Badger falls to Brookfield East in extra innings, snaps 5 game win streak
Badger senior Jimmy Athans throws to first base to get the out in the game against Brookfield East Friday, April 28.
Badger junior Levi McRae hits the ball in the game against Brookfield East Friday, April 28. He went 1-for-4 in the game with two RBIs.
Badger junior Sam Polyock throws a pitch in the game against Brookfield East Friday, April 28.
Badger sophomore Zach Walton swings at the pitch in the game against Brookfield East Friday, April 28.
Badger junior Wade Blakely throws to first in the game against Brookfield East Friday, April 28.
Badger sophomore Ryan McCarthy swings at a pitch in the game against Brookfield East Friday, April 28.
Badger senior Crete Slattery makes contact with the pitch in the game against Brookfield East Friday, April 28.
Badger baseball’s five-game win streak finally was snapped after falling 4-3 to Brookfield East in an extra-inning battle that lasted nine innings and over two and a half hours Friday night, April 28.
“This time was going to come where the streak ends, but we have been hotter than heck,” Badger co-head baseball coach Beau Roddy said. “We have been planning for this and it’s a good learning experience, and I’m happy it came in a nonconference game before we head into conference. They’ll be fired up as a result of this.”
The Badgers overall record now sits at a solid 10-4 as they head back into the heart of Southern Lakes Conference schedule beginning Tuesday, May 2 at Waterford.
“If we take away the first inning, we played a really good baseball game,” Badger co-head baseball coach Michael Ploch said. “Brookfield East is a really good team, we played with them, and we thought we were two very even teams.”
Brookfield East’s Ryan Berghauer led off the game with a single. After Badger junior starting pitcher Christian Wolff got the next Spartan batter to strikeout, Hunter Scariot lined an RBI single into left field. Two batters later, Scariot would come around to score on an error. That error proved costly for the Badgers at that point as Keegan Bracke hit an RBI double to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
Badger junior Wade Blakely hit a single in the bottom half of the inning, but the Badgers were unable to make it anything of it.
Wolff settled in on the mound and did well throughout the rest of his time on the hill, but a little help from his defense never hurts. After a couple of Spartans reached base on a pair of singles in the top of the second, Badger senior Jimmy Athans made an outstanding diving play at second base to get the final out without any more damage being done.
While the Badger bats were held in check most of the game, an offense that outscored their opponents 31-13 over their five game win-streak, were able to put things together in the fourth. Athans, sophomore Gavin Stewart and sophomore Ryan McCarthy all drew walks. With ducks on the pond, junior Levi McRae came through. He reached base on a two-run single, but two errors by the Spartan defense allowed for tying run to cross home plate to make it a 3-3.
That score remained over the next five innings, with stellar pitching from both teams. Badger used four pitchers and they were all outstanding. Riley Lussmeyer came in relief for Bates in the fifth, who finished with a final line on the mound three runs (one earned), one walk and two strikeouts. Lussmeyer did his job as well. He pitched 2/1/3 innings, with just two walks and two strikeouts. Junior Sam Polyock followed up Lussmeyer’s brief outing by pitching three innings with no hits allowed and striking out seven. Blakely struck out two and allowed one earned run in his 1/1/3 inning of work.
In the bottom of the seventh, things got interesting for the Badgers, however. Sophomore Zach Walton singled, freshman Matt O’Grady laid down a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt, and Blakely walked. Senior Crete Slattery, who had already set a new Badger baseball career record earlier in the game with his 21st double, came up to the plate and hit an absolute line shot right at the first baseman for the out and double play, just inches away from their second walk-off win of the week.
“If Crete’s hit floated a little bit the left or right, the game was over,” Ploch said.
But sometimes in sports, it’s better to be lucky than good and you can certainly be on the other side of that, and in the case for Badger in their fourth game since Monday, April 21, Badger was on the wrong side.
“Brookfield East did exactly what we have done to teams,” Roddy said. “We answered back, we brought it back to even, but we just had bad luck. The better team lost.”
But the Badgers, who have already matched their win total from last year in just 14 games so far this season, have been on fire, and from how the season began, Ploch is extremely proud.
“We’re doing all the little things right and the bats are coming around,” he said. “We were not hitting well earlier in the year, but now the bats are coming around, the guys are rallying together, and they’re just playing really good baseball. I’m proud of them. We’ll get back on track.”
Badger finished with four hits. Blakely went 1-for-2 with one hit and two walks. Both Slattery and Walton went 1-for-4. McRae went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Athans, McCarthy and Stewart each had one and one run scored.
Other games throughout the week
Tuesday, April 25
Badger 7, Mukwonago 6.
It was a come from behind victory for the Badgers on Tuesday, which included a walk-off, two-run double by Blakely. He finished by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Slattery went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Athans had two hits in three plate appearances with three RBIs. Stewart had one hit in the game.
Thursday, April 27
Badger 5, Wilmot 2.
McCarthy went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Polyock went 2-for-3. Junior Ryan Bays had an RBI. Slattery went 1-for-4 with one RBI, while Stewart and Blakely each had one hit. Stewart pitched 4/1/3 innings, allowing just one run (unearned) on four hits and tallied seven strikeouts.
