fielder Peter Brown. Brady Gibbs relieved Fredricksen, and after recording the first 2 outs of the 7th inning, gave up a single and a walk, both of which scored when Josh Anthony's looping single landed just in front of the diving Brown.

Waconia had their chances also, with runners on base often during the game but were unable to get a clutch hit to knock them in. "Give the Winsted pitchers (Tony and Joe Kley), their due" said Laker coach Mike Bullis, "they came through with the big outs throughout the game. Winsted put themselves in a position to get the breaks".

Ronnie Olson again led the Lakers with 2 hits. The Lakers were out hit 5 hits to 7 for the Wildcats.

Posted Jul 29/11 - Lakers Complete Sweep of Red Devils

The Waconia Lakers are flying on all 8 cylinders defeating the Red Devils 8-0 Friday night at Lion's Field. Craig LaPlante went 7 strong followed by Andy Fredericksen and Dalton Sawyer, each for one inning. This is Waconia's third shutout in the 4 playoffs games having outscored their opponents 33-2.

Next up is going to be tough, going against the Winsted Wildcats. Waconia did give Winsted their only Crow River loss this year 8-1, but lost in the second meeting 6-1. They'll face off Sunday July 31, at 2:00 in Winsted. Both the Lakers and Wildcats are guaranteed Regional births next weekend in Watertown, This game in Winsted determines who goes in as the first seed and who is the 2nd seed from the North Crow River.Valley Conference.

Posted Jul 27/11 - Lakers win first game in best of 3

The Waconia Lakers defeated the Watertown Red Devils 5-0 behind the solid pitching of Chris Bullis and great defense .Bullis tossed the first 8 innings of the shutout and Dalton Sawyer came in to close out the 9th.

Next game will be Friday night, July 29, 7:30 at Lion's field. If the Lakers are victorious a future one game playoff game will be played against the winner of the Winsted/Glencoe series to determine seating for Regions.

If the Red Devils win on Friday night a third game will be played Sunday July 31, 2:00 again at Lions Field in Waconia.

Posted Jul 24/11 - Lakers move into second round of playoffs

The Lakers move on to play the Watertown Red Devils in the best 2 out of 3 series starting Wednesday night, July 27 @ 7:30 in Watertown. Game 2 will be played Friday night, July 29 @ 7:30, Waconia's Lions Field. A game 3 would be played Sunday July 31 @ 2:00 also at Waconia's Lions Field if needed.

The Lakers come off 2 playoff wins over the New Germany Dutchmen while the Red Devils defeated the Mayer Blaze also in consecutive games.

Posted Jul 24/11 - Ronnie Olson wins Crow River Valley Batting Crown

Congratulations to Lakers second baseman Ronnie Olson for winning the Crow River Valley Leagues batting average crown with a final .469 average. Ronnie had 81 at bats with 38 hits. His 38 hits were also the most for any player in the Crow and he was second in the league both with 9 doubles, and 27 RBIs.

Posted Jul 23/11 - Lakers end Dutchmen's Season

The Waconia Lakers played the New Germany Dutchmen on Wednesday and Friday with the winner moving on in the Crow River Valleys North Division and the Lakers came out successful in both games. Wednesday night although the game was played at Lion's Field, Waconia took the role of the visiting team (New Germany doesn't have lights to hold a night game), so Ben Smothers lead off home run started the fireworks, later Ronnie Olson also delivered a blast and the Lakers were on ther way to an 11-0 victory.

With the bats working, Waconia played flawless defense and the pitching of Chris Bullis was outstanding. He gave up 1 hit over 6 innings, that batter was thrown out trying to steal 2nd by Jeff Chrest moments later. Ben Smother came in to get some work in the 7th. Altogether the Lakers faced the minimum 21 batters from the Dutchmen's offense.

Friday night New Germany hung close for half of the game but in the end the Lakers took home the victory with a 9-2 win. Andrew Fredericksen pitched an impressive 4 inning to hold the game tight at 0-0. Brady Gibbs, Craig LaPlante, and Dalton Sawyer came in relief with Gibbs picking up the victory.

