MACA striving to conquer southern Minnesota!

Business as usual for the MACA softball team, a 22-3 record as we get set for the most serious phase of post-season. If only such a record would be a more-or-less guarantee of making state! We have learned it is far from it. I write here once again that when we come up against the southern Minnesota teams, it's a whole new ballgame as it were. 

Does the "sub-section" even exist? Man, I almost missed seeing the upcoming post-season game notes on "Minnesota Scores" this morning. You have to scroll down quite a ways from the regular season to find the new info. Scroll down through some pictures in fact. Fortunately I did a thorough check. And so I see the 3AA action is already underway. 

I actually do not see "sub-section" specified anywhere. I know there has been a sub-section level over the recent past. If I remember correctly it is a very short phase, like two games both played here in Motown. Looks like this year there's maybe just one. Wait a minute, a bye for the Tigers? 

The Tigers played their one game and it was Tuesday at home. And so the Tigers dispatched Litchfield in a manner that reflected the one-sided nature of the regular season. Yawn, the Tigers took care of business shutout-style at our softball place. I hope the Litch fans were advised to bring their own chairs for viewing. If you don't, be prepared to stand. 

Maybe we need a new softball facility in Morris. The Tigers downed the Dragons 9-0. "Another day at the office." 

 

Next foe: Pipestone 

So now what beckons? Well holy cow, it's a game against one of those southern Minnesota nemesis teams. And that would be Pipestone Area. Past is not necessarily precedent. It would not have to be. So who really knows what the outcome will be on Saturday, May 23. And once again, MACA fans are being asked to make the long trip to Marshall for sectionals, just like in other sports. I'm sure this cuts down on the number of fans who elect to watch in-person. 

Sorry to say I have never gone to Marshall for high school games. And I've been around. MACA got stuck in this situation back when the post-season got organized into the sub-section and section. This replaced district and region. Looks like it could be permanent. 

Well I'll stay here in Morris. But I do enjoy writing about the Tigers when I can. I was quoting Mary Holmberg as far back as 1979 when the program started. I'll take Wells Park over the softball complex anytime. 

The Tigers played Litchfield on May 16 in a home tournament. We were fortunate to win that contest as the score was 9-8. So we scored the same number of runs against the Dragons on Tuesday, but this time we got a shutout pitching performance. Also on May 16, we defeated Alexandria and Grand Rapids.

 

Coach Mary Holmberg has been "the rock" with the Tiger softball program! She got it all going. The image you see at left is from the KMES-KKOK site. Holmberg has reached the incredible 700-win plateau as a coach. Compare her to the Energizer Bunny maybe?

 

Tigers 9, Litchfield 0

Well, another showcase for MACA pitcher Haley Kill as the Tigers turned back the Dragons. On this day Kill tossed a 3-hitter against the green-themed crew. She set down ten batters on strikes. And at bat, this Tiger had three hits. She crossed home plate twice and drove in two runs. 

We took our first steps toward victory with a three-run first inning. The Tigers played errorless ball. The line score: nine runs, eight hits and the zero errors. Pretty sharp play. 

Addie Cihak is my neighbor so I'll acknowledge at the start that she drove in two tuns. Keep it up Addie! 

I need to be able to keep my discipline and type "Harmony Coverdale" and not "Cloverdale." Harmony Coverdale had a hit and a run scored. Aina Rose went two-for-three plus she was HBP. She scored two runs. 

Samantha Konz got on via HBP. Ryla Koehler had a run scored and an RBI. Mia Lu Asche socked a triple. She drew a walk, scored a run and drove in one. Kill was three-for-four, scored two runs and drove in two. Nora Boyle doubled, scored a run and drove in one. Brenna Jergenson walked and scored a run. Lots of highlights across the board for the orange and black.

 

Coming up: Tigers vs. Pipestone Area on Saturday at Marshall, 11:30 a.m.

(Marshall is too cotton pickin' far away, IMHO.) 

A feline lover too! Coach Holmberg w/ "Coco," from Facebook. I'm jealous of Mary because I am not even allowed on Facebook. I have violated "community standards" probably because of my criticism of Israel.

