The 2009 SFL season has come to an end and a new champion has been crowned. The Gold Hawks,
the preseason favorites to win the cup, did soar to the top of the SFL this weekend by
defeating the Black Sox and denying them their 11th SFL Cup. The action began on Saturday
afternoon with a first round match up between the second place Gold Hawks and the third
place Blues.
1st Round Game One:
Gold Hawks: 11 vs Blues: 6
It did not take long for the Gold Hawks to take an early lead in the opening game of the
SFL Play-offs. Chad Peterson’s lead off homerun in the bottom of the first gave the Hawks
a 1-0 lead and they went on to score four more runs that innings to take a 5-0 lead and
added six more for a11-6 win. Chad Peterson finished the game 3-4 and was a triple shy
of the cycle. Gold senior captains Sean Claugherty and Paul Kolodge made sure they
continued their quest for the SFL Cup. "Claw" was 2-3 with a homerun, triple, and four
RBI and “PK” was a perfect 3-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Freshmen Michael Swenson
earned his second win of the fall by throwing a complete game.
1st Round Game One:
Gold Hawks: 6 vs Blues: 4
With the Blues facing elimination, they turned to freshman Kyle Jensen, to keep them alive
in the post-season. Jensen pitched well, throwing a complete game and allowing only 5
hits, but four of the six runs allowed reached base on an error, a hit by pitch, and two
walks. Freshman Tyler Olin earned the complete game win for the Gold Hawks. Olin was
outpitched by Jensen, but bailed himself out of trouble throughout the entire game. The
four runs that the Blues were able to score came off of three walks and an error. Too
many walks for a play-off game, but the Gold Hawks move on to play the Black Sox in the
World Series.
World Series Game One:
Black Sox 4 vs Gold Hawks 3 (10 innings)
Senior Steve Gerten provided the heroics for the defending champions by tossing a complete
game and driving in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning that scored senior
Jordan Sandstrom from third. The Gold Hawks tied the game in the top of the eighth when
Claugherty drove in Chad Peterson with two-outs. The Sox had a chance to win the game in
the bottom of the ninth, but Gold pitcher, Josh Retka, struck out pinch hitter Mike Harris
for the second out and catcher Paul Kolodge completed the double play by throwing out
Joey Link who was trying to steal third on the pitch. The Black Sox were now one win
away from their 11th SFL Cup.
World Series Game Two:
Gold Hawks: 4 vs Black Sox: 0
One game away from elimination, the Gold Hawks sent senior Jeff Adams to the mound.
Adams had been the SFL’s most dominating pitchers during the regular season, but the
question was could he do it on the biggest stage of the SFL. He quieted his critics by
throwing a complete game one hit shutout. His teammates played great defense behind him
and the offense scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the 8th inning, three of
the runs coming off another home run from senior captain Sean Claugherty. Josh Hawkins
was also impressive on the mound for the Sox. He struck out nine and walked only one,
but was unable to keep the Gold Hawks off the board in the 8th inning, as all of the
Gold Hawk’s runs came with two outs. This set up a deciding game three for to the SFL Cup. The Gold Hawks send junior Matt Mikel to the mound, and the Black Sox counter with freshman Matt Hanse, who was acquired in a trade from the Blues earlier in the season.
World Series Game Three:
Gold Hawks: 6 vs Black Sox: 2
On draft day, junior pitcher/outfield Matt Mikel was released by the Gold Hawks and
signed by the Blues. Mikel who was celebrating his birthday that very same day, was
quoted by a reporter as saying "This is the worst Birthday present ever!" Halfway
through the season, Mikel was traded back to the Gold Hawks for three young prospects,
and now found himself on the mound in the final game of the SFL World Series.
Mikel was magnificent on the hill, throwing a complete game six hitter and not walk
a batter except for an intentional walk late in the game. But it was his bat that
ultimately helped the Gold Hawks win only their second SFL Cup. Tied 2-2 in the top
of the 7th, Mikel doubled in two runs to break the tie and put his team up 4-2.
An inning later, still leading 4-2, Mike intentional walked Black Sox centerfielder
Joey Link to load the bases, and then got freshman Thomas Jezierski to ground out to
shortstop Chad Peterson to end the Black Sox threat. Mikel pitched a perfect 9th inning,
and after the last out was recorded the Hawks swarmed the field in celebration as the
dejected Black Sox looked on. Matt Mikel was not available for comment after the game,
he was too busy celebrating and receiving a belated birthday present...an SFL Championship
and the prestigious SFL Cup.
SFL regular season MVP voting will occur next week and the winner will be announced later this fall.