Posted Jul 18/11 - Lakers begin playoff run

The Lakers will host New Germany in a best of 3 series starting Wednesday July 20 followed by a Friday night game July 22. Both games will start at 7:30 and be held at Lion's Field here in Waconia.

If needed a third game would be held Sunday July 24 again at Lion's Field at 2:00.

If good pitching and defense wins games then I would guess the reverse has to be said also.

Thursday, July 14, the Lakers rode into a wet Watertown field and behind the strong pitching of Chris Bullis (6 innings, 1 unearned run), Jesse Maistrovich (2 innings), and Ben Smothers (1 inning) flew to a 10-1 win over the Waterton Red Devils.

The hit parade was spread pretty evenly across the board but the big bat again belong to Ronnie Olson as he went 4 for 5.

Sunday, July 17, the Red Devils came to a hot, steamy Lion's Field and for a couple of innings nothing would go right. Waconia jumped off to a quick 1-0 first inning lead and behind the solid pitching of Brady Gibbs who came into the game with a 5-0 record things seemed in control. In the 2nd though, a sure double play ball was thrown into the outfield and the Red Devils jumped on this mistake and put 3 runs on the board.

As Waconia scratched back to get to a 3-2 score Watertown in the 4th put up 6 more runs on 3 hits, 2 walks, an error, and a hits batsman. Watertown now had 9 runs on a total of 6 hits and although the Lakers continued to put runners on base with 15 hits they could never come up with the big inning to match the Red Devils.

The 2-3-4 hitters for the Lakers, Ronnie Olson, Jeremy Salden, and Craig LaPlante each had 3 hits for the day, LaPlantes' being 3 straight doubles

Posted Jul 11/11 - Lakers shutout New Germany 5-0

Brady Gibbs pitched another spectacular game for the Lakers. He threw 7 scoreless innings and gave up just 4 hits. Ben Smothers and Ronnie Olson each pitch an inning to combine for the shutout.

Offensively, Olson led the charge for the Lakers with 2 hits. Jeremy Salden crushed his 3rd home run of the year.

The victory gives the Lakers a 15-3 record on the season. They finish the regular season with two games against Watertown. Thursday will be at Watertown and Sunday will be in Waconia.

Posted Jul 10/11 - The Lakers win 7-5 on an amazing comeback

Down 5-0 in the 8th inning on a hot Saturday afternoon without their 1 and 2 hitters, it appeared as though the Lakers were close to defeat. Fortunately, Waconia's bats woke up just in time.

The top of the 8th inning started out promising with a single by Jeff Chrest. However, the next batter grounded into a 6-4-3 double play (the 4th of the day). With 2 outs and no one on base, the Lakers fought for two runs on four straight hits by Justin Klinglehutz, Nick Litfin, Chris Bullis and Jeremy Salden.

Going into the 9th inning down 5-2, the afternoon was still looking grim. However, the Lakers showed tremendous resilience in the 9th. They were able to score 5 runs off of three different Hamburg pitchers. The rally was started by the bottom of the lineup; the 7-8-9 hitters all reached base and scored runs. Brandon Hebig had a big day, going 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Waconia added an insurance run when Litfin stole home to put the Lakers up 7-5 going into the bottom of the ninth.

Chris Bullis pitched the final inning to record the save.

Posted Jul 8/11 - Lakers lose to Winsted 6-1

The Lakers lost their third conference game thursday night, as the Winsted Wildcats defeated Waconia 6-1.

Chris Bullis started his first game of the year for the Lakers, pitching 7 innings and giving up 4 earned runs. The Lakers defense didn't help much. They committed 4 costly errors behind Bullis.

Tony Kley shut down Waconia, giving up just 1 run and 5 hits. Ronnie Olson scored the only run for the Lakers.

