Ancients lose to Relics 0-6

The Ancients hosted the Menahga Relics for a league game Friday evening in Wahpeton, ND, as part of Minnesota Senior Men’s Amateur Baseball Association Northwestern League Action (for players aged 35 and over).  

The Ancients never got the bats going, getting shutout 6-0 by Menahga pitcher Jon Lillquist over seven innings.  Lillquist spread four hits and a walk over seven innings, assisted by two inning ending double killings, while striking out seven batters.  Menahga scored all the runs they would need in the second inning when the bottom half of the ordered managed two runs on two hits and two walks. 

Fergus Falls starter Will Uhlich set down nine straight Relics in innings three through five before allowing his third run (unearned) in the sixth on an error and two singles.  Uhlich struck out five while giving up six hits and four free passes.  Brian Jacobson pitched the top of the seventh, giving up five hits and the final three runs.

The Fergus Falls batters with the most success were Mike Mertes with two singles and Greg Anderson and Barry Leitch contributing one hit each.  The Ancients league record is now (1-8), while Menahga improves to (5-4), taking sole possession of third place in the league.

Ancients drop pitching duel to Relics 1-2

The Ancients traveled to the Menahga Relics for a league game Sunday afternoon @ 2:30pm in Minnesota Senior Men’s Amateur Baseball Association Northwestern League Action (for players aged 35 and over).  

The Ancients struck first in the top of the third inning, with Greg Anderson leading off with a single, advancing to third on a Dan Smith sacrifice bunt that was thrown away, putting runners at first and third.  Monte Fredrickson then grounded out to shortstop bringing in Anderson for the Ancients only run. 

The Relics loaded the bases in the bottom of the third on a single and two walks after a leadoff strikeout.  Menahga starting pitcher Charlie Dormanen then lifted a fly ball to centerfield to even the score.  Fergus Falls starter, Kurt Nygaard then struck out the next batter to end the threat.  

Menahga took the lead in the bottom of the fourth after two were out.  Mark Burkman started with a single, Gene Kern was hit by pitch, and Gary Parvi then singled to put the Relics up 2-1.  Charlie Dormanen would make this stand throwing an outstanding game, giving up five hits and one unearned run while going the distance. 

Kurt Nygaard, (1-1) on the season, also threw a solid game.  He only gave up four hits, three walks, two hit batters, and two earned runs, while throwing the complete game and striking out three.   He also contributed a base hit, along with Monte Fredrickson, Barry Leitch, and Cary Knudson.  The Ancients league record is now (1-7), while Menahga improves to (3-4).

The Ancients next action is Sunday August 1^st, with a double header against the Nisswa Merchants, starting at 2:00pm in Wahpeton at John Randall Field.  League standings can be viewed at www.msmaba.com.

Goldtimers Ten Run the Ancients 14 - 4

The Fergus Falls Ancients traveled to Urbank Sunday night in Minnesota State Senior Men’s Amateur Baseball Association Action (a league for players 35 and over). 

The GoldTimers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back.  Winning pitcher Jim Norby went four plus innings surrendering four runs, of which only one was earned.  Of the thirteen hits by Urbank, Joe Dorn went 3-3 with a double while Gubow contributed two hits including a towering walk-off home run in the bottom of the sixth, invoking the ten run rule. 

The Ancients scratched out seven hits.  Leading the way were Greg Anderson and Perry Reinertson with two hits apiece, while Dan Smith, Eric Wilken, and Will Uhlich each chipped in a single. 

The Ancients record now stands at (1-6), league and overall.  The Ancients travel to Menagha next Sunday (July 25) for a game @ 2:30pm.

Carlos Slides By the Ancients 4 - 3

The Fergus Falls Ancients traveled to play the Carlos Whitecaps Thursday in Minnesota State Senior Men’s Amateur Baseball Association Action (a league for players 35 and over. 

The Ancients jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Greg Anderson led off with a single, advanced to second on a Dan Smith sacrifice, and scored on a single by Les Meis.  Carlos matched the Ancients blow for blow when Brad Anderson scored after walking, getting sacrificed to second, and coming around on a single by John Toop.  Carlos then took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Troy Olson reached on an error and came around to score on singles by Mark Illies and Brad Eustice.  Illies was cut down trying to score on a fielders choice, but Eustice then scored on a ground ball to shortstop, putting Carlos up 3-1. 

