Itasca defeats Raiders

Itasca defeated the Raiders twice Tuesday, 4-3 and 15-8 at Grand Rapids, leaving CLC with a 1-19 record on the year. Jared Hoemberg (shown) hit a solo home run in the narrow loss and was 2-5 with RBI in the second game. The Raiders’ Trey Thompson pitched all seven innings of Game One, striking out three, walking one and scattering nine hits. Pete Lucken was 2-4 with two RBIs in the nightcap. Derek Pihlaja was 2-3 with three RBIs and Joe Gaida was 2-2 and reached base in all four plate appearances. CLC had one error in the first contest, 3 in the second and was outhit, 9-7 in the opener and 13-10 in the finale. Next: Hibbing at CLC, Tuesday, April 3, 2 p.m. (2 seven-inning games scheduled).

Raiders end losing streak

The Central Lakes College Raiders won their first game this season and snapped a 48-game losing streak by edging Rainy River, 5-4, Sunday, March 25 in the first game of a double header played on Mall of America field in Minneapolis' Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. CLC had gone 0-31 in 2010 and was 0-16 this season before the win. The Raiders lost the second game, 7-1. Hamburg freshman Taz Seibert (shown) and Osage sophomore Derek Pihlaja had what Coach Pat Held called a "nice pitching effort" in the win. Park Rapids sophomore Josh Edwards punched a walk-off sacrifice fly to plate the winning run. Next: Tuesday, April 3 vs. Hibbing, 2 p.m., Findorff Field, CLC.

Losses at St. Cloud

The Central Lakes College Raiders completed their non-division, fast-pitch softball schedule with a doubleheader loss to St. Cloud Technical and Community College on Saturday morning in the Husky Dome at St. Cloud State University. CLC lost the first game 8-0 with Becca Anderson and Desirae Guscette doubling and Jenni Smolke and Alanna Hansen collecting singles. In Game Two, Becca, Hayley Hornick, Jenni and Kaylie Hanson each had two hits as CLC lost 9-4. Kaylie and Hayley ripped doubles. Kaylie drove in two runs. Sam Harting took the loss in both games. In the two games she struck out four and walked eight. The Raiders (1-4) have nearly a week to get ready for conference play. Coach Greg Medeck is confidant that this is a talented group which should be ready for Itasca on April 3, the first home games of the season. The first pitch is slated for 3 p.m. at Findorff Field.

Raiders win 1 of 3

The Central Lakes College fast-pitch softball team opened its 2012 season Friday, March 23 with one win and two losses. Rebecca Anderson collected four hits and Carlie Sweet slugged a 3-run homer in a 17-8  win over Mesabi Range at the Irish Sports Dome in Rosemount. Rebecca, a Cherry sophomore transfer from Hibbing CC, finished 4 for 5 with four runs, two doubles and a triple. Jenni Smolke was 3-4. Winning pitcher Sam Harting struck out three and walked one in a complete game. CLC lost its second game 13-3 to Itasca. Alanna Hansen was 2-3 and drove in two runs for the Raiders.Hibbing edged CLC, 3-2, in the final game. Jenni was 2-3 with a double, Hayley Hornick was 1-3 with two runs and Nicole Marcy was 1-3 with a double. Next: CLC vs. St. Cloud Technical and Community College at St. Cloud State University today.

Young and athletic

Pitcher Samantha Harting, a sophomore from Pillager, returns to the Central Lakes College fast-pitch softball team from her 19-win season last spring. But she is the only pitcher on the pre-season roster and one of just three sophomores anchoring the young 2012 Raider squad. The Raiders are inexperienced but athletic, with nine promising freshmen taking up their first season of college ball. Their first tests are this weekend with games vs. Hibbing, Itasca, and Mesabi Range on Friday and a double header at St. Cloud Saturday. Last year Harting worked more than 200 innings on the mound during the 20-15 season in which the Raiders won 13 of 20 Northern Division games. She was 19-14.

What a finish!

The Central Lakes College Raiders (29-4) put together the best 20 minutes of the tournament and perhaps their best half of the season to defeat Brookdale, 85-75, outscoring the Jersey Blues, 51-32, to take fourth place in the championship meet today in New York. Brandon Davis was unstoppable inside, Ronnie Kornbaum cut loose outside, Michael Farrington played his usual great defense and fired pinpoint passes to assist his teammates. Kwamaine Johnson stroked a bunch of free throws and popped to the hoop for a couple fast-break lay-ups in the great comeback. Fouls threatened to stall the comeback, as Maurice Hernandez and Ronnie K each picked up four, but CLC dominated on defense to create chaos for the losers from New Jersey. Congrats, Raiders!
Ronnie was named to the nine-player All-National Tournament team.
Halftime deficit
The Raiders trailed Brookdale (New Jersey) Community College at the half, 43-34, in the NJCAA Division III tournament. The championship meet was played at Loch Sheldrake, N.Y., 100 miles north of NYC, where it will be staged again in 2013 and where the Raiders would like to return. They will have several returning standouts to lead that vision. The Jersey Blues (28-4) were the top-ranked team in the final poll, while the Raiders were ranked second. Turnovers plagued CLC early, and the Brookdale inside game brought numerous lay-ups or fouls, resulting in quite a few points from the line. Michael Farrington hit some big shots as the Raiders fought back late in the half, putting together a 7-0 run capped by the first three-point basket of the tournament for Maurice Hernandez. That made it, 36-32. But the Jersey Blues then closed out on a 7-2 run as CLC coughed it up and provided the opponent a handful of inside scores.

