This past Sunday afternoon on a soggy, sunshiny day, the Express assured themselves of a spot in the Region 10C playoffs as they survived a 14-inning battle with the Pearl Lake Lakers, winning 4-2 in the second round of the Central Valley League playoffs. It was a pitchers’ duel as the Express had Pat Arnold (4-0) start on the mound, and the Lakers went with right-hander Dale Kraemer. Arnold (IP 7 1/3, R2, H3, BB 3, HBP 1) threw seven scoreless innings before running into trouble in the eighth inning as he gave up two runs. Joe Krippner relieved him. Krippner came on and pitched masterfully, going 5 1/3 innings without allowing a run in, picking up the win. Jeremy Kuechle came on in the bottom of the 14th inning to pick up his fourth save of the year. In the other dugout, Dale Kraemer pitched to mere exhaustion as he went 13 innings before being taken out in favor of Jim Schlangen. Kraemer battled for the Lakers and kept the Express in check most of the game, allowing three runs on six hits. He threw 135 pitches, which is pretty good considering the work he put in for the Lakers; the Express tip their hats to the right hander. The Express drew first blood as they scrapped out a lone run in the fifth inning on a Pat Arnold single up the middle to score Brian Marquardt, who reached base on an error to make it 1-0. Kimball made it 2-0 in the top of the eighth inning as Brooks Marquardt singled. Marquardt then turned on the after burners, stealing second and third to put himself in scoring position for Jeremy Kuechle, who singled him home. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Lakers’ Dave Schneider singled. Mitch Denne walked Tim Voight and sacrificed them both over to put runners at second and third with one out. Kraemer then hit a squibber down the third baseline. Express third baseman Nate Turck’s throw home beat the runner in plenty of time, and Scott Marquardt appeared to apply the tag, but the call was safe at home, and the Lakers were on the board. Jim Schlangen bunted; Arnold fielded and tagged him out but not before another run scored, knotting the game at 2-2. This proved to be the undoing of Arnold as he left the game frustrated. Krippner (4-3) came on in relief, and he would pick up his fourth win of the season. Krippner got Gary Linn to hit a lazy fly ball to right field which Express right-fielder Aaron Knaus didn’t see off the bat. The ball landed in front of him, and the go-ahead run was heading for home. Knaus’ throw was on the money and nailed Laker Dale Kraemer at the plate. Both teams shut each other down for the next five innings before Kimball got to Kraemer in the top of the 14th inning. Scott Marquardt led off with a walk, chasing Kraemer from the mound in favor of Jim Schlangen. Marquardt then stole second. With one out, Mike Arnold stepped up and hit a ball to the left centerfield gap (not a blooper over the shortstop’s head as reported by the St. Cloud Times) that landed just out of the reach of Laker leftfielder Denne, who made an outstanding catch earlier in the game. This scored Marquardt for the 3-2 Express lead. Arnold was thrown out on the play while trying to stretch the hit into a double. Knaus would score after the Express loaded the bases, and pinch-hitter Tom Marquardt drew a walk to give the Express the 4-2 lead. Jeremy Kuechle came on in the bottom of the inning, throwing two ground balls and a fly ball to end the game, giving the Express another chance at the Region 10C tournament with a shot at earning a state tournament berth. This win gives the Express a 22-8 record overall. They will play the winner of the Pearl Lake vs. St. Augusta matchup, which took place on Tuesday night, July 23, in Cold Spring. Check the St. Cloud Times for results. The game will be in Kimball at 2 p.m. on Saturday. This is a seeding game; Kimball will have to lose twice in order to give up the number one seed coming out of the CVL North. If a second game is necessary, it will be played Sunday at 2 p.m. on the opponent’s home field. Game notes: The Express stole nine bases off Laker catcher Tim Voight. The Lakers did not advance a runner past second base until the eighth inning. This was the longest game in Express playoff history. The win gives the Express the opportunity to advance to the Region 10C playoffs held in Eden Valley on Aug. 2-4 and Aug. 9-11. Kimball vs. Dassel Kimball traveled to Dassel last Friday night to take on the Saints in exhibition action. The Saints came away with a 2-0 win. The Express couldn’t get anything going offensively, posing a threat in the first inning, and that was it. The Express had runners at second and third with one out and failed to take advantage as this was the only real scoring opportunity that presented itself for Kimball. Kris Hagen pitched a wonderful 5 1/3 innings before giving up a one-out, two-run double. He had a 0-2 count on the Saints’ clean-up hitter Pete Burkstand. Hagen left a change up about waist high, and Burkstand took care of business. Hagen went six innings, scattering six hits, walking one, hitting one batter and striking out two. He has logged 61 innings for the Express this year and has a 3.39 ERA with a 4-3 record. Joe Krippner came on in relief and worked the final two innings. Brooks and Scott Marquardt were both 2-4, but Kimball was unable to get anything across the remainder of the game as they dropped their eighth game of the season.
