Waupaca team keeps pace with Plover in South-Central
There’s still plenty of baseball to be played in the BABA South-Central Division this season, but it looks like Waupaca and Plover are the teams to beat.
Plover has yet to lose in division play and Waupaca has only lost once, a 2-1 12-inning setback to the Pterodactyls earlier this month.
The teams are scheduled to meet for the second time Sunday, July 12, in Waupaca.
Waupaca 13, Lanark 0 (7 inn.)
LANARK – Waupaca opened the scoring with three runs on two hits in the top of the second inning.
After loading the bases on a walk to Nate Nelson, Andy Wanty’s hit and a walk to Travis Holat, Beau Ash cleared the bases with a double to right-center field.
The Lakemen added seven more runs on six hits in the third. Wanty and Holat had run-scoring hits, David Yeska drove in two more runs with a single and Jake Reedy hit a two-run home run over the fence in left field.
Holat doubled in the fourth and scored on Ash’s second double and Jim Nighbor and Ethan Dayton drove in runs in the sixth to cap the scoring.
Ash, Holat and Wanty each had two of Waupaca’s 15 hits.
Jeff Riddle pitched four innings to get the win on the mound, while Cam Seidl picked up a save. They gave up three hits each and struck out 11 batters.
Pat Peskie led Lanark at the plate with two hits, including a double.
Menasha 15, Waupaca 0 (7 inn.)
WAUPACA – The Lakemen came out on the short end of a shutout June 17 against the Macs.
Waupaca tried a quartet of pitchers and none of them had much success except for Wanty, who worked the final two innings and didn’t give up a run.
The Macs scored eight runs – only four earned – off of Riddle in three innings and tapped Yeska for six more runs in a single inning. Menasha also scored a run off of reliever Nick Meyer.
The Macs outhit the Lakemen 17-3. Wanty, Eric Brehmer and Holat had hits for the Lakemen as the team fell to 8-3 on the season.
Plover 2, Waupaca 1 (12 inn.)
WAUPACA – Waupaca’s first contest of the season with Plover June 14 was another in a series of close games with the Pterodactyls dating back to last year.
Plover handed Waupaca a 3-2 loss in 10 innings last year, Waupaca picked up a 7-3 win and Plover ended Waupaca’s season with a 1-0 playoff loss in a game that lasted 17 innings.
“Anyway one cuts it, it is good, exciting and well-played baseball, but not too much hitting,” Lakemen manager Dave Peterson said.
Waupaca outhit Plover 6-4 in the latest matchup, but Plover’s pitchers struck out 11 batters and walked only two. Waupaca’s trio of pitchers combined for nine walks, a hit batter and eight strikeouts.
The Lakemen had early chances, as Wes Austin opened the game with a hit and moved to second on a sacrifice, but was stranded after a pair of groundouts.
Nate Nelson doubled with one out in the second, but Holat hit a line drive right at Plover’s second baseman, who converted it into a double play.
Lakemen starter Joe Nelson got in trouble in the second. He walked the No. 5, 6 and 7 hitters to load the bases with no outs. He got the next man on a force out at second, but a run scored. Reedy cut down an attempted steal for the second out. Another walk reloaded the bases before Joe got a groundout from the leadoff hitter to get out of the inning trailing 1-0.
The only hit off of Nelson Joe was a single in the third after another walk, but he pitched through that and didn’t give up another run. He hit the leadoff man in the fifth, but got a 1-6-3 double play to end that inning and his day on the mound.
The Lakemen offense continued to struggle, although Wanty reached second in the third after his groundball was thrown away. However, Austin struck out and Yeska popped out to end the inning.
Plover’s Howie Heinrich allowed only a single to Holat in the fifth until the Lakemen tied it in the eighth. Nate Nelson and Holat opened with walks and moved up on Ash’s sacrifice bunt. Wanty singled to right field to tie the game and put runners on the corners. Riddle stole second to give the Lakemen two runners in scoring position, but a strikeout and a checked swing comebacker to Heinrich snuffed out the rally.
Meanwhile, Yeska pitched three solid innings and faced only 10 batters, as he gave up a two-out double in the seventh. Nighbor relieved him in the ninth and faced only 10 men in his first three frames.
Plover brought a reliever in to pitch the 10th that did not give up a baserunner until Reedy singled to lead off the top of the 12th. Luke Behm lined out to right field, pinch hitter Rocky Mondello came through with a single to center field to push courtesy runner Ben Selsing into scoring position, but a strikeout and grounder to short throttled the attempt to take the lead.
Plover ended the game in the bottom of the 12th after a routine-looking ground ball took a bad hop and went over Riddle’s for a single. The runner moved to second on a sacrifice bunt for the second out. The Lakemen intentionally walked Heinrich, but the next man blooped a hit into very shallow right field that was about 20 feet fair. Nelson’s desperate throw to the plate was late, as the winning run scored standing up and Plover had the victory.
Waupaca 7, Marshfield 6 (11 inn.)
WAUPACA – The Lakemen picked up a win over the Chaparrals June 12.
Waupaca scored in the bottom of the first, as Austin singled and later scored on Nate Nelson’s sacrifice fly.
Wanty sailed through two innings before an error and four straight hits in the third gave Marshfield a 4-1 lead. The Lakemen immediately got one back, as Nelson doubled and later scored on Selsing’s sacrifice fly to left field.
Waupaca retook the lead in the fourth with four runs on only one hit. One run scored on an error, another on a passed ball and two more on groundball outs.
That 6-4 lead almost held up, but Marshfield scored on two hits in the fifth in Wanty’s last inning of work. Yeska gave up an unearned run in the sixth that tied the game and pitched through the eighth, but needed to save a couple of innings for Sunday action so Holat took the mound in the ninth.
“About the only pitching Travis has done as a Lakemen is in batting practice, but he came through in fine style,” Peterson said. “He got through three innings giving up only one hit in each. He was helped out by a line drive double play with runners on the corners in the 10th. In the 11th, Tyler Dayton made a great over-the-shoulder catch in deep left to help keep the score tied.”
The Lakemen, meanwhile, had trouble with Marshfield’s reliever, who gave up a single to Dayton in the 10th in his five innings on the mound. He struck out eight batters, but walked Nelson, Selsing and Josh Peterson to load the bases in the 11th with two outs. Nelson won a gamble by streaking home with the winning run on a passed ball that got only about 15 feet from home plate.
Holat picked up the win. Austin had three of Waupaca’s 11 hits, while Nelson and Ethan Dayton added two each.
Upcoming schedule
The Lakemen traveled to Clintonville June 24 for a nondivision game with the A’s and will host the Appleton Legends at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 26, at Lakemen Field. Waupaca will return to South-Central play at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, June 28, at Manawa before heading to Menasha Wednesday, July 1, for another crack at the Macs.