- Brian Willliams - morris mn minnesota - musicstuff54@gmail.com

Three Tigers combine to pitch shutout vs. 'Waska

Thank goodness the baseball Tigers were not scheduled to play yesterday (Tuesday). A day when the blowing dirt or smoke filled the air as wind was relentless. I've never seen anything like it. So the Tigers were spared having to try to breathe amidst such conditions on the diamond. Looks to me like some games were actually played out and around. 

Most recently the Tigers won in a dominant way over Minnewaska Area at 'Waska. We blanked the Lakers 10-0. It was our 12th win against five losses. Just two games left in the regular season against Melrose and BOLD. The regular season wraps up on Friday. 

Our big inning against 'Waska was the seventh: six runs. Prior to that we had two runs each in the first and fifth. Our fielding was pretty clean: one error. 'Waska meanwhile committed five errors. Not a lot of hits in this game: four by MACA, one by 'Waska. Three Tigers shared the pitching work: Riley Asmus, Ozzy Jerome and Parker Nohl. Jerome got the win. The losing pitcher was Sawyer Erickson. 

At bat, Brayden Carlson doubled and drove in two runs. Travis Buss drove in a run. Hunter Westerman walked and reached on HBP. He stole a base and scored a run. Jack Kehoe walked and he too got hit-by-pitch. He scored a run and drove in a run. 

Ozzy Jerome walked, scored a run and drove in two runs. Alex Asmus had a hit, walked, stole a base, drove in two runs and scored two. Riley Asmus stole a base and scored two runs. Riley Saito made his home on the basepaths as he went two-for-two, walked and was HBP. He stole a base and scored three runs.

 

Blown away, yes

Weren't you stunned this morning (Wednesday) to notice there wasn't a trace of wind? The earliest settlers out here were shocked at how strong and persistent the wind could be. The earliest ones took the "Wadsworth Trail" which I have been fascinated to research. Named for a Civil War general. The fort eventually got a name change from "Wadsworth" to "Sisseton." Not sure why that was done. Wadsworth was heroic in his service to the Union cause. 

The wind here on the prairie was striking in its severity. We were assaulted by the wind on Tuesday. And I have to ask: Was loose dirt in the air, or smoke from Canadian wildfires? Both? And at times the limited visibility was just like in a winter blizzard. The wind backed off overnight. So I took my bike downtown just now to have my biscuits and gravy (the Wednesday special) at DeToy's Restaurant. 

Detoy's was overflowing on Sunday for their Mother's Day buffet. Literally not a place open when I entered. I thought I arrived early enough that it wouldn't be a problem. Wrong-O. But it was problem solved as a server who I knew opened up a spot at the end of the counter. I availed myself of the offerings. Dessert too! 

I think there are only three days of the whole year that DeToy's offers the buffet. It used to be every Sunday. I guess food waste is a problem with buffets. Considering the ever-rising cost of food, a buffet is helpful for really loading up your stomach so you can "coast" for two or three days. 

DeToy's can feel heartened by its popularity on Sunday. But I'm also reminded of a comment made to me by my No. 1 contact at our UMN-Morris. Erin said "I think Morris could use another restaurant." 

I rely on restaurants because it's not practical for me as a single person to do much if any food prep at home. My refrigerator/freezer has been disconnected ever since Mom passed on. 

The people at Caribou Coffee tell me they have a new "bacon breakfast sandwich" now. Will have to try soon. I tried the "breakfast bowl" and found it not to be a good value. Isn't it harder to find good food value these days? We read more and more about "shrinkflation" and "skimpflation." The food industry constantly modifies its food to try to maximize its profit. 

Some people write that the food we purchase these days is "poisoning us." Not far-fetched. Synthetic bacon instead of real bacon etc. It is concerning. But I have faith in my biscuits and gravy at DeToy's on Wednesday morning! Maybe DeToy's does not have as much competition as they should. But the food there is reliable, helps keep my mind sharp!

 

You should all be shocked and scared by the new inflation report! 

