Sophomore Game Recaps – 2014
Saturday, May 17 - Sophomore @ Forest Lake
On one of the few truly nice days of the season, the Mustangs walked away with a 5-4 loss at the hands of Forest Lake in what turned out to be the hardest-fought battle of the year.
The Mustangs struck first in the 2nd when Ryan Nickel doubled to score Mitch Vaske who had reached on a base hit. The Rangers evened the score in the bottom half and then used a couple of Mounds View fielding mistakes in the 3rd to go up 5-1. The top of the 4th started promising, with Holden Schmidt and Vaske reaching on back to back singles. Dan Cline laid down a textbook sacrifice bunt to advance the runners, but was ruled out on a questionable interference call. The runners were forced to return to their bases and a Nickel single plated Schmidt for the only run of the inning. In the 6th, Nickel came up clutch once again when he doubled to score Carter Rholl and Schmidt. With the score standing at 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh, the Mustangs were unable to score the tying run and left runners on 1st and 2nd.
Erik Holloman started the game on the mound and before moving to shortstop after 2 innings due to arm soreness, struck out 2 and gave up 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks. Ryan Nickel went the rest of the way, giving up 4 runs (all in the 3rd and all unearned) on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3.
The defensive play of the game came in the 4th when 1st baseman Ross Indlecoffer sacrificed his body to make a phenomenal catch on a foul ball, running full speed into the fence.
Offensive leaders:
Ryan Nickel: 3-3, 2 2B, 4 RBI
Mitch Vaske: 2-3, run
Carter Rholl: 2-3, run
Mitch Vaske: 2-3, run
Holden Schmidt: 1-3, run
The Mustangs fall to 10-5 and finish the season in a double-header on Monday against Hastings.
Friday, May 16-Sophomorevs. Park
Seven straight Mustangs recorded a base hit before an out was recorded in the first inning and all nine reached base (some of them twice) before the end of the frame. In total, a nine-run first and seven-run second is all Mounds View would need to get a 16-3 victory in a mercy-rule shortened game.
Mounds View filled the stat sheet with 20hits, and 7starters with multi-hit games. Leading the way was Jake Moberg who went 4-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs. Ross Indlecoffer (4 RBI, 2 runs) and Dan Cline (2 RBI, 2 runs) each went 3-4 on the day. Mike Scholl, Carter Rholl, Joe Hagen,and Akondaye Elicerio each went 2-4. Every Mustang in the lineup recorded a hit and scored a run.
A collective effort from Ryan Nickel (2 innings), Elicerio (2 innings), and Holden Schmidt (1 inning) limited the Wolfpack to 2 hits on the day, a stark contrast to the 14-12 slugfest in the teams' first meeting earlier in the season.
The Mustangs travel to Forest Lake on Saturday with a 10-4 record.
Thursday, May 15-Sophomorevs. Woodbury
Game 1 (W 6-5):
On a cold, windy May day, Mounds View got off to a slow start but scored 3 in back to back innings, propelling them to a 6-5 victory. Joe Hagen got the win in 4 2/3 innings of work before handing the baton to Mitch Vaske who recorded the final out, a strikeout with the tying run on third and winning run on first.
Statistical leaders at the plate included Ross Indlecoffer (1-3, 3 RBI), Erik Holloman (1-2, 2 R, RBI), and Akondaye Elicerio (2-3, 2 R).
Game 2 (L 2-4):
Tied 2-2 going into the 5th, Woodbury was able to plate 2 runs on back to back well-placed hits with 2 outs. Mitch Vaske went the distance on the mound (after recording the save in game 1) striking out 3 in a losing effort.
Mounds View opened the scoring in the second on a base hit from Jake Moberg that scored Carter Rholl. In the 4th inning,in a first and third situationRyan Nickel tied the game on a perfectly executed early break play by Erik Holloman. It would not be enough as Woodbury scored two in the top of the fifth for the win.
Hits were recorded by Jake Moberg, Holden Schmidt, Holloman, and Rholl. The lone RBI came off of Moberg's bat.
The split with Woodbury brings the Mustangs' record to 9-4.
Wednesday, May 14 -Sophomorevs. White Bear Lake
Game 1 (W 2-1):
Dan Cline went all 5 innings, struck out 4 and gave up 4 hits and a single run on the way to a 2-1 victory. After multiple relief appearances, Cline was very successful in his first start of the season.
Akondaye Elicerio's walk followed by back to back base hits from Carter Rholl and Steve Skwarek got the Mustangs on the board in the first inning. The game-winner would come in the same fashion in the bottom of the 4th as Skwarek walked followed by singles from Cline, and Joe Hagen.