The game originally scheduled for Friday, May 13th has been rescheduled for Thursday, July 14th.

Posted Jul 6/11 - Olson leads Waconia over Cologne 9-1

Ronnie Olson was the MVP for the Lakers both at the plate and on the mound in Waconia's 9-1 victory over Cologne. At the plate, he was 4-5 with 4 RBIs. On the mound, he gave up just one run in seven solid innings. Olson scattered 6 hits and struck out 12 Cologne batters.

The Lakers started the scoring in the 3rd inning with 2 runs. They followed with 4 in the fourth, 1 in the fifth, and 2 in the sixth to account for their 9 runs. Ben Smothers and Nick Litfin each batted 2-4 on the day, combining for 5 runs. Brandon Hebig also scored two runs.

Chris Bullis and Craig Laplante pitched the final two innings for the Lakers, each striking out 2 batters.

Posted Jul 3/11 - Young America defeats Lakers 7-6 in 11 innings

The Lakers lost a tough game Thursday night in Young America. They jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, but that lead did not last long. Young America scored two runs in the bottom of the inning. The Cardinals jumped out to a 5-2 lead after scoring a run in the sixth and seventh. Waconia battled back to take a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh. Young America answered right back in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at 6.

The next three innings were scoreless, as Ben Smothers pitched effectively for the Lakers. Meanwhile, a right-handed side-armer from Young America shut down Waconia. The Cardinals won the game in the bottom of the 11th inning with three straight hits.

Jeremy Salden led the Lakers with two hits, including an opposite field solo home run. Jeff Chrest and Eric Aeling also had two hits for Waconia.

The Lakers are now 12-2 in their division, one half game behind Winsted.

Posted Jul 2/11 - Craig Laplante and the Lakers shut out Brownton 2-0

After a couple tough losses in the Miller Lite Invitational last weekend, the Waconia Lakers bounced back with a 2-0 victory over the Brownton Bruins behind a brilliant pitching performance of Craig Laplante.

Laplante pitched a complete game shutout for the Lakers, giving up just two hits and striking out 15 Bruin hitters. The most impressive part about Laplante's performance was that his longest previous outing of the season was just five innings. Many times in the dugout throughout the later innings, Waconia players and coacher asked Laplante whether he was done pitching or not. Repeatedly, Laplante answered "I'm fine" and "I'm not coming out." He was on a mission to complete the whole game. Laplante dominated with his great fastball and nasty slider.

The Lakers' offense put a run on the board in the top of the fourth inning. After a lead off walk to Jeremy Salden, Craig Laplante drilled a single to the left-center gap. With Salden at third and one out, Nick Litfin hit an RBI groundout to the first baseman. Litfin and Salden had big days for the Lakers, combining for four hits and two runs.

Waconia added a run in the top of the eighth inning with the most exciting play in all of sports. With Litfin at third and one out, the Lakers executed a perfect suicide squeeze. Eric Aeling layed down a great bunt, scoring Litfin from third. That gave the Lakers a 2-0 lead, which was more than enough for Laplante.

The division will most likely be decided on Thursday night, when Waconia travels to Winsted. The Lakers won the first meeting between these teams 8-1.

Posted Jun 25/11 - Lakers Drop 2 at Miller Lite Classic

It was either a day of poor hitting or good pitching that foiled the Waconia Lakers as they dropped a pair of tough games Saturday in the Miller Lite Classic hosted by Hamburg and Green Isle.

The first game ended with a walk off single as the Blue Earth Pirates scratched out a 1-0 victory. Blue Earth has appeared in the State Tournament the past 8 years and their experience and composure showed in this well played game.

Game 2 came a couple hours later and the Lakers still hadn't come to life as they were handed a 4-2 loss by the New Prague Orioles.

Up next for the Lakers are away games, Tuesday vs the Brownton Bruins and Thursday in Young America. The Brownton game has been rained out the previous 3 times scheduled.

Posted Jun 23/11 - Chanhassen Red Birds Cancel tonights game

Game cancelled due to wet field conditions.

