More than front-runners are winners in Grandma’s Marathon
The television cameras and newspaper headlines will focus on the winners of Saturday’s 25th annual Grandma’s Marathon, most likely a couple of reed-thin Russians or Kenyans. And deservedly so, because Grandma’s Marathon has become a world-class event, and winning it puts you right up there with legendary runners like Garry Bjorklund and Dick Beardsley, and all the more recent winners.
But the much-admired superstars have been only the frosting on the cake, the embroidery around the leading edge of the tapestry. The fabric itself, which has made Grandma’s evolve into the biggest sports event in the Up North region over the past 25 years, is comprised of an assortment of individuals representing something entirely different, but perhaps more important, than winning.
Consider Anita Schendell. For Anita, entering, and finishing, the 26.2-mile run from Two Harbors to Canal Park is a personal commitment. She sees it as fun, and she has become a tireless advocate.
“People should give it a try, before they judge,” she said. “Running just a mile isn’t fair, because you’re always tired after a mile. You’ve got to go farther, got to get your heart rate up, then everything clicks, and it’s easy.”
Right.
A few years ago, Schendell had too much energy to be “just” a housewife, so after sending her husband, Greg, off to work in downtown Duluth, and getting her three kids off to school, she decided to turn her Lakewood home into a licensed daycare center. Her gregarious, always-upbeat demeanor is a magnet to youngsters and parents alike, and she now has 24 dedicated young clients chasing around the house, from 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. every day, and ranging in age from newborn to 11 years old.
Her license allows a maximum of 14 in her care at any one time, which is the number she had on Wednesday, when the phone rang. It was one of the moms asking if her youngster could stay an extra hour at Schendell’s house, until 6:30 p.m. on Friday. “No problem,” Anita said, cheerfully.
No problem, because there would still be just enough time for her to do some serious carbo-loading on spaghetti, head for bed at about 8 p.m., and rise at 4 a.m. to hustle to Two Harbors for the early-morning start to the marathon.
It’s not as though Schendell has been a lifelong running devotee or sports zealot. She grew up in Woodland, and except for some girls softball from age 9-12, she didn’t play any sports, even at East High School. “I should have run girls track, but I don’t even remember if they had track for girls,” she said, before digging out her yearbook and proving that yes, East did have girls track in those days.
Greg Schendell used to play a little baseball, and while their family stays active, it’s pretty traditional when it comes to sports. Emily, who is 14, and Kimberly, who is 11, played soccer in past years, and now are into dance. Zac, who is 8, plays every sport, mostly hockey, baseball and soccer. Greg helps coach Zac’s hockey and Little League baseball teams, and every game is a full family affair.
Sometimes, in the month leading up to Grandma’s, Anita might pass up the ride home after the games at the Little League fields on Jean Duluth Road, and she’ll run home instead. Eight miles. She estimates she’s run about 500 miles, specifically training for Grandma’s this year.
“Twenty years ago, when it was trendy, I started jogging a little, just to stay fit and to stay active,” Anita said. “It was never anything serious. After Zac was born, a couple of friends and I ran in Fitger’s 5K, and the Leif Erickson Park 5K and the Mother’s Day 5K. It was always just recreational.”
Two years ago, Schendell accepted the suggestion to run in the 1999 Grandma’s Half-marathon. She was then a 35-year-old mother of three — or 17, depending on if you count the daycare kids.
“One of my daycare moms suggested doing the half-marathon together,” Schendell said. “So we did. We didn’t go very fast, but near the end, I felt so good, I took off and ran ahead. Going down 5th Avenue West, and around the DECC, and then seeing the finish line area at Canal Park, the feeling of accomplishment was unbelievable. You cross that finish line, they give you a medal, and a rose, and my kids were jumping up and down…It was a great feeling. It was only the half-marathon, but when I got done, I felt so great, I wanted to run more.
“I got the fever. I looked around and I thought, ‘I can do this. I don’t have to be first, I don’t have to be the best’ ”
Anita’s friends were amazed. Not so much because she took on the challenge, or that she finished it. But that she didn’t even seem worn out by the whole thing. One of her friends said that she looked like she had just come out of a beauty parlor, instead of having just run 26.2 miles. They laughed. But Anita knew she could have run more.