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn innesota - musicstuff54@gmail.com 

Powerful Border West to play in Morris May 14

The end of the regular season will have a very good test for the MACA softball Tigers. They could use it. Not only will that game be challenging, it will be a treat for area fans as it's an area rivalry. Non-conference, yes, but a rivalry. Who will get the upper hand? Actually it looks like Border West has the caliber to challenge the Tigers. 

Many of you might wonder, what is "Border West?" You can be forgiven. I used to think of Herman but Herman has its hands joined in this venture. So it's a "cooperative" of teams. It can get a little complicated. But for now let's just get ready for the May 14 big game that will have state-ranked teams taking to the field in Morris. 

Game-time is 5 p.m. at the "softball complex" in Morris. My daily walking route goes past the place. One of the reasons I have been so critical of this facility is that I get to see it so often. Yesterday (Thursday) was an example. The Tigers played. I'm guessing it was Senior Day. 

 

Shortcoming 

But of course I always notice the woeful and almost nonexistent accommodations for fans at the softball facility. I'm sure the ground gets muddy often. The Pomme de Terre River is close by. Rivers are at the lowest elevation in an area. 

The old UMM softball field which seemed perfect in my mind is gone. The old field had the distinctive concrete player seating areas. "Cougars" painted on the side. Gone. I have to believe that the new field in that place has the batters facing the sun too much, too often. The old field was designed precisely. The fences were low enough that adults of average height could watch unimpeded from all over. I know because I took in some Cougar action there. 

The old facilities are a memory. Now we have the "complex" where fans have to bring their own chairs. Meanwhile we have the baseball "Chizek Field" that has generous grandstand seating. Looks like the male gender still has some advantages. Why did our school board not look ahead better? It spends a lot of our money. 

 

Alliteration in name 

"Border West" has the neat nickname "Buccaneers." The softball team is a Class A power. MACA of course is AA. The Tigers thumped Class A BOLD on Tuesday 14-4. The Tigers win often by scores like that. Very impressive but will we have the firepower to climb into state? Ahem, to get past those always-tough teams from southern Minnesota? The 64-dollar question. 

The High School League informs us that Border West is a cooperative that draws students from three schools near the South Dakota border: Wheaton, Herman-Norcross and Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley. 

Border West softball sports the super won-lost of 12-1. The Bucs are 8-1 in section, 7-0 in conference and 4-0 at the home diamond. They are coming off a 22-0 win over Ashby. I'm impressed that Ashby still has a stand-alone team. The Arrows! Ah, the old days of the "Herman Panthers." I remember well. 

It was the Herman boys basketball team that defeated Morris in a tournament game that turned out to be a watershed for the beleaguered Morris school district and its sports program once. That game was at the UMM P.E. Center. You might say it was a culmination. People lost their inhibitions after that. No longer were we so willing to buy the tired argument that "school is about academics, not sports." I have always argued "let the kids have fun." 

In the long run I probably won. In the short term I suffered. But I never compromised my soul for expedience. Not much anyway. Some of our community leaders were spineless. 

 

Anticipation 

So again, mark your calendar for the May 14 game of Border West versus MACA at Motown, 5 p.m. And of course bring your own chairs to the game. Maybe sit out by the outfield fence. How come I can point out so many deficiencies when no one else wants to talk about it? My cross to bear? And how about the parking out there? Yesterday same as always: long rows of cars parked along the shoulders of Prairie Lane. We used to see the name "Cesar Chavez" close to there. No more. That's what "allegations" can do. 

 

Buccaneers 16, Benson 1 

Let's take a look at the recent Border West blow-out of Benson. The wind blew hard as the Bucs handled the Braves 16-1. Border West had an impressive rally in the fourth inning - eight runs - and had ten hits total in the romp at Benson. Only four innings were needed. The Bucs emerged from this game ranked No. 10 in Class A. 

Border West "Buccaneers"

Border West played errorless ball. Sadie Wright occupied the leadoff spot in the order. She surely gave spark with three-for-three hitting numbers. Two of her hits were doubles. She drew a walk and scored two runs. Makaya Hennessy had a hit, drew a walk, scored two runs and drove in one. Hannah Gary went two-for-three, walked, scored two runs and drove in one. 

