10/3/2005- Would-Be Fire Nearly Takes Out Clubhouse
The icon of Ada baseball for decades was nearly destroyed by fire over the weekend.The fire apparently began in the wall above the entrance to the clubhouse, underneath the wooden bleachers. An alert city police offcer on patrol spotted the incident before major damage occurred. The fire is apparently being view as "suspicious."
"We are releived to announce that the Pop Machine and other A's memorabilia held close in our hearts, was not damaged," announced Jim Hanson in a brief press conference. "We will not rest until the crime is solved, much like the recent case of the missing picnic table."
9/20/2005- Offseason Workouts Begin; Team Awards Announced
The A's have begun an intense offseason workout regiment, in hopes of improving on a disappointing 2005 season. Director of Player Personnel Mike Gullingsrud did not want to disclose specifics about the highly secretive workouts, other than to say that the emphasis is to improve batspeed through a series of wrist and forearm excercises.
In other news, The A's announced the winners of the 2005 Team Awards:
Most Inspirational- Jim HansonMost Influential- Jim HansonBaserunning Award- Jim HansonMost Valuable Person- Jim HansonBullpen Award- Jim HansonGrilling Award- Jim HansonBest Man Award- Jim HansonJim Hanson Award- Jim Hanson7/24/2005- Season Ends
Ada's season ended with a 7-5 loss to Thief River Falls in Game 2 of the opening round of the League Playoffs Sunday night in Thief River. The A's final record for the season is 9-14.
7/21/2005- Thief River tops A's in Playoff opener
The A's were plagued by numerous defensive miscues and fell 10-6 to Thief River Falls in the first game of a best of three series. Ada held an early 3-1 lead, which faded in the later innings. A last inning, two out rally plated two runs, but the game ended with two runners on base.
7/18/2005- Athletics take four games.
The A's took four victories over the weekend to move their league mark to 8-4 and grab 2nd place for the upcoming league playoffs. On Saturday, Ada took a forfeit win, then a dominant 14-4 win over Thief River Falls in Ada. The A's kept the momentum going the next day with 14-10 and 5-3 wins over East Grand Forks. The 14-10 victory was highlited by a grand slam homerun by Mike Gullingsrud, in his first at-bat after an extended hiatus.
Ada will now take on Thief River Falls in the first round of league playoffs. The opening game is Wednesday night in Ada, with a game Sunday (yes, the day after THE Wedding) in Thief River and, if necessary, Tuesday in Ada.
The A's overall record is now 9-12.
7/13/2005- Ada Thumps Crookston Reds 10-2 in Crookston
The A's bats broke out of a season-long slump in jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, and cruised to the win. The matchup counted as two games in league standings, due to previous rainouts. Pitching on two days rest, Ada pitcher Chris Lee threw a complete game, baffling and frustrating the Reds hitters with a mix of off-speed pitches. The A's record is now 5-12.
7/11/2005- Ada's record moves to 4-12.
Ada notched two wins over the weekend with a 9-0 forfeit win and a 5-3 win over East Grand Forks on Saturday. The Eastsiders were forced to forfeit the opening game of the doubleheader when they arrived late.
On Sunday, the A's played with a short squad, and fell 13-0 and 1-0 to Thief River Falls.
7/5/2005- A's fall to Reds 11-1.
After a long layoff due to rainouts and the July 4th weekend, the A's took on Crookston Tuesday night in Ada. The Reds are sporting a strong squad this year with solid pitching and have yet to suffer a loss. The stoary of season so far for the A's this year has been a lack of clutch hitting and key defensive miscues, which held true again on this night.
6/26/2005- Doubleheader with Thief River Falls rained out; rescheduled for July 16 in Ada.
6/19/2005- Ada Splits Doubleheader with Dilworth Twins
On a sweltering day in Dilworth, Ada snuck out an 8-6 extra inning win in the opening game. Brian Schumacher picked up the win in relief of Chris Ellingson. The second game was a back and forth affair, and Ada was able to tie the game at six with a run in the top of the last inning. Dilworth was able to plate a run in the bottom half to sneak away with a victory. Ada now stands at 2-9.
6/13/2005- Tough luck leads to 1-8 record.
