Sugar River Euchre

The Red Mouse Shufflers had high aspirations of derailing the Starlight Express. By the end of the 4th frame, and with a 23-point lead, it looked promising. But with the Express picking up 23 points in the 5th frame the scores were tied. The Shufflers gained 5 points in the 6th and lost 4 in the 7th, leaving them with just a 1-point lead going into the final frame. Unfortunately, the 111 points recorded by Shufflers Erik Massey and Randy Skogen wasn’t enough to secure the win or offset fellow Shufflers Steve Vogt and Shane Kahl’s 72 points (this week’s low score). Steve and Shane gave up 41 more points than they gained in the match. With the win, the Express kept rolling down the track knowing they would remain at least one match ahead of the rest.
With the Pranksters pulling at the heels of the Express, every match is extremely important to them if they want a shot at this year’s title. Larry Losenegger and Tom Schulenberg understood this and placed 117 points (this week’s high score) securely in the bag for the Pranksters. This proved to do the trick for the Pranksters as they went on to win by 48 points over the Cowboys.
The Mounties invited the Walk-On Trolls to the Red Mouse for a small party. It was to involve some Euchre and a fine meal. Little did the Trolls know that it was a trap. Mary Humphrey and Bruce Milestone incarcerated 112 of those little buggers to give the Mounties a 20-point win, keeping the Trolls winless. The Mounties are human though, they did provide the inmates with a meal before they turned them loose.
The J&M Bar River Rats were also hoping to place their first mark in the win column for this half of the season. It was looking good for them with River Rats Ernie Sarbacker and Tracy Funseth contributing 112 points towards that goal. But Kleeman’s Hay Shakers were determined to keep pace with the Starlight Express, and managed to stack 19 more points in the mow by the end of the night than the River Rats were able to snatch.
The Jones Plumbing Pipe Benders were making some excellent fittings early in the match with the Cheese Eaters to take a 9-point lead after the 4th frame. It was in the 5th when the Sportsman’s Bar found the cheese vault and stole all four games. In three of the games, the Cheese Eaters devoured their way through the lead by holding the Pipe Benders to a 3, a 4, a 5 and 14 points. That’s a 34-point swing in favor of the Cheese Eaters. Going into the 8th frame, the Cheese Eaters were up by 29 points. But, with all the fittings and wrenches out of the tool chest, the Pipe Benders showed their stuff, recording 59 out of a possible 60 points. Unfortunately, it was too little too late as the Cheese Eaters scored just enough in the 8th to secure a 12-point win. The only losses in Cheese Eaters Giff Hoesly and George Eichelkraut’s 111-point night came at the hands of Ross Neshiem and Greg Stutz.
Standings: Starlight Express 6-0; Kleeman’s 5-1; Pranksters 5-1; Mounties 4-2; Cowboys 3-3; Sportsman’s Bar 3-3; Jones Plumbing 2-4; Shufflers 2-4; J&M Bar 0-6; Trolls 0-6.
February 24 Schedule: Starlight @ Sportsman’s Bar (7:00); Kleeman’s @ Shufflers (7:30); Mounties @ Pranksters (7:30); Jones Plumbing @ J&M Bar (8:00); Cowboys @ Walk-On (7:00).