–by Dave DeMars
news@thenewsleaders.com
It’s been a heck of a season for the St. Joseph Joes and they have come a long way since the beginning. At least that is the opinion of Manager Pat Schneider.
“We ended the season this past Sunday and we took a doubleheader at home” Schneider said.
Like all seasons there have been ups and downs, but the secret to the Joes this year has been their coachability, persistence and just plain grit.
“We kind of climbed the ladder from an average team to become a very good team,” Schneider said. “All the players are fairly young but they learned how to play together, and they expect to be in the state tournament.”
The Joes took second place in the Sauk Valley League and will now play the number five seed, Albertville at home on Saturday. Game time is 1:30 p.m.
Schneider is expecting a tough game because scouting tells him Albertville has a young college pitcher from North Dakota that throws some real heat to the plate.
“I expect to see him Saturday, and we’ll have to play a good game,” Schneider said.
If the Joes win on Saturday, they will play again at home on Sunday. Game time is 1:30 p.m.
St. Joseph Joes went three for three in their most recent outings. The recaps are as follows:
Joes pound Foley
Greg Anderson pitched six strong innings for the St. Joseph Joes as he scattered five hits and allowed just one run in the Joes 7-1 win over the Foley Lumberjacks in the July 16 game. It was an excellent outing for Anderson who struck out four and gave up only one walk.
At the plate, Peter Nelson led the way with two hits (a triple and a single) and scored three runs for the Joes and drove in two runs. Ethan Carlson also had two hits for the day and drove in one run.
In the second game of the July 16 doubleheader, the St. Joseph Joes managed a 6-2 win over the Lumberjacks. The Joes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Foley managed to push two runs across in the sixth inning, but the Joes came back and added three more runs in the seventh and held the Lumberjacks off for the 6-2 win.
Pitching for St. Joseph was Alex Kendall, who went six innings and gave up seven hits before being relieved by Peter Nelson in the seventh inning. Kendall struck out five and walked only one in a strong outing.
At the plate, it was Ben Alvord who led the way, pounding out two doubles and driving in two runs. Alvord was two for four at the plate. Alvord and Ethan Carlson each scored twice for St. Joseph.
Shakopee Coyotes
The Joes travelled to Shakopee on July 14 for a rare Friday-night game, and they tore the cover off the ball, picking up 13 hits in what proved to be an 11-0 romp over the Coyotes.
Zack Overboe led the way, going three for four at the plate and picking up a single, a double and a triple and drawing a walk his fourth time at the plate. Overboe scored four runs and drove in one. He had help from Peter Nelson, who went three for five with two singles and a double and drove in three runs while scoring three himself.
Joe Stock, Nelson and Overboe shared the pitching duties and nearly pitched a no-hitter, allowing just one hit in seven innings. Stock and Nelson each pitched three innings, and Overboe mopped up in the seventh. The trio had nine strikeouts and gave up only one base on balls and one hit.
You can’t see his number but that was Peter Nelson who ate some dirt as he slid into third base under the tag of the Bandit third baseman during the June 18 game.
Center fielder Peter Nelson gets a little bit of instructive coaching from Manager Pat Schneider during the June 18 game against the Becker Bandits.
Third baseman Joe Stock picked up a hard ground ball and fired it to first base for the out during the June 18 game against the Becker Bandits.
