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Terry Knop and reliever Mike Zellman wiggled out of two bases loaded jams to preserve Belle Plaine’s 8-5 victory over Eden Prairie Lions Tap, which stubbed its toe with four unearned runs and nine walks. Knop had three RBIs with a sacrifice fly and two singles.

Ron Saatzer, with a double, and Scott Luhman, with a sacrifice fly and single, each drove in two runs for Lions Tap.  

Rookie catcher Tom Larsen, batting 2-for-14 with 10 strikeouts, smashed a bases empty home run, singled walked and led Eden Prairie Lions Tap out of the wilderness of a nine-game losing streak in a 15-0 victory over the Jordan Alers.

Dave Kloster, three innings with two hits allowed, and Scott Inning, two scoreless innings, shut out the Alers as Tap won for the first since early June.  

Cote contributed three RBI, two on a double, while Scott Luhman and Dave Fuecker also had two RBI. 

Dave Haugland retired 15 of the last 16 men he faced –  six hitters on six pitches in one stretch – in hurling Waconia over Eden Prairie Lions Tap 6-2.  

Ron Saatzer drove in both Eden Prairie runs with a triple and a single. Aaron Kahre took the loss with an error opening the door for three unearned runs in a four-run Waconia fourth inning.

Shakopee’s Brad VanBergen and Brad Keenan combined to one-hit Eden Prairie Lions Tap 7-0 at Miller Park.  Keenan struck out six of the 12 men he faced in three innings of hitless relief after VanBergen retired the last 10 hitters he faced.  

A tight pitching duel with Dave Sobiech exploded when Shakopee scored six runs in the fifth inning, thanks to two errors, a walk and hit batter and some timely singles.

Masterful Gary Fritch put Eden Prairie Lions Tap into a trance and finished with a no-hit gem in hurling the Braemar Bees to a 3-0 victory Sunday, June 26 at Miller Park.  

Fritch, avenging a state tournament loss in which he gave up 10 runs to the Tap in 2010 plus a 12-inning defeat to the Tap in 2008, faced only 23 hitters with six strikeouts and two walks. Eden Prairie advanced a runner only to second base one time, Ron Saatzer who also used his speed to steal a base and also threatened the no-no when he hit a ball deep in hole to shortstop Ken Sorensen in the fifth inning but was called out on a bang-bang play. It was the first time that Lions Tap can remember being no hit in 26  senior seasons.   

Braemar gave Fritch the only run he needed on a wild pitch and Paul Lucktenberg added a two-run single for an insurance cushion.  

Tap starter Rod Helling and reliever Scott Bobbitt checked the Bees on six hits, but were troubled by six walks and two error.  Left fielder Eric Loper turned in the best Web gems of the day with two circus catches, the second one robbing Tim  Nichol of a hit by what appeared to be a backward flip (or was it a backward cannon ball)  

EP limps into the Fourth of July break with a 2-5 record and a new drawing board.

St. Patrick, winning its first MSMABA game, learned victory is spelled:  no walks and steady defense.  Kevin Hart scattered eight Eden Prairie hits (four doubles) and hurled  the first Shamrock victory ever.  Second baseman Adam Almich had three hits and two RBI.  

Eden Prairie starter Rod Helling was victimized by five unearned runs in the telltale fifth inning – the big miscue occurring when no one covered first on a sacrifice attempt and the ball sailing way down the right field line in foul territory.  “We loaded our diapers on Father’s Day,” Tap manager Pat Thompson said.  

Scott Bobbitt doubled in one Tap run and scored another on a wild pitch, Hart’s only flaw on a steady performance.

St. Peter outfielders Dan Randolph and Travis Helling threw out runners at home and the Saints pushed in the tying and winning runs in the sixth inning, the tying run scoring on Randolph’s single and the winning run on a bases-loaded walk. Randolph squeezed home an insurance in the seventh inning. (The last time the Saints played in Eden Prairie, a suicide  squeeze won it for Lions Tap)  

The Saints opened the scoring a delayed steal of home by Helling.  