Raider baseball team gets experience

The Central Lakes College baseball team played top teams from Texas and Oklahoma to start the 2012 season. Example: March 14 losses by scores of 4-3 and 8-0 to fourth-ranked Tyler, Texas while being outhit, 11-8, in those two battles. Fielding miscues plagued the Raiders (0-16) in most losses against teams playing a lot more games in outdoor baseball weather most of the year. The Raiders led Tyler, 3-2, in the sixth inning of the first game before losing 4-3. Freshman hurler Dustin Motschenbacher of Wadena allowed just five hits and didn’t walk a batter. Freshman Jared Hoemberg of Bertha had an RBI single and Joe Gaida of Browerville and Baxter sophomore Jaron Hanson collected the other CLC hits. In the 8-0 shutout loss at Tyler, Melrose sophomore Pete Lucken had two hits for CLC and Gaida, Parkers Prairie freshman Trey Thompson and Osage sophomore Derek Pihlaja each had a hit against the nation’s fourth-ranked team. CLC is back in state for a Sunday, March 25 doubleheader vs. Rainy River at the Mall of America Field in Minneapolis, with a 4 p.m. start for the pair of seven-inning games. First home twinbill is April 3 vs. Hibbing at 2 p.m. Other recent losses in the Texas-Oklahoma road trip: March 15, vs. defending national champion Eastfield (Texas) 10-0, 11-1; March 16, also vs. Eastfield 17-2, 14-4; March 17 vs. NE Oklahoma, 7-1, 14-2. The March 12 nine-inning game vs. Paris, Texas was rained out.

CLC 81, MATC 76

The Raiders (28-4) defeated Milwaukee Area Technical College, 1-76, giving them a shot at fourth place in the NJCAA Division III tournament, which concludes tomorrow. Tought defense and fast breaks again lifted the Raiders, who moved the ball well and kept after it on the boards. Down the stretch they converted 8 of 12 free throws to keep the Stormers from catching up. CLC held leads of up to 14 points early and 10 in the second half. Maurice Hernandez had a much better game today than yesterday, and Brandon Davis again showed his interior game skills. The fourth-place game starts at 1 p.m. Only the top 3 teams in the tournament receive trophies and plaques, but a No. 4 in the nation label sounds good!  Go Raiders!
At the half it was 38-32, Central Lakes College ahead of Milwaukee Area Technical College, in the second round of the NJCAA Diision III men's basketball tournament in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. The Raiders had led by up to 14 points as Little Falls sophomore Ronnie Kornbaum (shown), a cousin of Purdue's Robbie Hummel, drained four three-point shots and Brandon Davis continued to be deadly inside, thanks again to great feeds from teammates such as Michael Farrington. MATC (22-12) is ranked 10th in the national poll, and CLC is second.

Raiders lose

Fourth-ranked SUNY-Delhi, the only returning team in the tournament, today defeated the Central Lakes College Raiders, 62-61, in the opening round of the NJCAA Division III basketball tournament in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. The Raiders had led, 58-57, with a minute and held a 31-28 halftime edge on the strength of 51-percent shooting and outstanding defense. The winners harvested four points at the end on a shot from beyond the arc by Quayshaun Mitchell, who was ruled to be fouled on that shot and sank the free throw to win it for the Broncos (29-5). CLC fought turnovers and some tough misses from the outside, staying in the game with the trademark defense and some unusually good free throw shooting, especially late in the game by Michael Farrington and Kwamaine Johnson. Brandon Davis was able to get some crucial inside points thanks to excellent passing down the stretch. The Raiders next face Milwaukee Area Technical College (22-12), which lost to Cedar Valley (Texas), 100-86, in the first game of the three-day tournament. Two wins would give CLC fourth place.

Raiders win - first game is today at 1 p.m.

Gametime today is 1 p.m. CDT: CLC vs. SUNY-Delhi, NJCAA championship basketball tournament.

http://www.ihigh.com/njcaatv/ live video coverage

http://www.championships-sullivan.com/ tournament website for brackets etc.

