DULUTH, Minn. - Coming into the district playoffs on a hot streak and then going home early is something that every VFW team dreads even thinking about - but last weekend in Duluth, it happened to Cloquet.
The Lumberjacks were coming off some of their best performances of the summer in last week's sub-district tournament. However, with the No. 2 seed in the south, Cloquet ended their summer with a pair of district losses to Virginia 2-0 and Grand Rapids 11-5 last Saturday.
"We played both teams tough," first-year Cloquet VFW head coach Bryan Anderson said about his team's two district playoff losses at Duluth Central to end the season. "We just couldn't make the plays when we needed them."
Saturday afternoon's first round district action pitted the Lumberjacks against Virginia, with the game going back-and-forth and remaining scoreless until the fifth inning. After that, the Blue Devils scratched a pair of runs on the board off of Lumberjack sophomore pitcher Taylor Blundell. Mixed with a few mistakes, Cloquet was handed a disappointing 2-0 loss and trip down the lower bracket of the double-elimination tournament.
"I thought we played well against Virginia," said Anderson about his 'Jacks. "We just couldn't hit the ball and a few too many mistakes in the late innings killed us and we lost the ball game."
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After the defeat, Cloquet clashed with Grand Rapids Saturday evening in an elimination game. Even with their top pitcher on the hill in sophomore Adam Hanson, the 'Jacks still struggled defensively. Making a long story short, the Thunderhawks made the plays and rolled to the 11-5 victory, sending Cloquet home for the summer.
"Rapids is Rapids. They played great defense and made the plays," Anderson said. "Hanson pitched well. We just couldn't make the plays behind him. Our defense just wasn't there."
And even though his club exited the playoffs before Sunday's second round, Anderson saw more out of his team this summer than just their final record.
"I thought that we took a huge step forward this summer," Anderson smiled. "At the beginning of the year, the boys looked really raw, but as the season went on, they really grew, developed and matured as a team. We just got better when it mattered most."
With a number of solid players returning to the team next summer, it's safe to say the Lumberjacks will again, be a tough Northland club.
"The summer didn't end up how we wanted it to, but...hopefully next summer they'll be even better," Anderson said. "The boys were cool and it was just a good time on the field for both me and them this summer. We had a blast."