In the top of the fourth, Mike Mertes started a one out rally with a double down the left field line, advancing to third on a wild throw into second.  Eric Wilken then drove Mertes home with a ground out to second base, bringing the Ancients within one.  Carlos answered in the bottom of the inning when Troy Olson led off with a single to right, but was replaced when Illies grounded into a fielders choice.  Illies then stole second base and came around on a Gerry Holescer base hit to increase the margin to two runs, with Carlos leading 4-2 after five innings. 

In the top of the fifth, Roy Anderson started the inning with a single, but a ground ball off of Brian Jacobson’s bat erased Anderson at second, with Jacobson advancing to second on a wild throw.  Greg Anderson followed with a single, putting runners on the corners.  Les Meis then came up with a two out single to drive in his second run of the game with a single to right field.  This wrapped up the scoring and Carlos finished the game with a 4-3 victory, improving their league record to (4-2), while the Ancients dropped to (1-5) in league and overall. 

Greg Anderson started and went the distance for the Ancients, taking his first loss on the season while throwing a six inning complete game, hitting one batter, walking two, striking out two and surrendering eight hits, with two of the four runs given up being earned.  For Carlos, Gerry Holescer went six innings for the win and Greg Thompson pitched the final frame to pick up the save. 

The Ancients next game is Sunday July 18 in Urbank, versus the GoldTimers @ 8:00pm.

Silver Pirates shutout Ancients 6 - 0

The Fergus Falls Ancients traveled to Perham to play the Silver Pirates Thursday night in Minnesota State Senior Men’s Amateur Baseball Association Action (a league for players 35 and over).  

The Ancients stranded three runners on third base, but couldn’t bring anyone around to score.  Greg Anderson led the team with two singles in four tries, while Dan Smith, Kurt Nygaard, Chip McAllister, and Cary Knudson each added one hit.  For Perham, Tony Stoll and R Litzau each scored two runs, while J Kovash had the big night driving in three runs, one in the first and the final two in the third.

Perham struck for two runs in each of the first three innings for the final margin of 6-0.  Perham hurler Gary Lackey threw the complete game for the win, giving up six hits and hitting one batter through seven innings.  Will Uhlich started for the Ancients giving up all six Perham runs in 2 2/3 innings of pitching, while allowing four hits, eight walks, and  striking out two.  Brian Jacobson pitched the final 3 1/3 innings, holding Perham to three hits.

The Ancients record now stands at (1-4), league and overall.  The Ancients next action will be in Menagha (during Menagha days) on July 10 at 1:00pm against the Menagha Relics, followed by a game with the Nisswa Merchants at 3:00pm, two non-conference games.

Silver Pirates Survive Ancients 4-1

The Fergus Falls Ancients hosted the Perham Silver Pirates Thursday night in Minnesota State Senior Men’s Amateur Baseball Association Action (a league for players 35 and over).  

The Ancients took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning.  Roy Anderson singled to left, and Perry Reinertson replaced Roy at first base on a fielders choice ground ball to second.  A Dan Smith single put runners on first and second, and Chip McAllister came up with an RBI single, scoring Roy.  This would be the only scoring through the first five innings. 

Perham struck quickly in the sixth inning.  Jason McClellan drew a one out free pass and stole second base.  After a groundout to shortstop, Jim Nelson drove in the tying run; Perham 1 – Fergus Falls 1. 

The Ancients threatened in the bottom of the sixth, with Les Meis getting his first senior league hit with one out and Eric Wilkens following up with an infield hit, putting runners on first and third.  Perham pitcher Greg Schmidt induced a ground ball double play to end the threat. 

Perham took control in the top of the seventh with a single, stolen base, rbi single and four walks sandwiched around a ground ball to third that scored two runs after a force at home followed by an errant throw into right field trying for the double play.  With Perham leading 4-1, winning pitcher Greg Schmidt set the Ancients down in order for the complete game victory.  Brian Jacobson took his second loss on the season, going six plus innings and allowing five hits and three earned runs. 

The Ancients record now stands at (1-3), league and overall.  The Ancients get a rematch against the Silver Pirates (4-0 league record) next Thursday (July 1) @ 8:00pm in Perham.

Whitecaps capsize Ancients 22-7

The Fergus Falls Ancients hosted the expansion Carlos Whitecaps Sunday night in Minnesota State Senior Men’s Amateur Baseball Association Action (a league for players 35 and over).

The Ancients jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Perry Reinertson, was hit by the pitch, advanced to second on a passed ball.  Perry was erased on a Dan Smith ground ball fielders choice.  Dan then advanced to second when Greg Anderson hit a hard ground ball to shortstop for a Carlos error.  Kurt Nygaard then drove in Dan with a single to end the first inning scoring.  Carlos responded with two runs on four singles to start the second inning.  In the fourth inning, the Ancients scored four runs when Roy Anderson led off by getting hit by the pitch, Perry Reinertson walked, Dan Smith laid down a great sacrifice (getting a hit) and then three consecutive walks to Monte Fredrickson, Greg Anderson and Kurt Nygaard, each plating a run.  The final run scored on a hard ground ball to second by Barry Leitch that scored the final run of the inning while putting two outs on the scoreboard.