Ada opened up the home schedule, hosting the rival Crookston Reds on June 7. The Reds held a 4-2 in the fifth inning, when some key Ada miscues opened the floodgates for Crookston, who took the win 12-4.
Over the weekend, the A's played three Class B opponents in the Bemidji Tournament. The A's dropped a close contest in the opener, falling 6-4 to Marble in extra innings. Ada folowed that with a close 4-2 loss to Duluth Express. The tournament concluded with a 6-0 loss to Bemidji on Sunday.
The A's look to get back on the winning track in a doubleheader with the Dilworth Twins on Sunday, June 19 at Dilworth.
6/6/2005- A's lose two games in Perham Tournament
Due to torrential rains, the A's were only able to get two games in, in the Perham Tournament this weekend. The A's dropped a 3-0 decision to LeSueur on Saturday, and a 12-2 decision to Green Mill from the Twin Cities on Sunday.
5/31/2005- Athletics Play in Jamestown Tournament
The A's made their annual trek to the Jamestown Memorial Weekend Tournament, going 1-2. Ada opened with the Grand Forks Gunslingers, and fell 8-6 in a see-saw battle. Chris Lee took the loss on the mound, and the offense was highlited by a towering homerun by Paul Nelson. In the second game of the day, the A's squandered an excellent pitching performance by Kenneth Hayden, and fell 1-2 to the Jamestown Merchants. On Sunday, the A's bounced back to take and 8-2 decision from the Jamestown Merchants #2 team, with rookie Zach Johnson taking the win.
4/26/2005-Fetsch Goes Two and a Barbeque, Announces Retirement!
AP (Hatton, ND) In a surprise news conference held at the Sunset Lounge in Hatton, ND, A's infielder/outfielder/catcher/pitcher Matt Fetsch wasted little time in announcing his shockingly sudden retirement from organized baseball.
"I see a lot of guys, both in the professional and amateur ranks, whether it be Canada or the States, that just don't know when to call it a career, and I don't want to be one of those guys," commented a surprisingly unemotional Fetsch during the conference. "I would also like to add that if this quote is ever published in a newspaper, magazine, or on the A's website, that I have set a Region 12C record for commas used in a sentence."
While that may be the only A's record the youthful 24-year old Fetsch owns, he did point out that he played all nine fielding positions during his two years with the A's. Fetsch also was adamant in denying rumors that he was the latest to fall victim to the recent trend of A's players becoming engaged/married and then suddenly retiring.
"My wife-to-be has been more then supportive when it came to me continuing my baseball career," said Fetsch. "The final decision was entirely up to me."
The former Mayville State middle infielder and Munich, ND high school standout played three years in the Canadian semi-pro leagues prior to coming to Ada, where he was primarily used as a ringer/starting pitcher/designated driver (Fetsch played in an era where Americans simply had to flee the country if they were ever cited for a DUI).
"Those three years in Canada actually acted like 15 on my body. That's why I feel like a 39-year old going on 50, not a 24-year old. Throwing 16 innings in a doubleheader for one team one day, and then catching a ride across the province and throwing 9 more for another team the next day, as it turns out, wasn't something that should have been cared for by simply drinking a liter of rye and 12 Labatt's afterwards."
Fetsch also ruled out any thoughts of a potential comeback with the Grand Forks Gunslingers or Mayville Red Caps, teams loaded with former teammates of his, in the coming years.
"My main objective right now is to transform Northwood (ND, his current hometown) into the premier Little League program in the state of North Dakota, maybe even the Midwest."
4/1/2005- A's Announce Engagements of Two Players
A press release today from the Ada A's front office announced the engagements and upcoming weddings of two players. Keith Hanson, a member of the A's front office, will wed Stacy Euteneuer on July 23. There is some confusion from the release and it is unclear at this point whether the ceremony will be taking place in St. Martin, MN or St. Maarten in the Caribbean. Stay tuned for details.
As if this wasn't big enough news, it was also announced that multi-dimensional player Matt Fetsch has recently become engaged to Miss Kyla Anderson of Crosby, ND. Rumor has it, a June 2006 wedding is planned.
There is rumored to be preliminary plans for the A's to schedule a tripleheader the day following each of these weddings, against an undetermined opponent.