Jordan Wright crossed home plate three times. She drove in two runs. She walked twice, stole two bases and had a hit. 

Avery Kellen had a hit, scored two rims, drove in two and stole two bases. Bristol Paulson stole a base and scored two runs. Kylee Gail walked and scored two runs. Makayla Bertram went one-for-two with a walk and an RBI. Ellen Anderson walked, stole a base and drove in a run. 

Parker Stotesbery went one-for-three with a run scored. Occasionally I spot a last name that is familiar from when I wrote for the Morris newspaper. Brings warm feelings. 

Border West scored four runs each in the first two innings. 

Let's not forget pitching here! Border West has the creds in that department too. Jadyn Kellen worked throughout and she struck out five batters while allowing two hits. 

Benson has been given the green light to keep using its "Braves" nickname. I'm not sure that is a wise course. University of North Dakota has moved on.

Border West's Sadie Wright threw a no-hitter in the 11-0 win over Lac qui Parle Valley on April 10. Sadie struck out eight. She is the Neon Needles Subway Player of the Game.
 

   

- Brian Williams -morris mn minnesota - musicstuff54@gmail.com

Sometimes we have to absolutely realize failure

Memories are stored in this place: First Lutheran

So I'm a "quitter" now. That's what someone suggested to me last week. Or at least strongly implied. I had swallowed the bitter pill of continual decline by my First Lutheran Church over a long time. Part of us wants to "suck it up" in situations like this. In Morris you do not want to be perceived as "negative." So I'm just supposed to look the other way as brick-by-brick my church just deteriorated. 

I have a long memory from when things were so much better. Maybe it was the continual decline that got to me. The drop-off became predictable. 

Maybe memories are fading of when First Lutheran members made a decision every Sunday morning: go to the early service or the late service. Coffee and fellowship in between. 

I have never been programmed to just accept a steady rate of deterioration in anything. I noticed significant problems in our Morris public school system in the 1980s. That situation became horribly uncomfortable before we finally had some people in power who slowly called for some adjustment. In the mid-1980s I was like the boy who said the emperor had no clothes. 

People were not inclined to say I was wrong, just that I was being negative or "drastic" or some such thing. The forces on the other side of these matters gravitated to expedience or simple "quiet." Maybe it was the persistence of certain problems that got to me in the end. "Small town expedience" got to me perhaps. 

Little by little my First Lutheran Church deteriorated. Do I have to remind you of the main catalyst? The whole gay rights thing that came down to us from the national level. But what consequences of all that! 

We can say that First Lutheran was proud of its building once. It has slipped in that regard because of handicapped/elderly accessibility issues. The problem is accentuated by the seriously aging complexion of small town churchgoers. And these people do not want "gay rights" thrust in their faces. They are reasonable people primarily and they would want humane treatment for all. So OK, the church can remind everyone of that over-arching value and then move on. Move on, I tell you, and don't try to educate me about "LGBTQ" etc. Sexual preference is just one component of life. 

So in the ashes of all this we now have First Lutheran Church of Morris. I remember its true heyday. No one would have accused it of being liberal. Our pastor was a Nixon Republican in the days when the political landscape of America was quite different. Republicans and Democrats could get along mostly, often just treating their differences with an air of levity. Nothing like today. Today it's "MAGA against the world" and Donald Trump actually lost in 2016, I mean he got three million fewer votes than the Democratic candidate. The electoral college is a holdover from Civil War reconstruction. Give the southern bigots some room to operate. 

I'm sure MAGA was a factor in the tumble downward of my old First Lutheran Church. Can the people there even hold their heads high anymore? They will say they can. They are deluded. 

