Win streak ends; Raiders go 3-1 for week, can win GNC

MEDFORD BASEBALL

A four-run second inning Tuesday gave the Medford Raiders all the offense they would need thanks to strong pitching from Nick Steliga and Gavin Fuchs in a 5-2 Senior Night win over Wausau West.

With Medford looking to keep their biggest arms fresh for Wednesday’s GNC finale against Antigo, Steliga came through by pitching into the sixth inning before the Warriors started to figure him out. A single by Tony Iaffaldano, a double by Jackson Albee, a run-scoring wild pitch and an RBI double by Dylan Dobratz got West within 5-2 with still nobody out.

Fuchs entered at that point and got two pop-ups and a strikeout around a single by Timmy Gospodarek and stranded runners at the corners. He worked around a two-out error in the seventh to complete the two-inning save.

“Nick Steliga answered the call,” Medford head coach Justin Hraby said. “He mixed well and kept them off-balance. A great outing for him. Gavin also did well in his two innings. Just a great pitching performance by those two.”

Ty Metz gave the now 18-4 Raiders a 1-0 lead in the second with a single that knocked in Max Dietzman, who had walked and moved to second on Parker Lissner’s single.

But the big damage came in the fourth. Lissner singled with one out and, with two down, Jacob Eckert singled to right, Steliga singled to center to score Lissner and Tanner Hraby was hit by a pitch. Miles Searles then singled to score Eckert and courtesy runner Alex Dittrich. Logan Baumgartner’s single scored Hraby to make it 5-0.

“Miles Searles had a huge hit on Senior Night,” coach Hraby said. “He jumped all over a good pitch early in the count to drive in two huge runs.”

Medford had eight hits off West pitchers Brennan Fictum and Iaffaldano. Lissner was two for two. Six Raiders had a hit apiece. Steliga struck out one, walked two and allowed six hits and two earned runs. Fuchs struck out two and allowed one hit.

After the game, the Raiders honored their eight seniors, who have been part of a lot of winning since their freshman seasons were wiped out by Covid. The group includes Baumgartner, Searles, Fuchs, Dittrich, Metz, Eckert, Tucker Kraemer and Peyton Gilles.

“Senior Night is always special,” Hraby said. “This group is really special. I have been with these guys for the last seven to eight years through little league and through high school. To see all the hard work they have put in and now to see it pay off, this is truly amazing. I am so proud of this group. They’ve accomplished a lot during their time.”

At 10-1 in the GNC, Medford needed a win over Antigo Wednesday to clinch at least a share of the conference title. The Raiders entered the day tied with 10-1 Mosinee, who was one out away from losing to Antigo Monday before rallying for a 7-6, eight-inning win. Mosinee is at Antigo today, Thursday.

The Raiders will remain busy for the next week as they close out the regular season. They’re scheduled to play at Stratford Friday and at Marshfield Monday. The WIAA Division 2 tournament starts Thursday, May 25, though it is possible Medford could get a first-round bye.

Streak to 15, then ends

Medford’s school-record winning streak hit 15 on Saturday morning with an 8-3 win at Abbotsford-Colby, but it ended in the back end of the day’s doubleheader in an 11-5 loss to the Falcons, a potential playoff foe in the WIAA Division 2 sectional half-bracket, who improved to 16-3 with that win.

“What a run,” Hraby said. “This group has found different ways to win games during the streak. This was a good doubleheader for us against a quality opponent.”

Game one was tight until Medford broke it open with a four-run top of the sixth that made it 8-1. Metz had another strong outing on the mound, going six innings and allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out four. All three runs against him were earned. Steliga struck out two and walked one in a scoreless seventh.

Medford got the win despite collecting just four hits off Abbotsford-Colby pitchers Brandon Diedrich and Mateo Lopez.

Leading 3-1, Medford got a run in the fifth on a fielder’s choice hit by Searles and then got the knockout punch in the sixth, with almost all of the damage coming with two outs. Lissner reached on a one-out error, then Fuchs reached on a two-out error. Steliga was hit by a pitch to load the bases and pinch runner Carson Carbaugh scored on a wild pitch. Tanner Hraby was intentionally walked to re-load the bases for Searles, who walked to drive in a run. Baumgartner’s two-run single made it 8-1.

Baumgartner was two for four with four runs batted in. He hit an RBI double and scored on a sacrifice fly in the first inning and drove in one with a grounder in the third.

