Joe Drennan
Sports Editor

Despite a slow start, the Forest Lake Brewers started their 2005 campaign with a 6-1 win over the Pine City Pirates Sunday afternoon at The Ballpark at Schumacher Field.

The Pirates got their one and only run of the game in the first inning off Brewers pitcher Chris Parent. It wasnít until the fifth inning that the Brewers scored their first run of the game when Paul Miron hit a two run home run, giving the Brewers a 2-2 lead they wouldnít relinquish.

The Brewers added one more run in the sixth inning, three in the seventh and one more in the eighth en route to their first victory of the year.

Every Brewers player that played in the game had a hit.

ìWe had good pitching,î Brewers assistant coach Tyler Engquist said. ìChrist (Parent) always gives us a good outing. He throws a lot of strikes and pitches a fast game.î

New league/players

The Brewers are playing in a new league this season, moving out of the Eastern Minny League class C ball into the Metro Minny League class B ball.

The Brewers, Chisago City, Nowthen and St. Francis all made up the South division of the Eastern Minny League. At the league meetings after last season the league voted the entire division out of the league. Chisago City and Nowthen petitioned to be reinstated to the league, but the Brewers and St. Francis found a new league to play in.

The Brewers will play the Cleveland Condors, Blaine Fusion, Hamel Hawks and old Eastern Minny foe the St. Francis Saints in the Metro Minny League.

ìMost of the teams are in the Blaine-Coon Rapids area so our commute will only be about 20 to 25 minutes when it used to be 45 minutes to an hour,î Engquist said.

The Brewers have two newcomers to the team this season in infielder Brian Welch and first baseman Steve Carlisle. Welch and Carlisle are Forest Lake High School grads who played the past few seasons on the high school team and Legion team until this year as they are both in college.

Carlisle was not at the first game of the season. Alex Johnson and Luke Hagman also missed the game as the two are finishing up their season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

ìWeíll be in good shape once those college guys return,î Engquist said.

The Brewers next game is a double header with the Coon Rapids Redbirds. The double header starts at 2 p.m. at The Ballpark at Schumacher Field.

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Forest Lake Times
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Forest Lake, MN 55025
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