Sunday July 12

Hitters 17u Navy 9, Appleton Panthers 0 at Marian

It was all Hitters Navy from the start four runs in the first and three runs in the second capped the early scoring. Justin Lavey (Tremper, 2016) hit a two-run home run to left in his first at bat right after a Ben Rortvedt (Verona Area, 2016) RBI single.

Cyrillo Watson (South Milwaukee, 2016) took care of business on the mound working six scoreless innings of two-hit baseball, striking out 10 along the way.

For the Panthers Jarret Scheelk (Green Bay Preble, 2017) went 1-for-3 with a double.

#2 Hitters 17u White 9, #3 PBA Demarini 16u Gold 6

The Hitters White 17U squad advanced to the championship game of the Badger State Battle with a 9-6 victory over PBA Demarini Gold 16U at UW-Oshkosh on Sunday afternoon. The outcome of the game was hardly ever in question until the end, as Hitters scored at least one run in every inning besides the 6th to book their place in the championship.

Hitters opened the scoring with a two-spot in the bottom of the 1st. Jake Hall (Lake Country Lutheran, 2016) knocked a 2 RBI single to give his team the lead.

They added single runs in the 2nd and 5th to sandwich a two-run 3rd and three run 4th. Rick Bergstrom (Warren, 2016) hit a 2 RBI single in the 3rd and Aaron Goecks (Brookfield Academy, 2016) did the same in the 4th.

Hitters loaded the bases in the 5th with the score at 9-0 for a chance to end the game, but they failed to capitalize.

PBA promptly came to life in the top of the 6th. They plated four runs in the frame, highlighted by a 3 RBI triple by Kyle Scoville (Kenosha Bradford, 2016). PBA continued to thrive in the late innings, as they added two more runs in the top of the 7th thanks to back-to-back wild pitches. Ultimately though, it wasn't enough, and Hitters ended as the victors.

Jake Macaluso (Sussex Hamilton, 2016) pitched 5.1 innings for Hitters and allowed no earned runs to get the win. Andrew Freiberg (Kenosha Tremper, 2017) took the loss for PBA after going 3 innings and allowing 5 runs.

Ricky West (Homestead, 2016) went 3-for-4 to pace Hitters, while Scoville went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs for PBA.

#1 Hitters 17U Navy 7, #8 Rhino Baseball 5, at Marian

Hitters came from behind to defeat Rhino 7-5 in a semifinal matchup.

After going down 2-0 in the top of the first thanks to a pair of unearned runs, Hitters responded scoring six times in the bottom half. With the bases loaded and two outs Jarred Kelenic hit a three run triple to the gap in right field.  After an error Cyrillo Watson followed up with an RBI triple of his own.

Joe Gahm picked up the win for the Hitters working five innings allowing three hits, an earned run, while striking out five. Kelenic led the offense going 2-4 with a triple and four RBIs. Watson chipped in going 2-3 with a triple, an RBI, and a stolen base.

Evan Bohman led the Rhino offense going 2-2 with two walks and an RBI. Alex Gerhardt went 2-4 with three runs scored.  Cody Goggins chipped in going 2-3 with an RBI.

Hitters advances to the semifinals to play Wisconsin Panthers 16u.

#2 Hitters 17u White 4, #7 Thundercats Baseball 16U 0

The Hitters White 17U team advanced to the semifinals of the Badger State Battle with a quick 4-0 win over Thundercat 16U at UW-Oshkosh on Sunday.

The game finished up in under an hour and twenty five minutes thanks to efficient pitching on the parts of both teams. James Wright (Milwaukee Lutheran, 2016) got the start for Hitters, countered by Thundercat lefty Jacob Anhalt (Lake Mills, 2017).

Wright got the best of the matchup. He mowed down the Thundercat batters early and often. Through the first three innings, he tallied six strikeouts.

Hitters got things going offensively in the bottom of the 3rd inning. A fielding error allowed two runs to score, and Aaron Trattner (Nicolet, 2016) hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-0.

In the 6th, Hitters utilized a first-and-third base running play to plate another run and give them a four run cushion. Ironically, Hitters only collected two hits in the entire game, but their four runs were enough for Wright.

The right handed pitcher went all seven innings, allowed just two hits, and struck out nine to complete his shutout performance. The way he was dealing, the Thundercats had very few opportunities to score any runs.

Anhalt pitched 4.1 innings for the Thundercats and allowed three unearned runs, struck out five, and walked three.

Ricky West (Homestead, 2016) went 1-for-1 with a walk for Hitters. Jet Weber was 1-for-2 for Thundercat Baseball.

Hitters will face PBA Demarini Gold 16U in the semifinals at UW-Oshkosh for the right to play in the

championship game.

#3 PBR Demarini 16u Gold 3, #6 StiKs Academy 16U 1

PBA Demarini Gold 16U advanced to the Badger State Battle semifinals with a 3-1 victory over STiKS Academy 16U in the quarterfinals at UW-Oshkosh on Sunday morning.

PBA took the lead in the bottom of the 1st after Hunter Weddel (Kenosha Tremper, 2017) led off the inning with a single and advanced to 3rd on an error. Nathan Aide (Franklin, 2017) hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 1-0.

STiKS bounced back in the top of the 3rd with a run of their own. Hunter Milbrath (Jefferson, 2017) belted a solo home run to left field to tie the game at one.