Can I cut to the chase here? What kind of church does not even have an activity at their own building every Sunday? The congregation is paying to keep the building open. And it just sits there now on half of all Sundays, virtually unused? When I try to state the obvious like this, as with our public school system in the 1980s, people really sniff and get resentful. It's interesting how they stop making eye contact with me. The worst ones cease trying to use logic and just come at me with ad hominem personal criticism. I'm "negative." I'm a "quitter." I had an important local person accuse me of being negative to my face in the 1980s. As if the local public really truly wanted to plod along indefinitely with our public school as it was operating. As if the school was ashamed of making a genuine commitment to extracurricular. You should know what I'm talking about. Oh here I go again assuming that these people can actually peel through obfuscation and self-interest on the part of certain people and see the truth. People in their comfortable positions who fear any boat-rocking. Many of them simply fear change, especially people with government jobs. We still have a teachers union in Morris that can be very irritating, at least this was true up through a couple years ago. Oh, I do try to hold out hope. I'm not a quitter, I just think there is no hope for First Lutheran Church. Here's a heading on the Drudge Report this a.m.: "26 percent say Trump a positive role model." 26 percent? "Trump is a positive role model?" Why has our society gone to hell so horribly? The man was found responsible in a legitimate legal proceeding for sexual assault. Shall I go on? Maybe we should not not have any churches anymore. Our military destroys an Iranian girls school. Our Navy sinks an Iranian ship and doesn't bother to rescue survivors. I feel like the only sane person in an insane asylum. But go ahead and keep calling me names. Call me a "quitter."

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - musicstuff54@gmail.com 

Johnny Carson reflected the U.S. "monoculture"

"The Groove Tube" was a 1974 movie, the title of which was a takeoff on "boob tube." "Boob tube" was a popular way of putting down the vacuous TV entertainment of pre-digital times, when entertainment creators had to shape a product to try to please everyone. Which of course meant that the entertainment came up short for a lot of people. As opposed to today's "niche programming" which has now been around a long time.

 

"Johnny Carson, our nation urns its lonely eyes to you." The quote is from yours truly on this wet Saturday morning of late spring. We're in that netherworld of weather where we can't be sure what's coming.

Johnny Carson?  He passed on a long time ago of course. He smoked heavily in a time when people sort of shrugged at such vices. I mean like drinking alcohol too. Johnny had guests on his TV show like Dean Martin who at least pretended to love alcohol. We laughed at the jokes connected to that. We laughed at Foster Brooks. 

And so I invoke the name Johnny Carson to address American cultural history and particularly pop culture which of course can influence our behavior. Many of us abused alcohol and unlike Dean Martin and Foster Brooks, were not pretending. "Outlaw country music" went through a wave of popularity, actually approved by the Carters in the White House. The president had a brother Billy whose name was a brand of beer. 

Waxing nostalgic here? Well not really. Of course it's not nice to feel ashamed of our cultural past. Our elders dove in with the norms of the times. And we don't like to be hard on them. We'll rationalize that life was tough for the older folks and so a few vices or failings were OK. Ah, the days of the World War II generation who had been through so much. Had literal PTSD in many cases. The initials had not gained currency yet. You think there wasn't an epidemic of PTSD after the Civil War? World War One? 

Our elders have faced the burden of providing for the next generation as it develops. We cut them slack and it's justified. Well, except that Mothers Against Drunk Driving came along and took care of a certain problem. Ambitious lawyers finally fought and won against the tobacco companies. 

 

The "monoculture" 

I am a baby boomer. For us folks "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" was a staple when growing up. I bring up the show not just to stimulate a little warm nostalgia which it certainly can do. No, the show if watched in "retro" fashion today would be like a lens into our cultural past. It would be a lens into the U.S. "monoculture" that lasted for a long time. It is close to being gone now. 

The monoculture meant there was a true sense of shared culture. Think back to "Look" and "Life" magazines as prime examples from the print media. 

 

Good or not so good? 

"Shared culture" sounds like a positive thing, right? It was really a mixed bag. But right now as I reflect in the year 2026, I find myself pining some. The good outweighed the bad IMHO - actually it was all like a sedative. Well, smoking cigarettes is literally a sedative. We need some forces at present to get people calmed down. 

