Southwest sluggers off to 5-0 start

While the Twins and Vikings are in a hurry to leave the Metrodome for good, the Minneapolis Southwest baseball team can't wait to get back.

It's been five seasons since the Lakers won the Minneapolis City Conference, thus earning the right to play the winner of the St. Paul City Conference at the Dome in a late-season, bragging-rights game.

"I've never played in the Dome. I don't know how many of the other guys have played in the Dome," Southwest senior Ethan Green said. "It'd be great to represent the city and play there. It'd be awesome, actually."

The Lakers are well on their way to making that happen.

Southwest was a perfect 5-0 in the conference heading into this week. Those victories include a pair of 10-0 routs over prime rivals Washburn and South.

Last season, Southwest went 0-4 against those teams. Moreover, the Lakers were knocked out of the postseason by Armstrong after giving up five fifth-inning runs.

"We kind of have a lot to prove," Lakers coach Jared Mountain said. "We thought we'd be decent this year, but our guys have really come out hitting. And we have two pretty good pitchers, so it's been a good combination."

Green (.652), John Licht (.522) and Matt Smrekar (.520) hold the conference's top three batting averages,. A pair of home runs so far have aided Angus Vaughn to 15 RBI while Bennett Johnson's 3-0 record and 21 strikeouts come with a perfect 0.00 ERA.

"We've been building up for this year," Mountain said, noting 13 seniors. "From Day 1, we've emphasized fundamentals. And [with the weather], let's face it, we've been hitting a lot."

Southwest is no stranger to success. It's made deep postseason runs in the not-too-distant past, including a game in the section playoffs in 2000, when a certain Joe Mauer hit a three-run homer for Cretin-Derham Hall, erasing a 1-0 Lakers lead in the fourth inning of a game Cretin went on to win.

And while it's a short-term team goal to get to play where Mauer now calls home, the real test is getting a city team back to the state tournament.

No team has done that since Washburn in 1994.

This year's Southwest club is brimming with confidence. But it also has played just two teams outside the conference, and won't again until a game May 8 with No. 8 Prior Lake.

That game is exactly what the Lakers need.

"I just wish we were tested a little bit more," Mountain said. "I don't want to be braggadocios and say that we're so good and we're going to clean up. Because I don't know if we are. But as long as we keep winning, the confidence will help them get through."

Without getting too specific, Mountain said his team could probably stand to get humbled a time or two. He said the Lakers have some defensive issues they're "hiding" and that some drills in practice are far from sound.

Still, the competitive edge is there and while the team is on a roll, all involved will enjoy the ride.

"We're as comfortable out there as we've ever been," Licht said.