The tie was broken in the bottom of the 5th, when PBA's Kyle Scoville (Kenosha Bradford, 2016) hit a sac fly to make the score 2-1. PBA added another run in the bottom of the 6th thanks to an RBI single by Noah Cresco (Kenosha Indian Trail, 2016).

The PBA pitching staff didn't need much run support to get the job done. Kyle Griffin started the game and went 5.2 innings. He allowed one run on four hits, four walks, and three strikeouts in a solid performance. Weddel pitched the final 1.1 innings and had a scoreless appearance. Alec Esenther (Oconomowoc, 2017) started for STiKS and was the tough-luck loser after he allowed two earned runs and eight hits in six innings of work.

Mitch Buban (Kenosha Tremper, 2017) and Kyle Antos (Kenosha Indian Trail, 2017) both had two hits in the game for PBA. Milbrath finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for STiKS.

PBA will play the winner of Hitters White 17U vs. Thundercats 16U in the semifinals at UW-Oshkosh.

#4 Appleton Panthers 16u 9, #5 Ashport 16u 6 at Marion

Ash Port 16u has played the role of comeback kids in this tournament capturing two come from behind wins in pool play and almost a third. They tried to pull it off again in bracket play.

Facing a 9-1 deficit in their last at bats, Ashport got the tying run to the dish with nobody out but RHP Evan Sankey induced a ground ball double play to minimize the threat and finish off the 9-6 win.

It was all Panthers early, scoring two in each of their first two innings. The Panthers then blew it open in the sixth with four runs. Evan Sankey (Appleton North, 2017) drove in two on a double and Jarrett Scheelk (Green Bay Preble, 2017) added two more with a triple.

Connor Sullivan (Bay Port, 2016) went a perfect 4-for-4 at the dish with two RBI and run scored for Ashport.

Saturday July 11

GRB Rays 16u 8, Hitters 16u White 6, at Marian

GRB jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings en route to an 8-6 victory over Hitters.

Seth Wilson got GRB on the board with a two run single in the top of the second. Nick Elsen added a two run single as well in the top of the third. Elsen finished the day 2-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Trailing 8-3 in the bottom of the seventh the Hitters scored three times to cut the GRB lead to 8-6. Tanner Bykowski had an RBI double and Garrett Gilbert followed with a two run single. Bykowski had a huge day at the plate going 3-4 with two doubles, a two run homer, and three RBIs.

Hitters 16u Navy 11 - PBA Demarini 16u Black 6
By Spencer Flaten

The Hitters Navy 16U squad closed out pool play with an 11-6 win over PBA Demarini Black 16U on Friday evening at UW-Oshkosh.

PBA loaded the bases in the 1st without recording an out. Michael Munroe (Kenosha Tremper, 2017) knocked in the team's first run with a groundout, and an error allowed two more runs to score in the frame and PBA to take a 3-0 lead.

Jacob Flannery (Kenosha Indian Trail, 2017) added to the PBA lead in the bottom of the 2nd with an RBI double. Munroe tallied another RBI with a sac fly in the next at-bat to give his team a 5-0 lead.

Hitters batted around the order in the 4th to storm back and take the lead. Sam Devorkin (Grafton, 2017) hit a groundout to plate a run and Nick Urban-Michalak (Racine Park, 2017) drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 5-2. Jacob Lindemann (Burlington, 2017) and Isaac Lawler both recorded RBI singles later in the frame. Dominic Esposito (Rock Island, 2017) had two doubles in the inning alone. When all was said and done, the score was 8-3 in favor of Hitters.

Hitters added three more runs in the top of the 5th to make the score 11-5, and PBA scored once in the 7th to set the final score in stone.

Evan Spry (Janesville Craig, 2017) pitched five innings for Hitters to pick up the win. He gave up three earned runs on six hits, three walks, and three strikeouts. Bryce Edwards (Westosha Central, 2017) went 3.1 innings for PBA and allowed five runs on five hits.

Esposito finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs for Hitters, while Lawlor went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Ben Battley (Zion Benton, 2017) led PBA with a 2-for-4 performance with a double. Munroe tallied 2RBIs for PBA.

Hitters Navy 16U finished the Badger State Battle with a 2-2 record, and PBA Demarini Black 16U went 1-3.

GRB Rays 9, Rhino Baseball 9, at Marian

GRB overcame a 9-4 deficit to tie Rhino Baseball 9-9.

Rhino jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first on back-to-back two run doubles by Bock Greiner and Evan Bohman. Mike Gross went 1-2 with a double and two RBIs to help pace the Rhino offense.

For GRB Jeff Steuck went 3-3 with a double and two RBIs. Jeff Holtz went 2-3 with a double and three RBIs. Trent Bauer went 2-4 with two RBIs.

Hitters 17U White 9 - Ash Port 17U 3
By Spencer Flaten

The Hitters 2016 White squad finished off pool play at the Badger State Battle with a 9-3 victory over Ash Port 17U on Saturday afternoon at UW-Oshkosh.

The game saw a number of players put in good offensive performances, especially for Hitters.

Ash Port gave themselves the lead in the 3rd after Quinn Pierner (Bay Port, 2017) hit an RBI groundout and Joe Baier (Bay Port, 2015) smoked a two-run home run over the left field fence to make the score 3- 0.

