Waupaca to host Plover in finals
The season is alive and well for the Waupaca Lakemen baseball team.
The Lakemen entered the BABA playoffs as a No. 1 seed in the South-Central Division, defeated Lanark 9-0 and will now face second-seeded Plover at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, at Lakemen Field in the division finals.
Plover also earned a shutout in its playoff opener, as the Pterodactyls handed Scandinavia an 8-0 defeat. Neither team scored until the bottom of the third inning. Lanark starter Jake Leginza hit Jeff Riddle with two outs and Nate Nelson followed with a two-run home run.
Lakemen starter Cam Seidl retired the Lions in order in the first four innings and struck out six of the first 12 batters he faced.
The Lakemen added six runs in the fourth. David Yeska walked, Rocky Mondello singled and Yeska scored on Seidl’s infield single. Kyle Douglas and Riddle walked to force in another run and Nelson added to his RBI total with a two-run single. Luke Behm added a double to score Nelson to give the Lakemen an 8-0 lead.
Riddle relieved Seidl in the sixth inning and walked Justin Christensen with one out for Lanark’s first baserunner of the game. Kasey Zdroik walked in the sixth with two outs and Leginza singled to put two runners on, but Riddle struck out the next batter to end the threat. Brad Cieslewicz singled to lead off Lanark’s half of the seventh and another batter reached on an error, but Lanark left the runners stranded in scoring position.
Meanwhile Lanark reliever Garid Estrada kept the Lakemen scoreless the rest of the game with the exception of Riddle’s home run by Riddle in the sixth.
Joe Nelson pitched the last two innings for the Lakemen and only allowed Cal Krusick’s leadoff double in the ninth, but retired the next three batters to end the game.
Waupaca outhit the Lions 7-3. Seidl, Riddle and Nelson also combined for 10 strikeouts.
Waupaca and Plover split their two games during the regular season, with each team winning on the road.
Lakemen chatter
• Fans are reminded that Lakemen season passes are no longer good for BABA playoff games. That means all adult fans are subject to the $2 ticket price.
• The Aug. 21 game will be the last home game for the Lakemen because even if they win, the next game on Sunday, Aug. 28, will be at the park of the East Division representative, either Neopit or Gresham.
• An award ceremony will be held following the Waupaca-Plover game. Trophies will be awarded to the South-Central’s top pitcher, Silver Slugger (most productive hitter based on a point system) and the top five batting averages for players with a minimum of 33 at-bats during the regular season.