Game 2 (W 3-1):
Ross Indlecoffer pitched all 5 innings and gave up 1 run in a 3-1 victory. Indlecoffer gave up only 3 hits and never faced more than 4 hitters in an inning.
For the second game in a row, the Mustangs plated Akondaye Elicerio (BB) to take an early 1-0 lead after 1. In the 3rd, Mounds View added 2 more as Indlecoffer and Dan Cline scored on singles from Carter Rholl and Mitch Vaske. Base hits were recorded by Vaske (2), Jake Moberg, Mike Scholl, and Carter Rholl.
The sweep of White Bear Lake moves the season record to 8-3.
Saturday, May 10 - Sophomore @ Irondale
The Mustangs continued their winning ways with a 6-5 victory over district rival Irondale. Timely hitting, great team defense, and opportunistic play were the keys in this back and forth game as the sophomores improved to 6-3 on the season.
In the top of the 2nd, Carter Rholl drove Steve Skwarek in for the first run of the game. The lead was short lived as Irondale plated 2 in the 3rd. A controversial call at the plate in the top of the 4th on what would have been the tying run didn't derail the Mustangs as a Jake Moberg double, Erik Holloman single, and pair of Knight miscues in the 5th allowed Mounds View to take a 3-2 lead. Irondale knotted the score in the bottom half of the inning, but another pair of hits (Akondaye Elicerio and Jake Moberg) followed by Irondale miscues gave Mounds View a 5-3 lead going into the 7th. In the final frame, Mitch Vaske took a fastball up in the zone over the left field wall for a home run that proved to be critical insurance as the Knights' rally stopped one run short in the bottom half of the inning for a 6-5 final.
Erik Holloman gave up 4 hits, 3 runs, and struck out 10 Irondale hitters in 6 innings of work for the win. Skwarek closed in the 7th and earned the save. The defensive play of the game went to Ryan Nickel who leaped and grabbed a line drive in the 3rd for thethirdoutof the inning as the Knights were threatening.
Friday, May 9 - Sophomore vs. Roseville
Mounds View played its best all-around game of the year in a 5-1 victory as they met the Raiders for the second time in three days. The scoring began in the 2nd inning with three straight singles from Steve Skwarek, Akondaye Elicerio, and Carter Rholl. In the 3rd, Mitch Vaske led off with a single, worked his way to 3rd, and Ross Indlecoffer hit a sacrifice fly to plate the run. The final Mustang scoring came in the 5th as 3 runs were manufactured. Erik Holloman, Vaske, and Holden Schmidt all reached base on a walk or HBP, and another sac fly from Indlecoffer and a single from Akondaye Elicerio plated those runners.
Statistical leaders for the Mustangs were Elicerio (3-3, 2 RBI) and Skwarek (2-3, 1 run).
Ryan Nickel was nearly flawless on the mound, facing 3 or 4 batters in 6 out of 7 innings. He gave up 4 hits, 4 walks, and struck out three in a complete game effort. He was helped in the 7th as Mitch Vaske snagged a line drive at second and beat the runner to second base to double up the Raiders, ending any hopes of a comeback.
Wednesday, May 7 - Sophomore vs. Roseville
A slugfest in the first inning found Mounds View down 4-3, but the Mustangs added 5 in the second on their way to a 15-7 victory at McCullough Park.
Offensively, Holden Schmidt led the way with aphenomenalday at the plate. He finished 5-5 with 5 RBI,2 doubles, and 3 runs scored. Every Mustang in the starting lineup reached base safely highlighted by 2 RBI from Erik Holloman and 2 runs each from Ross Indlecoffer, Mitch Vaske, Akondaye Elicerio, Ryan Nickel, and Holloman.
Ross Indlecoffer went 5 innings on the mound and gave up only one earned run and struck out 7. Danny Cline (6th) and Steve Skwarek (7th) and finished the game and each faced four batters.
Tuesday, May 6 @ East Ridge
The Mustangs dug a 4-run hole after 1 inning and were never able to climb back. Defensive mistakes, walks, and timely East Ridge hitting all contributed to the 7-5 loss.
After getting down 4-0 after 1, the Mustangs and Raptors traded runs until the top of the 7th when Mounds View found itself down 7-2. Akondaye Elicerio earned a walk and Jake Moberg and Holden Schmidt singled to load the bases. Ryan Nickel, Erik Holloman, and Ross Indlecoffer each drove in a run but the rally fell short with the tying run on 1st base.
