Waupaca defeats Scandinavia
Thanks to a pair of two-run home runs, the Waupaca Lakemen now have a two-game lead in the BABA South-Central Division baseball standings.
Cam Seidl and Luke Behm went deep for the Lakemen July 15 in a 4-3 win over Scandinavia.
The Lakemen also finished second at a tournament in Marion.
Waupaca 4, Scandinavia 3
Waupaca used an early home run to hand the Vikings a 2-0 loss earlier this season. The rematch unfolded the same way, but with more hitting.
The Vikings came out swinging against Seidl in the bottom of the first inning. R.J. Rosenthal doubled to left-center field with one out, Jason Steinbach singled to right field and Jesse Dickert’s single drove in the game’s first run. An error loaded the bases, but Seidl got a comeback grounder from Logan Moe and a force-out at home before ending the rally with a fly ball.
Waupaca had a hit in the first three innings, but never got a runner past second base. Chris Yenter reached on a hit for Scandinavia in the second and Tony Tuschen reached on an error in the and stole second with two outs. Moe hit slow roller toward Waupaca third baseman Sean Peskie. Moe looked to beat a throw to first, so Peskie held the ball. Tuschen, thinking the throw had gone toward first, rounded third and tried to score, but Peskie made the short toss to Kyle Douglas at the plate for the out.
Waupaca took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth, as Holat led off with a clean single to left and Seidl hit a long fly ball that just carried over the fence in left field.
Seidl then battled through the next three innings with a base runner in each frame, but only one making it to second base with two outs. The Lakemen had a batter walk in the sixth and seventh, but Dickert cut down both runners trying to steal second.
Johnny Popham reached in the Lakemen half of the eighth. Peskie fouled out, but Behm added to Waupaca’s lead with a fly ball down the right-field line. It looked like it would be caught, but it drifted over the fence at its shortest distance (281 feet) just eluding the glove of the right fielder.
The Vikings weren’t finished, however, as Tuschen and Moe reached on infield bouncers in the eighth that nobody could field. Gavin Erbes reached on an infield error to load the bases. Seidl did get a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Yenter with a run scoring, but struck out the next man to keep the Lakemen lead at 4-2.
Jim Nighbor relieved Seidl in the ninth. Hunter Ludzinski led off with a solid single to left and Nighbor retired Rosenthal and Steinbach on fly outs, but Dickert cut the lead to 4-3 with an RBI double to left-center field. Tuschen bounced one up the middle that Popham stopped from going into the outfield, but resulted in a hit and runners at the corners. Nighbor got the last man to foul out to Douglas and preserve the win.
Tuschen had three of the Vikings’ 12 hits, while Steinbach and Dickert had two each. Tyler Goggins had two of Waupaca’s eight hits. Nine Vikings struck out, with one reaching on a walk and another by being hit. The Lakemen struck out five times and had two reach on walks and two more hit by pitch. Waupaca also committed three errors, while the Vikings had one.
Waupaca 6, Tigerton 2 (7 innings)
Waupaca opened the Marion Tournament July 11 with a 6-2 win over Tigerton.
Nighbor pitched the opener and went the distance on the mound. He gave up a pair of runs in the first innings on four hits, but a double play kept the Tigers from adding to the lead.
The Lakemen tied the game with RBIs from Behm and Goggins.
Nighbor scattered five hits over the next six innings and only two of those runners reached second base.
Waupaca took the lead for good in the second on a double from Douglas and an RBI groundout off the bat of Travis Holat.
The Lakemen took advantage of two errors in the third and also picked up runs on Wes Austin’s double and a single from Peskie. The final run came in the fourth on Popham’s single, stolen base and RBI hit from Walker Smith.
Austin had two of Waupaca’s nine hits.
Waupaca 8, Menomonee 1 (7 innings)
The Lakemen returned to Marion July 12 and picked up an 8-0 win over the North Stars.
Lakemen starter Jason Ellie held the North Stars scoreless in the first despite a walk and a hit. The Lakemen took the lead in the second after Goggins and Peskie led off with hits, but the only run came on Cody Weller’s groundout.
Ellie had trouble in the second with one out, as a hit and two walks loaded the bases. Behm relieved Ellie and got a groundout with a run scoring.
Three hits, a walk and two errors led to four runs in the third. RBIs in the inning came on Behm’s groundout and a two-run home run from Goggins over the 331-foot sign in left field. Weller had another run-scoring groundout in the fifth and the Lakemen added three insurance runs in the sixth on hits from Andy Wanty, Ryan Dayton, Jake Popham and Behm.
Behm was credited with the win and he finished with four strikeouts, two hits and no walks in his five-plus innings on the hill. Goggins had three of Waupaca’s 12 hits, while Peskie added two.
Little Falls 9, Waupaca 8 (10 innings)
The Lakemen fell to the Loggers July 13 in the championship game.
The game included six errors – four by Waupaca – and 18 runners reaching base via a walk or being hit by pitch.
Neither team scored in the first three innings, as starting pitchers Dayton and Carter Kurki were effective.
Kurki allowed only a double by Smith in the first and Dayton squeezed out of jams in all three innings, as the Loggers left two men on in each frame.
