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The St. Croix River Bandits are in desperate need of some conference wins. Although they are mathematically eliminated from post season play, they are looking to instill more confidence in their players with some key victories in the coming weeks, and hopefully play spoiler to some other teams that may be on the fence.
The Bandits will play the River Falls Fighting Fish on Tuesday night at Oakey Park. The Fish won their first game against the Bandits 5-1, while 4 runs came in the first inning of that game. The Fish had a rough weekend, losing to Menomonie in 15 innings 3-2, then losing to Prescott 5-3, dropping their conference record to 5-6. With only 5 games left, the Fish can only afford to lose 1 more game, or they will be eliminated from playoff contention. The Bandits expect to see either Dan Morgan on the mound tonight for the Fish (4-4, 3.82 ERA) or possibly Rick Wells who pitched 2 innings against the Bandits in their last outing, striking out 5 batters. The Fish are led by their 1-2-3 hitters Clint Kempf, Adam Steussel, and Brian Giebel. The 3 combine for a .302 BA, 3 HR, 40runs, 31 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.
The Bandits will send Adam Lewis to the mound. Lewis won his last start against the Staples Lumberbats in a 9-5 victory. Lewis is 1-1 this year with a 2.78 ERA.
On Wednesday that Bandits travel to Ellsworth to play the Hubbers at 7:30pm. The Bandits will have ace Jay Gagner pitching (1-1, 1.52ERA) in hopes that he can throw a gem.
The Hubbers just came off of an 11-10 victory over a powerful Hudson River Rats team, bringing their conference record to 4-3. Unfortunately I don't see stats up for the Hubbers so the Bandits are going in somewhat blind, with only 1 Bandits player having played against Ellsworth in the past.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Game Recap - Schmidt, Elmwood Baffle Bandits
The St. Croix River Bandits had a tough go round Sunday afternoon against the Elmwood Expos under the hot sun. The Bandits started off well, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning off of Elmwood starting pitcher Perry Schmidt. John Peterson scored from 2nd off of a Scott Lindholm RBI single to left center field. However, with runners on 1st and 2nd and with two outs the Bandits were not able to capitalize. Unfortunately that would be the story of the day. The Bandits had 7 hits in the game, drew 8 walks, had 1 hit batsmen, and had two batters reach on errors. However, the Bandits could not get timely 2-out hits that they needed, stranding 10 runners on 2nd and 3rd base, and leaving the bases loaded 3 times.
Bandits starting pitcher Jim Rochford had a less than stellar performance. Rochford was hit all over the field for 6 hits in 5 innings, and also had some control issues, allowing 5 walks, and giving up 7 runs (6 earned). 3 of those walks came around to score later in the inning, "That's why we can't afford to give up walks , if I make those guys put the ball in play, chances are 66% of the time they are going to get out. If I would have gone out there and given up no walks we probably let up 1 run, instead of 7.
Elmwood scored 4 runs in the top of the 2nd inning, to take the lead 4-1. Their runs came off of 2 walks, a double, and 2 singles. Elmwood struck again in the 4th inning, scoring 3 runs off of a Rochford walk, 3 singles, and a sacrifice fly.
The Bandits did score another run in the 5th and 9th. Both runs were scored by starting LF Michael Chelberg. A 3B Kyle Kahl double in the 5th allowed Chelberg to score, and a passed ball in the 9th brought the Bandits run total up to 3.
Trevor Todd relieved Jim Rochford in the 6th inning, and threw 2 innings. Todd did not fair much better than Rochford, giving up 4 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) to the Expos hot bats. Curtis Roebuck pitched the final two innings for the Bandits and had the most success. Roebuck walked 2, allowed only 1 hit, and no runs.
The Bandits hope to rebound Tuesday with Adam Lewis on the mound versus River Falls @ Oakey Park in Osceola at 7:30pm.
Bandits starting pitcher Jim Rochford had a less than stellar performance. Rochford was hit all over the field for 6 hits in 5 innings, and also had some control issues, allowing 5 walks, and giving up 7 runs (6 earned). 3 of those walks came around to score later in the inning, "That's why we can't afford to give up walks , if I make those guys put the ball in play, chances are 66% of the time they are going to get out. If I would have gone out there and given up no walks we probably let up 1 run, instead of 7.
