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Posted Sep 4/09 - Wildcats lose tough one, 4-3 to St. Cloud Ortho

The Wildcats faced their stiffest opponent of the 2009 season tonight, and the end result reflected that as well. The Wildcats lost a heart breaker to St. Cloud Ortho with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, by a score of 4-3.

Wildcats draftee pitcher Josh Anthony (Watertown) resumed pitching duties for the Wildcats. Anthony had allowed only 1 earned run in 18 previous innings (mediocre performances). Against St. Cloud Ortho, Anthony allowed 6 hits over 8 2/3 innings while striking out 10 batters (another solid outing).

The bigger story here, was St. Cloud Ortho's pitcher, Scott Geiger. Geiger, struck out 15 Wildcats batters and after the 2nd inning, had retired 18 of 19 Wildcats batters. Geiger worked extremely fast on the mound which evidently threw off Wildcats batters. We simply couldn't get the bats going.

And the 9th inning....I will remember this inning for the rest of my life. I will say, the mood in the dugout to start the 9th was quite somber. Geiger had been on cruise control since the 2nd inning and retired the 1st Wildcats batter with a strikeout. I mean, this game appeared to be over. And then, it happened.

Josh Anthony stepped to the plate. Anthony, who along with the rest of the Wildcats, had a tough night at the plate previously. Anthony battled and got things going with a 2 strike, double to right-center field. "Gweggy" Kohler then laced an RBI single to make the score 3-1. That set the table for the Wildcats version of "Baby Jesus." Joe Kley mashed a game tying, 2-Run Homer to right-center field. The atmosphere in the Wildcats dugout was absolutely electric.

I watch a lot of baseball. A lot of college and pro ball. I'm old enough to remember both the 87' and 91' Minnesota Twins World Series victories. That homer by Joe Kley, for me, rivals Kirby Puckett's homer in the bottom of the 11th (Game 6) in the 1991 World Series. Obviously it's a completely different stage, but my adrenaline got going just like it did when good old Kirby jacked that ball. There wasn't a guy in the Wildcats dugout that wasn't going absolutely crazy. For fans of amateur baseball, it simply doesn't get any better than that.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the "warm and fuzzy" feelings didn't last long. Josh Anthony struck out the 1st batter in the bottom of the 9th and appeared to be set to throw 29 more innings. Anthony then hit the next batter and a passed ball allows the runner to advance to 2nd base. Anthony then K's the next batter for the 2nd out. At this point, I was feeling absolutely confident that we were headed to extra innings. And then, St. Cloud's Nate Baraga decided to create his own 1991 World Series moment...He hit a Gene Larkin-like fly ball to right field, that under normal circumstances, would have been caught. However, Gweggy was playing "in" to cut off the runner at the plate in case of a base hit. Gweggy made a fantastic effort but came a bit short (I think the ball went off his glove). And just like that, GAME OVER.

The Game Awards:

Okay...It's hard to hand out awards after suffering a heart-breaking loss. However, I owe it to the "legions" of fans who look forward to these....Here goes...

The "Puffs/Kleenex" Award goes to the entire Wildcats team. After suffering a loss like that, a tear or two shed is acceptable. Ok, it's not. Nobody cried. I'm recanting this award. This is just stupid.

The "I'm King Sh*t, I'm Better Than You" Award goes to none other than Joe "Baby Jesus" Kley. I don't think I have to explain this award much. His 2-Run Homer to tie the game in the 9th inning pretty much says it all. Big Kohones...

The Steve Bisping Movie Quote Award goes to:  well, Steve Bisping! "Flu" has repeatedly shown he has a "nack" for stating famous movie quotes at just the right time(impeccable timing). Anyway, player/coach Aaron Schultz was arguing his check swing K late in the game and had a few words for the ump. The ump, for whatever reason, decided it was smart to stare down Hammer when he made it back to the bench. In my experience, that just makes the matter worse. Flu then yelled to the ump, "stop looking at me swan!" If you don't know what we're referring to, watch Billy Madison 

Finally....Thanks to the fans who, once again, provided great support. Bring your A-Games to Saturday's game. We're not done yet.

 

 

 





 


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