So she did. Last year, she entered the full Grandma’s Marathon for the first time. Her time was 4 hours, 43 minutes, although time and placement were meaningless to her. She said that she’s always urging her kids to do things, and what better way to prove her point by making a commitment to a marathon, and then carrying it out?
“I just run slow,” she said. “I continue to run at an even pace, so when I finish, I still feel awesome. I could push it, but I like to take the time to enjoy the people. It’s so neat that people come out and line up to cheer you on. Sometimes I’ll cross the street to give them a high-five.”
Last October, she also ran in the Whistle Stop, a marathon that runs from Iron River to Ashland. She has trained more than ever this year for Grandma’s, although her way of training is fun, to her. She runs every day, up and down the Lakewood Road, with her dog, Bandit, a year-old Airedale. She says running up the long, slow rise on the Lakewood Road helps her think nothing of Lemondrop Hill in the marathon. Meanwhile, Bandit helps maintain Anita’s spirit, as well as her pace.
“I run five or six days in a row, then I take a day off to let my muscles relax and recoup,” she said. “All three of our kids have run with me some, and I’ve gotten all of them to run in youth races.”
Everything any of the Schendells do becomes a family affair. One of their projects is preparing Anita’s audio tapes. “I run with my headphones on,” she said. “We’ve got it all planned. I get two tapes, each with 120 minutes, so they’re an hour each side, and it takes me two tapes for the whole distance. I try to have a mix of everything, some jazzy, fun songs, and some old-time rock ‘n’ roll.
“I’ve got some Bonjovi, and ABBA,” Anita said. “And some Backstreet BoysÂ…and Brittney Spears.” Needless to say, Emily and Kim were quick to help make the new tapes for this year.
As the days of this week went by, Anita Schendell admitted she was getting anxious for the marathon to get here, although coordinating all the daycare kids into an amazingly orderly group never let her have too much time to worry let it bother her. When Saturday finally arrives, she’ll be there, amid the runners taking off from Two Harbors and revisiting Highway 61 toward Duluth.
There will be thousands of runners, but you’ll be able to pick out Anita Schendell, even though she’ll be right about in the middle of the throng. She’ll be wearing a red top, headphones, and a big smile, and she’ll be the one without the Airedale.
Hermantown’s state tourney focus switches softball to baseball
Hermantown baseball coach Bruce Plante laughs at the suggestion that Hermantown has become the “Edina of Duluth,” but he remembers when Edina took over something close to domination of Twin Cities and state sports in the early 1970s.
And, protests notwithstanding, Duluth area sports teams do pretty well for themselves, but Hermantown went to the state Class A hockey tournament, and the Hawks girls just reached the championship game of the state Class AA softball tournament, where they lost 3-2 to Maple River last weekend. And now the spotlight shifts to the Hermantown baseball team, which survived the rigors of Section 7AA and have earned the right to go to St. Cloud this week for yet another state tournament.
“I’m kinda surprised,” said Plante. “This is a young team. We’ve got a lot of players who played last year, but they were playing as sophomores then. I thought we might be a year away.”
Instead, the Hawks are making their fifth state tournament trip, and second under Plante’s coaching. The first was in 1996.
Plante, of course, also coached the Hermantown hockey team, a perennial favorite in Section 2A, and the Hawks reached state in March, only to lose to a very strong Rochester Lourdes outfit. It turns out, Hermantown’s baseball tournament foe in the quarterfinals Thursday at 10 a.m. in St. Cloud is Rochester Lourdes. Both teams have several baseball players who were on those hockey teams, as well.
“They beat us in the hockey tournament, so we owe ’em one,” said Plante.
If the Hawks get past Lourdes, they must come right back to Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud for a 3 p.m. semifinal, with the championship set for Friday at 6 p.m.
Baseball is divided into three classes, for which Plante and the Hawks are grateful. Duluth Denfeld and Grand Rapids reached the final four in 7AAA, but Forest Lake won it, and must face powerful Cretin-Derham Hall in Thursday’s first round at Bierman Field at the University of Minnesota. But Plante would have been less concerned being in Class AAA than in Class A this year, because the 7A champion is Nashwauk-Keewatin, and Plante anticipates N-K could well win the Class A state tournament in Jordan.