This Week's SFL All-Star Game Wednesday, September 30th
SFL Play-Off Preview: Monday, September 28, 2009
The SFL regular season has come to an end and the Black Sox are in the driver’s seat heading into
this weekend’s play-offs. On Sunday afternoon at Wade Stadium, the returning champions clinched
the number one seed and a first-round bye. The Gold Hawks earned the second seed and will have
home field advantage against the Blues in a best-of-three series that opens Friday evening. The
winner of that series will face a well-rested Black Sox team in the World Series.
The Blues:
The young Blues have been singing the blues for most of the regular season. They rank last
in almost every offensive category and their defense has been poor. Last week they were
mentioned as the possible Cinderella Story of the SFL, and during a stretch of games last
week, it looked like the glass slipper was going to fit and they would be playing with
confidence heading into the play-offs. That dream did not last long as they lost their
last five games of the regular season. The Blues will win the SFL Cup if they can regain
the magic that they found last week. Their pitching staff will be asked to throw strikes
and their defense will need to limit their mistakes. The Blues offense will allow them
to make a run at the Cup, but not if they are asked to win high scoring games.
The Gold Hawks:
The pre-season favorite Gold Hawks did not live up to expectations during the regular
season. They got off to a slow start, played well during the middle of the season, but
are not playing well heading into the play-offs. Their lack of consistency has been seen
on the mound, at the plate, and in the field. They have committed a league high 20 errors
and have let too many close games slip away to be considered a favorite to win the SFL Cup.
If they want to win during the post-season they will need to limit the number of errors they
make and find ways to win close games. Their offense is loaded and their pitching staff is
deep, but can they avoid the mistakes that have plagued them.
The Black Sox:
The Black Sox are back in a familiar place, the top of the SFL standings. The Black Sox
have been the most complete team during the regular season, leading the league in on-base
percentage, slugging percentage, and batting average, which has translated into them
leading the league with 65 runs. Their defense has been near flawless, committing only
five errors in 343 chances (.985). Their pitching staff has been average, but has only
allowed eight runs in their last six games. The only question is can they keep playing
this well during the most crucial part of the season. If they can, they will be hoisting
their 11th SFL Cup and putting their names on the long list of Black squad legends.
WEEK 2 RECAP - Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The SFL regular season is at the half-way point and due to an injury to number one overall
pick; the three teams have been involved in heavy trade talks over the last two days. The
trading dead line was extended into this week to allow the three teams to finalize their
roster for the second half of the season.
On Monday afternoon a trade between the first place Black Sox and last place Blues was
approved. In order to fill the pitching hole left by rookie Brian Gosz, the Sox acquired
pitcher/middle infielder Matt Hanse and pitcher/first basemen Mike Harris in exchange for
pitcher/middle infielder Kyle Jensen and first basemen Dan Ubl. Jensen is expected to
give the Blues a boost in offensive production and provide more stability in the middle
of their infield. Sox GM Kenny Kolquist had this to say about the trade; “It is not a deal
that I wanted to make, but we needed to add an extra pitcher to our rotation.” Blues GM
Tommy Berrisford is excited about his recent acquisitions, “We needed to make a deal to increase our ability to
score runs, and also strengthen our defense which has cost us a few games during the first
half. I am excited for our new additions.”
Later in the day another trade was announced between the Blues and Gold Hawks. The Blues will send pitcher/outfielder
and free agent signee Matt Mikel along with second basemen Jeff Cozzi and utility player Jordan O'Neill to the Gold
for freshman pitcher Jake Nystrom, third basemen Chris Anderson and outfielder Tanner Viola. This move will allow
the Gold Hawks to add much needed pitching depth in time for the playoff hunt while giving the Blues some strong talent
as they look to build for the future.
The second half with begins with two games on the schedule for Tuesday. There are 12 games remaining for each team,
and the play-offs begin next Friday, October 2nd. You can expect the Gold Hawks to keep pushing the Black Sox for
the top spot and a first round bye in the play-offs, while the Blues will continue to work on improving each day and
playing well heading into the play-offs.
New league leaders will be available later this week.
WEEK 1 RECAP
Week one of the SFL has come to an end and after twelve league games have been played, the Black Sox have continued their winning tradition by jumping out to a dominating six-point lead in the standings. Their latest victory was the largest come back in SFL history. Trailing 7-0 late in the game, they scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 7-6. In the bottom of the ninth, Steve Gerten’s walk off double scored Brian Marshik with the tying run and Joey Link with the winning run.
The Blues and Gold Hawks have been plagued with inconsistency.
