Prep Baseball Report

WIAA D1: Quarterfinals



APPLETON, WI - The first round matchups of the WIAA Division 1 state finals took place Tuesday with four quartfinal games being played on Tuesday, before the semifinal matchups take place tonight. Here is a game by game look at the first four games,

Green Bay Preble 4, Middleton 2

In game one of the Division 1 quarterfinals, Green Bay Preble topped Middleton 4-2. Middleton got off to a rough start when starting pitcher Alec Morrison took a line drive off the head in the first inning, knocking him out of the game. The Cardinals had to rely on the bullpen the rest of the way and Preble took advantage.

Green Bay Preble opened up their scoring in the second inning, Jayden Adrians got it started with an RBI double followed quickly by an RBI single off the bat of Griffin Summers, driving in Adrians.

Preble starter, Caleb Schoenholz had it on cruise control early allowing just one base runner on a hit by pith through the first four innings. Schoeholz finished the complete game allowing two runs on just four hits and striking out one.

Preble added some needed insurance runs late. Jarrett Scheelk added a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Schoenholz helped his own cause with an RBI single in the seventh.

Middleton scored a pair of runs late in the game but came up just short. Nolan Kelliher cut the lead to one on a sacrifice fly but that rally ended quickly on a double play ball. Zach Shipley came through with a pinch hit RBI single in the sixth.

Green Bay Preble moves on to face Burlington in the Semifinals.

Burlington 5, Janesville Craig 3

By Spencer Flaten

Burlington unseated defending state champion Janesville Craig with a 5-3 victory over the Cougars in the state quarterfinals at Fox Cities Stadium on Tuesday.

Junior pitcher Jacob Lindemann overcame a shaky start to limit the Cougar offense to just three hits over the final six innings.

Janesville Craig scored three runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Jacob Campbell drove in one run with a single and Luke Malmanger plated two with a single later in the frame.

Cal Tully pulled a run back for Burlington in the top of the second with an RBI double to the gap in left. The Demons took the lead in the third inning with an offensive outburst. Aaron Mutter drove in two runs with an RBI single, and Dale Damon followed with an RBI single of his own to give Burlington a 4-3 lead. The Demons tallied five hits in the inning.

Neither team scored again until the sixth inning. The Demons had a runner on second and had Tully drop down a sacrifice bunt. Craig pitcher Jared Filter attempted to shovel the ball to third base, but the ball got away and allowed the runner to score.

Burlington held on to their 5-3 lead thanks to solid pitching by Lindemann down the stretch. After the three run inning, he pitched six scoreless innings to notch the win and send his team to the semifinals. He struck out six and allowed seven hits.

Evan Spry took the loss for the Cougars. He pitched three innings and allowed four earned runs.

Damon finished the game 3-for-4 for the Demons. Malmanger went 2-for-3 for Craig.

Burlington will face Green Bay Preble in the semifinals tonight at approximately 6:30.

Kimberly 4, Eau Claire North 0

In the third quarterfinal game a pitcher’s duel broke out between Eau Claire North’s Tanner Halvorson and Kimberly’s Tanner Haessly. Halvorson and Haessly traded goose eggs for five and a half innings until the sixth when Kimberly finally managed to break through.

Halvorson retired the first two batters in the sixth via the strikeout but a pair of two out walks got the southpaw in trouble. With two out and runners and first and second, Kent State commit Ben Carew flaired a soft fly ball into right just outside of the outstretched arm of a diving Carson Lemanski for an RBI single and a 1-0 lead. The Papermakers tacked on another pair on a two RBI single by Steven Jacobson.

With a 4-0 lead heading to the seventh, Haessly kept the Huskies off the board finishing the four hit shutout and sending the Papermakers to the semifinals.

Arrowhead 6, Sun Prairie 1

By Spencer Flaten

GRAND CHUTE, Wis.—Arrowhead advanced to the Division 1 state semifinals with a 6-1 victory over Sun Prairie on Tuesday afternoon.

The victory was powered by Warhawk pitcher Ryan Schmitt, who stymied the Cardinal offense for most of the game.

Sun Prairie, no strangers to the state tournament, showed promising signs early on in the game. They pushed a run across in the top of the second inning after JP Curran hit an RBI double to the left field corner. After that though, the Cardinals had trouble manufacturing any offense.

The same could not be said about Arrowhead. The Warhawks put five runs on the board in the bottom of the second. Schmitt and Dominic Clementi both had RBI singles, and Jeff Holtz hit a double with the bases loaded to tally three RBIs.

The Warhawks threatened again in the top of the third. They got runners on second and third, but Sun Prairie pitcher Ben Hauser escaped the jam without allowing a run to score.

Both offenses went quiet until the sixth inning. Nick Bastien hit a double for Arrowhead and advanced to third on an error. A wild pitch allowed him to score and pushed the score to 6-1.

Schmitt slammed the door in the seventh to clinch a spot in the semifinals for his team. He tossed a complete game and struck out seven. He allowed four hits and walked one.

Hauser took the loss for the Cardinals. In 5.2 innings of work, he allowed five earned runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out one.

Jack Becker had a big day at the plate for Arrowhead. He went 2-for-3 for the Warhawks. Walker Jenkins went 1-for-2 for Sun Prairie.

Arrowhead will face Kimberly in the state semifinals. They play the second game of the nightcap, which follows shortly after the semifinal between Green Bay Preble and Burlington.

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