By Nick Beversdorf
Reporter
Hatchet varsity baseball had a successful week, racking up four straight wins in addition to the two wins from the week before. The first game on Monday (May 16) against Nekoosa saw Tomahawk win with a final score 17-5 with Tomahawk generating 13 hits and committing just one error.
Tomahawk had an explosive first inning with 10 runs. They tacked on another four in the second and another five in the fourth. Nekoosa got five runs on the fourth also but it wasn’t enough to match the Hatchets.
Top hitters for Tomahawk include Jakob Panzer (3H, 2R, 3RBI, double), Kaleb Kaminski (2H, 2R, 2RBI), Nick Baacke (2H, 2R, 2RBI) and Zach Volz (2H, 2RBI). Brandon Vecchio pitched the first two innings, striking out one, walking two and allowing no hits or runs. Zach Volz pitched the remaining three innings, striking out three, walking three, allowing one hit and five runs-three earned.
“The bats came to life and we jumped out to a big lead early,” comments head coach Wes Roessler. “We had several guys have a multiple hit game and drive in a lot of runs. Zach and Eli did a great job on the mound. When you can hold an opponent to only one hit the whole game, good things are going to happen.”
On Tuesday (May 17) the Hatchets faced off against Lakeland in a game which would go into the eighth inning. The final score was 8-7 with Tomahawk generating nine hits and committing four errors.
Tomahawk took an early lead with a run in the first and two more in the second. Lakeland got a run in the third but Tomahawk got three more in the fifth. Lakelend responded with a run at the bottom and another in the sixth before getting three in the seventh to tie the game up. The Hatchets got one run in the eighth and Lakeland was unable to answer.
Top hitters include Panzer (3H, 1R, 1RBI), Justin Jarvensivu (2H, 1R, 1BB), Baacke (2H, 1R, 2RBI) and Vecchio (1H, 2R, 1BB). Kaminski pitched six innings, striking out two, walking two, allowing six hits and three runs-two earned. Vecchio pitched the remainder of the game, striking out two, walking two, allowing three hits and three runs-one earned.
“This was a very big win for the guys. The result of this game weighed heavy on seeding for tournament,” adds Roessler. “We were able to grab the lead early and pretty much controlled the game until the bottom of the 7th. We made several defensive mistakes that allowed Lakeland to tie the game but the guys immediately fought back and took the lead.”
The next game against Northland Pines last Thursday was a low-scoring affair. The final score was 2-1 with Tomahawk mustering five hits and no errors. Tomahawk got both runs in the first inning. Pines got their only run in the fifth.
Top hitters include Jarvensivu (1H, double), Vecchio (1H, 1R) and Panzer (1H, 1R). Vecchio pitched the first two innings, striking out three, walking two, allowing nine hits and no runs. Brett Gerber pitched the rest of the game, striking out two, walking none, allowing nine hits and one earned run.
“The guys were a little frustrated at the plate tonight,” Roessler said. “We had some hard hit balls but right at their defense. Brett and Brandon did a nice job of pitching, they were able to pitch us out of some jams. The Pines hitters were getting on base and our defense and pitching were able to keep them from having a big inning.”
Last Friday’s game against Medford saw a final score of 10-5 with Tomahawk generating 11 hits and no errors.
Tomahawk got an early lead with three runs in the first and two in the second. Medford responded with one run at the bottom of the second and two more in the third. Tomahawk got three more runs in the top of the fourth and Medford got one run at the bottom. Tomahawk would get two more runs in the fifth and Medford would get another in the sixth. A scoreless seventh would ensure a Hatchet victory.
Top hitters include Vecchio (3H, 3R, 4RBI, 2HR), Jarvensivu (4H, 4R, 1BB, 2SB), Cayton Scholz (2H, 2RBI, 1BB, 2 doubles)and Baacke (2H, 2RBI). Panzer pitched the first three innings, striking out one, walking four, allowing three hits and three earned runs. Vecchio pitched the last four innings, striking out two, walking five, allowing three hits and two earned runs.
“Brandon and Justin had a big days at the plate,” Roessler said. “Justin reached base every time he had an at-bat and Brandon had two home runs and four RBIs. We jumped out to an early lead and got our bats going which is what we needed after the previous game. The top of our order did a great job of getting on base and we had several guys come up with clutch hits to drive them in. It was a great week for the team. It is always a positive for a team to win four games in a week and three of them against conference teams.”
Hatchet varsity baseball placed second in the GNC and will face the winner of the Northland Pines-Lakeland game (May 26) on May 31 at home.