WIAA Finals: Milwaukee Lutheran Takes D2 Title

June 18, 2015

By Spencer Flaten
Staff Writer

APPLETON, WI – The Milwaukee Lutheran Red Knights captured the Division 2 state title on Thursday afternoon with a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame.

The game was close throughout, with a number of opportunities for both teams to take advantage of.

Milwaukee Lutheran jumped out to a one run lead in the bottom of the 1^st. Sam Ruch put down a safety squeeze bunt to give the Red Knights the early lead. Christian Gerner hit an RBI single off of Notre Dame pitcher Davis Elm in the bottom of the 2^nd to make the score 2-0.

Notre Dame tied the game back up in the top of the 3^rd. Connor Yakel hit a 2 RBI single with two outs in the frame to level the score.

The Red Knights managed to neutralize those runs with two more of their own in the bottom of the frame. TD Walker and Ryan Selner both collected RBI singles in the inning.

The Tritons narrowed the deficit in the top of the 4^th to cut the lead down to one run. Ty Yewman scored on a wild pitch, but Notre Dame stranded the tying run on 3^rd base to end the inning.

That was a trend for the rest of the game. Notre Dame threatened in the 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th innings but ultimately failed to score. They got a man in scoring position in each of those frames but weren’t able to break through.

One of their best chances came in the 5^th, when Noah Wleczyk singled with Yakel on 2^nd. However, the throw in from center field came in very quickly which forced Yakel to hold up at third.

They again threatened in the 6^th with a man on third and only one out. They made the bold move to attempt a suicide squeeze, but it ultimately failed and the runner was caught stealing home.

Finally, in the 7^th, the Tritons got men on first and second, but Eric Erb struck out to end the game and give the Red Knights their first state title since 2003.

TD Walker went 5 strong innings to get the win on the mound. He allowed one earned run on 4 hits, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Elm took the loss for Notre Dame. He went 2 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. James Wright notched the save for Milwaukee Lutheran.

Gerner and Nick Winter both went 2-for-3 for the Red Knights. Yakel finished 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs for Notre Dame.

WIAA Finals: Milwaukee Lutheran Takes D2 Title

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