The CLC men's basketball team captured the 2012 Region 13 championship (and state tournament title), 84-66, over M State (Fergus Falls) today. The Raiders earned a berth in the NJCAA Division III tournament March 15-17 at Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. It will be their second trip to the Elite Eight in five years. The winners survived the Spartans' hot outside shooting in the first 20 minutes, leading 42-41 halfway. Before the whistles put the skids on the high-flying Raiders, they were on top, 21-7, eight minutes into the game. Fergus went to the line 26 times to 12 for CLC. Ronnie Kornbaum again showed his leadership and shooting touch, including the last seven minutes when he drained a pair of three-point shots that helped CLC open up a 73-58 lead with six minutes left. Ronnie led the scoring with 24 points. Kwamaine Johnson (20 pts.) near the finish soared to the hoop for a bucket - and one  - to ice the win with 2:40 to go and a 80-64 lead. Jesse Fleming (shown) added 12 points, 10 in the first half. Kwamaine, Maurice Hernandez (14 pts.), and Michael Farrington were all named to the Tournament Team as well as All-Division and All-State first teams announced at the end of the three-day event in Coon Rapids. Mo was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Coach Jim Russell is the 2012 Coach of the Year for the MCAC and Region 13 by virtue of the championship that gives the Raiders a 27-3 record. M State finished at 19-11.

Tough Texans

MT. PLEASANT, Texas — Northeast Texas Community College, with a 36-player roster, allowed only two hits as the Eagles swept a doubleheader from Central Lakes College (0-8) on Monday. In the first game Northeast totaled six hits and won, 6-0, as Tyler Lenz collected the only Raider hit. Trey Thompson pitched respectably in a losing effort that included three errors for CLC. “We played pretty well,” Raider Coach Pat Held said. “We gave up four runs in the first inning because it was our pitcher’s first time out and he was pretty amped up. After that we played them fairly even. They’re pretty good. I was  happy with that game.” Northeast won the second game, 13-0, with Pete Lucken’s double off the wall in the third inning, the only hit for CLC. The Raiders committed three errors while the winners, who had nine hits, had one miscue in the field. This is a CLC spring break trip of games vs. schools with national baseball reputations in Oklahoma and Texas. Today's scheduled doubleheader is against the second-ranked Tyler Junior College Apaches. CLC plays its first home game April 3 vs. Hibbing.

National tournament webcasts

The NJCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Championship tournament, in which the Central Lakes College Raiders will be playing one game per day March 15-17, can be followed at the following sites:

http://www.ihigh.com/gogenerals/  website with live stream of the game

http://www.ihigh.com/njcaatv/ live video coverage

http://www.championships-sullivan.com/ tournament website for brackets etc.

CLC's first game is on Thursday, March 15 at 1 p.m. CDT against SUNY- Delhi (NY).

Raiders lose in Oklahoma

WARNER, Okla. — Connors State College swept a doubleheader from the Central Lakes College Raiders on Saturday as the Brainerd squad began its Spring Break Roadtrip of daily contests through the end of this week in Oklahoma and Texas. Five errors hurt the Raiders against a team that played errorless ball. In the first game, a five-inning 11-0 loss to Connors, Raiders Jaron Hanson, Tyler Lenz, and Trevor Woodruff had the only CLC hits. Connors won the second game 9-1 in seven innings. CLC's Bryan Yackley doubled and Cory Tumberg had an RBI single. Jared Hoemberg pitched 4 innings in relief and allowed one unearned run. CLC was rained out Sunday against Northeast Texas Community College. The doubleheader was scheduled to be made up Monday.

Raiders ranked No. 2 in nation

The National Junior College Athletic Association Division III men's basketball poll this week ranks Central Lakes College as the No. 2 team in the country. The Raiders (27-3) moved up from last week's fifth-place ranking. Brookdale Community College (27-2) of Lincroft, N.J. is the top-rated team going into next week's championship tournament in New York, moving up from fourth after the top three ranked teams in the poll lost playoff games and were eliminated from national tourney berths. The Jersey Blues of Brookdale received four first-place votes, the Raiders of CLC two. The first opponent of the Elite Eight for CLC is SUNY-Delhi, N.Y (28-5), which is tied for fourth in the latest national poll.

CLC 65, Anoka-Ramsey 51

The Raider men advanced to the championship of the MCAC/Region 13 basketball tournament with a 65-51 win over Anoka-Ramsey today. The Raiders led 34-20 at the half and never relinquished the lead from the early moments. Ronnie Kornbaum had a stellar game, making several driving lay-ups as well as some fine outside shots and free throws. Cody Hofmann saw lots of action off the bench, and Michael Farrington was again the field general down the stretch. Great defense and quickness prevailed against the taller, slower Rams. This was the second win in three tries over the Rams, who won the last meeting between the teams, 67-65, in Brainerd. M State (Fergus Falls) upset Rochester, 71-69, in the other semi-final today. The championship game vs. M State starts at 2 p.m. Sunday at A-R, Coon Rapids. The champion advances to the NJCAA tournament in New York March 15-17.