The Hitters bats finally broke through off of Ash Port starter Garrett Borley (Bay Port, 2015) in the bottom of the 3rd. They erupted for five runs in the frame, propelled by a 3 RBI double by Jack Dwyer (Marquette University, 2016).

The offense wasn't done there, though. In the bottom of the 4th, Hitters scored three more runs after a squeeze bunt, wild pitch, and RBI double by Austin Emanuel (Mukwonago, 2016).

The final nail in the coffin came in the 6th, when Matt Wezyk hit an RBI single to make the score 9-3.

Ash Port loaded the bases in both the 5th and 7th innings, but weren't able to do any more damage than they already had.

Nick Winter (Milwaukee Lutheran, 2016), Aaron Goecks (Brookfield Academy, 2016), and Ricky West (Homestead, 2016) all tallied two hits for Hitters. Dwyer finished with three RBIs. Baier went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Ash Port, while Zak Imig (Ashwaubenon, 2016) went 1-for-2 with two walks.

Goecks pitched five innings for Hitters and allowed three earned runs on five hits. Borley took the loss for Ash Port after his 3.1 inning, seven earned run performance.

Hitters White advances to Sunday with a 3-1 record, while Ash Port finished 1-3 over the weekend.

Thundercats 16u 3, Hitters 16u White 1 at Ripon

The Thundercats got a superb outing from starter Jordon Gomez (Marshall, 2016) who went six strong innings allowing no runs, no walks and scattered eight hits.

Ben Kellner (Reedsburg, 2017) and Jack Blomgren (Janesville Craig, 2017) each had RBI singles while Jet Weber drove his run in on a double.

Dryden Van Schoyck (DeForest, 2016) closed it down in the seventh giving the Thundercats the 3-1 win.

Wisconsin Panthers 17U 9 - Stiks Academy 5
By Spencer Flaten

The Wisconsin Panthers 17U squad won a 9-5 slugfest over the STiKS Academy 17Us on Saturday afternoon at UW-Oshkosh.

Both offenses showed a ton of life throughout the entire game. The Panthers scored the first of manyruns in the bottom of the 2nd. Vinnie Hubli (Kenosha Bradford, 2015) knocked an RBI single and Arin VerHagen (Antigo, 2016) doubled in a run to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.

STiKS bounced back immediately in the top of the 3rd. Connor Moroder (Pewaukee, 2015) ripped a 2 RBI double to centerfield to tie the game at 2. In the next at bat, Zach Biermann (West Bend East, 2015) nailed an RBI single to give STiKS a one run advantage.

The Panthers followed STiKS' example and tied the game back up in the bottom of the frame. Noah Robinson (Green Bay East, 2015) doubled to lead off the inning and was brought in to score by a Kody Theobald (Freedom, 2015) groundout.

In the bottom of the 4th, the Panthers regained the lead on the back of Jake Sommers (Hortonville, 2015). He tripled to lead off the inning, and later scored on a wild pitch to make the score 4-3.

The Panthers added three more runs in the bottom of the 5th, highlighted by a 2 RBI double by Hubli. They added two more in the 6th to clinch the win.

Kyle Schulz (Kenosha Bradford, 2015) pitched five innings for the Panthers and allowed three earned runs, struck out four, and walked five. Brady Kais (Greendale, 2015) pitched five innings for STiKS and gave up seven earned runs.

Robinson and Bryce Plate (Kaukauna, 2015) both went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Panthers. Nate Brown (Arrowhead, 2016) went 2-for-4 for STiKS.

STiKS fell to 1-2-1 in the tournament with the loss, while the Panthers moved to 2-2.

Hitters 2016 Navy 10, GRB National 9, at Marian

After going down 4-0 after one inning, Hitters came from behind to defeat GRB 10-9 in six innings. The Hitters scored all ten runs from the fourth inning on.

Hitters was led at the plate by Jarred Kelenic going 1-2 with a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Zach Abfall went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

GRB was led at the plate by Aaron Mutter who went 2-2 with a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Isaiah Cronk went 2-4 with two RBIs.

Hitters 16u Navy 7, Rhino 6 at Ripon

Rhino and catcher Kyle Kosobucki (West De Pere, 2017) set the pace early as Kosobucki belted two home runs in his first two at bats, a two-run shot and a solo.

With a 3-3 tie in the fifth Rhino struck for three more runs. A two RBI double by starting pitcher Will Conrad (Green Bay Preble, 2017) got the scoring started.

That chased starter Zach Campbell (Burlington, 2017) from the game and fellow LHP Troy Hickey (Wilmot, 2017) got the nod. Hickey worked his way out and held Rhino off for two more innings giving Hitters Navy a chance.

Trailing by three Hitters got four runs on four hits. A two RBI single by Jacob Lindemann (Burlington, 2017) gave Hitters the lead and Hickey shut the door in the bottom half to win it.

PBA Demarini 16U Black 5 - GRB Rays 16U 2
By Spencer Flaten

PBA Demarini Black 16U picked up their first win of the Badger State Battle with a 5-2 victory over the GRB Rays 16Us on Friday at UW-Oshkosh.

PBA fell behind early, as the Rays plated a run in the 1st inning via an RBI single by Nick Elsen (Kenosha Indian Trail, 2017).

PBA claimed the lead in the bottom of the 2nd after Ben Battley (Zion Benton, 2017) nailed a 2 RBI double and Nathan Renner (Kenosha Tremper, 2017) hit an RBI single to make the score 3-1.