The Waconia Lakers won their sixth straight game Sunday, defeating the Mayer Blazers 13-1. Most of the runs came late in the game for the Lakers, as they scored four runs in the seventh inning and seven more in the eighth.

Waconia pitcher Jesse Maistrovich pitched six shutout innings and picked up his third win of the season. Maistrovich shut down the Mayer offense, allowing just six hits and walking no one.

“When your pitcher throws strikes and doesn’t walk anyone, it makes your defense that much more effective because then they are on their toes and ready at all times,” said Lakers coach Ken Horner.

Craig Laplante led the attack for the Lakers’ offense. He batted 3-3, including a monster 2-run home run in the seventh inning. It was Laplante’s second straight game with a home run.

Waconia was very patient at the plate, reaching base on 11 walks. In addition, they recorded 14 hits and struck out just once. Ronnie Olson and Jeremy Salden combined for four hits and five runs for the Lakers, while Erik Durkin drove in three runs.

Durkin pitched the final two innings for the Lakers and gave up an unearned run. The game lasted just eight innings due to the ten-run rule.

With the win, Waconia improves to 12-2 on the season. This week the Lakers travel to Chanhassen on Thursday night, and then play in the Hamburg/Green Isle tournament this weekend. Their first game in the tournament will be in Hamburg on Saturday at 11:00 AM against Blue Earth.

Posted Jun 17/11 - Lakers 11 Carver Black Sox 9

Waconia took a 10-1 lead into the 4th only to see it widdle away. Brady Gibbs had another impressive outing for 6 innings and picked up the win. Relief came through as Jesse Maistrovich pitched the 7th and 8th and Dalton Sawyer finished up in the 9th striking out the side in order.

Craig LaPlante had a big homerun with Ronnie Olson on base to ignite the Lakers in the first inning.

The game has been moved from Tuesday, June 21st to Thursday, June 23rd.

Rescheduled for Wed June 22 7:30 in Brownton

Posted Jun 13/11 - Waconia Sneaks Past St. Boni 9-8 in 11 Innings

In their first game decided by less than three runs and first extra inning game, the Lakers found a way to get the job done. With a run in the top of the 11th inning, Waconia defeated the Saints 9-8.

St. Boni led most of the game with leads of 2-0, 5-2, and 6-4. The Lakers struck for four runs in the top of the seventh inning to take an 8-6 lead. The inning started with three straight hits off the bats of Ben Smothers, Peter Brown, and Jeremy Salden. Waconia took the lead on a 2 RBI triple by Nick Litfin, who was later driven in by Jeff Chrest.

The Saints responded immediately in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring two runs to tie the game at 8. After three scorless innings, the Lakers broke the tie in the top of the 11th inning. Litfin led off with a walk, stole second, then later scored on a sacrifice fly by Chrest.

Craig Laplante started the game for Waconia and pitched six strong innings. Smothers pitched three scoreless innings in relief to record the win. Andrew Fredericksen picked up the save.

The Lakers pieced together many runs on stolen bases, even getting contributions in the category from LaPlante and Salden. Chrest and Brown led the Lakers with three hits a piece.

Waconia pitcher Brady Gibbs kept the Glencoe batters off balance all night. He pitched eight shutout innings, allowing just 6 hits and no walks.

"It gives you a great chance of winning when your pitcher doesn't allow any free bases on walks," said Lakers coach Ken Horner.

The Lakers got on the board with two runs in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Craig Laplante and then an RBI single by Brandon Hebig.

Waconia added to the lead in the seventh inning with a double by Ronnie Olson, driving in Nick Litfin and Andrew Fredericksen. Olson led the Lakers with two runs and two RBIs.

Fredericksen closed the game for the Lakers with a one-two-three ninth inning. With the win, Waconia improves to 9-2 overall and 8-1 in the Crow River League.

