By Nick Beversdorf
Reporter
The AA Regional Baseball Tournament continued into Friday, where Merrill Post 46 bested Rhinelander but then again fell to Antigo. Antigo didn’t lose a single game, making them the Regional Champion.
The first game saw a veritable back-and forth against Rhinelander, with both teams trying to one-up each other as the innings progressed. Towards the end of the game, Merrill got the advantage and won 8-6. Merrill generated 10 hits and committed four errors.
Rhinelander got a run in the top of the first but Merrill responded in the bottom with Jared Schmeltzer scoring a run off Adam Messerschmidt’s sacrifice fly. Rhinelander got two more runs in the top of the second and Merrill got another run in the bottom with Dylan Anderson reaching first on a fielders choice with a grounder to second, allowing Justin Pyan to score.
Rhinelander got another run in the top of the third but Merrill rebounded in the bottom with two runs to take the lead. The first was courtesy of Trey Seubert hitting a sacrifice fly and reaching first on error, allowing Schmeltzer to score, and later Nick Bowe scored off Pyan’s sacrifice fly.
After a scoreless fourth, Merrill extended the lead in the bottom of the fifth with Bowe batting in Schmeltzer with a line drive to left. Later in the inning, Bowe stole home after a failed attempt to stop Trey Seubert from stealing second. Merrill got their last run in the bottom of the sixth, courtesy of Drew Hoff scoring a run on a passed ball.
The top of the seventh saw Rhinelander start to score runs, slowly creeping up to Merrill. Fortunately, after two runs, Merrill put an end to the frame and thus the game.
Top hitters for Merrill include Bowe (2H, 2R, 1RBI, 2SB, double), Schmeltzer (2H, 2R, 1RBI, 1SB, double), Messerschmidt (2H, 2R, 2SB), Hoff (1H, 1R, 1SB), Seubert (1H, 1RBI, 1SB), Dylan Anderson (1H, 1RBI, 1SB) and Ryan Golisch (1H, 1RBI, 1BB). Brett seubert pitched for the first 2.2 innings, striking out none, walking two, allowing five hits and four runs-none earned. Pyan pitched for the rest of the game, striking out three, walking three, allowing three hits and two earned runs.
Fielding was lead by Bowe (4PO, 2A), Golisch (4PO) and Dan Duginski (4PO). Other fielders include Anderson and Hoff (3PO each), Schmeltzer (2PO, 2A) and Messerschmidt (1PO).
Re-match against Antigo
With the victory against Rhinelander, Merrill again faced Antigo. This game played out much the same as the one on Wednesday, with both teams playing at nearly the same level, causing a stalemate for most of the innings. A three-run surge in the fourth was all it took to give Antigo the win. The final score was 4-1 with Merrill mustering six hits and committing four errors.
After a scoreless first, Antigo got their first run off a grounder to second. After a scoreless third, Antigo surged for three runs in the top of the fourth, one off a line drive, one off a hard grounder and one off a passed ball. Merrill got their only run of the game in the bottom with Pyan batting in Bowe with a line drive to center. The game fell back into a stalemate until the end.
Top hitters for Merrill include Pyan (2H, 1RBI, double), Seubert (2H, double), Anderson (1H, double) and Bowe (1H, 1R). Pyan pitched the whole game, striking out two, walking two, allowing nine hits and four runs-three earned. Fielding was lead by Golisch with seven putouts and an assist. Other fielders include Messerschmidt and Anderson (3PO each), Schmeltzer (2PO, 2A), Hoff and Duginski (2PO each), Seubert (1PO, 3A) and Pyan (1PO).
Stats provided by GameChanger.