The Rays drew a run closer in the very next inning, as Luke Bradley (Arrowhead, 2017) grounded out for an RBI. However, PBA extended the lead to 5-2 in the 4th with the help of an error.

Jacob Flannery (Kenosha Indian Trail 2017) was dealing on the mound for PBA. He threw a complete game and allowed one earned run, struck out six, and walked just one. Cooper Kelly (Edgewood, 2017) took the loss for GRB. He went three innings, gave up four earned runs, and walked seven. Elsen relieved him and struck out four in three innings of work.

Joe Ludwig (Middleton, 2017) led the GRB offense with a 2-for-3 game, while Battley went 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs for PBA.

PBA is now 1-2 in the tournament, and GRB is still winless at 0-3.

Ashport 16u 6, PBA Demarini Gold 5 at Ripon

PBA looked like they would walk away with this one as they took a 5-0 lead into the fifth and starter Kyle Scoville (Bradford, 2016) had yet to give up a hit.

Ashport then rallied for back to back two run doubles by Spencer Challe and Aaron Ferkovich (Bay Port, 2017) to cut it to a one run deficit.

Ashport continued their rally into their last at bats in the seventh. They loaded the bases and then with one out Jake Hebert pulled off a suicide squeeze to perfection scoring Jake Weber (Bay Port, 2017) and tied the game at five. One bat later, with two outs, an infield error gave Ashport the walkoff win 6-5.

Kyle Antos (Indian Trail, 2017) went 3-for-4 with a triple for PBA Demarini.

Stiks Academy 16U 6 - Panthers 16U 5
By Spencer Flaten

The STiKS Academy 16U team surged late in the game to collect a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the 16U Wisconsin Panthers on Saturday morning at UW-Oshkosh.

STiKS took an early 1-0 lead in the 1st inning after an RBI groundout by Nick Leszcynski. From that point on, though, it was all Panthers.

The Panthers took the lead in the 2nd inning thanks to an RBI single by Bryce Cross (Hortonville, 2017) and an error by STiKS. They added runs in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings to take a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the 5th.

STiKS showed a lot of fight in the late going. Hunter Milbrath (Jefferson, 2017) hit an RBI double and the Panthers dropped a routine ball in the outfield to claw STiKS within two runs. STiKs tied it up in the bottom of the 6th after a wild pitch plated a run and Blake Cottrell (Arrowhead, 2017) promptly hit an RBI single to make it 5-5.

In the bottom of the 7th, Leszcynski hit a booming RBI single to deep centerfield with a man on second to win the game for STiKS in walk-off fashion.

The Panthers' defense really let them down in the contest. They committed five errors that led to three unearned runs.

Jacob Hiltunen (Appleton North, 2017) pitched a good game for the most part for the Panthers. He went 6 innings, allowed 2 earned runs, struck out 5, and walked none. Bryce Konitzer pitched 4 innings, struck out 5, and allowed 2 earned runs for STiKS before being relieved by Cameron Anfang, who went 3 innings and allowed just one run to get the win.

Milbrath and Leszcynski both collected 2 hits for STiKS, while Lane Koehler (Appleton West, 2017) and Jarrett Scheelk (Green Bay Preble, 2017) both had 2 hits for the Panthers.

Both teams are now 3-1 in the Badger State Battle.

Wisconsin Panthers 9, GRB Rays National 2, at Marian

The Panthers pounded out ten hits en route to a 9-2 victory over GRB.

Jake Sommers worked six innings for the Panthers allowing two hits and one run to earn the victory.

Johnny Popham went 2-3 with a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored to lead the Panther offense from the leadoff spot. Noah Robinson chipped in going 2-4 with three RBIs.

Jack Jensen led the GRB offense going 2-3.

PBA Demarini Black 16u 8, Rhino 16u 2 at Ripon

LHP Mitchell Apple (Kenosha Bradford, 2016) kept the Rhino offense at bay changes speeds and pitching to both sides of the plate. Apple went the distance striking out seven along the way.

Demarini was sparked by a five run sixth inning highlighted by a Nathan Aide (Franklin, 2017) bases clearing triple to right center that score three and made it 7-0. Kyle Antos (Indian Trail, 2017) then followed with an RBI single.

Friday July 10

Hitters 2016 White 5, GRB Rays 1, at Marian

Austin Emanuel worked 3.1 innings of hitless relief while striking out eight to earn the victory for Hitters. Emanuel’s fastball sat 82-84 topping out at 87 mph, while mixing in a 12-6 curveball to keep the Rays hitters at bay.

GRB got on the board in the bottom of the first when Joe Acker delivered an RBI single down the leftfield line scoring Zach Gilles with their only run of the game.

Hitters answered right back in the bottom of the second scoring twice with two outs. After a Jack Dwyer double  Jake Hall and Ricky Bergstrom delivered RBI singles, giving Hitters a 2-1 lead.

In the top of the seventh Hitters added three insurance runs highlighted by Ricky West’s two run single, to give them a 5-1 lead.

PBA Demarini 16U Gold 10 - Hitters 16U White 0
By Spencer Flaten

The PBA Demarini Gold 16Us picked up a solid 10-0 win over Hitters White 16U in five innings on Fridaynight at UW-Oshkosh to move their Badger State Battle record to 2-0.

