Both Diamond Squads Take it on the Chin Tonight -- Baseball Drops 13-2 game to K-M-S, Softball Loses at A-C-GC 6-2

A crowd of nearly 75 fans was on hand tonight at Elrosa's glorious Saints Field. A handful of K-M-S and B-B-E fans are shown here in the main bleachers under the canopy, somewhat sheltered from a strong northwest wind.


The Jaguars baseball team had a tough time in their first game at Saints Field in Elrosa tonight, as they faced an undefeated Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg nine. After one inning the Jaguars trailed 3-0, and it got uglier after that. By the time the sixth inning rolled around the Jaguars were losing 13-0. Two runs in the bottom of the sixth was all the Jaguars would muster, as the Fighting Saints improved to 6-0, with the Jaguars falling to 3-4 overall (3-3 CMC).

The Lady Jaguars softball team traveled to the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City High school tonight in Grove City to face a 6-2 Falcons squad that was also 3-0 in the West Central South Conference. The Lady Jaguars fell to 2-6 overall with a 6-2 loss, while the Falcons are now 7-2 overall.

Next Monday both the baseball and softball teams are in action with double-headers. The baseball team will host Eden Valley-Watkins in Elrosa, with the first game at 4:00. The softball team travels to Eden Valley-Watkins, with a 4:30 start time in their first game.

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Success in Jaguars Country -- Baseball is 10-7 Winners at Holdingford; Softball Beats Holdingford 9-6, Track and Field Does Well at Paynesville

It was a successful night in Jaguars country. The Jaguars baseball team (3-3 CMC, 3-3 overall) shook off a two-game losing streak by beating Holdingford on the Huskers' diamond 10-7. Josh Roelike's two-Rbi triple highlighted the Jaguars' hitting game. The Lady Jaguars softball team also snapped a losing streak (0-3 in last three outings) at home when they defeated the Holdingford Huskers 9-6.

Thanks goes out to Bernice Gruber and Joyce Roelike for the game reports!

Meanwhile, at the Paynesville Invitational, the boys and girls track and field squads performed well in the numerous events they took part in. A few examples of success for our local tracksters: Heidi Lensing won the High jump (4'10"), Austin Jasmer took second place in the 3200m race (11:09), and Kelsey Kampsen finished third in the 3200m while setting a new personal best for that event (13:37). Kampsen shaved a full 15 seconds off her previous P.B. set last week in Willmar.

Tomorrow (Friday, Apr 27) both diamond sports are in action. The Jaguars baseball team hosts Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (4-0) in Elrosa (JV at the high school baseball field) at 4:30. The Lady Jaguars softball team travels to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City for a non-conference game at 4:30. The Falcons' softball fields are at the high school grounds in Grove City.

Also on Friday, the Jaguars golf team will travel to Long Prairie for a 4:30 meet at the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Invite.

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Tough Night in Jaguar Country - Jaguars Baseball Loses at Pierz 6-1, Lady Jaguars softball Drops Home Game to Pierz 11-8

The Lady Jaguars softball loss to Pierz was back and forth throughout the game. Pierz moves to 4-1 in the CMC. They have had an incredible turnaround thus far in the season, as the Pioneers went 0-15 in 2006 in girls softball. They are tied for second place with Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted in the CMC, while Maple Lake remains undefeated in league play. Maple Lake defeated HL-W-W on Monday night 4-0.

Thanks goes out to Pierz head softball coach Mitch Becker, who gave me an excellent report tonight in Belgrade while his team was busy spending money at the Cenex C-store before their long road trip back home.

With their win over the Jaguars baseball team, Pierz (4-2 overall) improves to 4-0 in the CMC, on pace to repeat as CMC champs, although there are 10 games left on the conference schedule before playoffs begin later in May.

The Jaguars boys golf team was at Maple Lake for a CMC meet, and they were led by Cory Tonn and Matt Goodwin, who each carded a 44.

On Thursday this week, the Jaguars baseball team travels to Holdingford, while the Lady Jaguars softball team will host Holdingford. Both games have 5:00 start times. The boys and girls track and field squads are at Paynesville on Thursday, with a 4:00 meet.

As stated in previous updates, the Jaguars baseball team will host Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg on Friday in Elrosa, with a 4:30 start time. This is a non-conference game rescheduled from earlier this month. The Fighting Saints are off to a 4-0 start to their season.

