Hornets struggle to put runs on the board

With less games on the schedule to tackle than the beginning week of the season, the Cadott baseball squad looked to make a splash in the conference, but fell short in each of their three match-ups.

May 4 vs. Fall Creek conference (L 23-3)

The Hornets began the week at home, going up against Fall Creek, where the Crickets got started off in the first inning, with a grand slam, to go up 4-0. Fall Creek struck again in the second, adding three more runs, while Cadott managed to get on the board with one run.

The third inning saw the Crickets add another run, but Cadott answered back with two runs of their own and the score stood at 8-3 in favor of the visitors. Fall Creek wouldn’t go away, and batted in seven runs in the fourth inning and eight in the fifth.

The Hornets couldn’t bring in any runs and the game went to the Crickets, 23-3. During the game, Cadott gave up 15 hits, while only getting five hits of their own.

“It was a tough game that did not go the way we wanted,” said Spencer Kempf. “They hit the ball hard and we just didn’t do enough to battle back.”

Senior Tyler Matherne led on offense, with 2 hits, while senior Nelson Wahl, junior Gavin Tegels and freshman Ashton Bremness each added 1 hit.

Wahl pitched three innings for the defense, giving up 8 runs. Matherne then took over, going two innings and giving up 9 runs, while freshman Axel Tegels took a turn, giving up 6 runs.

May 6 vs. Altoona conference (L 12-1)

Two days later, the Hornets traveled to Altoona, with the Railroaders coming to hit in the first inning. Altoona racked up nine runs in the first, which put Cadott in a hole they struggled to dig out of.

“I think we gave a good team too many opportunities early and they took advantage of it,” said Kempf.

Both teams remained scoreless in the second inning, but Cadott got on the board in the third, with a run. The Rails struck back in their half of the inning, adding three more runs. The score remained at 12-1 for the rest of the game and Cadott conceded defeat.

Sophomore Tristan Drier started the game, giving up 5 hits and 9 runs. Kempf says senior Dylan Davis then did a great job coming into a tough situation and giving four solid innings on the mound. Davis only gave up 6 hits, with 3 runs and 1 strikeout.

Davis, Tegels and junior Ryan Sonnentag each added three hits on the day, offensively, with Drier, senior Ryan Swenson and Bremness each earning a walk.

“We will have to be more resilient moving forward to get past these big innings,” said Kempf.

May 7 vs. Stanley-Boyd conference (L 10-9)

There was no rest for the Hornets, as they made the short trek to Stanley-Boyd to face off against the Orioles.

“We started out really well,” said Kempf.

Cadott began the game notching three runs in the first inning, but the Orioles added two of their own. The Hornets put two more on the board in the second, but Stanley-Boyd came back with one more in the top of the second.

Both teams remained scoreless in the third inning, but in the top of the fourth, the Orioles added two runs and three in the fifth, to take an 8-5 lead. Neither team scored in the sixth, but Cadott’s bat came alive in the seventh, hitting in four runs. Stanley-Boyd rallied in the top of the inning, knocking in two runs, to take the game by a slim 10-9 margin.

“We need to continue working to put together a complete game offensively and defensively,” said Kempf.

Tegels led the way with hits (3), followed by Drier and Sonnentag, who ended with 2 each. Matherne, Wahl, Davis, Swenson and Bremness all recorded 1 hit each. Matherne, Wahl and Davis all earned a walk, while Swenson had 2 walks.

On the mound, Wahl went four innings, striking out 6, while only allowing 5 hits. Junior Ethan West went just over an inning, giving up 2 hits and striking out 1, with 3 walks. Freshman Connor Roth also took a turn pitching, giving up 3 runs and 3 walks. Tegels gave up 2 runs in the game and walked 2 batters.

The losses put Cadott at 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the West Cloverbelt Conference.