The "monoculture" of our entertainment world gave way to "niche programming" and my what a miracle this seemed to be. What could be better than having your own particular tastes catered to? We couldn't resist thinking this as the number of TV channels proliferated. MTV! Channels in December that ran the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" ceaselessly because the movie had fallen into the "public domain." The movie was not all that good. But kids who were force-fed this movie can't help but feel fondness for it now. 

Beyond "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" there was the endless panoply of "network TV entertainment shows." The prime time shows that came and went with such frequency, it was kind of depressing. And my, there was the phenomenon of "TV ratings." The western staple "Bonanza" did super for a long time. 

"Bonanza" was pretty vapid and one-dimensional. It followed the nature of TV and movie westerns always wanting to impress morality on us. Especially the kids. You might say the Judeo-Christian ethic. Which can only be good? Not so fast. After years of such fare being dished out, we ended up with an American culture that was hopelessly passive about the Vietnam war. This even with the facts of the war coning at us daily. Americans collectively sat on their hands, even when our young men were being sent into the meat grinder. 

Just think if the U.S. had not followed the siren song (or whatever it was) for getting into that war. Today we can maybe suggest there is a siren song for getting involved in the "endless Mideast wars." The current U.S. president talked for a long time like he and his MAGA crowd would avoid this at all costs. The more things change, the more they. . . You know. 

So now we may have a major new wave of inflation coming at us. After we've already been flummoxed by this. 

Alas, "niche programming" of our contemporary age has given us "conservative media" like Fox News. This empowers all the know-nothings out there, people who try to lead by emotion. In the age of Johnny Carson entertainment, the far right political stuff was marginalized. Would see pamphlets given out at an oddball county fair booth, for example. Today there's the litany of "conservative" podcasters, e.g. Jesse Kelly. 

Will niche programming in the media be our undoing as a nation? People get attention today who in past times would not have had a prayer. Are people conscious of this? 

Richard Nixon was brought down because the old system worked, the system with rules truly based on the Judeo-Christian ethic or framework. Today? Hell's bells, look at the endless abominations committed by the president and really his whole "menagerie" around him. And he has Supreme Court justices playing along. 

In the Johnny Carson era, America went along with a political norm that had "liberals" in an important position because this of course guaranteed that "the little guy" would be taken care of. This was actually very important to the World War II generation, which had the GI Bill among other things to celebrate. The WWII generation could be pretty collectivist. Today "collectivism" is like an obscenity. No man is an island? Oh yes they are. 

So we're ready to wade into an ever-worsening inflation situation because we refuse to insist that our current MAGA leadership be kicked out. We passively read the new batch of headlines every day. The suggestion to convict/imprison Barack Obama, James Comey and others? Well, yawn. 

 

Johnny Carson

Just levity, not scorn

Johnny Carson avoided politics except to "tease" whatever president was in office in an innocuous way. It was simply irreverent. Down deep, Johnny Carson and his audience had faith in the nation's reassuring foundation, you night say our pulse. 

The Johnny Carson show began at 10:30 p.m. Mercy! My bedtime today is considerably earlier. I'm a little ashamed as I recall how I always felt I was missing something if I didn't stay up for a portion of the show. Totally escapist fare. If a movie actor like William Holden started getting into the weeds with cinema craftsmanship - as I observed him doing once - you just knew that Johnny would feel uncomfortable and he'd want to steer the chat back to the normal superficiality. 

We ate it up, we laughed, then we went to bed. Today we can call up endless "podcasts" at that hour including the far-right (political) ones. I suspect a lot of people do that. Is this the same folly that America experienced when we sat on our hands during Vietnam?

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - musicstuff 54@gmail.com 

UMM wins with command versus MLC

UMM came out of its recent series of games vs. Martin Luther with great satisfaction. Nothing but wins! 

"Martin Luther" means of course we're playing religious people. The real Martin Luther led a rejection of the Catholic Church. Pretty dicey. And right now the Catholic Church is in the midst of conflict and controversy with what is going on between Pope Leo and the U.S. presidency of you-know-who. Why does the nation put up with this? Why doesn't everyone just roundly condemn the president for claiming that the pontiff "wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon?" 

