By Nick Gerhardt
A bit of a mid-season swoon has opened the landscape for a major shakeup in our Class A rankings.
Miesville endured a 2-5 stretch that set off alarm bells for some of our pollsters that allowed a new team to grab the top spot in the poll. The team that steps into the spotlight is Baseball 365. The offseason moves are paying off for the club, which got bounced in the first round of last year’s state tournament against the Moorhead Mudcats and lost in the second round the previous season to the St. Patrick Irish.
Two surging teams garnered the next two spots with Chaska climbing to the No. 2 spot after winning 12 of their last 13 games while putting together an impressive resume with wins over league foes. Baseball 365 and the Cubs met to start the season with Baseball 365 picking up a 6-5 win.
St. Patrick, which cracked the rankings for the first time in the last poll, rose to No. 3. The Irish have posted nine consecutive wins, including a sweep of Miesville.
Lyon’s Pub has stayed steady with a 19-4 record that includes a sweep of Minnetonka and a win over Champlin Park. Those LoGators remain lurking at the No. 6 spot in this poll, submarining from the No. 2 spot in the last poll.
Miesville didn’t slip from the top half of the rankings, falling to No. 5 after a stretch that included losses to Dundas, Hampton, Red Wing and Hastings. The Mudhens have bounced back to post an 18-0 win over the Metro Knights and knocked off Baseball 365 6-5 in 10 innings.
The St. Paul Mudhens dropped one spot back to No. 7 while Burnsville rose to No. 8. Stockmen’s Irish, fresh off winning the Charlie Larca Invitational in Jordan, enter the rankings at No. 9. Shakopee and the Moorhead Mudcats closed down the top 10 by sharing the final spot.
Matt Marek — Champlin Park LoGators
1. Baseball 365 (20-6-1) — Top to bottom, the most talented team. The chink in the armor might be losing Fazio … while still a really good staff, losing a bona fide No. 1 hurts.
2. St. Patrick Irish (15-3) — The Irish seem to have gotten healthy this year and have a decent cushion in Section 1 after beating Miesville and Rochester over the weekend while everybody else beats up on each other.
3. Chaska Cubs (22-4) — The Cubs hold a one-game lead over Burnsville in 2A with a big rematch coming this Friday. They are also excellent at checking lineup cards and describing balks to all the non-baseball knowers out there.
4. Lyon’s Pub Warriors (19-4) — No knock on the Pub, but from a talent standpoint they don’t appear to overwhelm anybody, but damn is that one gritty club … that’s what it takes to make it to Labor Day.
5. Champlin Park LoGators (15-8) — “Man, when we get our full lineup there …” is a phrase uttered by many a townball team … probably a majority. Either way, the Gators are still in good position to take the Metro Minny and No. 1 seed in Section 3. Big matchup with Coon Rapids Tuesday, who have handed the Gators their only loss in Metro Minny play.
6. Burnsville Bobcats (14-6) — See: Chaska. Minus the scorecard thing and balk stuff. Either way, I like the Kitties.
7. Stockmen’s Irish (13-3) — Yet another top-tier team falling victim to “illegal player”/contract issues. Probably could be higher.
8. Shakopee Indians (15-7-1) — It feels like they’re scoring about 10 runs per game every time I check the results.
9. North St. Paul Snowmen (15-4) — A couple nice wins over Dundas and Chaska early in the year, and mostly having their way with the Skyline.
10. St. Paul Mudhens (10-4) and Dundas (13-10) — I feel like you never know what you’re going to get with the Mudhens come tourney time with a roster featuring only two players over 23, but wins over Dundas, River Falls and Air Freight already on the resume.
Wins over 365 and a sweep of Miesville gets the 10b nod from me to Dundas.
Honorable Mention:
Minnetonka Monarchs — Who would’ve thunk it!?
Miesville Mudhens — Who would’ve thunk it x2! 4-7 in their past 11. Scoring runs isn’t looking like a problem.
St. Anthony Hogs — Should be cruising to state with Stockmen’s out of the picture.
Air Freight Unlimited — Sacrilege, I know, but lack of games played/results.
Minneapolis Mudcats — Big sleeper team in my opinion with Kris Hokenson and Harrison Blum at the top of the rotation. Not sure about the offense, but two horses at the top help!
Andover Aces — Over half of the league schedule getting played in the next 14 days, including a trip to Duluth … ouch
St. Paul Highland Park Beavers — The St. Paul League has in large part been a mystery to me, but Maurer has been solid at the top of the rotation, and Stelzer is a shutdown arm as well … flying under the radar much like the Mudcats.
Honorable Mention, Schedule Strength list:
Waconia Lakers — Solid club, looking for a solid Class A win or two to bump up.
Buffalo — See Waconia.
Sartell Muskies — Again, See Waconia … I still like them to come out of this section with the Moorhead Mudcats, however.
Moorhead Mudcats — The win over 365 put me on notice. Losses to Ada and Fergus, not so much.
Minneapolis Cobras
Nate Jackson — St. Boni Saints
1. Chaska Cubs – Cubbies are proving to be a tough team to beat. Well balanced lineup with some good pitching. They’ve lost three games to a total of four runs. Based on the best-of-five series format for Section 2, I don’t see Chaska having any issue staying on top as they head into state.
