Loyal baseball absorbs first loss of the season

By Harry Toufar Loyal High School, ranked 12th in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Division 4, traveled to Pittsville to take on the seventh-ranked Panthers on Friday.

Besides battling a brutal wind blowing in from left field, they also had to deal with the strong right arm of Logan Zickert. Over six innings, he struck out nine batters while giving up just three hits and walking two.

Dawson Luther pitched the seventh inning, striking out two and hitting one.

Loyal got on the board first in the third inning. Reed Stieglitz reached first on a fielder’s choice. Adam Kautzer followed with a single. Cain Toufar hit a slow roller toward third base. Zickert hurried the throw to first for an error, allowing Reed Stieglitz and Kautzer to score. Rhett Lamovec hit a grounder that was mishandled by the shortstop, allowing him to reach base. The threat was ended with a ground out. Starting pitcher Andy Petkovsek breezed through the first inning, striking out the first batter.

Luther singled, but was out on a slick 6-4-3 double play.

The wheels fell off in the second inning when Petkovsek nicked three batters with the last one forcing in a run. Also, the Panther bats came alive in the third inning, as three straight hits and a sacrifice fly produced three runs. With a 4-2 lead, Zickert went to work. The Hounds could not get to him, as he recorded five strikeouts over the next three innings. The Panthers put the game away with a five-run sixth inning for a 9-2 lead. Luther came on to pitch a scoreless seventh inning. Petkovsek pitched four innings, giving up four runs and five hits. He struck out one batter while hitting three. Colten Sandelier pitched the last two innings, giving up five runs and three hits. He struck out three batters while hitting one. Adouble by Lamovec and singles by Jonah Vircks and Kautzer were the only hits the Hounds could muster. The final score was 9-2 in Pittsville’s favor.

The Greyhounds started last week on a promising note, as they handed the visiting Spencer Rockets a 12-1 loss via the 10-run rule on Tuesday. The Rockets, who in the past have given Loyal fits, were looking to hand the Hounds their first loss. Loyal had something else in mind. They wasted little time as they jumped on Tyler Peterson, Spencer’s starter. With one out, Toufar laced a single and promptly stole second base. This allowed him to score later on. Sandelier drew a walk followed by Hunter Walter’s base hit to load the bases. This set the stage for some heroics, as Tryn Scheel drilled one that cleared the center field fence for a grand slam.

Stieglitz opened the second inning with a walk. Kautzer was hit by a pitch. Toufar singled to score Stieglitz. Lamovec walked to load the bases. After a force out at home, Walter walked, forcing in a run. Stieglitz homered, giving the Hounds an 8-0 lead. Lamovec led off the fourth inning with a solo home run. Sandelier doubled. Walter reached on an error, allowing Lamovec to score. Reed Knecht garnered the only hit off Lamovec, as he had an RBI single in the top of the fifth. Kautzer and Toufar both walked to start the bottom of the fifth. Lamovec ended the game with his home runs. An interference call negated one of the runs, giving the Hounds the 12-1 victory. Loyal batters roughed up three Rocket pitchers for 10 hits. Lamovec led the way, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs. Scheel was 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs, scoring one run. Toufar went 2-for-2 with an RBI and three runs scored. Walter was 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly that scored a run. Stieglitz was 1-for-2 with a home run for an RBI. Sandelier and Vircks each added a single. On the mound, Lamovec threw a complete game, giving up one hit and one run while striking out eight batters. He scattered five walks.

The stage is now set to see who comes away with a conference championship. After hosting Marathon in a non-conference game on Monday, Loyal will visit second-place Neillsville-Granton on Thursday. The Warriors are a game behind Loyal. On Friday, Loyal will travel to Spencer to play a make-up game that was postponed due to the severe weather last week. Loyal will then play Neillsville-Granton one more time, this time at home, on Tuesday.

Granton and Spencer athletes compete at Marshfield Invitational

The Spencer and Granton track and field teams competed in the cold and wind at Marshfield High School on May 16. Above, Granton’s Austen Carlsen takes part in the long jump. He took 23rd place. Below, Spencer runners Ribeka Sakai (left) and Autumn Davis compete in the 800m run. Sakai took 12th and Davis placed 10th. At right, the Granton and Spencer girls 4x100m relay teams complete their first exchange. Granton placed sixth and Spencer took fifth.

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTOS