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No. 21 Kimberly defeats Kaukauna

May 20, 2016

By Spencer Flaten

KAUKAUNA, Wis.—The No. 21 Kimberly Papermakers rode a late-game offensive explosion to a 12-6 victory over Kaukauna on Thursday afternoon.

Outs were hard to come by in the contest, as each team tallied 13 hits. Kimberly’s hits came in bunches, and that ended up making the difference down the stretch.

The Papermakers started things off in the top of the first with two runs out of the gates. Back-to-back RBI singles by Danny VandenBoom and Drew Johnson gave Kimberly a 2-0 lead.

The Ghosts answered in the bottom of the third. Brycen Froehlich lined a two RBI single to right field to level the score at two runs apiece.

An RBI single by Ben Buckner in the top of the fourth immediately gave Kimberly the lead back.

For the most part, Kaukauna had been unable to get much going offensively against Kimberly pitcher Ben Carew. When he exited the game in the fifth inning, the Ghosts took full advantage.

Trailing 3-2 at the start of the fifth, Kaukauna rallied for four runs to take a commanding three run lead. Three straight singles loaded the bases for Marcus Moreau, who hit an RBI single to tie the game. Alex Cummings made it five consecutive hits for the Ghosts with a bases-clearing three RBI double to make the score 6-3.

With six outs remaining to come back, Kimberly didn’t waste any time. In the top of the sixth, they erupted for six runs to take control of the game once again. Carew, Johnson, Zach Lechnir and Steven Jacobsen all recorded RBIs in the frame.

The Papermakers weren’t done yet, though. In the top of the seventh, Zach Carney hit a two RBI triple to make the score 11-6. Finally, Ryan Carney put the punctuation mark on the win with a sacrifice fly for a 12-6 Kimberly lead.

Johnson and Zach Carney led the Kimberly attack. Johnson went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Carney finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Froehlich and Cummings both went 3-for-4 for Kaukauna. Froehlich had two RBIs, while Cummings had three.

Carew took a no-decision on the mound despite going four strong innings. He allowed two runs on five hits and six strikeouts. Parker Schuh got the win with one inning of work in which he allowed four runs. Max Anderson pitched the final two innings, with only three hits allowed and three strikeouts.

Cooper Diedrich pitched 5.1 innings for Kaukauna and took the loss. He allowed eight runs on nine hits, four walks and two strikeouts.

Kimberly moved to 14-4 this season with the win, while Kaukauna fell to 12-9.

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