It was Nashwauk-Keewatin, in fact, who made Plante assume the Hawks might be a year away. “They had us 10-0 in the first inning,” said Plante. “I think the score ended up 10-0, but Nashwauk-Keewatin is the best team I’ve seen in any class in years. When they beat us, we were 1-3. We’ve done pretty well since then. We’ve gone 17-2, and now we’ve won 10 straight.”
At 18-5, Hermantown will face Lourdes (21-4) with a team that averages 6.8 runs per game, and is led by a balanced attack with good pitching and defense. Danny Wagner and Nate Taran lead the hitting, at .423 and .414 respectively, while Mike Anderson, who missed several weeks with an injury, is hitting .478. Steve Henry is at .370. They are seniors, and Taran is the Hawks top pitcher, with a 6-1 record and a 1.38 earned run average. Steve Henry is 4-1, and Wagner is 2-0, with a 1.85 ERA and a couple of saves.
When they’re not pitching, Taran plays shortstop, Wagner plays second base, and Henry plays first base.
“I was concerned about our pitching, but it has come through really well for us,” said Plante. “It’s helped that Todd Mell has been a solid catcher for us for three years.”
While Hermantown has never won the state title, Lourdes won Class A in 1996, and will be making its third tournament trip. Top pitchers for the Eagles are sophomores Jay Kasner and Tedd Garry, and junior Mike Lawler. Kasner is 6-1 with an ERA of 1.86, Garry is 5-1 with a 2.05 ERA and Lawler went 6-0 with a 1.79 ERA.
Junior Paul Huey leads Lourdes with a .515 batting average. He also added two home runs among 35 hits. Senior Matt Rink, junior Eric Anderson, Lawler, and Garry also bat over .450, and as a team the Eagles average 7.92 runs per game and they hold their opponents to 2.60.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
Other first-round games have St. Cloud Cathedral (19-5) facing Perham (16-1) at nearby Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud. St. Cloud Cathedral won the Class A title in 1977, 1980, and 1988. The Yellowjackets of Perham are returning for their second straight and fourth overall appearance, led by the pitching of seniors Shane Hendrickson and Josh Blume, Perham averages 8.9 runs per game and holds opponents to 2.9. Hendrickson’s record is 6-0 and he has a 0.71 ERA. Blume went 8-0 with 89 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.29. Hendrickson and Blume have a combined career record of 30-1.
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (18-3) meets Luverne (15-8) in the 12:30 p.m. game following the Hermantown-Lourdes match at Dick Putz Field. The Falcons of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City are making their first state tournament appearance, while Luverne is making its sixth overall appearance, but its first since 1995.
The final Class AA matchup has Blue Earth Area (18-6) meeting Mora (17-5) at 12:30 at Joe Faber Field. Blue Earth won the consolation bracket at the 2000 tournament, and returns for its third tournament appearance behind senior T.J. Schmidtke, who has a school record .500 batting average, with 40 hits and 28 RBI, while junior T.J. Stallman added 38 hits and has a .458 batting average with three home runs during the regular season. The Mora Mustangs are making their first tournament appearance. The Oslin brothers do the pitching, with senior Jeff Oslin and sophomore Josh Oslin, who set a school record for most wins in a season, at 8-1, with 53 strikeouts and a 1.09 ERA. Jeff Oslin went 5-2.
Hermantown’s 7th-inning rally falls short in 3-2 AA softball final
NORTH MANKATO, MINN. — Desperation is a great motivator, and the Hermantown Hawks had nothing going but desperation in the last of the seventh inning Saturday, but their furious rally fell just short, and Maple River escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Hawks in the Class AA state championship softball final.
The game was the middle one of three state class championship games. Powerful Armstrong won the AAA title Saturday morning by rallying from a 2-1 deficit for two runs in the fifth to beat Lakeville 3-2. Star pitcher Missy Beseres, who is headed for Penn State next year, tripled home the tying run, and stole home with the winning run while the Lakeville fielders were casually returning to position. Armstrong had beaten Stillwater 1-0 in 15 innings on a double steal in the Friday semifinals.
Stillwater came back to win the AAA third-place game with a 5-0 Saturday morning victory over Virginia, which had lost 2-1 to Lakeville in the semifinals.
