WBA REGIONALS: INTERWALD ADVANCES - Woodticks squeeze past Norwalk to advance to finals

Two Saturday rainouts created a long Sunday at the Wisconsin Baseball Association regional tournament in Rib Lake, but those who stuck it out to the end were treated to an exciting finish.

Nick Gerstberger’s squeeze bunt found the dirt inside the first base line to score Jackson Blomberg with the walk-off run in Interwald’s 6-5, 10-inning win over Norwalk. The win sent Interwald to its second straight berth in the WBA’s B Division state tournament and kept the Woodticks undefeated this summer in Dairyland League and WBA play at 9-0.

The state tournament is this weekend in Augusta.

This win was obviously the most tense of the nine as the Woodticks trailed 4-0 early. They took the lead in the sixth inning only to see the Knights, the third seed in a three-team pod that included Iron City, tie it on a disputed play at home plate in the top of the ninth.

But Blomberg finished off his 10inning start with a scoreless 10th, which ended with catcher Dalton Strebig throwing out Evan Wang as he tried to steal second base. The Woodticks then went to work in the bottom half against Billy Stekel, Norwalk’s fourth pitcher of the game.

Blomberg drew a one-out walk and then Seth Borchardt arguably had the atbat of the game for Interwald. He wasn’t able to get a bunt down, but he did foul off a couple of two-strike pitches before finally pushing a hit-and-run single the opposite way to leftfield, sending Blomberg to third base.

Interwald 7, Iron City 2

With runners on the corners and one out, Norwalk turned to Shane Prielipp to try to get out of the jam. But Gerstberger foiled that on the first pitch. Though he got under the bunt on a high pitch just a bit, it didn’t stay airborne long enough for Prielipp or first baseman Jordan Murray to get to it. That allowed Blomberg to easily score the winning run and set off the team’s celebration along the first base line, 12.5 hours after the first of four games started on the diamond at 9 a.m.

Blomberg teetered early but was tough on Norwalk after he settled in. In his longest outing as a Woodtick, the 2024 Rib Lake graduate, allowed eight hits –– only four which came after the third inning –– while striking out seven, walking four and hitting two. Three of Norwalk’s runs were earned.

Interwald only had nine hits against Norwalk’s five pitchers. A couple of big defensive plays by the Knights prevented more hits and runs. The biggest of those came from Wang in leftfield, who made a running, leaping grab of a two-out, thirdinning laser hit by Carter Scheithauer that might have driven in three runs had it gotten by Wang. As it was, Interwald scored a run in the inning on Matt Mohr’s bases-loaded walk to start to turn the game’s momentum after Norwalk scored once in the first, once in the second and twice in the top of the third.

Norwalk, who beat second-seeded Iron City 9-1 in the only game played in Rib Lake on Saturday, also turned double plays defensively in the second and fourth innings.

Interwald closed the gap to 4-3 in the fifth, loading the bases on walks and then scoring on a sacrifice fly from Logan Blomberg and a two-out single from David Fliehs. The Woodticks again loaded the bases without a hit in the sixth. Gerstberger’s fielder’s choice tied it and then Carter Scheithauer, who hit the ball hard several times Sunday, looped a single into right to score the go-ahead run.

Norwalk didn’t quit and got even in the ninth. Jordan Erickson bunted for a leadoff hit and stole second. After Jackson Blomberg struck out Ben Levendoski, the count went to 3-1 on Prielipp and the Woodticks then intentionally put him on. Stekel hit a grounder to third for a forceout, leaving it up to Jackson Shramek. Shramek singled sharply to leftfield. The throw to home plate was in time to get Prielipp, but his headfirst slide and collision with Strebig knocked the ball free and he was ruled safe, much to the displeasure of the Interwald dugout.

After the Woodticks’ argument was denied, they got the third out on a little pop-up to Strebig, stranding two Knights.

Fliehs, Michael Borchardt and Carter Scheithauer had two hits apiece for Interwald. The Woodticks were semifinalists in last year’s B Division tournament, outlasting New Richmond 87 in 10 innings before losing 9-4 to eventual runner-up Elmwood.

Interwald drew the fifth seed at Augusta this weekend and will face fourth-seeded Osceola at 10 a.m. Saturday in a first-round game at Jan Krueger Memorial Field. The Braves are the defending B Division champion and went 7-7 this summer in the 11-team St. Croix Valley League, good for a fourth-place tie with Ellsworth, who is the three-seed at state.

If Interwald wins, it’s guaranteed of a 2024 rematch. The Woodticks will play either top-seeded Elmwood or eighthseeded New Richmond at 7 p.m. Saturday in the semifinal round. Elmwood was 7-6 in the St. Croix Valley, while New Richmond was just 3-10 but the Millers routed Westboro 16-0 and beat topseeded Glidden 4-2 to earn their state spot. Elmwood shut out Ashland 18-0 and Whittlesey 5-0 in Abbotsford to punch its state ticket.

Finally playing on Sunday afternoon after Saturday’s rainouts, the Woodticks held a slim 2-1 lead over Iron City going into the bottom of the seventh when they finally broke it open with five runs and went on to defeat the Miners 7-2.

Peter Devine allowed just five hits in a strong eight-inning outing that set up Interwald well for its night game with Norwalk. He struck out nine and worked around five walks and three hit batters. He only allowed one unearned run in that time.

Unearned runs were a story in this one, though that was not the case with Interwald’s first run, which came on Logan Blomberg’s second-inning sacrifice fly. Talon Scheithauer led off the third with a triple that got by rightfielder Marshall Zweto, who slipped on the wet grass. Scheithauer, though, was doubled off third base on Sam Gumz’s line drive that was caught by Miners’ shortstop Tommy Zakovec. The inning didn’t end there, however, as Strebig singled and came all the way around to score on Jackson Blomberg’s double.

Matt Tarasawiecz doubled and scored on a two-out error in the fifth to pull Iron City within 2-1. In the bottom of the seventh, Talon Scheithauer hit a leadoff double. Pinch-hitter Seth Borchardt, in to bunt, wound up drawing a walk from Iron City starter Brody Koosman, as did Strebig to load the bases. Koosman got Jackson Blomberg to fly out to shallow leftfield and got a grounder from Mohr for the second out, though it did drive in Scheithauer. But an error by Zakovec on a ball hit by Gerstberger scored two runs. After Carter Scheithauer singled and Logan Blomberg walked to re-load the bases, Zakovec took over the pitching duties and was greeted by a Fliehs grounder that was misplayed at third base to bring in two more runs.

The six-run lead was more than enough to offset Iron City’s unearned run in the ninth off Logan Blomberg, who walked two and struck out one.

Interwald had 10 hits, including two apiece from Jackson Blomberg, Gerstberger, Carter Scheithauer and Talon Scheithauer. All 10 hits came off Koosman, who struck out three and walked two.

Tarasawiecz and Koosman had two hits each for Iron City.