Prep Baseball Report

Beloit Sectional: Janesville Craig Advacnes To State



By Matt Huck
Area Scout

BELOIT, WI – The Division I Sectional featuring Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Verona, and Madison West took place on Tuesday at Pohlman Field. Craig eventually came away with the Sectional Title, earning a second straight trip to Appleton as they look to defend their crown. 

Game 3: Janesville Craig 2 Verona 0

In the Championship game both teams matched up with their aces on the mound. Evan Spry took the ball for Craig opposed by Gonzaga commit Keaton Knueppel for Verona.

Spray was masterful in his outing allowing just two hits in the first six innings of work. With a 2-0 lead heading to the seventh, Spry looked to close out his shutout. Ben Rortvedt lead off the inning for Verona with a single to centerfield, and Craig went to Jack Blomgren to close the game out. Stephen Lund then came trough with a single to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Blomgren then got a strikeout for the first out of the inning. Designated hitter Jason Frahm then worked a walk to load the bases with just one away.

With the tying run on second base Blomgren struk out the next two hitters to close out the win and send Craig back to Appleton as the look to defend their title.

Craig struck in the first inning when Blomgren was hit by a pitch to leadoff in the inning. He then proceeded to steal second, reached third on a wild pitch and score via an error to give Craig the lead. In the fifth Evan Spry helped his own cause by doubled in home Austin Kraus to give Craig a 2-0 lead.

Ben Rortvedt went 2-3 for Verona with a hustle double in the first and a single in the seventh. Knueppel was impressive on the mound allowing just three hits while striking out eight in the losing effort.

Game 1: Janesville Craig 11 Janesville Parker 1

In the first game Craig took care of Parker in a 5 inning run rule game. Craig pounded out 11 hits highlighted by Jack Blomgren reaching base four times and scoring three runs. Evan Spry, Nick Cramer, and Connor Wright each had 2 RBIs each for the Cougars.

Jordan Bailey drove in the only fun for Parker with an RBI single in the third inning. He finished the day 2-2 with two singled and a walk.

Game 2: Verona 5 Madison West 3

In game 2 Verona exploded for four runs in the third inning thanks to two triples from Keaton Knueppel and Stephen Lund to each drive in a run. Ben Rortvedt also had a big day going 2-3 with a double, triple, and scored twice.

For Madison West Daelon Savage went 3-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Drake Baldwin chipped in with a triple, RBI, and two runs scored.

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