All past presidents have felt the need to respect the Pope as a revered religious leader. The Catholic Church is not perfect because human beings are not perfect.  

Martin Luther College of New Ulm has a "knight" as its logo. Looks like a knight right out of the movies. Looking at this reminds me of a movie scene that made me laugh out loud. It's from the Mel Brooks movies. This was "Silent Movie" that had Brooks himself as one of the three leading actors. I have always felt this was an underrated Brooks movie. 

"Silent Movie" was really a silent movie. Only one spoken line and that was by Marcel Marceau the famed mime! He blurts out "no!" in a scene. Funny. But the specific scene I am referencing in relation to "knights" includes Liza Minnelli. Brooks and his two partners are trying to get Minnelli's attention. They want to make a pitch to her for being in the threesome's planned "silent movie." Liza is seated at the commissary on a movie production lot. 

The three protagonists approach her disguised as "knights" and dressed fully as such, with all the metal! So they simply try to sit down with her. Pretty hard in a knight get-up. So we hear the sound effect of metal-on-metal as the three simply try to sit down. They keep falling over. Real slapstick or physical comedy and it sure worked with me! 

Martin Luther College of New Ulm is certainly Lutheran but not part of the Lutheran mainstream. The college is affiliated with the Wisconsin Synod which in my mind is sort of an extreme or fringe faction. Since we're talking about the Pope let's bring the Holy Father into it: the Wisconsin Synod of the Lutheran Church believes the Pope to be the antichrist! So the college would have to answer for that. I don't know why those people stick their neck out in this way. This would only hurt church membership IMHO. 

Churches are struggling to maintain their flocks as it is. But to each his own I guess. 

Yes the Catholic Church has had problems. But right at the present time my sympathies are with those people. 

Before I drop the subject of Martin Luther the person, I'll remind that he was one of the biggest anti-Semites in world history. He wrote a thesis that I would hate to quote because it's so raw and offensive. Martin Luther's words were used in the build-up to the holocaust of WWII. It was that bad. You just have to look at the historical record. 

Maybe the bottom line is that I don't like the divisions in humanity caused by organized religion. I rather admire the Jewish people as long as we're not talking about the outrages caused by Israel and its leader. 

Maybe it's true that "in the beginning, man created God." 

 

Mary Landherr

Cougars shine in three games

Well, the UMM softball team sure had its prayers answered going into the series of three games vs. Martin Luther College. The Knights proved no match for our Cougars who won 13-0, 11-5 and 12-2. Pretty one-sided. All three of these games were played at MLC. 

Taking a look at the 13-0 win, the Cougars pounded out 16 hits. They committed no errors! Our big inning was the second: seven runs. Three Cougars stood out in the boxscore, each with three hits. These hot bats were wielded by GingerAnn Lucas, Mary Landherr and Kendra Schmitz. Landherr drove in three runs. Lucas scored three. Lucas and Alyssa Thornton each had a double. The Cougars turned a double play. 

Alyssa Thornton pitched five innings for the 'W' and she struck out three batters, walked none.

 

Game 2

The 11-5 UMM win saw the Cougars come on strong in the late innings, the sixth and seventh. We finished with seven hits and had two errors. MLC actually out-hit us with ten. 

Kendra Schmitz

Kendra Schmitz was the only Cougar with a multiple-hit game and she went two-for-three with a run and an RBI. Landherr nd Ro Diver each drove in two runs. 

Morgan Wilhelm pitched the whole way for the win and she scattered ten hits. (I remember the major league baseball pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm from my youth, the knuckleballer!)

 

The Friday game 

The 12-2 win by UMM over Martin Luther on Friday saw Cougar bats produce the robust total of 15 hits. Taylor Johnson, Olivia Losee and Kendra Schmitz each had three. Losee and Thornton each had three RBIs. Landherr and Schmitz each had a double, and Taylor Johnson socked a triple. 

Alyssa Thornton pitched three innings and Marissa Anderson pitched two. Each stuck out a batter. Thornton got the win. 

