By DALE KUGATH
Scoop Sports Editor

MINNESOTA LAKE - The Waterville Indians opened 13-60 League Blue Division Playoffs with a tough 7-6 road win over Minnesota Lake July 25.

Minnesota Lake and the Mankato Cubs had tied for the regular season division title with 9-4 records.

Waterville, which defeated ML 5-3 early in the summer, improved to 13-8 for the summer.

Chad Atherton led off the game and came around to score to give the Indians a 1-0 lead in their first at-bat.

Waterville upped its lead to 4-0 with three runs in the third inning, two of them coming home on a John Masberg home run.

B.J. Johnson started the Waterville fourth inning with a base hit and eventually scored for a 5-0 Indian advantage.

The Royals tallied a pair of unearned runs off Jeff Geisler in the last of the fourth, cutting the margin to 5-2.

Minnesota Lake pushed across another run in the last of the fifth to narrow the deficit to 5-3.

Ken Wollin delivered a two-run single in the top of the sixth inning to stretch Waterville's margin to 7-3.

The Royals scored single runs in their next three at-bats to leave Waterville holding a 7-6 lead after eight innings.

Tim O'Malley stroked a one-out single in the ninth inning, but Indian reliever Terry Schultz left him there by getting the next two hitters to fly out and ground out.

Jeff Geisler earned the win, allowing two earned runs and four hits over the first five and one-third innings. He walked four, hit a batter and struck out six.

Schultz gave up one earned run and three hits over the final three and two-third innings. He walked one and fanned three.

Jay Byrum and Brian Welch had two hits apiece for the Royals. Byrum knocked in two runs.

Welch started on the mound and took the loss. In four innings of work, he allowed seven hits and four earned runs, issued four free passes and struck out two.

Joe Caven gave up two earned runs and two hits in five innings on the mound. He hit two batters, walked one and fanned five.

Atherton, Wollin and Johnson led Waterville's nine-hit attack with two hits apiece. Atherton scored twice, Wollin drove in three runs and Johnson crossed home twice.

Masberg, Jeff Geisler and Jason Geisler also hit safely. Jay Herman and Josh Berndt both walked twice.

The Indians made three errors and stranded eight base runners.

Minnesota Lake played errorless ball but left 10 runners on the sacks.

Waterville will face the Minnesota Lake-Morristown winner at William J. Grose Field at 1 p.m. Aug. 2. If the Indians lose, another game will follow.

Waterville has already qualified for the region tournament in Montgomery.