By Nick Beversdorf
Reporter
Hatchet varsity baseball is on a roll with four straight wins, starting with a victory over Northland Pines this past Tuesday (April 26). The Hatchets defeated Northland Pines with a final score of 9-0, generating eight hits and committing two errors.
The Hatchets would plate seven of their runs in the fourth inning, while simultaneously preventing Pines from scoring. Top offensive players include Brandon Vecchio with one run, two RBIs and a double; Jakob Panzer, Kaleb Kaminski and Cayton Scholz, all with one run and a RBI; and Isaac Weber with a RBI.
Pitching came from Brandon Vecchio and Brett Gerber with Vecchio pitching the first four innings. He struck out six, allowed five walks and no runs. Gerber pitched the remainder of the game, striking out five and allowing one hit.
“It was a nice conference win for the guys,” comments head coach Wes Roessler. “We came off a hard week losing close games against three very good conference teams. Brandon and Brett did a really nice job on the mound. They held the Pines hitters to two hits and never really allowed them to get anything started. The guys did a nice job taking advantage of some errors in the 4th and turned it into a big inning.”
The second game against Rhinelander this past Thursday saw a much closer game with a final score of 5-4, with the Hatchets collecting eight hits and committing one error.
Rhinelander took an early lead with a run in the first inning and two more in the second. Tomahawk leveled the playing field with three runs in the fourth to tie the game back up. Rhinelander squeaked out one run in the sixth to take a small lead but Tomahawk answered with two runs to take the lead. Rhinelander could not manage a hit in the seventh, officially ending the game with the Hatchets victorious.
Top scorers for the Hatchets include both Isaac Weber and Eli Wurl with a run and an RBI; Nick Baacke with a run and two walks; Steven Renn with an RBI; and Kaleb Kaminski with a RBI and two doubles.
Kaminski pitched a good game, striking out three and allowing 11 hits, one base on ball and four runs, three of them earned.
“This was a great conference win against a solid Rhinelander team,” adds Roessler. “We fell behind early but tied it in the fourth. Rhinelander took the lead again, but the guys came right back and took the lead. Kaleb had a big day at the plate and on the mound. He stayed focused in some tough situations when Rhinelander was threatening. We had guys lay down bunts in key situations or make big defensive plays and it was simply a great team win with everyone contributing in some way.”
The Hatchets faced off against both Hurley and Chequamegon this past Saturday. The Hatchets defeated Hurley by a score of 11-0 while racking up nine hits and committing two errors.
After two scoreless innings, Tomahawk would score five runs in the third, four runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth with Hurley unable to stop them. The game would be called shortly after.
Top scorers for the game include Justin Jarvensivu with three runs and a RBI; Eli Wurl with three runs; Brett Gerber with one run, two RBIs and a walk; Andrew Harper with a run and a double; and Isaac Weber with a RBI , a walk and a double.
Gerber pitched a great game, striking out six while allowing two hits, two walk and no runs.
“This was a well played game on both sides of the ball,” Roessler said. “Gerber held the Hurley hitters to two hits and never really got into a jam and did a great job keeping their hitters guessing at the plate. In the end we were able to take advantage of the opportunities that Hurley gave us.”
The second game of the day against Chequamegon saw a similar outcome. The Hatchets defeated Chequamegon with a final score of 12-3 with the Hatchets generating nine hits and committing two errors.
Tomahawk would be the first of either team to score, with the Hatchets putting up four runs in the fourth. Chequamegon would respond with two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth but Tomahawk would quickly respond to that with eight more runs at the bottom of the sixth. Chequamegon would not be able to manage any runs in the seventh, officially giving the win the Tomahawk.
Vecchio scored a home run in addition to his 3 RBIs; Caytion Scholz scored two runs; Kaminski scored two runs and walked once; Baacke had one run, two RBIs and three walks; and Steven Renn would score one run and two RBIs.
Panzer pitched well through four innings, striking out three and allowing four walks, two hits and three runs, none of them earned.
“I really like the way this team responds to tough situations; when Chequamegon got back into the game and almost tied it, they guys responded with a huge inning in the 8th. Brandon’s 3 run home run was huge and pretty much took took the wind out of Chequamegon’s sails,” Roessler said. “Our seniors are really stepping up and keeping the guys focused.”
Hatchet varsity baseball will have their next game at home against Antigo at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.