Let's hope the weather gets milder as the diamond action continues.

Olivia Losee

 

- Brian Wiliams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com 

MACA softball overpowers Montevideo in twin bill

We can sure count on MACA softball rolling over a lot of regular season opponents. And so it goes. The Tigers were overpowering in their Monday doubleheader against Montevideo. Action was at home. And the scores were 16-1 and 19-0 over the Thunder Hawks. 

All such regular season success is super. But the question that hovers - has for years - is whether the Tigers can get past the southern Minnesota teams in the section. Well, that's a long way off as of right now. Let's enjoy the April success as we get impatient waiting for nicer weather to come along. Yes I'm impatient. Am I just getting old and maybe a little crotchety? Oh I don't think I'm alone. 

Right now the weather unpleasantness is in the form of fog. It was quite thick as I departed to town for breakfast. It hangs in the air as of 9:30 a.m. Wouldn't a summer-like day be rather like a miracle? Or, how about a succession of such days? 

Regular season winning thrills are a norm for MACA Tiger softball. And so is the presence of Mary Holmberg as head coach. What a miracle with longevity she is! I covered Tiger softball for the Morris paper back in the program's first year, I believe 1979. Jimmy Carter was president. (I think Carter was much more genuine presenting himself as an ally of Christianity than our current president.) 

The coach all through the program's storied history has been Holmberg. Now let's see, Mary, if you can guide the program past the shoals of the section tournament this season!

 

Tigers 16, Montevideo 1

Holy cow the MACA bats were really sizzling as the twin bill unfolded: 17 hits by the orange and black in the first game. And just two by the T-Hawks. The game was abbreviated to four innings. 

Sure seems like Monte girls teams have taken lumps this school year. I recall that Monte was on the losing side of a historically one-sided girls basketball game this past winter. The winner that night was BOLD. That outcome prompted me to write a blog post where I wondered if people even make an issue of "running up the score" anymore. There was a time when we might hear such an outcry. But times do appear to have changed. Changed since the days when Morris girls basketball could be on the short end of such affairs. Like against Wheaton or New London-Spicer. And I was left puzzled: Why were we so handicapped? And why didn't more people ask questions? 

The kind of number that MACA softball did on Monte Monday revives the issue of imbalance. Maybe we should save some of our runs for the section tournament, like against Jackson County Central et al. 

The Tigers were actually scoreless in the first two innings of Game 1. But wow, what a contrast the third inning was! Twelve runs. Then the Tigers polished things off with a four-run fourth. Our line  score was 16 runs, 17 hits and the perfect "zero" for errors. Talk about mid-season form in April! 

Let's roll up our sleeves to take a look at the hitting parade. Addi Cihak is my neighbor so I'll put her at the front of the line: two hits in three at-bats and two runs scored. Way to go Addi! Then we see Aina Rose with a triple and a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs. 

Harmony Coverdale had a hot bat at three-for-four with one of her hits a double. She scored three runs and drove in three. (Sometimes I think her name is "Cloverdale" but no it's "Coverdale.") 

Samantha Konz was unstoppable as she put up three-for-three numbers. She scored a run and drove in two. Brenna Jergenson was quite in the zone and she had a double and triple as part of going three-for-four. She stole two bases, scored two runs and drove in four. 

Ryla Koehler had a hit, walked, stole a base, scored a run and drove in a run. Ashlin Gibson crossed home plate once. Nora Boyle doubled, drew a walk and drove in a run. Haley Kill went two-for-two and got hit-by-pitch. She scored a run and drove in two runs. Miu Lu Asche stole a base and scored a run. Jade Marty had a hit and a run scored. 

Nora Boyle was our pitcher and she struck out seven batters, issued just one walk and allowed just two hits. 

What a superb showing by the Tigers. I think I did justice to the team by going through the Game 1 highlights. I'm sure Game 2 mirrored the complexion of Game 1. Haley Kill gets a shout-out as pitcher. Lots of exciting action lies ahead. Right now the team stands at 3-0.

And really Dear Lord, how about some weather that brings thoughts of summer?

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com