PBA scored two runs in the 1st inning to take an early lead. A string of singles gave them a 2-0 advantage. In the bottom of the 2nd, they added three more runs to their cause, highlighted by a 2 RBI triple by Kyle Scoville (Kenosha Bradford, 2016).

PBA loaded the bases again in the bottom of the 3rd, but Hitters starter Sonny Mentone (Antioch, 2017) struck out Nathan Aide (Franklin, 2017) to end the threat.

Scoville added to his RBI tally in the 4th with an RBI double that gave PBA a 6-0 lead. He came around to score on a wild pitch a few batters later to extend the lead to seven runs. Garrett LaBreche (Kenosha Tremper, 2017) made it 9-0 with a 2 RBI double of his own in the ensuing at-bat. He also scored on a wild pitch to give PBA a ten run cushion.

Mitchell Buban (Kenosha Tremper, 2017) had a solid outing on the mound for PBA. He went all five innings and allowed no earned runs in the shutout performance. He worked out of danger a couple of times early in the game with the help of some timely pitches and his defense. Mentone gave up five runs on the mound for Hitters in three innings of work. James Grassl III (Waukesha West, 2017) came on in relief for Hitters and worked one inning during which he surrendered five earned runs.

PBA Demarini Gold 16U is now 2-0 this weekend, while Hitters White 16U falls to 0-2 in the tournament with the loss.

Hitters 17u Navy 5, STiKS Academy 3 at Ripon

In one of the feature matchups of the day, Florida commit RHP Nate Brown (Arrowhead, 2016) took the hill for STiKS against the prospect laden Hitters 17u squad.

Ben Rortvedt (Verona, 2016) won the first battle of 2016 draft prospects as he roped a double to right center off Brown and later scored on a wild pitch to give Hitters the early 1-0 lead.

STiKS took the lead in the third when Zachary Biermann (West Bend West, 2015) doubled to score Nate Brown and Carson Youngquist singled home Biermann.

Then in the fifth the tides turned back into the favor of the Hitters. Zach Abfall (Bay Port, 2015) and Rortvedt both reached base for Justin Lavey (Tremper, 2016) who hit a ball high and deep down the left field line for either a home run or a ground rule double, you can make the call. It was decided as a 3-run home run and gave the Hitters a 4-3 lead.

Ben Rortvedt tacked on an insurance run in the 6^th with an RBI single to make it a 5-3 final.

Nick Lackney (Whitefish Bay, 2015) picked up the win while Joe Gahm (Germantown, 2016) picked up the save in relief.

Thundercats 16u 10, GRB Rays 16u 8, at Marian

After never leading the entire game, the Thundercats came from behind to defeat GRB Rays.

Trailing 8-6 heading to the sixth inning, the Thundercats came up with four runs to win 10-8 over GRB.

Mac Wolfe delivered the game tying hit in the bottom of the sixth. After a walk, Jack Blomgren drove a two run single to left field to give the Cats a 10-8 victory. Blomgren was a perfect 2-2 at the plate with three RBIs, a walk , and two hit by pitches.

Thundercat batters combined to walk 11 times and get hit by four pitches leading to ten runs.

Nick Elsen went 1-3 with a triple and two RBIs for GRB.

Ashport 16U 3 - Hitters 16U Navy 2
By Spencer Flaten

The Ash Port 16Us used a late rally to beat the Hitters Navy 16Us 3-2 at UW-Oshkosh to move to 2-1 in Badger State Battle action.

The game was tightly contested throughout, as both starting pitchers held the opposing offenses at bay.

Ben Dragani (Catholic Memorial, 2017) and Tanner Klaus both did yeoman's work on the mound and matched each other inning for inning.

Ash Port jumped on Hitters starter Dragani in the first inning to take an early one run lead. Aaron Ferkovich (Bay Port, 2017) did the damage with an RBI single.

Neither offense scored again until the 4th inning, when Jacob Lindemann (Burlington, 2017) knotted up the score at one with an RBI single.

Both pitchers continued to duel until the 7th, when Hitters broke through to take a 2-1 lead thanks to a Troy Hickey (Wilmot Union, 2017) sacrifice fly.

Ash Port came to bat in the bottom of the 7th with a chance to walk-off, and they took full advantage.

Ethan Splan hit a leadoff triple and was brought in to score by a Daniel Fricke RBI single. Fricke came around to score the winning run with the help of a fielding error by Hitters.

Dragani went 6 innings for Hitters and allowed two earned runs on six hits, four walks, and six strikeouts.

Klaus threw a complete game with two earned runs, one strikeout, and two walks.

Ferkovich paced Ash Port offensively with a 3-for-3 performance, while Lindemann also went 3-for-3 for Hitters.

Ash Port 16U is now 2-1 in the tournament, while Hitters Navy 16U is 0-2.

Stiks Academy 16u 9, PBA Black 5, at Marian

Stiks Academy pounded out 15 hits scoring nine times in their 9-5 victory over BPA Black. 

Bryce Konitzer led the Stiks offense going 3-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Colin Thiel went 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Drew Leszczynski chipped in going 2-3 with an RBI.

Devon Day had a big day for PBA going 3-4 with a triple, two stolen bases, and an RBI. Ben Battley went 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in the loss.

