Moondogs and Trojans end their seasons with offensive slugfest
6TH PLACE: MEDFORD 16, WESTBORO 11
Brent Mueller provided seven key innings of solid relief pitching and Medford’s offense turned the game around with a seven-run rally in the fifth that pushed the Moondogs to a 16-11 win over Westboro Friday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The sixth-place game in the Dairyland League crossovers had little riding on it except pride as neither team was contending for a Wisconsin Baseball Association post-season berth. Medford finished 4-9 in league play this summer, while Westboro wound up 2-11.
The majority of Medford’s offense came in two innings –– the seven-run fifth and a five-run seventh that gave the Moondogs enough cushion to absorb a four-run push by Westboro in the top of the eighth.
Mueller, pitching for just the second time this season, took over with no outs and two runners on in the top of the second inning and made it all the way through the eighth. After 144 pitches, the left-hander collected 14 strikeouts while allowing nine hits, three walks and eight runs, five of which were earned.
Westboro actually held a 5-1 lead and appeared to be cruising until the bottom of the fifth. The Trojans got an RBI single by Brant Johnson but left the bases loaded in the first. Payton Schreiber singled and later scored on Tucker Kraemer’s ground ball in the second and the Trojans got an unearned run in the third. Mueller’s groundout drove in Medford’s first run in the bottom of the third, but Westboro countered in the fourth with an RBI double from Connor Westfall and an RBI single by Butch Wiegel.
Medford’s Tom Mueller, playing first base, snared a low line drive by Schreiber to end the top of the fifth and that defensive play seemed to spark the offense in the bottom half.
Brady Wisniewski singled, Ben Nelson bunted for a hit and Carson Carbaugh singled in Wisniewski. Trenton Woebbeking singled in Nelson, Brent Mueller’s base knock scored Carbaugh and Woebbeking scored the ty- ing run on a wild pitch. A walk to Austin Davies ended the night for Westboro starter Colt Logan, who allowed five hits, seven runs and four walks while striking out six in 4.1 innings.
Gavin Fuchs was the first to face the new pitcher, Schreiber, and reached on an error. That brought in Brent Mueller with the go-ahead run. With two outs, Wisniewski hit a two-run single to put the Moondogs up 8-5.
Wiegel’s RBI single in the sixth closed the gap to two but Medford’s five-run seventh put it away. Wisniewski hit another two-run single, Carbaugh doubled in a run and RBI singles by Woebbeking and Brent Mueller capped it. Westboro got back within 13-10 in the eighth, using a run-scoring bloop single from Wiegel, a two-run double by Marshall Westfall and an RBI double from Johnson. But Medford got those three runs right back thanks to some defensive miscues by Westboro in the bottom half.
Brent Mueller was four for six for the Moondogs, who had 15 hits. Woebbeking was three for five and Wisniewski was three for four with four RBIs. Wiegel was five for five for Westboro with three RBIs. Tucker Kraemer, Connor Westfall, Marshall Westfall and Johnson had two hits each.