Elmwood scored 4 runs in the top of the 2nd inning, to take the lead 4-1. Their runs came off of 2 walks, a double, and 2 singles. Elmwood struck again in the 4th inning, scoring 3 runs off of a Rochford walk, 3 singles, and a sacrifice fly.
The Bandits did score another run in the 5th and 9th. Both runs were scored by starting LF Michael Chelberg. A 3B Kyle Kahl double in the 5th allowed Chelberg to score, and a passed ball in the 9th brought the Bandits run total up to 3.
Trevor Todd relieved Jim Rochford in the 6th inning, and threw 2 innings. Todd did not fair much better than Rochford, giving up 4 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) to the Expos hot bats. Curtis Roebuck pitched the final two innings for the Bandits and had the most success. Roebuck walked 2, allowed only 1 hit, and no runs.
The Bandits hope to rebound Tuesday with Adam Lewis on the mound versus River Falls @ Oakey Park in Osceola at 7:30pm.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Game Preview - Bandits vs. Elmwood Expos, Sunday, 7/6 1pm
The St. Croix River Bandits (1-7 conf, 6-9 overall) will host the Elmwood Expos (3-5 conf, 4-13 overall) 1 week after the Bandits took 2nd place in the Bandits Bash tournament in Cambridge, WI. The Elmwood expos played in the Ellsworth tournament last weekend and took 6th place. The Expos also have a game on Saturday against Bay City. The Expos will likely send Perry Schmidt (1-2, 5.40 ERA, 33 1/3IP) or Mike Brunner (1-0, 3.60 ERA 10IP) out on the mound. Offensively the Expos are anchored by 3B Boomer Keys. Keys is batting .303 for the Expos this season with 5RBI, and 3 runs scored in 33AB.
The Bandits will counter with Jim Rochford (2-4, 3.03ERA 29 2/3IP), who in his last outing pitched a strong 7 innings, scattering 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 8 against the Rum River Bandits. Expect to see OF Mitch Thompson in the lineup, Mitch is hitting .429 in his 4 games from the Bandits this year with 2 SB, and 2 runs scored. Curtis Roebuck went 2-5 in his last 2 games this weekend. We expect to see a good crowd on this 4th of July weekend!
The Bandits will counter with Jim Rochford (2-4, 3.03ERA 29 2/3IP), who in his last outing pitched a strong 7 innings, scattering 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 8 against the Rum River Bandits. Expect to see OF Mitch Thompson in the lineup, Mitch is hitting .429 in his 4 games from the Bandits this year with 2 SB, and 2 runs scored. Curtis Roebuck went 2-5 in his last 2 games this weekend. We expect to see a good crowd on this 4th of July weekend!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Bandits Take in Legion All Star Game
Although the Bandits could not stay for the entire game, the legion all star game held in Osceola on Monday was a doozy. Athletes from St. Croix Falls, Cumberland, Grantsburg, Unity, and Luck made up the North Squad and Amery, Osceola, Baldwin, New Richmond and Somerset. With towns such as Luck, Unity, Amery, Osceola, New Richmond, and Somerset being within the needed 25 mile radius of St. Croix Falls, this Bandits was able to look at the local bright young talent and see who would look the best in a Bandits uniform in the future.
Here are the rosters for each team.
NORTH ROSTER
Cumberland:
Ryan Behling Fr. OF/2B
Graham Miller So. P/OF
Tommy Zappa Fr. OF
Grantsburg:
Trent Bonneville Jr. SS/P
Thane Larson Jr. p/3B
Luck:
Jamison Gross Jr. 2B
Harry Severson-Dickinson Jr. P/1B
Colin Svoboda So. SS/P
St. Croix Falls:
Cory Gebhard So. 2B
Gus Koecher So. OF/C
Matt Vold So. SS/P
Unity:
Brady Flaherty Fr.
Luke Nelson Fr. SS/C/P
Jason Vlasnik Fr.
SOUTH ROSTER
Amery:
Brock Luehman Jr.
Jared Nelson Fr.
Joe Rubenzer Fr.