With the Ancients leading 5-2, Carlos plated six runs in the top of the fifth, three of which were earned, sending twelve batters to the dish.  Will Uhlich who started for the Ancients and threw a solid game before the trouble in the fifth, was tagged with the loss.  A procession of four relief pitchers faced 24 batters, giving up the remaining 14 runs in the sixth and seventh.  Greg Anderson stopped the bleeding in the sixth getting two ground balls to end the sixth against the only batters he faced.

The Ancients finished the scoring in the bottom of the seventh on singles by Chip McAllister, Perry Reinertson, a walk to Brian Jacobson, and a two run single by Monte Fredrickson to close the scoring. 

The Ancients record now stands at (1-2), league and overall.  The Ancients play the Perham Silver Pirates this Thursday (June 24) @ 8:00pm at American Legion Field in DeLagoon park.

Ancients win Home Opener 8-6  

The Fergus Falls Ancients started their home schedule for the 2010 season Minnesota State Senior Men’s Amateur Baseball Association Action (a league for players 35 and over).  The Ancients hosted the Urbank Goldtimers, winning 8-6.The Ancients jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on singles by Perry Reinertson, an error by the Urbank pitcher, singles by Kurt Nygaard and Cary Knudson (each plating a run), and a Barry Leitch double driving in the final two runs of the inning.  Urbank struck for two runs in the top of the fourth and the Ancients responded with two in bottom.  With two outs, Roy Anderson started the rally with a single and a stolen base.  Perry Reinertson followed his second hit of the night, bringing Anderson across the plate.  After an error by the third baseman, Monte Fredrickson drove in the second run.

Urbank scored two more in the fifth and knocked Brian Jacobson, the Fergus Falls starting pitcher, out in the sixth inning with two more runs.  Kurt Nygaard struck out the only batter he faced, keeping the score tied at 6-6 going into the bottom of the inning.  The Ancients loaded the bases with two singles and a base on balls.  Kurt Nygaard then hit a two run double over the leftfielders head, giving the Ancients a 8-6 lead.  Greg Anderson pitched a perfect seventh inning for his first save of the year and Kurt Nygaard picked up his first win of the young season.

The Ancients record now stands at (1-1).  The Ancients play the Carlos Whitecaps this Sunday (June 20) @ 5:00pm at American Legion Field in DeLagoon park.

Ancients Lose Opener 9-2

The Fergus Falls Ancients traveled to Alexandria for the 2010 season opener of Minnesota State Senior Men’s Amateur Baseball Association Action (a league for players 35 and over).  The Alexandria Classic Clippers finished with the win, 9-2. 

Alexandria opened the scoring off starting pitcher Brian Jacobson (0-1) in the bottom of the first inning, scoring four runs on four hits, two walks, and three Ancient errors, taking a 4-0 lead.  They added one more run in the third on two Ancient errors and a sacrifice fly, extending their lead to 5-0.   The Ancients responded in the fourth, with a Greg Anderson double off the outfield wall.  Greg advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored the first run on a Kurt Nygaard ground ball to shortstop, bringing the score to 5-1.  In the top of the sixth, Monte Fredrickson walked with one out and advanced to second on a passed ball.  With two outs and a full count, Kurt Nygaard singled to center field, driving in the final run for the Ancients, 5-2. 

Alexandria pulled away in the bottom of the sixth scoring four more runs on four walks, a bunt single and a double, making the final score 9-2. 

The Ancients record now stands at (0-1).  The Ancients play the Urbank Goldtimers this Sunday (June 13) @ 6:00pm at American Legion Field in DeLagoon park.  The Ancients return eleven players from last years team: Greg Anderson, Roy Anderson, Monte Fredrickson, Brian Jacobson, Cary Knudson, Mike Mertes, Kurt Nygaard, Ward Olson, Dan Smith, Will Uhlich, and Eric Wilken.  In addition, there are five new faces this year; DJ Berryhill, Barry Leitch (returning after one year absence), Les Meis, and Perry Reinertson.  If there are any players over 35 who are interested in continuing their baseball careers this summer, there are some roster spots still open.  For further information, please contact Cary Knudson @ (218 343-9630) or Monte Fredrickson @ (218 205-0314).