The final game of the tournament was the Class A final, won by Mankato Loyola in a 3-0 victory over Lyle/Austin Pacelli, behind the 3-hit pitching of Lindsay Mamer.
In Class AA, Maple River (26-2) led 3-0 after 6 *, and junior pitcher Christina Alleven had faced just one batter over the minimum. That was when first baseman Megan Delich socked a long double to the center-field fence way back in the second inning. Actually, the Hawks (24-5) appeared to have a second hit in that very inning, but when Megan Francisco singled to right, she was thrown out at first base. So Alleven had a 1-hitter and a three-run cushion entering the last of the last.
“We had only had one baserunner all game, so my goal was to get on base and try to get something started,” said left-fielder Jamie Bang, who led off. “Their infield moved up, maybe they thought I was going to try to bunt.”
Instead, Bang slapped a leadoff single to center, giving the Hermantown side of the crowded bleachers at Caswell Park’s Field 1 something to cheer about. Lindsey Erickson, the Hawks star pitcher-who-would-rather-play-centerfield, slashed another single, this time to left, and when a hasty throw in got away, Bang took third and Erickson second. Still nobody out. Shortstop Stacey Stokke then punched a grounder to second; she was retired, but Bang scored Hermantown’s first run and Erickson took third.
Up came Delich again, and she walloped the speedy Alleven’s fastball over the right-fielder’s head, scoring Erickson and pulling in with her second double of the day. “My first time up, I hit a change-up,” said Delich. “The second time, she struck me out with an outside fastball. The third time, my coach said that he thought she’d come closer to down the middle with fastballs, and if she did, I should turn on it.
“I knew we were down to our last chance, and I was just trying to tell myself some jokes in the batter’s box to stay loose,” Delich said.
Coach Tom Bang called it “a great piece of hitting.”
“She unloaded on a change the first time, then she got struck out with hard stuff, away,” said Bang. “She came back and got around on the hard stuff.”
It was 3-2, still one out. Leah Benedict ran for Delich, and designated hitter Megan Francisco grounded to second, with Benedict moving the potential tying run to third.
That brought up Anna Bjorlin. This is a young Hermantown team, with seven underclassmen starting, and Bjorlin is the youngest of the young — only a seventh-grader — and she was kidded on Friday about being able to look both like the team mascot and the team’s star catcher.
Bjorlin didn’t hesitate, but her grounder up the middle was grabbed by Alleven, who threw her out at first to end the game.
“She wasn’t up there looking to walk, she went up there to hit that ball,” said Bang. “That’s why she can compete at this level at her age.”
The loss ended a stirring run by Hermantown, which had to come back from a 6-2 loss to Greenway of Coleraine in the Section 7AA tournament and beat Esko 6-3, then beat unbeaten Greenway 13-3 and follow it immediately with a 4-0 triumph over Greenway for the 7AA title.
That game started Lindsey Erickson’s string of shutout innings, and she added seven to it with a 2-hit, 3-0 victory over Warroad on Friday in the state tournament, and seven more with another 3-0 victory, this time a 1-hit victory over Winona Cotter in Friday’s semifinals.
Her string of three straight shutouts ended in the top of the fourth, when Maple River got a runner on by an error, advanced on a wild pitch, and Alleven hit a pop fly single to left for a 1-0 lead. After a sacrifice, Julianne FitzSimmons, who had two of the Eagles five hits off Erickson, singled sharply to right for a 2-0 lead. While Alleven was retiring 14 consecutive Hawks from the second inning until the seventh, the Eagles went after Erickson aggressively, both at the plate and on the basepaths.
With two out in the top of the fifth, Andrea Schutt beat out a grounder to second. Stokke briefly bobbled a grounder by Haley Rossow, who beat the throw to first, and when Delich spotted the speedy Schutt trying for third, she threw there but nobody was at the bag. The Stokke could only deflect the throw, and Schutt kept coming around to score from first base on the continuous play.
Down 3-0, the Hawks seemed helpless as Alleven kept retiring the Hawks in order. Maple River, a school from the Southern Minnesota town of Mapleton, had beaten Annandale 7-0 and St. Paul Academy 3-0, as Alleven ran her string of shutouts to four, and was well along on No. 5 when the title game got to the seventh.
