THIRD INNING

Score: Senators 1, Gridlockers 0

The third inning began with a wholesale shift in the lineup with rookies ready to play.  The sparkplug Mark Koran (R-Cambridge) took over in left field while steady Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks) settled into the center field spot.  The speedy Justin Eichorn (R-Grand Rapids) managed the shadowy right field while presenting a bill for Greater Minnesota to the Health and Human Services Committee.

The infield took on a new flavor with no-nonsense Andrew Lang (R-Olivia) bringing Rural Finance Authority to third base and the easy-going Andrew Matthews (R-Milaca) lending power plant prowess to the shortstop territory.  Nimble Matt Little (DFL-Lakeville) stepped in at second base with wily Ron Latz (DFL-Spring Lake Park) taking over at first base, while keeping an eye out for ill-advised GPS tracking.  Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake), the cagey entrepreneur accustomed to touching all the bases, relieved Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) behind the plate, and out of the bullpen came the renewable Dave Osmek (R-Mound) throwing energized beanballs at the Met Council.

Seymour Frauns was the first batter Osmek faced and went down swinging on three flaming fastballs down the heart of the plate. The next batter was Iam Noxious, and he hit a short fly ball down the right field foul line, easily chased down by the far-ranging Eichorn.

The last batter for the Gridlockers was Mea Culpa who hit a long drive to the left-center warning track, which Johnson and Koran converged on with Koran recording the putout.

The Senators’ bats were pretty quiet in their half of the inning. Paul Utke (R-Park Rapids) fouled off several pitches as he reviewed a White Earth Tribe bill with the Health and Human Services Committee, but then flew out to left field.  Jerry Relph (R-St. Cloud) displayed his workforce concerns but was retired when his line drive to the left field corner was snagged by Culpa at ankle height.  The last batter was the warm-hearted Nick Frentz (DFL-Mankato), who hit a towering drive to the right field corner, which Noxious handled easily.

As the Senators returned to the field, they wished all their loved ones a Happy Valentine’s Day.  Even the hard-nosed lead umpire, Michelle Fischbach (R-Ham Lake), smiled as she pressed forward with zero-based budgeting rules while awaiting the fireworks yet to come from Real ID and pre-emption discussions.

The announcer for the game, Scott Jensen (R-Chaska) warned the players they might want to move things along because the Senators were “burning daylight!”

Play by play provided by Sen. Scott Jensen