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Lady Jaguars Golf Takes First Place on the Home Course at the Prairie View Community

Today under a warm, sunny sky with a cool, steady breeze, the Lady Jaguars golf team hosted the second Central Minnesota Conference meet of the season. They totaled a 193, nine strokes ahead of second-place Rockford.

More photos from before the meet are posted on my Jaguars sports photos page, the link found on the right column.

Meanwhile in a home game against Kimball, the Lady Jaguars softball team had a tough outing against the Cubs during an 11-3 loss.

At Kimball, the Jaguars baseball team also suffered a tough upset, losing 4-0 to the Cubs. A bases-loaded rally for the Jaguars in the final inning was snuffed out with a pop fly. The Jaguars trailed 2-0 after one inning, the first time this season they've been scored upon first.

Up next for the spring sports teams on Tuesday: Jaguars baseball @ Pierz, Lady Jaguars softball hosts Pierz (5:00). The Jaguars golf team is at Maple Lake for their third CMC meet of the season. *Also, the K-M-S game against the baseball team has been rescheduled for this Friday (Apr 27) at 4:30. The varsity game will be played in Elrosa.

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Lady Jaguars Golf -- Set to Host Second CMC Meet of the Season

Monday afternoon, with tee-off at 4:15, the Lady Jaguars golf squad is set to host the second Central Minnesota Conference meet of the season at the beautiful Prairie View Community Golf course. At the meet the team hopes to improve on their one-stroke lead over second-place Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball in the overall conference standings.

Schedules for both boys and girls golf (varsity) have been added below at right.

Also Monday after school, the Jaguars golf team is at Kimball, the Lady Jaguars softball team will host Kimball (5:00), the Jaguars baseball team is at Kimball (5:00), and the boys/girls track and field squads are at Maple Lake (4:00).

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Lady Jaguars Softball -- Three Unearned Runs Give the Win to Sauk Centre in a 4-1 Loss for the Blue and Silver

Today at the gorgeous softball complex on the Sauk Centre school grounds complete with dugouts and a scoreboard, the Lady Jaguars softball team had a strong showing against the Mainstreeters. However, three unearned runs (two in the fourth) gave the win to Sauk, who beat the Lady Jaguars for the first time since 2002.

The Lady Jaguars now prepare for a two-game homestand, next Monday and Tuesday, when they entertain Kimball and Pierz.

Also on Monday, the Jaguars baseball team will travel to Kimball, while the boys and girls track and field squads will travel to Maple Lake.

Update on Saturday night: **Note: I have track and field updates that will be posted by Sunday afternoon. At the Willmar Optimist Meet on Thursday, the squads had excellent, placewinning performances from Donny Johnson, Mac Derichs, Kelsey Kampsen, Heidi Lensing, and Ashley Lensing. The Lady Jaguars track and field team outplaced every other Class A team at the meet on Thursday. Great job!

This has been a successful first week of outdoors competitive action for our B-B-E spring sports teams. All teams should be proud of the hard work they've put in to bring their teams to the levels they are at now. I encourage everyone to make it a point to attend any sporting events you can make it to. Schedules for the track and field teams, the softball team, and the baseball team are all located on the right-hand side of this website.

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Jaguars Baseball -- 12-0 Win Over the Rockford Rockets, Lady Jaguars Softball -- 14-6 Win Over the Rockford Rockets

Today at Beier Field in Regal, the Jaguars baseball team lit up the starting pitcher from Rockford to build a 9-0 lead after one inning. They set a new B-B-E record for runs scored in an inning in the process. By the end of 4 1/2 innings, the Jaguars walked off the field as 12-0 winners over Central Minnesota Conference rival Rockford. They are now 2-1 in the CMC and 2-1 overall.

On Monday this week, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted beat the Rockets 6-1 in Rockford.

Next Monday the Jaguars travel to Kimball for another CMC outing against the Cubs. On Tuesday they travel to defending CMC-champion Pierz.

Down at Rockford, the Lady Jaguars softball team picked up their first win of the season, beating the Rockets 14-6. It marks the second year in a row that they have won in Rockford. As a team, the Lady Jaguars pounded out over 20 hits. They are now 1-2 in the CMC and 1-2 overall.

Tomorrow (Friday Apr 20) the Lady Jaguars softball team travels to Sauk Centre for a 4:30 non-conference matchup with the Mainstreeters.

