Saturday’s 9-6 win against the Brewers in Luxemburg gives the Kimball Express the No. 1 seed in the Central Valley League (CVL) south, as they head into Region 10C play to begin in Watkins the weekend of Aug. 6. Scott Marquardt went 4-5 with two runs, and his brother, Brooks, was 2-2 with three runs to lead the Kimball offense. Jeremy Kuechle, Nate Turck and Tom Marquardt each collected two hits to aid in the effort Saturday, July 31. Kimball held a 9-4 advantage going into the ninth inning where the Brewers mounted a mini-rally, scoring two runs before Jeremy Kuechle struck out Tom Harren to close the door on any comeback hopes. The Express took advantage of four first inning walks to take an early 2-0 lead. Brewers starting pitcher Adam Holheisel struggled with control problems and was replaced after two-thirds of an inning. The Brewers came right back at the Express, tying it up in the bottom half of the first inning with a two-run single off the bat of Eric Schepers. Kimball went up 7-2 after scoring two runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth. The big hit came from Jeremy Kuechle, as he smoked a two-run single up the middle in the fourth inning. Luxemburg cut it to 7-4 after a two-run fifth. Kimball tallied a single run in the sixth on an RBI single by Pat Arnold, and added another in the seventh inning on a Scott Marquardt single, scoring brother Brooks to make it 9-4. The score settled down until the ninth inning, when Luxemberg mounted their threat. Express starting pitcher Pat Arnold was effectively wild in the seven innings he pitched. He struck out eight, walked none, gave up eight hits and four runs. Arnold also struggled with control, throwing four wild pitches giving the Brewers two runs. Arnold was relieved by Brooks Marquardt who pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Kuechle came on to to finish the game. Rail Report The win improves the Express record to 22-10 overall. They wound up 3-0 in the CVL South playoffs, taking the No. 1 seed and winning the regular season CVL South division title. The Express now enter Region 10C tournament action in Watkins. They will play at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6, against the Lakewood League West No. 2 seed, the Sauk Centre Titans. The two teams last met three years ago, in region play in Watkins. The Titans won that match. The region tournament is an eight team, double elimination format and takes place from Aug. 6-15. Four teams from the CVL and four teams from the Lakewood League have advanced. Coming out of the Lakewood League West is the No. 1 seed Melrose Black Sox and the No. 2 seed Sauk Centre Titans. From the Lakewood League Central are the No. 1 seed St. Cloud Orthopedics Ice and No. 2 seed O’Hara’s. Joining them out of the CVL are the No. 1 seed Cold Spring Rockies and No. 2 seed Watkins Clippers from the CVL North, and No. 1 seed Kimball and No. 2 seed Luxemburg Brewers from the south. The top two teams will advance to the 2004 Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament held in Jordan and Belle Plain Aug. 22-Sept. 5. After league playoffs, each team is allowed to draft two players from other teams in the league not advancing to region play. Drafted players can only be used as pitchers or catchers, and they must play at least one out defensively before making a plate appearance. The Express decided to draft pitching as they welcome southpaw Danny Hansen and right-hander Joel “Joby” McCann from the Eden Valley Hawks to round out their playoff roster. Hansen pitches for St. Olaf College and has had a good year for the Hawks. McCann has also had a solid year for the Hawks. Both will be looked upon to throw some key innings for the Express in playoff action. The Express are excited to have them and hope to bring them on a wild ride to the 2004 state tournament.