Baldwin:
Jason Geurkink Jr. P/IF
Bryce Lunzer Jr. OF
Luke Trickle Jr. IF
New Richmond:
Corey Berger Jr. OF/IF/P
Michael Jansen So. OF/P
Danny Leavens So. IF
Osceola:
Ryan Burkhamer So. OF/P
Ian Kalata Jr. C/1B
Darby Nelson So. SS/2B
Somerset:
Dakota Belter So.
Josh Baillargeon So. 3B
Rocky Larson So. C
The game ended up going 11 innings, final score North 11 South 10. The last 3 innings were jam packed with action, the South team held the North to a 6-5 going into the top of the ninth. The North team was able to get the tying run across and then score 3 runs in the top of the tenth. The South team countered with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. The North bats came out swinging again in the 11th scoring 2 more runs. The South team only managed to get 1 more run across, ending the game 11-10.
SCF's (and future full-time Bandit) Gus Koecher was a homerun shy of the cycle, went 4-5 and reached base 6 times, and was named game MVP. I didn't keep books but I will have some more detailed game info later.
Opinions / Scouting - I will only comment on the players I noticed from teams within the 25 mile radius who will be Seniors next season - excluding New Richmond (a fairly young town team - who can offer starting roles to incoming players) and including Osceola (a somehow underachieving team with experience and decent depth).
Trent Bonneville - Grantsburg - SS/P. Bonneville batted in the 4 slot for the North team, had some good at bats, hit the ball hard. Well built, large frame guy - something the Bandits seem in short order of. If we were interested in playing with the Bandits, we would like to slide him over to 3rd base and see how we does, and he would bat anywhere from 4-7 if he could show power with a wood bat.
Thane Larson - Grantsburg - P/3B Saw him pitch, he pitched well, not over powering but consistently near the plate, breaking ball comes in a lot slower than fastball, so if its not picked up by the batter they swing at it like a changeup. Although I only have 2 years of experience looking at town ball pitchers, you never quite know which pitchers will fair well in town ball. Some "finesse" pitchers do work out better than hard-tossers, depending on their pitch movement and location. Possible pitching prospect for the Bandits.
Harry Severson-Dickinson - Luck - P/1B. One, tall athletic ballplayer, great build for 1st. Threw some gas while on the mound, pitched well in this game, if he pitched at the next level he would need to be able to keep his pitches low and throw strikes with movement. Town-ball hitters seem to high 70's to low/mid 80's heat down the pipe. Unfortunately i wasn't sitting in a location where I could properly judge fastball movement. Hit in the #3 slot for the North team. Had a great day at the plate, sprayed the ball to all fields, hit line drives. If indeed our right side of the infield moves on to greener pastures in La Crosse next season, HSD could have a shot a starting 1B and making the pitching staff.
Jamison Gross - Luck - 2B - still compiling notes
Brock Luehman - Amery - still compiling notes
Ian Kalata - Osceola - C/1B. Probably one of the most athletic builds at the legion game. Kalata hit in the 3 hole for the South team, and looked great hitting for contact and power, if he could keep it up with a wood bat he could bat anywhere from 3 to 6 in the Bandits lineup. I heard that he had played some 3B this year, not sure if that true, if it is and he opted to join the Bandits, he would probably be the starting 3B next season. Otherwise he would get a solid look at playing 1B with some departures likely on the Bandits roster.
Exception - I was told that I had to list Sophomore Colin Svoboda, pitcher, from Luck by another Bandit who attended the game. I had left before Svoboda entered as a pitcher, but from the sounds of it, his movement is filthy. I was told that he is dropping his breaking pitches into the strike zone at will, that they move fast, break hard, and he throws them early in counts. Backing that up with a sneaky fastball that he uses for his out pitch to mix up batters. I didn't see it myself, but my source is pretty honest.
Here are the rosters for each team.
NORTH ROSTER
Cumberland:
Ryan Behling Fr. OF/2B
Graham Miller So. P/OF
Tommy Zappa Fr. OF
Grantsburg:
Trent Bonneville Jr. SS/P
Thane Larson Jr. p/3B
Luck:
Jamison Gross Jr. 2B
Harry Severson-Dickinson Jr. P/1B
Colin Svoboda So. SS/P
St. Croix Falls:
Cory Gebhard So. 2B
Gus Koecher So. OF/C
Matt Vold So. SS/P
Unity:
Brady Flaherty Fr.
