Wisconsin makes Midwest Future Game debut in impressive fashion

August 3, 2013

By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Director

BLOOMINGTON, IN – The third annual Midwest Future Games was the first for Wisconsin, with much anticipation to see what the Badger state would produce. Wisconsin did not disappoint in their debut finishing in a tie against a high powered Indiana team with a plethora of highly touted talent.

The Wisconsin offense got off to a slow start not scoring until the fifth inning but luckily the pitching held down the fort as five of the seven Wisconsin pitchers worked scoreless frames. Brendan Meissner (West De Pere) started things off on the mound inducing a slick 4-6-3 double play turned by Cade Bunnell (Stoughton) and Alex Henwood (Appleton North) after giving up back to back singles.

In the second Nickolas Lackney (Whitefish Bay) was sharp, working down in the zone at 82-83 mph from the left side. He too induced a double play featuring the same combo of Henwood and Bunnell only of the 6-4-3 variety.

Bryant Jordan (Home School) was one of the highlights of the day for Wisconsin. Although the 6-foot-1, 170-pound righty allowed four runs, Jordan touched 90 mph twice in his inning of work, sitting at 87-89. He also featured a sharp 75-77 mph slider with a quick and athletic arm action.

Dustin Landers (Kaukauna) took to the mound in the fourth touching 87 mph in his scoreless inning of work. He also showed a 75 mph curveball with signs of above average feel. Landers struck out one and allowed just one hit.

Wisconsin finally got on the board with two in the fifth when Rudy Rott (La Crosse Aquinas) led things off with a single. Joey Baier (Bay Port) then followed with a single of his own which pushed the first Wisconsin base runner into scoring position. Owen Miller (Ozaukee) then put Wisconsin on the board with an RBI single to left bringing home Rott. Doran Turchin (Oak Creek) duplicated Miller’s single with one of his own after working a tough at bat which included a hard foul ball off of his own foot sending Turchin to the turf. Turchin stole third later in the inning.

Joseph Kaszubowski (Whitefish Bay) hung an crucial zero in the fifth after Wisconsin scored. The 6-foot, 170-pound lefty topped out at 84 mph while sitting 82-83. Kaszubowski struck out two in his inning of work while scattering a walk and a single.

Wisconsin seemed to get the bats in order after their first trip through the lineup as they would score again in the sixth to make it a 4-3 ball game. Nickolas Lackney got it started with a single. With Lackney at third and two outs, Kyle Schulz hit a ground ball back to the pitcher in which he impressively beat out for a single, scoring Lackney.

Mitchel Makarewicz (Oak Creek) shut the door on Indiana again in the sixth working a 1-2-3 inning which included Rudy Rott gunning down a would be base stealer. Makarewicz was up to 86 mph sitting at 84-85 and struck out a batter.

Chasing a run in the seventh Wisconsin turned it on to score three runs and take a 6-4 lead. Rudy Rott singled again making a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate. Baier contributed with a sacrifice fly scoring Henwood to tie the game. With the game tied and two outs, Doran Turchin would come up big again for Wisconsin getting an RBI single up the middle to make it a 5-4 game. Brendan Meissner then followed with another RBI single to give Wisconsin an insurance run and a two run lead.

Heading into the bottom of the seventh Jack Bredeson (Arrowhead) took the mound and made one of the more impressive showings of the day. At 6-foot-5, 215-pounds Bredeson used a short over the top arm action to deliver a heavy 86-87 mph fastball with deception. Indiana mustered back to back seeing on singles on the ground and wound up scoring two runs to tie the game at six. Bredeson would leave the winning run on third after spotting up an 87 mph fastball to record the strike out looking.

Rudy Rott and Doran Turchin paced the offense for Wisconsin as Rott went a perfect 3-for-3 with three singles and two runs scored. Turchin went 2-for-3 with two singles, two RBI and two stolen bases.

Team Wisconsin will play two more games on Sunday. They will kick off action at 9 AM facing off with Michigan, followed directly by a matchup with Kentucky. Remember to follow us on twitter as well as our LIVE Midwest Future Games Blog for all of the up to the minute action.