On Tuesday night, the Lakers hosted the undefeated Winsted Wildcats. It was a night to remember for Waconia, as they handed Winsted their first loss.

The Lakers wasted no time scoring runs. In the bottom of the first inning, Waconia put together four runs on five hits. Ben Smothers and Ronnie Olson started the rally with sharp singles. After a walk to Jeremy Salden, Craig Laplante, Peter Brown, and Nick Litfin followed with clutch hits to give the Lakers an early 4-0 lead.

Those runs were all that Peter Brown needed. Brown was “on fire,” striking out 15 Winsted hitters and allowing just one run in eight solid innings. Brown allowed six hits and issued no walks.

The Lakers put the game away in the seventh. The rally was capped by Litfin stealing home and Robbie Smothers crushing an RBI double.

Brady Gibbs pitched the ninth inning and sealed an 8-1 victory for the Lakers.

Waconia hosts Glencoe on Friday night, then travels to St. Boni on Sunday.

Posted Jun 9/11 - Lakers crush Mayer 15-5

Craig Laplante started the game against Mayer, pitching four scoreless innings and striking out 10 out of a possible 12 batters. Brady Gibbs pitched two scoreless innings in relief and Ben Smothers pitched the final inning.

The Lakers’ offense was rock solid. 13 different batters reached base safely and 10 different batters had a hit. Justin Klinglehutz led the charge with four hits and three runs scored. Ben Smothers had a great day, going 2-4 with three runs and four RBIs. Brandon Hebig had three hits, scored two runs, and drove in two runs.

Waconia ended the game early in the eighth inning by scoring seven runs to complete a 15-5 victory over Mayer.

Posted Jun 6/11 - Lakers demolished by Green Isle Irish 16-0

The Waconia Lakers were brought down to earth Saturday by the great pitching of Cody Hallahan and the hitting of a potent Irish line up. Tied 0-0 going into the 4th the Irish struck hard with 10 runs and the Lakers were down for the count.

Hallahan pitched a masterful job striking out 7 of the 21 outs while giving up just 1 hit, a single by Robby Smothers. The Lakers were just unable to touch him.

"Getting beat 16-0 was a real eye opener for this team, We can see now why they have such a rich history in the the Crow River League and in Minnesota Ameteur Baseball overall. They certainly thumped us today," said Lakers coach Mike Bullis

Posted Jun 2/11 - Lakers take 1st loss to East Side Merchants 7-4

Waconia dropped their first game of the year Wednesday night to the Class A East Side Merchants of St Paul. Leading 4-3 going into the 7th it looked like the little mistakes that the Lakers were making would be forgiven, but 5 walks and a hit batsman in the top of the inning led to 3 Merchant runs that the Lakers were unable to overcome.

The Lakers hope to rebound this weekend with home games Saturday vs. Green Isle 4:00 and Sunday vs. Mayer 2:00.

What a difference one year makes. Last year, the Lakers ended their season with just six wins. On Thursday night, Waconia equaled that total as they crushed St. Boni 13-3 in seven innings to move to 6-0 on the season. Playing in a new conference with new players and coaches, the Lakers are playing like a team on a mission.

The Lakers took an early lead in bottom of the first inning, as Jeremy Salden drove in Chris Bullis with a sharp single. After St. Boni tied the game in the top of the second, Waconia responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Nick Litfin doubled to lead off the inning, stole third, and then scored on a sacrifice fly to the second baseman by Pat Deering. The Lakers took a 3-1 lead when Ben Smothers drilled an RBI single up the middle to score Riley Hansen.

Waconia all but put the game away in the 4^th inning, when they scored five runs. Ronnie Olson came up with a big 2 run double to score Ben Smothers and Pat Deering. After back to back walks to Bullis and Salden, Craig Laplante drove in two runs with a sharp single to right field. The Lakers added two more runs in the fifth to take a commanding 10-3 lead.

In the 7^th inning, the Lakers pushed across three runs to end the game by the ten run rule. Robbie Smothers hit his first career walk-off hit, as he crushed a double over the center-fielder’s head.

