Another BABA South-Central Division game, another win for the Waupaca Lakemen.
The Lakemen improved to 8-0 in league play June 23 with a 10-6 win over Rosholt. Waupaca also fell to Tigerton 5-1 June 19 and had their game with Marion called off.
Waupaca 10, Rosholt 6
WAUPACA – The game remained close for five innings before each starting pitcher – Waupaca’s David Yeska and Rosholt’s Aaron Dobbe – started to get tired in the heat and humidity.
Yeska kept the Renegades off of the scoreboard for the first four innings, as Rosholt managed only a single and walk in the second and third frames. Otherwise, no one reached base except for a throwing error in the top of the first.
Dobbe almost matched Yeska, who doubled with one out in the second for Waupaca’s first hit. After Travis Holat worked a walk, designated hitter Dean Nelson bounced into an inning-ending double play.
Seth Deuman singled with one out in the Waupaca third and Wes Austin doubled over the left fielders’s head. Deuman ended up scoring on Jeff Riddle’s sac fly to relatively short center field.
The Lakemen added a run in the fourth, as Tyler Goggins had about a 12-pitch at-bat before finally grounding a single to left. He moved up on a wild pitch and scored as Holat laced a double down the left field line to make it 2-0.
Rosholt got the first two men on in the fifth on a single and Goggins’ throwing error at second base. A groundout scored a run and a two-out single plated the tying run.
Josh Peterson hit for Andy Wanty, who had to leave early for work, in the bottom of the fifth. He promptly drove one over the fence for a tie-breaking home run. Deuman again singled and Austin knocked one over left center for a two-run homer and the Lakemen had opened a quick 5-2 lead. Austin’s homer came off of a relief pitcher.
Rosholt got an unearned run back as Riddle let the leadoff batter’s grounder go through his legs. The next batter grounded to Luke Behm at first, but his throw to second was off line and into right field to put two men on base. A groundout plated a run and the next batter lined to Ethan Dayton, who stepped on the bag at second for a double play, and the Lakemen were off the hook leading 5-3.
The Lakemen opened the game up with a five-run fifth inning. It started innocently enough when Rocky Mondello was plunked by a pitch. Peterson and Deuman were easy outs before Mondello moved up on a wild pitch. Austin singled in Mondello on a two-strike pitch, Riddle singled and Behm walked to load the bases. Dayton dropped a two-run single into short center and Yeska unloaded a long two-run double to right center to give the Lakemen a 10-3 advantage.
Jim Nighbor came on to relieve Yeska on the mound. Although he felt better than he has all year, Nighbor gave up his first hits and earned runs in the season. A bloop hit, wild pitch and another blooper cost him a run in the seventh. He got out of the eighth despite having the leadoff man on via an error. Three straight hits in the ninth plated two more runs before Nighbor got the next three batters (two on strikeouts) to end the game.
Rosholt mustered nine hits with three walks and five Lakemen errors. The Lakemen managed 14 hits, with Austin leading with a three-hit day that included a double, home run and three RBIs. Dayton was 2×2 with two RBIs, Yeska added a pair of doubles and Deumann also had two hits. The Lakemen had two hit batters, two walks and benefitted from only one Rosholt error.
Tigerton 5, Waupaca 1
TIGERTON – The Lakemen ran into the Tigers’ soft-throwing lefthander. He did give up six hits, but it was tough to score.
Riddle went the first three innings for the Lakemen and was touched for three runs on five hits in the second. Only two of the hits were solid shots and none for extra bases, but they all counted and when a throwing error from the outfield and a bases-loaded walk were added, Tigerton had a 3-0 lead.
Wanty walked to start the Lakemen third and Dayton, the No. 9 man in the order, followed with a single. However, the top three in the order went down on two flyouts and a strikeout.
The Lakemen did score in the fourth, as Yeska led off with a single and was forced out on Holat’s grounder. Holat scored later in the inning on an infield hit by Nelson that went off the glove of the third baseman.
Behm relieved Riddle to start the fourth. He got the first two batters, but four consecutive hits accounted for two more runs. The Lakemen threatened in the top of the seventh, as Dayton, Riddle and Peterson singled to load the bases. With the tying run at the plate, Behm struck out and Yeska grounded out to end the game. The loss dropped Waupaca’s overall record to 9-2.
Marion was scheduled to appear at Lakemen Field June 21, but the heavy morning rains evidently convinced some of their players that the field would be unplayable. Waupaca’s Parks and Recreation Department crew plus a couple of Lakemen players made the field playable about two hours before gametime, but Marion called and said they could not gather enough players for the game and were not coming. There was no game and the Lakemen ended up having just a practice.
Upcoming schedule
• The Lakemen traveled to Marshfield June 26 and Waupaca will head to Lanark at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, June 30.
The team will get very busy in July, especially with home games. They will sandwich the Fourth of July with 7:30 p.m. home games Wednesday, July 3, (Omro) and Friday, July 5 (Marshfield). Waupaca will also host Scandinavia at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 7.
• Jackpot Raffle tickets will soon be for sale at the Lakemen concession stand and from each player. They should have them by the Omro game. Only 300 tickets will be sold for $10 each. There are 25 cash prizes, including $500 and $400 for first and second place, respectively.
The drawing will be held on the field after the July 31 home game with Clintonville. Winners do not need to be present to win. However, once tickets become available, they sell rather quickly, so fans should check with their favorite Lakemen player for details and to get involved because once they are gone, that is it.
• Also in mid-July, former Lakemen players will gather for a mini-game before the regularly scheduled game against Weymont. There is also a golf outing the previous day for former players.
• Fan Appreciation Night is scheduled for Wednesday, July 24, as Little Falls comes to Waupaca. There will be numerous prizes to be won by buying low-cost raffle tickets at the park that night. Tickets cost 50 cents each with several prizes being given each half-inning beginning in about the third until the end of the game. All fans get free admission to the game and have a lot of fun listening to find out if their numbers won.