![]() |
||||||
|
State baseball roundup |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Lasers win despite having top hitters
stopped
STEVENS POINT - Kettle Moraine's 4-1 state summer baseball quarterfinal victory over West Bend West on Wednesday came despite the top of the order coming up empty. KM sophomore left fielder Dalton Grove (.354), senior pitcher Cody Smith (.395) and senior first baseman Casey Casper (.446), the top three hitters in the lineup and on the team, were a combined 0-for-9. "Give the middle of our order all the credit for this one," Smith said. Meanwhile, West Bend West senior third baseman Paul Hoenecke, who entered the game with a team-leading .494 average, nine home runs and 48 RBIs and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers, was held to a harmless two-out single and three fly outs. West junior catcher Ryan Schilter, who entered the game with a .472 average, 10 homers and 42 RBIs, was held to a two-out single and was 1-for-4. ¥ ¥ ¥ Kettle Moraine became just the fourth team this season to score as many as four runs against West. "We've played teams like this in the past and we knew if we stayed within ourselves, our sticks would come," KM junior third baseman David Galando said. Galando and senior shortstop Aaron Keniski, who each had two RBIs in the game for the Lasers, entered the game with 17 RBIs apiece - tied for sixth on the team. ¥ ¥ ¥ The tournament is definitely the last at Bukolt Park after 20 years, WIAA executive director Doug Chickering said. Chickering cited travel as the major concern. "The only question is where the next site will be," he said. He already has checked out the state tournament's previous venue, West Bend, and intends to check out several other facilities in the southeastern portion of the state before making a decision. The lack of a press box, parking and seating issues are major concerns at most sites being considered. ¥ ¥ ¥ Four Menomonee Falls pitchers labored the entire game in an 11-3 quarterfinal loss to Brown Deer with seven 3-2 counts and nine walks. "That's the strength of our team," Falls coach Pat Hansen said of his pitching staff. "Today it wasn't there but they still kept us in it. You just hope you can do something while they keep you in but unfortunately, we didn't." Falls pitchers averaged only three walks a game. ¥ ¥ ¥ The only run allowed by KM's Smith was a homer by senior right fielder Adam Martz down the 325-foot left-field line to lead off the sixth inning. ... West stranded nine runners on base. ... Brown Deer, which faces Kettle Moraine in today's semifinals, has won 11 of its last 16 games. ... Menomonee Falls had not allowed more than seven runs all season.
|
||||||