GRB Rays 17u 9, STiKS 17u 9

In the third matchup of the day at Ripon we saw a thriller between GRB Rays and STiKS Academy. GRB, fresh off a lengthy road trip in Georgia, came out swinging scoring seven runs in the first on five hits four of which for extra bases. Jeff Holtz (Arrowhead, 2018) hit a two run triple followed by a Ben Carew (Kimberly, 2016) RBI triple. Trenton Bauer (Green Bay East/West, 2016) then followed with an RBI double.

Give the STiKS hitters credit as they stayed patient and clawed their way back. Three runs in the second were highlighted by RBI doubles off the bats of Alex Doud (Mukwonago, 2015) and Nate Anderson (Mukwonago, 2015).

Now facing an 8-3 defecit, STiKS scored four more in the third with a Morgan Youngquist single and another Anderson RBI double.

In the sixth, facing the time limit, STiKs were down to their last at bats and a one run defecit. With one out and nobody on Zach Clayton (Oconomowoc, 2017) hit a solo shot to left to tie it. The game ended due to time in a 9-9 tie.

Rhino 17u 12 - GRB Rays 17U Nationals 5

By Spencer Flaten
Rhino Wisconsin 17U picked up their second win of the day on Friday with a 12-5 victory over the GRB Rays 17U National team at UW-Oshkosh.

Rhino jumped on the Rays right out of the gate and never looked back in a game in which they never trailed.

A six-run 1st inning was the highlight of the game. The frame saw Rhino do all of the damage with two outs, as Rays starting pitcher Kevin Hussey (Columbus, 2016) issued four walks in the inning and Randall Griesbach's (Appleton East) RBI single was followed by a 2 RBI double by Zack Zuleger (Appleton West, 2016) to give Rhino a commanding 6-0 lead.

The Rays bounced back with a four run 3rd inning, highlighted by a solo home run by Jack Jensen (Kenosha Tremper, 2016) and an RBI single by Hunter Yerke (Janesville Parker, 2016).

Brock Grenier responded to Jensen's home run with a two-run shot of his own in the top of the 4th to give Rhino an 8-4 lead.

Tyler Osterday (Oconomowoc, 2016) hit an RBI single in the 6th for the Rays, but it wasn't enough to bring them back into the game, especially given Rhino's four-run outburst in the top of the 7th (highlighted by a 2 RBI double by Brice Swick).

Rhino moved to 2-1 in tournament action with the win, while the Rays Nationals fell to 0-2.

PBA Demarini Gold 7, Thundercat Baseball 1, at Marian

Brennan Ferguson and Mitchell Buban supplied the offense for BPA in their 7-1 victory over Thundercat Baseball. Ferguson went 2-3 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Buban chipped in going 2-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. 

After allowing a run in the bottom of the first, Andrew Freiberg and Kyle Antos combined to shut down the Tundercat offense the rest of the way.

Dryden Van Schoyck led the Thundercat offense going 2-3 with a double. Jack Blomgren went 1-2 with a triple and a run scored.

Ash Port 16U 8 - PBA Demarini Black 16U 4
By Spencer Flaten

Ash Port Baseball Club 16U held off a late push from PBA Demarini Black 16U at UW-Oshkosh to securetheir first win of the Badger State Battle, 8-4.

2018 RHP Bobby Tilot (Bay Port) started on the mound for Ash Port, while Bryce Edwards (Westosha Central, 2017) got the call for PBA.

Ash Port opened the game up with a bang. They scored five runs in the first inning, which included RBI singles from both Nate Goddard (Bay Port, 2017) and Ethan Splan. Goddard struck another single withmen on base in the bottom of the 2nd, and another run scored with the help of a PBA error to make thescore 6-0.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Jake Weber (Bay Port, 2017) hit a 2 RBI single to give Ash Port an eight run lead. It was more than enough for Tilot on the mound, who silenced the PBA bats until the end of the game. He avoided trouble until the top of the 6th, when Griffin Klein (Indian Trail, 2017) hit a sacrifice fly and Tyler Crabtree nailed an RBI single to pull PBA within six.

Tilot only faced three batters in the 7th before being relieved by Brandon Huettl (Bay Port, 2017). Huettl gave up an RBI single to Jacob Flannery (Indian Trail, 2017) and issued a bases-loaded walk, but eventually stranded the bases loaded to lock up the win for Ash Port.

Tilot pitched 6.1 innings for Ash Port and allowed two earned runs on five hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. Edwards lasted just one inning for PBA and gave up three earned runs. Marcus Rivera went four innings in relief for PBA and allowed three runs, none of which were earned. He struck out four and walked one.

Goddard finished 2-for-3 at the plate for Ash Port. Weber went 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Nathan Renner (Kenosha Tremper, 2017) paced PBA with a 2-for-2 performance at the dish.

Ash Port is now 1-1 in tournament play, while PBA Demarini Black 16U falls to 0-1.

Panthers 16u 5, GRB Rays 16u 4 at Ripon College

The GRB Rays took an early 4-0 lead on the Appleton Panthers capped by a two-run home run by Nick Elsen (Indian Trail, 2017).

The Panthers roared right back in the third with a four run rally to tie it. Four free passes didn’t help matters for GRB Bryce Cross (Hortonville, 2017), Jayden Arians (Green Bay Preble, 2017) and Jarrett Scheelk (Green Bay Preble, 2017) tallied RBIs for the Panthers.

Mitch Eady (Appleton North, 2016) picked up the win working five innings, while southpaw Cal Theune Xavier, 2016) notched the save retiring the last six outs.