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Jaguars Track and Field Squads Open Outdoor Season with Home Meet -- Lady Jaguars' Golf Takes First Place at Conference-opening Meet

Today under bright, warm sunshine, B-B-E's boys and girls squads both had great performances at the numerous events they participated in during today's home event at the high school sports complex. One personal best was soundly broken by sophomore Austin Jasmer, who shaved 13 seconds off of his 11:30 personal record in the 3200 race. He achieved third place as well in the process.

Teams participating in the meet were: Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball, Osakis, New London-Spicer, St.Cloud Cathedral, St.John's Prep, and our B-B-E Jaguars.

Full details of the track meet will be published in next week's Observer and Bonanza Valley Voice.

The boys and girls track and field squads will travel to Willmar for the Optimist meet, starting at 4:00.

In their first meet of the season, the Lady Jaguars golf team finished one-stroke ahead of second-place Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball in the Central Minnesota Conference opener for that sport. Sophomore Whitney Bertram shot a 45 to lead her squad. Senior Kari Rosengren followed with a 47 for third place individually.

Meanwhile, at Howard Lake, the Jaguars baseball team was tagged with their first loss of the season to the Lakers, 4-3 in regular innings. Just like yesterday, the Jaguars started strong, earning a 2-0 lead early on. After the Lakers tied the game at 2-2, the Jaguars went up 3-2. Then in the sixth inning, errors by the Jaguars helped the Lakers score twice for the game's final margin.

The Jaguars baseball team will host Rockford on Thursday in Regal at 5:00.

On the Lady Jaguars' side, the softball team also lost in a tough one-run loss, 5-4, to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted in a home contest. The Lakers finished in second place in the CMC last season and look to challenge for the conference championship again this year. The Lady Jaguars had the score tied at 4-4 in the sixth inning, only to fall in the final inning by a one-run margin.

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Jaguars Baseball Wins Season Opener

With the great head start of a 3-0 lead earned in the top of the first inning, the Jaguars baseball team had a victorious season opener at the Regal diamond tonight, beating Maple Lake (0-1) 8-2. The Regal field was in excellent shape and will most likely be the site of their Thursday home game against Rockford. Josh Roelike, Jordan Beier, and Zach Gallagher split pitching duties, with Roelike taking the first five innings on the mound to earn his first win of the season.

They're halfway to making my prediction come true that they'll go 2-0 against the Irish this season.

It was the first of three CMC games this week, as they travel to Howard Lake-Waverly-
Winsted tomorrow, then host Rockford on Thursday.

Tonight the Lady Jaguars softball team lost their season opener 6-0 at Maple Lake, who went 14-0 to win the CMC crown last season. The Irish (3-1 overall) opened their season this past Saturday with a tournament at St.Cloud Apollo, where they went 2-1.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) the Track and Field squads host a meet at 4:00, while the Lady Jaguars softball team hosts Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted in a 5:00 game.

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Jaguars Baseball at Regal Today

The Jaguars baseball team will officially open their season today at 5:00 at the Regal baseball diamond. The JV squad will play at the high school baseball field at 5:00. They will also open up Central Minnesota Conference play in the process, as they host Maple Lake. Last year the Irish won 6-2 on their diamond, and then they had an extra-inning 3-2 win over the Jaguars in Elrosa. They were two of Maple Lake's three CMC wins last season, as the Irish went 3-11 in league play and 5-16 overall. The Jaguars finished one place ahead of Maple Lake in the CMC (5-9, 6th). I look for the Jaguars to go 2-0 this year against the Irish.

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Now This is Cool = Ten B-B-E Speech Team Members Advance from the Section 5A Meet to the State Tournament

Today at the Section 5A meet at the New London-Spicer High School, ten members of the Sub-Section 5A-19 Champion B-B-E Jaguar Speech team advanced to "State". These ten individuals advance as either a regular participant or an alternate. The Speech State tournament will be held April 20-21 at St.Paul South High School.

Congradulations to Head Coach Julie Lloyd, Assistant Coach Pauline Segaar, and all members of the 2007 B-B-E Speech team.

Only a few hours after those great accomplishments were earned, the high school's theater stage was the site of the annual B-B-E Band and Choir Spring concert. Most of the speech team was on hand as they are also members of band and choir. What a wonderful small school we have at B-B-E, with all the great opportunities our students have to showcase their academic and extra-curricular talents.

