Jaguars Fastpitch falls to K-M-S 8-4, host Rockford tomorrow - Jaguars boys golf place 5th at Kimball

The Jaguars Fastpitch team fell in a non-conference game at Murdock to the Camden Conference Champion K-M-S Fighting Saints. Six K-M-S runs in the bottom of the fourth erased a 2-0 Jaguars' lead after three scoreless innings opened the game.

The final score was 8-4.

The fastpitch team's record is 9-7 overall and 7-5 in the CMC, good for fifth place alone. A three-way tie exists for second place right now between HL-W-W, Rockford, and Holdingford, all with 4 CMC losses.

The Jaguars boys golf team had a rough outing at Kimball on Monday, finishing 5th as a team to put their hopes of a CMC title in jeopardy. Corey Tonn was medalist, however, to highlight the Jaguars' performance by shooting a 40. They close out the CMC season with the sixth league meet on Thursday at Pierz.

On Tuesday the Jaguars Fastpitch hosts Rockford (9-9, 8-4 CMC) in a double-header to wrap up the regular season. They have a chance to finish the CMC at 9-5, earning sole possession of second or third place in the league with two wins on Tuesday. Rockford just defeated CMC second-place HL-W-W 3-1 in Howard Lake tonight. The Lakers entered the game in second place at 8-3 in the CMC, the Rockets were 7-4. Both teams are now tied for second going into tomorrow's regular season finales.

The Jaguars Fastpitch opens playoffs on Friday at home in a 5:00 game against Swanville (10-4) in the Sub-Section 5A-West quarterfinals. Swanville was defeated 11-1 to Osakis today in a Prairie Conference game.

I had a mistake in my 5A-West seedings, putting Browerville as #7 when it should've been Kimball Area in that spot. Browerville is the #8 seed.

Central Minnesota Conference fastpitch standings/records:
Maple Lake (11-1)
HL-W-W (8-4)
Rockford (8-4)
Holdingford (7-4) *they faced EV-W today and probably won
B-B-E (7-5)
Kimball (4-8)
EV-W (1-11)
Pierz (1-11)

Area baseball results:
Maple Lake 10, Kimball Area 9 (a loss would've been costly for the Irish, who are zeroing in on a #2 sub-section playoff seed)
Rocori 7, Pierz 4
Eden Valley-Watkins 14, Holdingford 4
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 3, Rockford 2
Albany 6, NL-S 5
Hancock 7, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 0
Hancock 13, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 5 (Hancock is 10-3)

Area fastpitch results:
Rockford 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 1
Holdingford 14, Eden Valley-Watkins 12
Maple Lake 6, Kimball Area 1
Osakis 11, Swanville 1
Eagle Valley 10, Upsala 9
Bertha-Hewitt 14, Browerville 4
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 7, Montevideo 1
New London-Spicer 9, Melrose 0

The Jaguars baseball team (2-10 CMC, 3-12) travels to Rockford on Tuesday for a CMC double-header against the Rockets. Two wins by the Jaguars would prove helpful for Wednesday night's Sub-Section 5A-South seeding meeting. Rockford is 2-13 overall.

I predict the Jaguars will come in at a 7-seed, with a first-round match-up against Maple Lake in the sub-section quarterfinals. The upside to that is avoiding a first-round play-in round, due to their convincing sweep over Kimball on April 30.

Here's my predictions on baseball seeding:
1- Eden Valley-Watkins
2- Maple Lake
3- Upsala/Swanville Area
4- Browerville/Eagle Valley
5- Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City
6- Holdingford
7- B-B-E
8- Kimball Area
9- Osakis

In that scenario, Osakis and Kimball would play in a pigtail game to decide who gets to face #1-seed Eden Valley-Watkins.

I don't see any way it shakes out that the Jaguars can rise above #7. Two close losses to Holdingford pin them under the Huskers. A-C-GC's strength-of-schedule factor (facing strong teams from Paynesville/Morris/BOLD twice) gives them a slight nod over Holdingford. The top four seeds in my list all have winning records against Section 5A opponents.

It will be a very entertaining sub-section race. The Jaguars definitely have a chance against Maple Lake or USA, the two teams who I feel are worthy of a #2-seed.

The Jaguars track and field teams travel to Holdingford on Tuesday for the Central Minnesota Conference meet. It begins at 3pm.

Info from the Lake Henry amateur baseball win against Farming, a 5-3 result:
Lakers veteran pitcher Roger Wuertz picked up the win in 6 innings of work, giving up 5 hits and earning 6 strikeouts. Leading hitters for Lake Henry were: Jon Lieser 2-for-4 including a double, 2 runs; Shane Kampsen 2-for-4, 2 stolen bases, Mike Stalboerger 2-for-5, 2 RBI.

Info from the New Munich win over Spring Hill, a 7-0 result:
Jim Thull pitched seven innings to pick up the win for the Silverstreaks, who scored 5 runs on 2 Charger errors in the 4th inning. Chad Funk went 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI, with Joe Stangler going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Done with this blog until Tuesday night - I've got a newspaper to build (yeh, gotta love the daily grind)

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