Tap got strong pitching from rookie left-handers Joe Monsen and Aaron Kahre, who combined to space out five St. Peter hits.    A fielder’s choice RBI and a  bases-loaded walk produced Eden Prairie runs.  

Helling  earned the save for St. Peter by retiring all six men he faced, three by strikeout. The win went to John Landkamer, who scattered eight hits, two  by Carlos Ubiera.

Dave Sobiech, modern day Ponce De Leon, marked his 61^st birthday by not allowing an unearned run as Eden Prairie Lions Tap broke up a close game with a 10-run sixth inning and cruised to a 17-4 victory over the Edina Grays Friday night, June 10 at New Hope Ensign Field.  

Sobiech, winningest active pitcher in Minnesota Over-35 baseball, picked up his 86^th career win and was supported by Eden Prairie’s 15-hit attack that included a three-run first inning homer from first baseman Dave Fuecker and three hits from center fielder Eric Loper. Fuecker ended with four RBI and Loper three.  

Scott Cote punctuated the 10-run outburst with two smashes in the gap in right center before the side was finally retired.

Surprise starter John Bannigan, filling in for injured ace Scott McNally, spotted Lions Tap a 3-0 and then shut Eden Prairie down until a seventh inning rally produced a four-run winning rally.  

Bannigan scattered eight hits and actually was instrumental in driving in the tying run when his pop fly was dropped by the right fielder.  Then the Lions Tap reliever hit two successive batters to produce the winning run. The bottom of the Eagles order sparked the rally with key singles by longtime veterans Gary Barbo, Colin Quinn and Tom Dokken  

Joe Monsen pitched brilliantly for Eden Prairie with four shutout innings, with two hits and five strikeouts, giving way to the bullpen. Lions Tap got RBO singles from Doug Walsh and Monsen and a safety squeeze by Rod Helling .

Defending MSMABA champion Searles, not the least bit phased trailing  in its final ups, tied the game in the top of the seventh and then poured in five runs in the top of the ninth to beat whiffing Eden Prairie Lions Tap 7-2 at Gaylord’s classy Walsh Field.  Bullhead righthander Kyle Messner came on with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning and proceeded to strike out 13 hitters and yield two non-consequential doubles in 5 2/3 innings of relief. Tap fanned 17 times in the game.  

Mark Marquardt had the tying RBI single in the seventh and Al Felber stroke the two-run game-winning double in the ninth.  

EP received strong pitching from rookie Aaron Kahre with four strong innings and only one unearned run allowed and reliever Dave Fuecker, who tired in the ninth after four strong innings.   EP got its runs on a fielder’s choice RBI from Scott Bobbitt and Erick Loper’s single, stolen base and dash home on a strikeout that trickled away from the catcher.   

Kahre and Fuecker had the only hits off Messner, both doubles.  

EP recorded three double plays and cut down one runner at home.

Rod Helling started his 15^th season with Lions Tap by notching his 43rd career victory (vs. 22 losses) as Lions Tap used an 11-hit attack and the three-innings of shutout relief from rookie Joe Monsen to turn back the Faribault Flames 11-5 in the regular season opener for both teams.

Faribault took a 3-0 first inning lead before Lions Tap batted 10 men and scored six runs in its half of the first inning – Dave Fuecker’s towering two-run double and rookie catcher Joel Barta’s bases-loaded, wind-blown double driving in three more runs.

Eden Prairie broke up an intensely close game (6-5 at the time) by sending 11 up in the sixth for a five-run splash, keyed by Barta’s bunt  single loading the bases for a RBI walk to Scott Cote and Monsen’s two-run single.

Faribault catcher Scott Hansen was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Footnote:  Helling is the older brother of ex-big league pitcher Rick Helling, whose high school batterymate in Michigan, N.D., was Barta, now the Ridgewater baseball coach in Willmar.