Ronnie Olson, pitching for the first time since his sophomore year in high school, started the game for the Lakers. He pitched three solid innings, giving up one earned one and striking out three batters. Jesse Maistrovich pitched the remaining four innings, allowing just one run.

The Lakers host three games this week. The East Side Merchants come to town Wednesday night, Green Isle on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and Mayer on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Green Isle will be a tough test for Waconia.

Posted May 26/11 - Lakers stay hot as they knock off New Germany 4-1

It wasn’t easy, but the Lakers took down the New Germany Dutchmen 4-1 on Tuesday night to remain undefeated (5-0). Pitching and defense were superb for Waconia yet again. The Lakers have allowed just 12 runs through their first five game of the year.

Peter Brown pitched tremendously for Waconia once again to improve to 3-0 on the season. He struck out 13 batters and allowed only one run in seven innings of work. Remarkably, Brown struck out the side in the first, fourth, and seventh innings.

The Lakers’ offense struggled at times, much to the credit of Dutchmen Pitcher Steve Mielke. Mielke threw strikes and kept the Lakers off balance all night.

After an early 1-0 deficit, Waconia tied the game in the bottom of the second inning. Nick Litfin walked, stole second, and was driven in by Robbie Smothers’ double to left-center field.

The Lakers took the lead in the 5^th inning, getting production from the bottom of their lineup. Right-fielder Pat Deering started the inning with a soaring double to right-center field. Next, Peter Brown reached on an erorr. Ronnie Olson drilled a single up the middle to score Deering, and Chris Bullis drove in Brown with a sacrifice fly to right field to give Waconia a 3-1 lead.

After the Lakers added another run in the 7^th inning, Ben Smothers came in relief of Peter Brown to close out the game. Ben Smothers struck out three batters, and also had a great day at the plate. He finished 3-4 with a run scored. Ronnie Olson also had a terrific game, going 2-4 with two RBIs. Nick Litfin went 1-2 with two walks and three stolen bases.

Although it wasn’t a perfect game for the Lakers, they will definitely take the win. Waconia needs just one more win to match their total of six wins from all of last year.

“We did just enough tonight,” said Coach Ken Horner.

Waconia will host St. Boni on Thursday, May 26 and the East Side Merchants on Wednesday, June 1 at 7:30 pm. Then they will face a huge test on Saturday, June 4th when they host Green Isle at 4:00 pm.

Game has been rescheduled for Thursday 5/26 @ Lions Field (Waconia)

Posted May 19/11 - Lakers rally late to defeat Glencoe 8-3

The Waconia Lakers showed tremendous resilience on Thursday night at Glencoe. Not only did they make a great comeback, but also proved that they can keep a lead and even add to it.

The game’s first run came with a Killebrew type blast, as Waconia Catcher Jeremy Salden cranked a booming solo home run to center field in the top of the third to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead. That lead did not last long, however, as Glencoe First Baseman Dan Ford crushed a two run shot over the center field wall in the bottom of the fourth to put the Brewers up 2-1.

Glencoe added to their lead in the sixth, scoring a run on two hits. It could have been a much bigger inning for the Brewers if it wasn’t for Waconia Pitcher Jesse Maistrovich. In relief of Andrew Fredericksen, Maistrovich impressively stranded a runner at third base with nobody out to keep the Lakers within striking distance.

Down 3-1 in the seventh, Waconia sent seven batters to the plate. The inning started with a single by Robbie Smothers followed by a double by Nick Litfin. Lead-off hitter Ben Smothers drilled a ground-rule double to left-center field, scoring Smothers and Litfin to tie the game at 3. Chris Bullis gave the Lakers a 4-3 lead with a two out single, plating Ben Smothers.

The Lakers put the game away in the eighth, batting eight and scoring four runs. After three straight walks to Frederickson, Robbie Smothers and Litfin, Riley Hanson hit a RBI single through the left side of the infield. Waconia added three more runs with an error by the Glencoe catcher and a double by Ronnie Olson.