At that point, however, the youthful Hawks dug in and battled, getting three of their four hits for the game, ending Alleven’s shutout string, and giving rise to the old saying: They didn’t lose so much as they just ran out of time.
Grand Rapids tops Denfeld in 7-6 classic, loses to Forest Lake
PRINCETON, MINN.—Grand Rapids survived a mighty scare from Duluth Denfeld in a Section 7AAA baseball elimination game Tuesday afternoon, to earn the bonus of getting the chance to play again. Some bonus.
Awaiting the Thunderhawks was unbeaten and powerful Forest Lake, and the Rangers ended Grand Rapids season with an 8-1 whipping in the night game to earn the 7AAA berth in next week’s state baseball tournament.
Rapids (17-9) would have had to beat Forest Lake (16-6) twice to claim the title, but the Rangers jumped on Rapids sophomore Bryan Nikkel for five runs in the first two innings and put the game on cruise control in the hands of ace pitcher Jason Foster.
Nikkel kept his composure and pitched well after the rocky start, when he walked the bases full in the last of the first, gave up a run on an infield hit, then was victimized when Derek Jackson smacked one off the third base bag that went for a double and made it 3-0. Chris Young tripled home a run in the second and scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0, and the Rangers brought home another on an error in the third.
Foster had a two-hit shutout until the sixth, when Kevin Ott singled and Brent Magnuson singled him to third. Ott scored on a double steal, but by then the Rangers already had their eight runs on the board, and outhit the Thunderhawks 9-4 for the game.
“We knew we’d have to face the big guy (Foster), but that second guy (Alex Johnson) threw BBs, too,” said Grand Rapids coach Bill Kinnunen.
But Ott, a senior first baseman, was the hitting star of the tournament. Not only did he get two hits against Forest Lake, he wound up 9-for-14 for the four games. He was 2-4 against North Branch with a home run, 3-4 against Forest Lake in Monday’s second game, 2-4 against Denfeld Tuesday, and 2-3 in the finale.
The Thunderhawks advanced to the night game by the narrowest of margins, blowing a 6-1 lead against Denfeld (10-12) before escaping the Hunters 7-6 in eight innings in the afternoon elimination game between two once-beaten teams. Both teams threw everything into the game, which started in a nasty drizzle and ended with some wild twists.
Denfeld lost 10-0 to Forest Lake in Monday’s opener, while Grand Rapids beat North Branch 3-0. Rapids then lost 12-9 to Forest Lake, while Denfeld rose up to eliminate North Branch 12-0 to stay alive Monday night. The plucky Hunters, who rose back to within reach of .500 at 10-11 with the North Branch victory, sent crafty left-hander Ben Jukich back to the mound against Grand Rapids.
Jukich, who threw the first three innings of the five-inning no-hitter Monday night, suffered Tuesday by being unable to grip the wet ball in the persistent rain, spraying several wild pitches in the first inning instead of having his usual pinpoint control. When he did throw it over, the Thunderhawks hammered it, scoring four times in the last of the first.
Kevin Ott, the hottest hitter in the tournament, slashed an opposite-field double off the right-field fence to drive in the first run, then Brent Magnuson lined a shot that deflected off Jukich’s glove and couldn’t be played, scoring another. Brian Wickstrom was safe on an error, and a third run scored when Matt Erzar grounded out. Tom Mager’s double down the right-field line made it 4-0.
Denfeld cut it to 4-1 when Jim Rodberg singled home Carlin Page in the top of the second, but Rapids expanded the lead to 6-1 in the last of the second when Ott singled home a run and later scored on another wild pitch. At that point it looked like a blowout, but the rain diminished and Jukich found control with his off-speed breaking pitches, stifling the Thunderhawk bats while the Hunters started scratching their way back into the game.
Kinnunen started Ben Moore pitching, and brought in an array of relievers to try to stop the Hunters, who pecked away by following the run in the second with two in the third, and one each in the fourth, fifth and sixth to gain the 6-6 deadlock. In the second inning, Jason Stangel was the first reliver, and in the third, Adam Sutherland came in with the bases full in the third and walked in two runs, giving way to Brian Wickstrom, the junior Kinnunen had been hoping to save for the second game.