Go Raiders!

Raiders advance

From report on MCAC website and in Brainerd Dispatch 3-3-12
The Central Lakes College Raiders defeated Mesabi Range, 72-57, in the quarterfinal round of the MCAC/Region 13 men's basketball tournament Friday, the first of three required wins to earn a trip to New York for the NJCAA DIII championship tournament. Maurice Hernandez (shown) scored 30 points, hauled in 11 rebounds, and credited his teammates and superior defense for a positive outcome. Mo scored 17 points in the first half as CLC took a 38-27 lead over the fourth-seeded Northern Division foe. The Raiders, No. 1 in the Northern Division, face Anoka-Ramsey, the host of the meet, at 4 p.m. today and hope to avenge a 67-65 loss to the Rams incurred the last time the teams met. A-R got past Hibbing, 73-61, in the first round. Other winners: Rochester (84-74 vs. Vermilion) and M State (63-56 vs. Northland) collide in the other semifinal today at 2 p.m. for the right to play in the tourney title game Sunday at 2 p.m. in Coon Rapids. Ronnie Kornbaum and Kwamaine Johnson each scored 13 points for the Raiders (25-3, ranked fifth in the NJCAA poll).

Camps, clinics and league

Central Lakes College Raider Volleyball Camps, Clinics, and Summer League 2012 are scheduled for the Brainerd campus gymnasium, announced Jan Peterson, head coach and camp director. Camps: June 11-14, Setter/Hitter, 9 a.m.-noon for jr. high, $75; June 13-16, Elite, 1-4 p.m. for high school, $85; Clinics: June 6 & 7, Setter, 9:30-11:30 a.m., $20/day; June 6, Hitter, 11:30-1:30, $20; June 7, Passing, 11:30-1:30, $20; Summer league June 4-July 16, Mondays, 5-9 p.m., 6 on 6 officiated, $240/ team of at least 8 players, varsity candidates. Information: (218) 855-8210 or jpeterso@clcmn.edu

Softball season to start

Central Lakes College softball opens March 23 with a 12-player roster at the Irish Dome vs. Hibbing, Itasca, and Mesabi starting at 7:15 a.m., followed by a March 24 outing at the Husky Dome vs. St. Cloud Technical and Community College, an 8 a.m. start. The first home double header will be at 3 p.m., Tuesday, April 3 vs. Itasca, followed by 3 p.m. home stands April 5 vs. Northland and April 9 vs. Hibbing. Coach Medeck has 3 sophomores to lead the team -- Rebecca Anderson of Cherry, Samantha Harting of Pillager, and Heather Hejhal of Verndale. Freshmen are Haley Hornick, New Ulm; Samantha Heagerty, LaPorte; Jenni Smolke, Carlie Sweet, and Alanna Hansen, Brainerd; Lena Montano, Aitkin; Desirae Guscete, Belle Plaine; and Kaylie Hanson and Nicole Marcy, Pillager. Ali LeBlanc is assistant coach.

Players, coach honored

Sophomore Maurice Hernandez of Central Lakes College was named Most Valuable Player in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference for 2011-12, reported Raider Coach Jim Russell. Maurice was named Player of the Week three times during the season. Maurice, fellow sophomore Kwamaine Johnson and freshman Michael Farrington were named to the All-State team. The trio was also named to the All-Southern Division team. Maurice led the South Division and the NJCAA Division III’s fifth-ranked Raiders with 17.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He also made the top 10 for 3-point field goal percentage and field goal percentage. Michael led the division in assists (7.4) and steals (3.2) per game. Johnson was third in steals (2.2) and seventh in assists (3.1) per game. The three helped the Raiders to a 24-3 regular-season record and the division’s No. 1 seed in the MCAC-Region 13 playoffs this weekend at Anoka-Ramsey. (Results of which will be reported here as soon as available. The tournament is also being shown live via webcast - See earlier Blog item.) They also helped Raiders head coach Jim Russell earn tri-coach of the year honors along with Jason Retzlaff of Fergus Falls and Justin Heckenlaible of Minnesota West.
PEARSON HONORED
Sophomore Nikki Pearson of the Central Lakes College Raiders was named to the 2011-12 MCAC All-State and All-Division second teams.  She shot 73% from the free throw line and averaged 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game this season. She was named the Southern Division Player of the Week ending Feb. 25. Nikki played guard for the Raiders as a two-year starter from Staples-Motley. For the final week of her CLC career she averaged 21 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field. She connected on 11-of-12 free throws during the week.