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The Pirate guys flirted with disaster all game and it finally wound up catching up to them in the seventh inning.

The Pirates fell 5-1 to the Elk Mound Mounders in the sectional semi-final game, giving up four runs in the top of the seventh to end Grantsburg’s remarkable season.

The game was close until then. Both teams scored one run in the sixth inning, then that fateful seventh inning for the Pirates. The leadoff hitter was hit, there were two or three walks and a couple hits in there that combined for four runs in the final frame.

The Mounders (what kind of mascot is that, anyway? Is it some sort of politically correct compromise? If I were a mound I’d be pretty offended) pitched extremely well giving up only four hits and striking out five. Their pitcher was in control most of the game.

The Pirates had won eleven in a row and they had a chance to win the game. They dodged early bullets by throwing two runners out at home… in the first inning! The first was Nolan Hanson to Ben Larson with Larson tagging out the advancing runner. The second came with the bases loaded and the batter bounced it to pitcher Thane Larson who threw it home for the force then Larson gunned it to first baseman Jake Ryan for a rare 1-2-3 double play.

Though the season didn’t end the way the Pirates and their fans would’ve liked to have seen, the team represented their home town well and they deserve our congratulations. They played ball like it should be and they were rewarded with a great season and a trip to Sectionals. Only sixteen teams get to do that every year.

Congrats, Pirates!

Really cool photo courtesy of Marianne Shira

The Grantsburg Pirate baseball team has won eight in a row after beating the Unity Eagles last night, 4-3.

Grantsburg’s Thane Larson had a perfect game going through three innings and a no hitter into the fifth. In that fifth inning Unity scored twice and cut the lead in half, 4-2.

Then the wild top of the seventh came. The Unity runners on second and third first and second were running with the pitch, two outs. The batter gets a solid knock into right center field. One run scores, and the runner from first is on his way. A relay throw from the outfield to second baseman, Austin Eskola first baseman, Jake Ryan to catcher Ben Larson is in time and secures the third out of the inning and a chance at a regional championship against second seed Turtle Lake/Clayton. The game will be at five o’clock tonight (Wednesday, June 3). Tune in to 105.7 WXCX for the action.

The Pirates have now won nine out of their last ten games. Let’s hope they can continue that tonight against a good Turtle Lake/ Clayton team. Grantsburg lost to them the second game of the season, final score 6-2.

As the girls started in on the Star Spangled Banner the pre-game warm up cd started back up and overwhelmed the national anthem. The girls were able to recover and put in a nice performance. It wasn’t their fault that the music started like that, but there was nothing they could do about it either.

Was it an omen?

It wasn’t as if Grantsburg played poorly, it was just that St. Croix Central couldn’t miss… and it continued like that throughout the game. They were overwhelming the music that Grantsburg was trying to make.

There was one kid for SCC who never took a good looking shot, but he made all of them. It was incredible. St. Croix Central had no players averaging double digit scoring for the season, in fact their two best players average just over eight points per game. Tonight was different. The Panthers came out shooting and scoring… it was like an NBA All-Star game out there, especially to begin the game.

The end of the game was one for the ages as Grantsburg made a three point basket with 15 seconds left in the game giving them a two point lead, then with about seven seconds left SCC made a three pointer from waaaay downtown to give the Panthers a one point lead. Out of timeouts, Grantsburg had to race down the court, Connar Goetz drove then kicked the ball out to Thane Larson who was open but had to lean to his right to receive the pass. He gathered himself and took the shot, a three-pointer at the buzzer. It was just a little too much to the right when it contacted the rim. Game over. Season over.

The Pirates did do some things that they’ll look back on and wish they could change. They got into foul trouble in the second half and Ben Larson fouled out in the fourth quarter then Tyler Myers did the same in overtime. SCC didn’t have anyone in foul trouble.

Trent Bonneville should be commended for the way he played tonight. He drew a ton of fouls, especially in the first half and ended with over twenty points. He took control of the game at times.

I want to congratulate the team on a nice year. Yeah, everyone was counting on them making a deep playoff run, and if the circumstances were just a little different, maybe we’d all be in better moods, but this is life. Sometimes the underdog wins. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a year we’ll all remember. The last second win in Luck, the last second losses to Webster and Luck and now SCC. Those games didn’t turn out the way we hoped, but that doesn’t mean we look at this team as a failure. They had a good season and those seniors who were so dedicated to the sport they love so much should all be commended for the way they busted their tails for the past four years.

In other news, the Luck Cardinals were also upset by #5 seed Eleva-Strum 48-46 in overtime. Two of the best teams this area both underachieved in the playoffs. I haven’t heard any anecdotes from that game, so I have no idea what happened.

Siren also lost to #1 seed Prescott 49-42. So all West Lakeland teams have been eliminated from boys tournament action.

That leaves just the Siren girls, ranked 3rd in D4, left in the playoffs. They play tomorrow night against Flambeau. I’ll be there broadcasting on WXCX if you are interested. Game time is 7:00.

The Burnett County Sentinel has released their picks for the All-Area football team. They choose from the five schools they cover (Grantsburg, Siren, Webster, Luck and Frederic).

Here are their picks:

MVP: Travis Moser (Webster)

Most Improved: Adrianna Otte (Frederic)

Coach of the Year: Jeromie Voeltz (Webster)

Webster: 6 (plus MVP and Coach of the Year)

Frederic: 5 (plus Most Improved player)

Grantsburg: 5

Luck: 5

Siren: 3