Speedy centerfielder Seth Wilson (Holmen, 2017) went 2-for-4 with two infield singles and a run scored.

PoundTown Baseball U16 3, Stiks Academy 2, at Marian

PoundTown pitchers Jacob Sandy and Hunter Ruediger combined to one hit Stiks Academy.

Ruediger led the PoundTown offense going 2-3 with a double and an RBI. Peter Go chipped in with an RBI single in three trips to the plate.

Stiks managed to work seven walks leading to their two runs. Blake Cottrell had the only hit for Stiks.

Appleton Panthers 16u 7, Rhino 16u 3 at Ripon College

A tight game took extras to decide at Ripon. Both starting pitchers were sharp, Evan Sankey (Appleton North, 2017) for the Panthers and Griffin Summers (Green Bay Preble, 2017) for Rhino.

A 3-2 game in the seventh with Rhino down to their last at bats, Summers and Bryce Bradison (De Pere, 2017) led the inning off with back to back singles. A ground ball double play then scored Summers to tie the game and send it to extras.

The home team Rhino had a chance to win it in the eight after Matt McNabb (West De Pere, 2017) reached third with one out on a single and outfield error. McNabb failed to score on a possible sacrifice fly and then Andrew Lenz went quietly on a 1-3 putout to end the threat.

The momentum catapulted the Panther bats in the ninth. Jim Callahan’s (Ashwaubenon, 2017) RBI single gave the Panthers the lead and then Max Van Boxel (Green Bay East/West, 2017) drove in two with a triple to open up a four run cushion and hold on for the win.

For Rhino, Bradison finished 3-for-3 with three singles and an RBI. McNabb went 3-for-4 with a triple.

For the Panthers Jarrett Scheelk (Green Bay Preble, 2017), Bryce Cross (Hortonville, 2017) and Drew Johnson (Kimberly, 2017) each had two hits. Johnson drove in two and Van Boxel added three RBI.

Ash Port Baseball Club 17u 8, GRB Rays-National 3, at Marian

Ash Port trailed 1-0 after the first, but came back with four runs in the bottom of the second en route to a 8-3 victory.

Jaret Curtis led the Ash Port offense going 2-3 with two doubles, two runs scored, and four RBIs. Will Ark threw a complete game for Ash port allowing just three runs on seven hits while striking out ten.

GRB was led at the plate by Hunter Yerke going 2-4 with a double, triple, and a run scored. Brady Drettwan chipped in with a double and two RBIs in three trips to the plate.

Rhino Baseball 17U 2, Wisconsin Panthers 17U 0, at UW-Oshkosh

By Spencer Flaten

Rhino Wisconsin 17U picked up their first win of the Badger State Battle with a 2-0 victory over Wisconsin Panthers 17U at UW-Oshkosh on Friday morning.

Pitching was in control for much of the contest, which ended up being just under an hour and twenty minutes long. RHP Matt DeYoung (Xavier, 2016) was on the mound for the Panthers, countered by LHP Josh Gonzales (Appleton North, 2016) for Rhino.

Neither offense looked up to much in the 8 AM timeslot. The Panthers threatened in the top of the 5th after Johnny Popham (Waupaca, 2016) led off the frame with a double, but his teammates were unable to plate him.

In the bottom of the 5th, Rhino finally got something going offensively. Mike Gross (Hortonville, 2016) hit a pinch-hit 2 RBI double to give his team a 2-0 lead, which Gonzales preserved on the mound for the rest of the game.

Gonzales pitched seven innings, scattered four hits, struck out four, and walked none in the shutout.

DeYoung went six innings for the Panthers and allowed three hits, one walk, two earned runs, and struck out four.

Andrew Woeslaw (Bay Port, 2016), Cody Ryan (Markesan, 2016), and Gross all tallied hits for Rhino. Bryce Plate put in a 2-for-3 performance for the Panthers.

Rhino moved to 1-1 in pool play with the win, while the Panthers fell to 0-2.

Thursday July 9

Stiks Academy 10, Ash Port Baseball Club 16u 9, at Marian

With the bases loaded, one out, and Stiks clinging to a 10-8 lead, they summoned Cameron Anfang from the pen to nail down the victory. After an infield single cut the lead to 10-9, Anfang got a strikeout and a flyout to nail down the save.

Stiks came from behind to defeat Ash Post 10-9. Despite only having five hits, Stiks was able to work eight walks to push across ten runs.

Bryce Konitzer did not have an official at bat walking four times adding an RBI and two runs scored. Collin Thiel went 3-3 with two RBIs.

Ash Port was led at the plate by Jake Hebert going 3-4 with four RBIs.

STiKS Academy 4, Hitters 17u White 0

By Spencer Flaten

STiKS Academy 17U/18U opened up play in the Badger State Battle with a 4-0 win over Hitters 17U White on Thursday evening at Ripon College.

The teams appeared to be evenly matched for most of the game, but STiKS took advantage of some opportunities to push across runs when they had the chance.

Zach Clayton (Oconomowoc, 2017) got the start on the mound for STiKS, while James Wright (Milwaukee Lutheran, 2016) got the ball for Hitters.

STiKS opened up the scoring in the 2^nd inning with a little help from Hitters defensive miscues. Wright threw a bunted ball past his first baseman, which allowed Julian Alverio (Racine Case, 2015) to score.

