The Central #2 Seed, Red Birds traveled to St. Peter on Friday night and made the trip worthwhile for the throng of Red Bird Fans and Families, taking down the West - #1 seeded Saints by a score of 11-1 in 9 innings. Casey Malmgren pitched 7 innings allowing only 1 unearned run while scattering 7 singles, getting 7 Ks, and allowing only 2 BB. Le Sueur Braves Pitcher, Darron Culbert (drafted by the Red Birds for the playoffs) pitched two scoreless innings for the Red Birds.

Chanhassen got on the scoreboard first when DH Zach Neubauer lined a two out single to center. RF Jeff Pavlovich followed with a hot grounder that bounced over the third baseman’s glove that moved Neubauer to 2^nd. T.J. Gulden then laced a single to center field to drive in Neubauer for the opening score. 1-0, Red Birds.

St. Peter countered in the bottom of the 3^rd. SS Ryan Wenner, opened the bottom half with a sharp single to left field. C Billy Hanson then hit a grounder into Right Field moving Wenner to 2^nd. LF C.J. Siewert then dropped a bunt that Malmgren quickly threw to 3^rd baseman Justin Thompson to get the lead runner for the first out. Malmgren then struck out DH Matt Knutson for the 2^nd out. With Seth Wenner at the plate, Billy Hanson took off for 3^rd base on the first pitch. C Zach Swenson threw over Thompson’s head into left field and Hanson scored the unearned run. On the next pitch, C. J. Siewert tried to steal 3^rd. This time Swenson’s throw was spot on and Thompson tagged out Siewert for the inning ending out. 1-1, Tied after 3 innings.

The Red Bird bats were quiet in the 4^th – 6^th innings. But, the Saints had a threat in the 5^th inning. Malmgren struck out the leadoff hitter in the 5^th, 2B Dan Polz. CF Mike Enz then hit a grounder to T. J. Gulden at 2^nd that handcuffed him and Enz reached 1^st. SS Wenner then lined a single over SS Nate Swenson’s head into center field to move Enz to 2^nd. C Billy Hanson then hit a hard grounder to Gulden’s right that he fielded cleanly, continued two more steps to force Wenner at second and completed the play with a strike to Cary McLaughlin at first for a nifty “as pretty as they come” 4-4-3 double play to end the inning and redeem himself for the error that allowed Enz to reach safely.

The Red Birds put the game out of reach in the 6^th inning. Zach Neubauer led off with his second single of the night. Jeff Pavlovich then reached on an error by Dan Polz at 2^nd. .J. Gulden worked starting pitcher Jordan Seebach for a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Nate Swenson then launched a fly ball to center field to sacrifice Neubauer home from third for the Red Birds second run. The speedy Pavlovich advanced to third on the throw. Cary McLaughlin doubled to center to score Pavlovich and move T.J Gulden to third and move starter Seebach to the dugout.

Zach Swenson greeted Saints reliever, Grant Nelson, with a double to drive in Gulden and McLaughlin for the third and fourth runs of the inning. Thompson grounded out short to first to move Swenson to 3^rd base. Tony Marengo then drew a walk from Nelson. Marengo then took a huge lead at first and easily stole second without a throw from the catcher. With two men in scoring position for the Red Birds, Tom Bergner hit a simple grounder to 3^rd baseman Tony Vetter. The throw drew the 1^st baseman off the bag and Swenson scored an unearned run from third on the throw. Marengo advanced to third base on the play. With Neubauer at the plate for the second time in the inning, Tom Bergner stole second base. Marengo wisely stole home as the throw went to second base to complete the scoring for the inning with the 6^th run, for a 7 – 1 lead.

Jesse Anderson took the mound in the 8^th inning for the Saints and Jeff Pavlovich continued the hit parade with his second of three singles on the evening. After Gulden’s fly out to right field, Nate Swenson lined a single just over the pitcher’s glove to center field. Pavlovich at second. Cary McLaughlin lifted a fly ball to deep center. Pavlovich wasn’t sure it was going to be caught so had to hold up at 2^nd. Nate Swenson seemed to have a better look at the ball from first and he was set on scoring. As the ball cleared the center fielders glove, Swenson was running up Pavlovich’s back side and stayed just two strides behind him as they both rounded third and easily scored on the McLaughlin double. Zach Swenson hit a fly ball to right field to advance McLaughlin to third with two outs. Justin Thompson then struck out, but the third strike skittered away from the catcher and Thompson headed for 1^st base. With McLaughlin slowly striding toward home, the Saints catcher threw lazily to 1^st to complete the strikeout, but the ball bounced short of the first baseman and then bobbled harmlessly into foul territory allowing Thompson to reach first, and McLaughlin to score his second run of the game. Red Birds on top, 10 – 1.

Red Birds Draftee from the Le Sueur Braves, Darron Culbert, (Regional Playoff teams are allowed to draft a pitcher from the non-competing teams in their division), relieved Malmgren in the bottom of the 8^th inning and worked two scoreless frames and give manager Chris Reuvers a good look at some pitching help for further playoff action.

Chanhassen got another run in the top of the 9^th on singles by Bergner, who scored the run, and Pavlovich and another error by the Saints infield. The Saints committed 7 errors for the game, 5 of which contributed to runs for the Red Birds.

Final stats for the game showed the Saints, 1 run, 8 hits, 7 errors, 10 men LOB. For Chanhassen, 11 runs, 12 hits, 3 errors and 10 LOB. McLaughlin had two doubles, three RBIs and scored a run. Pavlovich had 3 singles and scored twice. T. J. Gulden had two singles, drove in 2 runs, and scored once. Zach Neubauer had two singles and scored twice. Zach Swenson drove in 2 runs on his double and scored one run as well.

This decisive win for the Red Birds without All-Star 3^rd baseman, John Gulden (out for the season with a dislocated shoulder) is a real encouragement for the team. They now travel to Belle Plaine for ANOTHER game against their division rival Tigers. Game time is 2:00 PM on Sunday, August 7^th.

If the Red Birds win at Belle Plain on Sunday, they would host a game at Storm Red Bird Stadium on Saturday, August 13^th at 2:00 PM.

If they lose to Belle Plaine on Sunday, they would play the winner of Sunday’s other game between Fairfax and St. Peter, on Friday night, August 12^th at 8:00 PM.

And because of seeding, the Red Birds would play that game away, for a chance to play at Belle Plaine AGAIN, on Saturday, August 13^th.

Any way you slice it folks, the Red Birds have to beat Belle Plaine to get another home game AND to advance as one of the two Region 6 C Teams that go to the State Tournament the following week.

First things first….. to Belle Plaine on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM to face the Tigers ... AGAIN.

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