The game had numerous twists. It was 6-3 when Carlin Page squeezed Tom Kowalik home in the fourth to make it 6-4. Paul Conito singled home the run in the fifth to make it 6-5, and things got really wild in the sixth. Bryan Reese led with a double to left-center for Denfeld, moving to third on Eric Gerchman’s hard single. Jukich fouled off a suicide squeeze attempt, but Reese scored the tying run on a wild pitch, with Gerchman going all the way to third.
Wickstrom picked Gerchman off third, and he was caught in a rundown, crashing heavily into catcher Andy Paul, who somehow held the ball as he was sent sprawling. Gerchman was ejected for throwing an elbow in the collision.
The Thunderhawks sent their slick double play combination to work for a 4-6-3, Nikkel-to-Dereck Salisbury-to-Ott double play in the top of the seventh, but Jukich still subdued Grand Rapids, and it got dicier in the top of the eighth. After Wickstrom struck out two hitters, Joel Hatland, who had replaced Gerchman at first, drew a walk. Page then blasted a double to the wall in left-center. Hatland raced around third and went for the lead run, but Rapids center-fielder Brent Magnuson got to the ball and fired to shortstop Salisbury, who rifled a perfect throw to Paul to nail Hatland at the plate.
In the last of the eighth, Matt Erzar walked and Kinnunen sent in Matt Hurst to run, and he took second on a wild pitch. Jukich came back to throw strike three past Andy Paul, but the ball was in the dirt, and Kowalik blocked it to keep it in front of him. Kowalik jumped out in front of the plate to retrieve the ball. His throw tailed to the right, and Hatland, new to first base, had the ball go off the tip of his glove. Hurst came around third and scored the winning run, bringing a weird ending to a highly entertaining game.
“I’ve got to hand it to Denfeld, they came all the way back from 6-1, and we haven’t scored since the second inning,” said Kinnunen. “We had to make some plays. On their hit in the eighth, Brent picked it up cleanly, and got it to Dereck, who’s got a great arm.”
It seemed to be as much a relief as a celebration to the Thunderhawks, but maybe because they knew what was waiting ahead for them.
Meggers’ 8 RBI helps Winnipeg chill Dukes home opener 14-5
Sometimes when good friends go out to play their first round of golf for the year, if one botches his first shot, the others will give him a “do-over.” Forget that one, it’s your first try. Unfortunately for the Duluth-Superior Dukes, there are no mulligans in baseball — even if it’s your home opener.
The Dukes, who found out how good Winnipeg and Fargo-Moorhead were on a 2-6 opening road tour to those sites, welcomed Winnipeg to Wade Municipal Stadium on Friday night with the promise of all sorts of good things under new ownership, new management, and with a number of new players. The pregame stuff all went well — most of it, anyhow — and a surprisingly large turnout (2,040 announced) showed up wearing snowmobile outfits and parkas against the 40-something chill and a pestering drizzle blowing in off Lake Superior.
Then the game started. And instead of a home-opener for the Dukes, it seemed more like a feast for the Goldeyes, who bombarded the home side 14-5 in a game that — believe it or not — wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
The closest thing to a happy homecoming was for Mike Meggers, Winnipeg’s burly designated hitter. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he played for a brief while with the Dukes a couple of years ago and showed he could hit the ball hard. On Friday night, Meggers hit two mammoth home runs, narrowly missed a third, and even when he hit a harmless looking pop fly it fell safely.
Everytime Meggers swung the bat, it seemed like Goldeyes scurried home and the scoreboard looked like a video-game calculater. He officially was 3-for-6 with 8 RBIs.
That left Brian Myrow, Winnipeg’s second baseman and No. 2 hitter, seeming almost puny with onlyh 5 RBIs, while going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a sacrifice fly. Winnipeg shortstop Brent Sachs also had three hits (3-for-5), and would have had a few RBIs too, except that he’s Winnipeg’s leadoff man, so he settled for two doubles and three runs scored. Carmine Cappuccio, the left-fielder, batted third and went 3-for-4 with two more doubles, scoring twice, while driving in the only run Myrow and Meggers left on the bases.
That meant Winnipeg’s first four batters — Sachs, Myrow, Cappuccio and Meggers — combined to rake four Dukes pitchers for 12 hits in 19 at-bats.
