The MHS baseball team dropped another two Valley games last week-including Wednesday’s 10-9 comeback by Wausau West-so it was looking for a little redemption in Saturday’s Lakeland Invite.
The Jays found it, crushing 14-3 Chequamegon 15-0 in the opener before taking home the plaque with a 5-1 win over 10-5 Ashland.
“The kids were really happy,” Bluejay coach Brian Artac said. “It was good for them. Our bats really got rolling. They needed to find out they aren’t the worst thing in the world.”
A 5-run 1st, a 2-run 2nd and an 8-run 4th were all the Jays needed. Garrett Pagel ripped a 3-run homer and David Pophal went with a grand slam in the 4th.
“They blew that game apart,” Artac said. “On David’s grand slam, he went to the opposite field into the trees. Then he hit a solo shot the next game in the same place.”
Tom Zuelsdorff (2-4, 2–2B, 3 RBI), Pophal (2-4, HR, 4 RBI), Pagel (2-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI), Mason Reinhardt (2-3), Alex Klug (1-2, 3 R) and Brad Juhlke (3 W) pushed Merrill to 12 hits and 11 walks.
Brian Stockowitz (3 H, 2 W, 6 K, 0 R in 5 I) won.
“Stockowitz threw pretty good,” Artac said.
Merrill grabbed an immediate 1-0 lead over Ashland, then boosted it to 4-0 3rd with Pophal’s lead-off homer and a 2-run single from Zuelsdorff. Ty Grunenwald singled, stole 2 bases and scored on a passed ball in the 5th to get Merrill to 5-0.
Ashland finally scored in the 6th with help from a lead-off double and an error.
Coleton Bloch (6 H, 1 W, 12 K, 1 R, 0 ER in 7 I) won.
“We went to win it so Coleton threw,” Artac said. “We were up 5-1 and we had just put Tristan Schultze in left field, and he guns a guy out at the plate. What a play!”
Grunenwald (2-3, 3 SB) and Reinhardt (2-5, 2B) paced the 8-hit, 5-walk attack.
Bamboozled
A 3-run 5th had given the Jays an 8-4 lead, but West tallied 4 in the 6th to tie up and won it in the 8th.
“Same old, same old,” Artac said. “Another one-runner. That’s getting tough on our kids. In the 8th we had the bases packed with one out and didn’t score.”
Merrill had 12 hits and 5 walks. Reinhardt (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Juhlke (2-4, 2B), Stockowitz (2-4, 2B), Grunenwald (1-2, 3 W, 3 R, HR) and Pagel (1-4, HR, 4 RBI) and Zuelsdorff (1-4, 2B) bumped the offense.
Juhlke (8 H, 2 W, 5 K, 5 R, 5 ER in 5 I) started, and Pophal (6 H, 2 W, 3 K, 5 R, 3 ER in 2 I) took the loss.
Eastern affront
East did most of its damage in Thursday’s 10-3 win in a 3-run 1st and a 5-run 4th. The Jays managed solo runs in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings.
“Our sails were down after the West loss,” Artac said. “Seth (Collins) pitched and he was up a little bit, which was too bad because he has pitched well. Give East credit. When he had it up they took advantage.”
Collins (10 H, 1 W, 2 K, 8 R, 6 ER in 3-2/3 I) lost, and Randall Cruz (3 H, 1 W, 1 K, 1 R, 0 ER in 1-1/3 I) and Tristan Schultz (2 H, 0 W, 2 K, 1 R, 1 ER in 1 I) relieved.
Zueldorff (2-2), Bloch (2-3, 2B) and Stockowitz (1-3, 2B) helped Merrill get to 8 hits.