Whittlesey’s 10-run second blows open game with Westboro early

Cody Loertscher homered in the first inning, then the hits really started coming for Whittlesey in the second inning of the Reds’ 19-2 blowout win over Westboro Sunday at Mike Roiger Stadium.

The Reds found hole after hole in their Dairyland League win, collecting 20 hits in just six offensive innings in the seveninning game. Their 10-run, seven-hit bottom of the second gave them a huge 11-1 lead and a five-run, six-hit fifth made certain the game wouldn’t go nine innings.

Whittlesey stayed on top of the league’s B Division by improving to 5-0, a half-game over 4-0 Merrill. Also lurking is 2-0 Wisconsin Rapids, who the Reds have two big games against this weekend.

Westboro, on the other hand, is still seeking its first league win of 2022 after falling to 0-5.

For an inning and a half Sunday’s game appeared it would be competitive. Loertscher gave the Reds a 1-0 lead with his two-out solo homer off Butch Wiegel that just got over the fence and the glove of Westboro leftfielder Colby Elsner.

The Trojans tied it in the top of the second on a single by Marshall Westfall, a double by Connor Westfall and Brant Johnson’s sacrifice fly. But the wheels fell off for the visitors in the bottom half when Whittlesey scored 10 runs before Westboro could record an out.

Tyler Thicke started the lengthy halfinning by reaching on an error. Spike Alexander singled, Cade Alexander was hit by an 0-2 pitch and Parker Lissner walked to drive in Thicke. Zach Haynes and Thomas Mildbrand hit RBI singles. Two runs scored on an error on a ball hit by Cody Loertscher, and Brandon Loertscher doubled in another to make it 7-1.

Third baseman Dustin Freeman made a nice stop on a ball hit down the line by Aiden Gardner and the Trojans got Cody Loertscher hung up between third and home, but Loertscher got out of the pickle when shortstop Marshall Westfall dropped the ball on the tag at third base. That loaded them back up for Thicke, who drove in Loertscher with an infield single.

Spike Alexander greeted reliever Tucker Kraemer with a base hit, Cade Alexander walked in a run and Parker Lissner singled in the final run before Kraemer ended the rally by striking out Haynes, getting Mildbrand to fly out to shallow right and retiring Cody Loertscher on a fly ball to center.

Kraemer pitched a scoreless third, working around two walks, and the Trojans loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth against Whittlesey’s Nick Retterath. But Johnson’s walk produced the only run as Retterath settled down and got Colter Weinke to hit an infield fly, struck out Elsner and got Kraemer to fly out.

The Reds got the double-digit lead back in the bottom half, getting RBI singles from Cody Loertscher and Gardner. With two on and two outs in the fifth, the Reds strung together an RBI single from Brigham Kelley, a Cody Loertscher single, an RBI single from Retterath, a tworun double by Gardner and Ben Meyer’s RBI single that Johnson just missed making a tough catch on in centerfield.

Retterath was hit by a Johnson pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth for the game’s last score.

Spike Alexander was three for five, Haynes was three for six and Cody Loertscher was three for six with three RBIs for the Reds. Brandon Loertscher, Gardner and Lissner added two hits apiece. Five Whittlesey pitchers held Westboro to six hits, with Connor Westfall getting two of them.

Whittlesey hosts the Rapids Redhawks at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and then heads to Wisconsin Rapids for a 4:30 p.m. rematch on Sunday. The Redhawks beat Tomahawk 9-0 on Sunday and took down Marshfield 8-3 on Tuesday night. The Chaparrals are a surprising 0-5 in the division to start the season.

Merrill will look to stay unbeaten when it hosts Pittsville in a noon doubleheader on Sunday.

Westboro is off this weekend but will make up a game at Marshfield on Wednesday with first pitch set for 7 p.m.