The Kimball Express’ visit to the 2003 state tournament was cut short when they were defeated by the St. Francis Saints, 10-8 Friday, Aug. 15. St. Francis jumped to an early seven run lead. Express starting pitcher Pat Arnold had a rough night on the mound. He walked four in just over two innings of work, and gave up a three run bomb to cap off the seven run inning. Arnold allowed seven runs on seven hits and struck out one. He was relieved by Pearl Lake draftee Dale Kraemer in the third inning. The Express offense showed some potential as they gritted out four runs to cut into the seven run lead in the top of the third. Joe Pennertz’ had the big hit of the inning as he singled in two runs. Pennertz’s hit chased Saints starter Tom Fernilus from the game. The Saints added one more run in the fifth, with a solo homerun by Kraemer to make the score 8-4. Kimball kept the pressure on the Saints, who had runners in scoring positions every inning. The Express broke through in the seventh inning when Mike Arnold belted a towering two run triple to deep centerfield, bringing the Express to 8-6 deficit. The Express didn’t waste any time in the bottom half of the eighth inning as Scott Marquardt launched a blast to right field. The hit scored Nate Turck, who reached on an error by the first baseman. With one out and Kuechle on third base Mike Arnold hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Kuechle. Scott Marquardt was thrown out at third, trying to advance after the ball was thrown home, which ended the Express rally. Clear Lake draftee Dale Dingman, a one time member of the Kimball Express, relieved Kraemer in the fifth inning. He shut the Saints down, allowing a comeback by the Express. Dingman was cruising in the extra frames and carried that into the 11th inning, sitting the first two batters of the inning down on groundouts. Then, after a bloop single over shortstop Jeremy Kuechle’s head, and a base on balls, Dingman battled Saints catcher Tony Klaers to a 1-2 count. On a 1-2 pitch that was about a foot outside, the right-handed Klares reached over the plate to lace a double that landed fair and rolled into the right field corner, scoring two runs to give the Saints a 10-8 lead. The Express mounted a mini-rally in the bottom of the 11th, as Knaus hit a two out double to right center. Joe Pennertz followed that up with a line drive single. Dale Dingman ended the game as he lined out to the second baseman, ending the Express season. The offense did all it could to get back into the game. Most teams would have thrown in the towel and went through the motions for the rest of the game. The Express battled until the end and almost came home with a victory. That shows what kind of heart and soul this team has, and gives them something to be proud of, even if it was an early exit from this state tournament. The big three led the Express on offense with Mike Arnold going 2-5 with a triple and three RBIs, Scott Marquardt was 2-5, with two doubles and an RBI and Joe Pennertz was 2-5 with two RBIs to lead in the big comeback effort. The Express got what they wanted this season and that was a state tournament berth. However, the one and out showing at the state tournament has left a bit of a bad taste in their mouths and they are very eager to get back to the big dance and make some noise in 2004. The Express went 34-6 for the year, setting a team season record for most wins, and played the most games in one season in Kimball amateur baseball history. The Express players would like to thank everyone who supported them throughout this memorable season. They would also like to thank the fine sponsors who bought advertising on the outfield wall. This year marked the eighth state tournament appearance for Kimball. The Express are looking to make it nine next year as they have already set their sights on the 2004 tournament, which will be held in Jordan and Belle Plain. Once again, thanks to everyone who was a part of the 2003 season and lets do it all over again next year.