The Lakemen scored in the fourth off of a Little Falls reliever. Holat led off with a single and two walks loaded the bases. Austin drove in two runs and Josh Peterson singled in the third.
Waupaca added two more runs in the fifth, as Douglas singled, Johnny Popham followed with a triple to the gap in right-center field and Holat’s sacrifice fly made it 5-0.
Dayton ran into big trouble in the bottom of the fifth, as the first five batters reached on one hit, three walks and a fielder’s choice in which a runner was thrown out at the plate. Reliever David Yeska gave up three hits and four runs before getting out of the inning. but the Lakemen now trailed 6-5.
Waupaca took advantage of another reliever’s wildness to score three times on only one hit in the top of the sixth. Austin singled, but there were also three walks and an error as the Lakemen batted around and still left the bases loaded with an 8-6 lead.
Yeska gave up two unearned runs in the sixth that tied the game. He walked a pair of batters in the inning, but didn’t give up a hit. Extra innings followed after neither team scored in the seventh.
Wanty relieved Yeska and Hunter Gruenwald took over for the Loggers. Both pitchers gave up two hits in the eighth, but no runs. Douglas cut down both runners trying to steal.
The Lakemen loaded the bases in the 10th on two walks and a Popham single, but Gruenwald struck out Ethan Dayton to keep the game tied.
Wanty gave up a single to Drew Radies, got a fly ball out, gave up another hit and hit a batter to load the bases. The Loggers won the game as Pete Radies laid down a squeeze bunt that brought in the winning run.
Lakemen chatter
• Waupaca played at Menasha July 18 and will host the Little Chute River Bandits at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 20. The Lakemen will also host the Weymont White Bass at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 22, for the first time since the teams played an 18-inning game in Weyauwega.
• The Lakemen will also host Little Falls Wednesday, July 25, for the team’s annual Fan Appreciation Night. Admission is free and concessions will be available at reduced prices.
• Jackpot Raffle winners will be drawn after the Lakemen host the Appleton Legends Friday, July 27. The limited 300 tickets should have been sold by then, so fans are reminded to check with Lakemen players or the concession stand at the Little Chute or Weymont games to see if any may be left at that time. Twenty winners will share $2,000.
• With the win over the Vikings, the Lakemen have a two-game lead and with only three games remaining in regular-season play, should be able to hold on to first place. They have already clinched a playoff spot, but the exact seeding is still up for grabs. Besides Weymont, the Lakemen also have South-Central Division games scheduled with New London and Plover.
• Pinch hitter Tyler Dayton may have had the shortest game time possible in the game at Scandinavia, as he was batting for Douglas on the re-entry rule. There was a runner at first and two outs. On the first pitch, the runner was gunned down trying to steal for the third out. Douglas re-entered immediately on defense. Once a substitute is re-entered for, his day is done.
BABA Standings, Results, Schedule
South-Central Division
Waupaca 9-0
Scandinavia 7-2
Plover 5-3
Omro 2-7
Weymont 2-7
New London 1-7
July 15 results
Waupaca 4, Scandinavia 3
New London 8, Weymont 2
Plover 11, Omro 1 (7 innings)
July 22 schedule
Weymont at Waupaca
Plover at Scandinavia
Omro at New London
East Division
Gresham 10-0
Clintonville 7-1
Neopit 6-4
Marion 3-7
Menominee 2-7
Shawano 1-8
July 14 result
Leopolis 15, Menominee 2 (East/West game)
July 15 results
Clintonville vs. Menominee, postponed
Neopit 7, Marion 6
Gresham 19, Shawano 2 (7 innings)
July 21 schedule
East/West Alumni Game at Shawano
July 22 schedule
Clintonville at Little Falls (East/West game)
Leopolis at Marion (East/West game)
Caroline at Gresham (East/West game)
Tigerton at Neopit (East/West game)
Menominee at Tilleda (East/West game)
Bowler at Shawano (East/West game)
West Division
Little Falls 8-2
Tigerton 8-2
Caroline 6-4
Leopolis 3-6
Bowler 2-7
Tilleda 1-9
July 13 result
Tigerton 6, Caroline 4
July 14 result
Leopolis 15, Menominee 2 (East/West game)
July 15 results
Little Falls 16, Bowler 1 (7 innings)
Tigerton 13, Leopolis 0
Caroline 22, Tilleda 3
July 21 schedule
East/West Alumni Game at Shawano
July 22 schedule
Clintonville at Little Falls (East/West game)
Leopolis at Marion (East/West game)
Caroline at Gresham (East/West game)
Tigerton at Neopit (East/West game)
Menominee at Tilleda (East/West game)
Bowler at Shawano (East/West game)
North Division
Eland 8-1
Elderon 5-3
Polar 5-4
Birnamwood 4-5
Wittenberg 4-5
Hatley 3-6
Aniwa 2-7
July 15 results
Polar 10, Aniwa 2
Birnamwood 7, Wittenberg 1
Eland 7, Hatley 6 (10 innings)
Elderon had bye
July 22 schedule
Elderon at Wittenberg
Birnamwood at Aniwa
Polar at Hatley
Eland has bye