Actually, Meggers might have had a dozen RBIs, but after he socked a 2-run homer in the top of the first, he came back up with the bases loaded in the second, and the score already 4-0, but he got under starting pitcher Chris Hill’s pitch just a little and his blast to center was caught by Eddie Gerald. Otherwise, he might have had a grand slam.
As it was, Meggers adjusted for windage on his next turn, in the fourth, after Myrow had singled home a run, and did blast a grand slam to make it 9-0, giving the slugger six RBIs while ending Hill’s night before he got anybody out in the inning.
Eric Turner came on from the Dukes bullpen, and found out why Hill wasn’t having much fun. At least he kept the Goldeyes hits inside the park, but Cappuccio doubled home two runs in the fifth with a rocket that only stayed in the park because its trajectory never got higher than the fence.
All this time, Winnipeg starting pitcher Shawn Onley was cruising to what looked like something more embarrassing than just a good game. While Goldeyes were circling the bases, Onley didn’t allow a hit through the first four innings, as if the home club wasn’t even going to be allowed to have any of the fun on its debut night.
Gerald, plucked from the Saint Paul Saints, gave the cold, huddling fans their first chance to cheer since the pregame show, when he hammered a 3-2 pitch over the right-field wall in the last of the fifth. The Dukes got another run in the sixth, when left-fielder Aaron Runk doubled to the wall in right-center and scored on a single by second baseman Ruben Cardona.
In the eighth, Steve Serafin’s pop fly fell in for an RBI hit, and the Dukes finally inflicted five runs on the lanky Onley and prevented him from a complete game. In eight innings, his run total was misleading, and his one walk with 11 strikeouts was a more accurate reading of his performance.
Tyler Swinburnson threw a scoreless eighth, although he allowed two hits, and Chris Vendela, fresh out of UWS, threw a scoreless ninth, including an impressive pair of strikeouts. With runners at first and third and one out, Meggers strode to the plate with almost a full season’s worth of RBIs already registered. Vendela zipped a fastball by him for a called strike, got him to swing and miss at another, then struck him out, swinging at a stunning curveball.
That left Meggers with eight RBIs, one short of the record nine by Tony Mitchell in a Dukes game against Saint Paul.
“I think he was surprised I threw him a breaking pitch, because I got a chance to pitch in three games up at Winnipeg, and I never threw a breaking pitch,” said Vendela, who struck out two in his only inning of work.
Manager Ed Nottle shook his head afterward: “We’ve got to improve on a lot of things,” he said. “We’ve got to handle things like the weather better.”
A good place to start might be on how to handle pop-ups just out of the infield. The Dukes infielders showed a strong reluctance to catch any pop-ups that required moving out past the security of the infield dirt, and several of the Goldeyes 19 hits should have been caught instead of merely surrounded. That included Meggers’ extremely high fly in the seventh, after Cappuccio had doubled home a run to leave runners on second and third. It looked like Turner had finally found a way to get the big guy out, but the high pop fell for a hit on the wet grass in shallow right-center, and two more runs scored.
In the pregame show, new owner John Ehlert said to the fans: “We’ve made a lot of promises, but one thing we can’t promise is to change the weather.”
The only person in the place who liked the weather was Vendela, who grew up in Superior. “This is home, to me,” he said after the game. “I’ve always pitched in weather like this, and I love it.”
OPENING NOTES: The night started with the Dukes dedicating the field portion of Wade Stadium to groundskeeper Ray Adameak, who died last year after becoming a fixture at the classic old park. Mayor Gary Doty unveiling a replica of the plaque and presented it to Dana Adameak, Ray’s wife, while his four sisters looked on.
That was a far more meaningful tribute than the club’s ill-planned ploy of announcing a major secret of who would throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The buildup increased, even through the day on local radio shows, and the club insisted it would be a big secret. Speculation ranged from Michael Jordan to Gov. Jesse Ventura. Then club officials intimated they were just kidding, and paraded a variety of little kids, sponsors and fans out to toss balls to the plate. Maybe that was a clever hoax in the minds of some, but to some disgruntled fans, who had swallowed the gimmick, assuming it was another one of those ownership promises.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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