Luke Nelson Fr. SS/C/P
Jason Vlasnik Fr.
SOUTH ROSTER
Amery:
Brock Luehman Jr.
Jared Nelson Fr.
Joe Rubenzer Fr.
Baldwin:
Jason Geurkink Jr. P/IF
Bryce Lunzer Jr. OF
Luke Trickle Jr. IF
New Richmond:
Corey Berger Jr. OF/IF/P
Michael Jansen So. OF/P
Danny Leavens So. IF
Osceola:
Ryan Burkhamer So. OF/P
Ian Kalata Jr. C/1B
Darby Nelson So. SS/2B
Somerset:
Dakota Belter So.
Josh Baillargeon So. 3B
Rocky Larson So. C
The game ended up going 11 innings, final score North 11 South 10. The last 3 innings were jam packed with action, the South team held the North to a 6-5 going into the top of the ninth. The North team was able to get the tying run across and then score 3 runs in the top of the tenth. The South team countered with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. The North bats came out swinging again in the 11th scoring 2 more runs. The South team only managed to get 1 more run across, ending the game 11-10.
SCF's (and future full-time Bandit) Gus Koecher was a homerun shy of the cycle, went 4-5 and reached base 6 times, and was named game MVP. I didn't keep books but I will have some more detailed game info later.
Opinions / Scouting - I will only comment on the players I noticed from teams within the 25 mile radius who will be Seniors next season - excluding New Richmond (a fairly young town team - who can offer starting roles to incoming players) and including Osceola (a somehow underachieving team with experience and decent depth).
Trent Bonneville - Grantsburg - SS/P. Bonneville batted in the 4 slot for the North team, had some good at bats, hit the ball hard. Well built, large frame guy - something the Bandits seem in short order of. If we were interested in playing with the Bandits, we would like to slide him over to 3rd base and see how we does, and he would bat anywhere from 4-7 if he could show power with a wood bat.
Thane Larson - Grantsburg - P/3B Saw him pitch, he pitched well, not over powering but consistently near the plate, breaking ball comes in a lot slower than fastball, so if its not picked up by the batter they swing at it like a changeup. Although I only have 2 years of experience looking at town ball pitchers, you never quite know which pitchers will fair well in town ball. Some "finesse" pitchers do work out better than hard-tossers, depending on their pitch movement and location. Possible pitching prospect for the Bandits.
Harry Severson-Dickinson - Luck - P/1B. One, tall athletic ballplayer, great build for 1st. Threw some gas while on the mound, pitched well in this game, if he pitched at the next level he would need to be able to keep his pitches low and throw strikes with movement. Town-ball hitters seem to high 70's to low/mid 80's heat down the pipe. Unfortunately i wasn't sitting in a location where I could properly judge fastball movement. Hit in the #3 slot for the North team. Had a great day at the plate, sprayed the ball to all fields, hit line drives. If indeed our right side of the infield moves on to greener pastures in La Crosse next season, HSD could have a shot a starting 1B and making the pitching staff.
Jamison Gross - Luck - 2B - still compiling notes
Brock Luehman - Amery - still compiling notes
Ian Kalata - Osceola - C/1B. Probably one of the most athletic builds at the legion game. Kalata hit in the 3 hole for the South team, and looked great hitting for contact and power, if he could keep it up with a wood bat he could bat anywhere from 3 to 6 in the Bandits lineup. I heard that he had played some 3B this year, not sure if that true, if it is and he opted to join the Bandits, he would probably be the starting 3B next season. Otherwise he would get a solid look at playing 1B with some departures likely on the Bandits roster.
Exception - I was told that I had to list Sophomore Colin Svoboda, pitcher, from Luck by another Bandit who attended the game. I had left before Svoboda entered as a pitcher, but from the sounds of it, his movement is filthy. I was told that he is dropping his breaking pitches into the strike zone at will, that they move fast, break hard, and he throws them early in counts. Backing that up with a sneaky fastball that he uses for his out pitch to mix up batters. I didn't see it myself, but my source is pretty honest.
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