2. EP Baseball 365 Pirates — In the driver seat of the Riverview. I don’t think there’s much that will stop the year-round ball club from making state. Although Buffalo might be a problem since it was added to the section. Buffalo doesn’t lose many games regardless of what class it’s playing in.
3. Lyon’s Pub Warriors — On track to go undefeated in league/section play … again. Warriors avenged the beating they took from the Monarchs and have lost four games by a matter of four runs. July 27 tune-up game against Chaska before sections should be a good Sunday night matchup to watch.
4. St. Patrick Irish — Catapulted to the top of Section 1 while everybody was watching Miesville lose games. Can St. Patrick make the final four at state!?
5. St. Paul Mudhens — The torch has been passed. Mudhens are now the team to beat in the St. Paul League. Look for them to make a run at state like they did last year.
6. Champlin Park LoGators —A little bit of a slide in the rankings but leading the competitive Metro Minny. Gators are looking to make another run into the final four at state which would make it three in the last four years.
7. Burnsville Bobcats — Kitties are holding on and could take the section. July 18 will be a great night in Chaska which will most likely determine who wins the RVL/Section 2.
8. Moorhead Mudcats — The ‘Cats are looking good and are primed to be one of two teams heading to state from their section.
9. Miesville Mudhens — The recent slide has the Head Hen slipping down past Dundas and Hampton in the section. No championship hangover here. The Hens do their best work in the coming weeks. Expect the champs to defend their title.
10. Buffalo Bulldogs — The dogs are doing what Buffalo does well and that’s win baseball games. Based on most likely being the last seed in the section playoffs, Buffalo is in-line for an exciting matchup and could derail a perennial state team and they make their journey in “A” ball.
On the outside looking in: Bemidji Bucks, Sartell Muskies, Shakopee Indians, Coon Rapids Redbirds, North St. Paul Snowman
Jon Sands — Victoria Vics
1. Miesville Mudhens
2. Baseball 365
3. Lyon’s Pub Warriors
4. St. Patrick Irish
5. Champlin Park LoGators
6. Chaska Cubs
7. St. Paul Mudhens
8. Air Freight Unlimited
9. Burnsville Bobcats
10. Shakopee Indians
Jordan Wiggins — St. Anthony Hogs
1. St. Paul Mudhens — Knocked off Air Freight twice and should cap off a St Paul League regular season title. Good staff and a very deep lineup of college players.
2. St. Patrick Irish — Beat the defending champs, Miesville Mudhens, twice. A lot of other good wins mixed in. Excited to see these guys play in August.
3. Chaska Cubs — Maybe underrated here at No. 3, definitely have a case for the top rank. This team is tough as nails and has a good mix of veterans and youth. Undefeated in River Valley East is no joke.
4. Miesville Mudhens — Allowing a lot of runs, which is a head scratcher. They’ve also beat the breaks off of some good teams.
5. Baseball 365 — Dominant lineup and starting to figure out their rotation with Danner still nursing the elbow and Fazio going elsewhere. Looking strong in a tough Riverview League.
6. Lyon’s Pub Warriors — These guys win 100 games a year and tend to scratch their way to the final four. There are so many good teams that I hope ranking them at No. 6 isn’t a slap in the face.
7. Stockmen’s Irish — A postseason ban doesn’t scare me away from recognizing these guys. Their staff is good. Their lineup is scrappy with power mixed in. It’s a shame they won’t be battling in the tournament this year because they have the depth to make a run.
8. Champlin Park LoGators — If they’d update their results on their MBA page, maybe I’d feel differently. Seem to be running through the Metro Minny and I’m sure they see everyone’s top arm most nights.
9. Dundas Dukes — I’m a huge Duke’s believer. Haven’t seen them in a few years but they have impressive wins.
10. Bemidji Bucks — New team to me. I think they have a good number of BSU guys and they’re 16-3 on the season. Might as well show them some respect before we find out what they’ve got come August.
Tom Kolar — Air Freight Unlimited
1. Miesville Mudhens
2. Baseball 365
3. Chaska Cubs
4. St. Paul Mudhens
5. St. Patrick Irish
6. Champlin Park LoGators
7. Air Freight Unlimited
8. Lyon’s Pub Warriors
9. Minneapolis Cobras
10. Moorhead Mudcats
Class A rankings (As of July 16)(Pts)(Previous)
1. Baseball 365 (43)(3)
2. Chaska Cubs (39)(5)
3. St. Patrick Irish (38)(7)
4. Lyon’s Pub Warriors (31)(4)
5. Miesville Mudhens (29)(1)
6. Champlin Park LoGators (25)(2)
7. St. Paul Mudhens (18)(6)
8. Burnsville Bobcats (11)(9)
9. Stockmen’s Irish (8)(NR)
10. Shakopee Indians (4)(10)
10. Moorhead Mudcats (4)(NR)
10. Air Freight Unlimited (4)(8)
Also receiving votes: North St. Paul Snowmen, Dundas Dukes, Buffalo Bulldogs, Bemidji Bucks, Minneapolis Cobras, Minnetonka Monarchs, St. Anthony Hogs, Minneapolis Mudcats, Andover Aces, St. Paul Highland Park Beavers, Waconia Lakers and Sartell Muskies.