The Hitters allowed another run to score in the 3^rd inning in much the same fashion. Zach Biermann (West Bend East 2015) scored on a throwing error by the Hitters shortstop.

The game was pretty uneventful until the 6^th, when STiKS scored two more runs via an RBI groundout by Nate Grzybowski (West Allis Hale 2015) and an RBI triple by Alex Doud (Mukwonago 2015).

Clayton pitched four innings for STiKS and gave up three hits while striking out 2. Connor Moroder (Pewaukee, 2015) pitched the final three innings and struck out three. Wright went four innings for Hitters and walked four, surrendered five hits, one earned run, and struck out one. Jake Macalusco pitched two innings and gave up two earned runs on a walk and two hits.

Nate Brown (Arrowhead 2016) and Doud led STiKS offensively with 2-for-3 performances. Austin Emanuel (Mukwonago 2016) went 2-for-3 for Hitters, while Ricky Bergstrom (Warren, 2016) went 1-for-2.

PoundTown Baseball U16 6, Rhino Baseball 6, at Marian

PoundTown and Rhino played to a 6-6 tie with both teams making comebacks in the seventh inning.

Trailing 5-1 heading to the seventh PoundTown scored three times to cut the deficit to 5-4. With two outs and a man on first, Chris DeKrey hit an inside the park homerun on a long drive to the left centerfield gap to give PoundTown the 6-5 lead.

With two outs and a man on second trailing by a run Will Conard drove a double to left field to tie the game for Rhino.

Chris DeKrey led the PoundTown offense going 2-4 with a homerun and two RBIs.

Rhino was led at the plate by Andrew Lenz going 1-2 with a double and two RBis, and Will Conard going 2-3 with a triple and an RBI.

Appleton Panthers 7, Hitters 16u White 2

Jim Callahan (Ashwaubenon, 2017) and Max Van Boxel (Green Bay East/West, 2017) led the way in the Panthers 7-2 win.

The southpaw Van Boxel went the distance on the mound getting the complete game win striking out five and allowing just four hits with no earned runs. Van Boxel relied on a fastball curveball combination and creates a tough angle to keep hitters off balance all day.

Callahan drove in three of the seven Panther runs while collecting two hits in three at bats and scoring once.

Hitters 17u Navy 7, Appleton Panthers 17u 6

 Hitters survived a late 7^th inning push by the Appleton Panthers. With two on and nobody out RHP Cyrillo Watson (South Milwaukee, 2016) came on to close it out with a lively fastball (86-88) and tight curveball (73 mph).

Justin Lavey (Tremper, 2016) led the way offensively with three hits including an RBI double. Cyrillo Watson drove in three runs on two hits, the big one coming in the fifth, a three run triple that gave the Hitters the lead. Ben Rortvedt (Verona, 2016) also chipped in with two hits.

For the Panthers Justin Reed (Neenah, 2015) hit a two run home run, while Kody Theobald (Freedom, 2015) the offense with three hits an RBI and two runs scored.

PoundTown BaseballU16  8, Hitters 2017 Navy 6, at Marian

By Matt Huck
Area Scout 

With nobody on and two outs trialing 6-5 in the top of the seventh, PoundTown scored three runs to take an 8-6 lead and defeat Hitters 2017 Navy. 

Three straight singles by Jacob Sandy, Hunter Ruediger, and Benjamin Graham with two outs lead to the PoundTown victory. Chris DeKrey went 2-3 with a double to lead the PoundTown offense.

Hitters was lead at the plate by Nicholas Urban-Michalak going 2-4 with a double and two RBIs. Jacob Lindemann worked seven innings while striking out 12. Lindemann ran his fastball up to 89 mph early on in his outing.

Hitters 17u White 2 - Rhino Wisconsin 17U/18U 0 

By Spencer Flaten

Hitters 2016 White opened up their PBR+ Badger State Battle tournament campaign with a 2-0 victory
over Rhino Wisconsin 17U at Ripon College on Thursday afternoon. 

Pitching was the name of the game in this contest. The game showcased a stellar head-to-head matchup between 2015 RHP Brice Swick of Rhino and 2016 LHP Nick Winter of Hitters. Hitters started out the game with hot bats.

They bashed out five hits in the first two innings and scored a run via an RBI single from Jake Hall in the top of the 2nd. 

That was the only run that Winter needed on the mound. He evaded the Rhino bats with ease for the majority of the game. He allowed just two hits in seven innings of work and took a no-hitter into the middle of the game.

Hitters gave Winter another insurance run in the top of the 6th after Jack Dwyer hit a well-struck sacrifice
fly to left to make the score 2-0.

Swick did everything for Rhino in the loss. He broke up the no-hitter with a bunt single in 5th inning and
tallied another hit in the 7th. On the mound, he went seven innings, struck out eight, walked one, and
scattered six hits. After surrendering five hits in the first two innings, he settled in and dealt five innings
of one-hit ball.

Winter struck out 12 in his complete game effort. He walked three and scattered two hits to complete
the shutout.

Winter also led Hitters offensively. He finished 2-for-3 with two infield singles. Matt Wezyk went 1-for-1
with a double for Hitters. Swick went 2-for-3 for Rhino.

Hitters White next plays STiKS Academy 17U this afternoon at Ripon College. Rhino Wisconsin will be in
action again at 8 AM on Friday morning at UW-Oshkosh.