Mounds View's offense was led by Indlecoffer (2-4, RBI), Elicerio (2 BB, 2 R), and Dan Cline (1-2, RBI). In the field, Nickel made a fantastic play at shortstop, saving a base hit up the middle, and Indlecoffer (also at shortstop) made an impressive basket catch going back on a day when pop-ups were anything but a sure thing due to swirling winds.
Holloman went the distance in a losing effort, giving up 7 runs, 0 of them earned.
Tuesday, April 25 @ Park
A wild one between Park and Mounds View taught the valuable lesson that no lead is safe in baseball.
The Mustangs jumped out to a 3-0 lead a first inning that saw all nine hitters come to the plate (runs scored by Holloman, Nickel, and Skwarek). In the third, Akondaye Elicerio's moon shot bounced back into play off the top of the wall for a double and 3 more runs were added (Vaske, Elicerio, Moberg). The Wolfpack made the score 6-4 after a one-hit bottom of the third plated 4 runners. Mounds View added four in the fourth, but Park responded with seven, utilizing defensive mistakes and a timely grand slam from their starting pitcher. When all was said and done, Park only scored in three innings, but managed to outdo Mounds View 14-12.
Offensively the Mustangs were led by Ryan Nickel (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R), Mitch Vaske (2-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 2 R), and Akondaye Elicerio (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2R). Joe Hagen added 2 RBIs and Jake Moberg scored 2 runs.
Tuesday, April 22 vs. Forest Lake
The Mustangs fended off Forest Lake's late push and plated Mitch Vaske in the bottom of the 7th to defeat Forest Lake.
Stellar pitching from Erik Holloman and some timely hitting gave Mounds View a 3-0 lead going into the 6th inning, when Forest Lake used a solo home run, a few base hits, and a fielding mistake to knot the score at 3. Holloman settled down in the 7th and gave the Mustangs a chance to get the walk-off win. In the bottom of the 7th Vaske led off with a double off the wall and was followed by Holloman and Indlecoffer walks to load the bases. Holden Schmidt ended the game with a sharp ground ball that glanced off the 1st basemen's glove and allowed Vaske to score.
Holloman threw 89 pitches on his way to the complete game win (2 ER). Vaske and Carter Rholl finished with multi-hit games and runs were scored by Rholl (2), Steve Skwarek, and Vaske.
Tuesday, April 15 @ Cretin-Derham Hall
The Mustangs struck first with an RBI triple in the 1st inning from Ross Indlecoffer that scored Ryan Nickel, but a steady attack from Cretin left Mounds View down 3-1 after 4. The 5th inning proved to be the decisive one that the Mustangs needed as 4 runs were scored; 1 (Erik Holloman) on a single by Indlecoffer and the other 3 (Nickel, Indlecoffer, Mitch Vaske) on a bases-clearing triple by Holden Schmidt. Insurance runs were added in the 6th (Steve Skwarek scoring on a Jake Moberg single) and the 7th (Nickel on a wild pitch) to give the Mustangs a 7-5 victory.
On the mound, the win went to Indlecoffer who pitched 4 2/3 and the save went to Holloman who pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Saturday, April 12 vs. Stillwater
A combination of Stillwater's hot bats and less than stellar defense in the first 2 innings putthe Mustangs in a 9-0 hole that proved to be too much to overcome as Mounds View suffered its first loss of the season by a score of 11-1.
The timely hitting that was experienced the day before at East Ridge was nowhere to be found as the Mustangs stranded 8 runners on base. Mounds View's 4 hits were recorded by Erik Holloman (2), Ross Indlecoffer, and Carter Rholl. Mike Scholl scored the only run of the day and was driven in by Jake Moberg.
The Mustangs travel to White Bear Lake on Monday, April 14 at 4:15.
Friday, April 11 @ East Ridge
The sophomores took a4-0 lead in the first 2 innings and never looked back as they opened their season with an 11-6 victory at East Ridge. The Mustangs were led by Erik Holloman on the mound who left the Raptors hitless through 3 innings, and in 5 innings of work struck out 5 and gave up 2 earned runs. On the offensive side, 11 runs were scored on 14 hits and Mounds View scored runs in all but 2 innings. Erik Holloman (3-4, 4 runs), Ross Indlecoffer (2-4, 3 RBI), Holden Schmidt (2-4, 2 RBI), and Jake Moberg (2-4, 3 runs) all had multi-hit games. Mitch Vaske also went 1-2 and laid down 2 perfectly-executed sacrifice bunts that contributed to multiple-run innings.
The defensive highlight of the game was a 5-4-3 (Indlecoffer, Ryan Nickel, Mike Scholl) double play in the 6th inning that took away any hope of an East Ridge comeback.
The Mustangs play on again Saturday against Stillwater at 11:30 at Mounds View High School.