Diedrich pitched well before Medford got to him late. He went 5.2 innings, struck out four and walked three. Four of the Raiders’ eight runs were earned. Abbotsford-Colby had five errors.

“Ty Metz did a good job of creating a lot of weak contact against a pretty good hitting team,” coach Hraby said. “Our bats took a while to get going, but once we did, we were able to put together some good at-bats late and put the game away.”

Medford got into a quick 6-1 hole in the first two innings of game two and never recovered. They got within three twice, but a three-run sixth put it away for the home team.

Two hit batters and a walk started the bottom of the first and led to a four-run rally for Abbotsford-Colby. Steliga’s bases- loaded walk got Medford on the board in the top of the second, but that was erased by JV Castillo’s two-run homer in the bottom half.

Baumgartner homered in the third and Dietzman singled and scored on an error on a ball hit by Lissner, but Diedrich’s two-run homer in the fourth opened the lead back up to five at 8-3. Medford opened the fifth with three straight singles in another effort to get back in it. Lissner’s single drove in a run. An error loaded the bases with still nobody out, but Lopez relieved Castillo and got Abbotsford-Colby out of the jam with three strikeouts though a wild pitch did score one. Abbotsford-Colby got its three sixth-inning runs without a hit. Four walks did the Raiders in there.

Hraby, Baumgartner and Dietzman each had two of Medford’s eight hits. Hraby took the loss. In five innings, he struck out five, walked two and allowed six hits and eight runs, seven of which were earned. Fuchs covered the sixth.

Lopez struck out five and walked one in a three-inning save. Castillo struck out three, walked three and allowed eight hits and five runs, four of which were earned in four-plus innings. Lopez had two of Abbotsford-Colby’s six hits.

Medford 21, Lakeland 1

In one of the top offensive displays in school history Friday, the Raiders got two home runs apiece from Baumgartner and Braxton Weissmiller, each of whom hit a grand slam, and crushed the pitching depleted Lakeland Thunderbirds 21-1 in Minocqua.

The win came three days after the Raiders beat Lakeland 11-1 in Medford and one day before the T-Birds also had to plan their pitching around a GNC doubleheader with Antigo. With top two pitchers Will Fortier and Ben Peterson unavailable for Lakeland, the Raiders feasted, moving to 10-1 in the GNC and one win away from clinching at least a share for the league title.

“I can’t remember too many games like this,” Justin Hraby said. “Our bats were hot and we just kept hitting. We were respectful and taking one base at a time, but we just couldn’t make an out.”

The Raiders went scoreless in the first inning against Lakeland starter Max Nowak but made up for it with an eightrun second. Steliga’s infield hit with the bases loaded scored the first run. Hraby’s infield single scored the second run and Searles singled to left to make it 3-0. Baumgartner then unloaded on a Nowak offering, sending it over the centerfield fence for his grand slam. Weissmiller made it back-to-back blasts with a solo shot to left and an 8-0 lead.

Steliga hit a two-run single and Weissmiller added a sacrifice fly to make it 11-0 in the third. Lakeland’s Nate Ariola kept Medford off the board and Lakeland got its run in the fourth. But Lakeland wasn’t as lucky in the fifth, allowing 10 more runs.

Evan Wilkins started the inning with a single, which was followed by Baumgartner’s second homer of the game. Medford loaded the bases and Metz singled for an RBI, Fuchs got hit by a pitch to drive one in and Kraemer’s fielder’s choice scored one to make it 16-1. With two outs, Baumgartner’s single with the bases loaded drove in one, then Weissmiller put the bow on the blowout with his grand slam over the leftfield fence.

Baumgartner was four for four with seven runs batted in. Weissmiller was two for four and drove in six. Ty Metz was five for five with a double. Dietzman, Searles and Steliga had two hits apiece. Medford had 21 hits.

“Braxton and Logan both had big nights,” coach Hraby said. “Grand slams and solos for both of them. That is rare for one player to do, but for two in the same game is impressive and 13 RBIs between the two of them. Ty Metz had a great game, collecting five hits. All of those were hard hit.”

Baumgartner went four innings, striking out 10, walking none and allowing two hits and an earned run, the first he’s allowed in conference play in nearly 25 innings. Lakeland’s two hits in the fourth by Danny Gahler and Fortier sandwiched a balk and got the run home. Fuchs pitched a scoreless fifth, striking out two.