The Blues, in the two games where they were victorious, out scored their opponents by a
total of 13-2. In the six other games they have played, four losses and two ties,
they have only averaged only 2 runs per game and have scored a total of only 12 runs.
The Gold Hawks have followed a similar pattern. In their two wins, they shut out their
opponents by winning 4-0 and 1-0. In their four losses and two ties, they have only
averaged two runs per contest and have been outscored 23-12.
SFL action will continue on Wednesday and Friday with three games on the schedule each day.
Saturday, the Saints will battle former St. Scholastica baseball alumni in the annual CSS
Alumni Game that will begin at 12:05pm at Wade Stadium. Two games will be played that day
and will give those in attendance their first look at the new 2010 Saints and also
turn back the clock to watch some of the greatest baseball players to wear a Saints uniform.
Last night at 9:00 pm CST, the largest SFL draft and signing day in Saints Baseball history
was held. The evening began with the general managers for each franchise protecting and
releasing players from their current rosters. All three teams protected the maximum
number of players (6).
Black Sox Protected Players
Sr.
Steve Gerten
P - 3B
Jr.
Brian Marshik
2B - OF
Jr.
Joey Link
OF
Jr.
Josh Hawkins
P
Jr.
Andy Manos
2B - SS
So.
Tom Juberian
OF - 3B
Key Returner Brian Marshik - Jr.
Blues Protected Players
Sr.
Jordan Sandstrom
C - INF
Jr.
Matt Lewis
P
So.
Kyle Moody
C
Jr.
Brian Peterson
OF
Jr.
Griffen Bell
DH
Jr.
Brandon Porten
P - INF
Key Returner Matt Lewis - Jr.
Gold Hawks Protected Players
Sr.
Sean Claugherty
1B
Jr.
Chad Peterson
SS - 2B
Sr.
Paul Kolodge
C
Jr.
Josh Retka
P - 3B
So..
Brandon Peterson
OF
Sr.
Jeff Adams
P
Key Returner Sean Claugherty - Sr.
Pre-Draft Free Agent Signings
Following the protection of returning players, the following free-agents signed contracts.
Blues signed Jr. David Barningham (P)
Blues signed Jr. Matt Mikel (P-OF)
Black Sox re-sign Fr. Dan Ubl (1B)
2009 SFL Rookie Draft Results
The SFL draft was expanded to six rounds this year to accommodate for the large recruiting
class. The Black Sox acquired the 1st overall pick in a trade with the Gold Hawks for the
3rd and 6th picks of the draft.
1st Round
Pick
Player
Position
Team
1
Brian Gosz
P
Black Sox
2
Scott Greening
OF
Blues
3
David Vogelgesany
OF - P
Gold Hawks
2nd Round
Pick
Player
Position
Team
4
Brian Houdek
SS
Gold Hawks
5
Jon Koch
P
Blues
6
Chris Anderson
3B - 1B
Gold Hawks
3rd Round
Pick
Player
Position
Team
7
Kyle Peterschick
P
Gold Hawks
8
Matt Hanse
P - INF
Blues
9
Jake Snyder
P - 1B
Black Sox
4th Round
Pick
Player
Position
Team
10
Jake Nystrom
P
Gold Hawks
11
Joel Wuorio
P
Blues
12
Kyle Flagstad
INF - P
Black Sox
5th Round
Pick
Player
Position
Team
13
Michael Swenson
P - 3B
Gold Hawks
14
Jordan O'Neill
INF
Blues
15
Kyle Jensen
INF - P
Black Sox
6th Round
Pick
Player
Position
Team
16
Tyler Olin
P - 3B
Gold Hawks
17
Mark Harber
P - 1B
Blues
18
Thomas Jezerski
C - P
Black Sox
Post-Draft Free-Agent Signings
Following the six round SFL Draft, all remaining free-agents and non-drafted rookies were available for the general managers to sign.
Gold Hawks re-signed So. Ben Grieger (P)
Blues re-signed Jr. Mike Harris (P-1B)
Gold Hawks signed Fr. Trevor Burns (OF)
Black Sox signed Fr. Colton Skaug (P)
Gold Hawks signed Fr. Michael Higgins (P)
Blues signed Fr. Jeff Cozzi (P-INF)
Blues signed Fr. Tom Spaniol (OF)
Black Sox signed Fr. Richie Anderson (OF)
Gold Hawks signed Fr. Tanner Viola (OF)
Trade News
The Blues traded Joel Wuorio and Jordan Sandstrom to the Black Sox for Kyle Flagstad and considerations. The trading deadline is 11:59 pm CDT on Friday, September 18.