“Our pitching and defense were crucial in keeping us in the game until our bats started to heat up in the seventh inning,” said Head Coach Mike Bullis.

With the win, Waconia improves to 4-0 on the season. Maistrovich picked up the win for the Lakers, pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief. Fredericksen started the game for Waconia and pitched 5 1/3 solid innings.

Waconia was rained out on Friday night and Sunday. They return to action Tuesday against New Germany, and again on Thursday night against St. Boni at home.

Game has been rescheduled for Wednesday 6/15 @ Hamburg Baseball Park (Hamburg)

No Makeup date has been determined

Posted May 10/11 - Lakers throttle Indians 15-5 to remain undefeated

The Waconia Lakers are clicking on all cylinders. Their pitching and defense have been outstanding, while their offense has put up a whopping 34 runs in just three games.

Waconia wouldn’t let a 20-minute rain delay get in the way of their groove. The Waconia Lakers improved to 3-0 with a 15-5 victory over the Norwood Indians on Tuesday night. It appears as though the Lakers have turned the corner after last year’s dismal season.

After Norwood jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Waconia responded immediately with five runs in the next two innings. Lakers Shortstop Ben Smothers led the charge with a second inning Grand Slam. Smothers drove in Jesse Wendt, Justin Klingelhutz, and younger brother Robbie Smothers, who launched a sky-scraping double over the center fielder.

“I was disappointed at first because I thought it was a pop up, but I guess I hit the ball high enough to allow it to carry a ways,” Robbie Smothers said, laughing.

Former Norwood star Craig LaPlante pitched three strong innings for the Lakers, giving up just one run. LaPlante recorded three outs on strikeouts and the other six outs on ground balls. “He kept the ball low, which allowed our great infield to make plays,” said Head Coach Mike Bullis. “Pitching and defense will win or at least keep us in every game.”

Second Baseman Ronnie Olson had an outstanding game, reaching base all five times and hitting two doubles. The Lakers added two runs in the fourth and broke the game wide open with seven runs in the sixth. Brady Gibbs and Brandon Hebig pitched four solid innings to cement the victory for the Lakers.

Waconia returns to action at Watertown on Friday 5/13 @ 7:30. Then the Lakers will host Hamburg on Saturday 5/14 @ 2:00 pm.

Posted May 7/11 - Lakers defeat Plato 6-3

The Waconia Lakers Amateur baseball team (2-0) took its show on the road for the first time this year where they defeated the 2009 State Champion Plato Blue Jays (1-1). Tied at 1-1 in the sixth inning with the bases loaded, Nick Litfin drilled a double clearing the bases, bringing the score to 4-1. The Lakers then added 2 runs in the ninth to finalize a 6-3 victory.

Peter Brown picked up his 2nd win going 5 and 1/3 and was aided by the impressive pitching of Ben Smothers who shut the door on the Blue Jays over the final 3 and 2/3 as he struck out 5. Chris Bullis led the Lakers hitting attack with 3 hits keeping his average at .750 (6/8), with an impressive .900 on base average (9/10) over their 2 games. Defensively Justin Klingelhutz stole the show both literally and figuratively making 2 fantastic diving grabs in the outfield, and then with a tight 4-3 game going into the ninth he reentered the game after a Riley Hansen single. He then stole 2nd and 3rd starting the 2 run insurance inning.

This week looks busy for the Lakers as they go to Watertown to face the Red Devils on Friday 5/13 @ 7:30, Saturday 5/14, they come home to face the Hamburg Hawks, Lions Field @ 2:00, then Thursday 5/19, they hit the road again to face the Glencoe Brewers @ 7:30. Come on out and cheer them on.

Posted Dec 31/69 - New Waconia Lakers Website

The Lakers have a new website at www.waconiabaseball.com. This site will still be used for the 2015 WBA Softball tournament registration.

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