Getting back to the spring sports teams, the Jaguars baseball team will hopefully open their season this Monday, when they host Maple Lake in a Central Minnesota Conference game. According to Elrosa native Matt Bauer, who is caretaker of Saints Field, the diamond should be ready for action this week. Meanwhile, the Lady Jaguars softball team will travel to Maple Lake to face the Irish in their season opener. On Tuesday, the Boys and Girls Track and Field squads will host a meet at the high school sports complex. That same day, the Jaguars baseball team will travel to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. The Lady Jaguars have their first home game of the season on Tuesday as well, a 5:00 home game with Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. (See schedules at right one page down on this website.)

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What's Wrong With This Picture? It's April 11th For Heaven's Sake! -- Outdoors Action Sidelined for the Week

The photo, taken outside my farm this morning, speaks for itself.

All B-B-E sports action yesterday was cancelled, and events for Thursday/Friday this week are up in the air.

I'm only guessing here but I believe the "Speech Open House" did not take place because of the storm that blew in last evening. I was at the high school for the "Education Forum" hosted by Superintendent Schmidt and I saw no signs of speech team members at the high school.

And by the way, at the Ed-Forum, positive signals were given by Mr. Schmidt about a proposed "Wrestling Room" that our Jaguars wrestling program needs for practices. I can't reveal any more than that, as everything is in the planning stages and no official "green lights" have been given to anything on this topic.

Let's hope for strong sunshine and warmth this weekend to get rid of the snow!

**Update on Friday, April 13th = The track and field squads did not travel to Rockford. Both diamond sports, baseball and softball, had their games cancelled. Only the track and field squads practiced today. The softball field by the elementary, as well as the high school baseball and softball fields, all are blessed with very soggy infields. Let the sun shine this weekend!

Coming Soon: Baseball/Softball/Track season schedules....Plus Important Information About Upcoming Meetings Regarding School District Matters

An Educational Forum will be held on Tuesday, April 10 at the High School Commons Area, beginning at 6:30. Administrative topics include: reductions, six teaching periods, all-day everyday Kindergarten, concerns of the public.

Also as important is the regular school board meeting, which will be on Monday, April 16 (7:30) at the high school auditorium.

The public is invited to a Speech Open House at the High School theater on Tuesday, April 10 at 7:00. The speech team will host its annual parents night open house in lieu of their trip to the Section 5A meet on April 14. The public is encouraged to come and meet the speech team and hear some top quality speeches as they prepare for Sections.

The Senior High Music Department will be performing their spring concert on Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 on the high school stage. Come hear the Jazz Misfits, Choir, Band, and special guests, the Mill Pond Jazz Orchestra, a jazz band comprised of musicians from the area.

Stay tuned...updates on what will take place this week for our B-B-E teams will be posted this week.

If it does not snow, the Jaguars baseball team is scheduled to host Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg at 4:30 on Tuesday, April 10. I haven't found out if the game is at Regal or at the high school diamond.

The Jaguars boys golf team is scheduled to begin their season on Tuesday, April 10, with a Central Minnesota Conference meet at Maple Lake. The Lady Jaguars golf team is preparing for their April 12th non-conference meet at
Melrose.

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A Great Weekend at B-B-E...Kudos to the Speech Team For De-Throning Sauk Centre During Last Friday's Sub-Section 5A-19 Meet for the Championship

Contrary to what I had put in an advertisement for the B-B-E speech team on this website back in January, they were not sub-section champions in 2006. (They were CMC champs.) They had finished Runners-up to speech kingpin Sauk Centre at least the past two seasons in the sub-section meet. B-B-E has been sub-section runners-up for the past four seasons.

This year, however, in last Friday's Sub-section 5A-19 meet at the Minnewaska Area High school, a huge number of B-B-E students earned first- and second-place medals on the team's way to a first-place finish. The finishes at the top two spots were: B-B-E 293 points, Sauk Centre 228 points. Based on my records, it is B-B-E's first sub-section championship in the Fine Arts.

They now advance to the Section 5A meet, held on Saturday, April 14, at the New London-Spicer High School.

The speech team includes a number of student-athletes. All speech members, as well as current Head Coach Julie Lloyd, have worked hard in the past few years to build the speech program to the level it currently is at. It is a huge accomplishment for the team to become sub-section champions. I do not know if they have had the Central Minnesota Conference meet. When I find out, I'll post those results as well.

Why the speech update on my sports website? Partly in support of the student-athletes on the speech team, but mainly because of the fact that we are all in this together at B-B-E, and we all must support students in every program the school offers. "The bus won't work without four good wheels." Yes, B-B-E is a small school, smaller than six of seven surrounding schools. At the same time, B-B-E has a fine school system and we should be proud of the accomplishments all extra-curricular groups earn.

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