Win streak stretches to nine with sweep and 5th-inning rally
MEDFORD BASEBALL
On a cold, dreary Saturday, the Medford Raiders remained in hot pursuit of a Great Northern Conference championship by holding Northland Pines to just two total hits while banging out 30 of their own in a lopsided doubleheader sweep at Raider Field.
Medford took game one 10-0 behind a five-inning, one-hitter thrown by Ty Metz, and the Raiders crushed the Eagles 18-2 in five innings in game two with Logan Baumgartner and Gavin Fuchs combining on that one-hitter. Medford had 18 hits and did the majority of their damage with a five-run top of the second inning and six-run top of the fifth.
The wins pushed Medford to a 7-1 GNC record and the Raiders are 11-3 overall while extending their winning streak to nine games. Medford remains in what currently is a three-team race atop the GNC standings with 4-0 Antigo and 3-1 Mosinee. Medford’s Tuesday home game with Antigo was postponed due to the wintry chill and has been rescheduled for May 17. The Raiders will visit the Red Robins today, Thursday, for a key 5 p.m. matchup.
“We have put ourselves in a great position to accomplish some of our season goals,” Medford head coach Justin Hraby said. “Now it is a matter of time of taking care of our business one game at a time. Most importantly though, it’s enjoying the ride. The boys are having a lot of fun and we are hopeful we can keep this going.”
In game one, Metz struck out six and walked three batters. Matthias Milanowski broke up the no-hitter with a oneout single in the fifth with Medford leading 6-0 at the time. The Raiders ended the game early in the bottom half of the inning. Jake Eckert singled, stole second and scored on Nick Steliga’s hit. Tanner Hraby then belted a two-run homer off Eagle starter Kadin Kroeplin. The Raiders then loaded the bases for Max Dietzman who was walked by reliever Anthony Weeks to end it.
Medford jumped ahead 3-0 in the first on Baumgartner’s RBI double, a sacrifice fly by Parker Lissner and a run on a passed ball. Baumgartner hit an RBI triple and Braxton Weissmiller singled him in to make it 5-0 in the second and Steliga hit an RBI single in the third.
Baumgartner was three for four, and Weissmiller broke out with a three-forthree outing. Steliga was two for three.
“Braxton, Logan and Nick all swung the bat well in game one,” coach Hraby said. “We kinda quietly got to the ten run rule.”
Playing as the visitors in game two, Medford led 12-0 by the middle of the fourth inning before the six-run sixth really buried the Eagles. Hraby went four for four with three doubles, three runs driven in and three runs scored. Baumgartner, Dietzman, Lissner and Jake Eckert had two hits apiece. All but Lissner had a double. Metz also doubled in the win.
“Tanner had a big day at the plate, hitting a home run in game one and he racked up four hits and three doubles in game two,” Justin Hraby said. “If he can continue to do that, our offense is really going to take off. Parker, Max, Logan and Jake all were a part of the hit parade in game two. Great to see Jake get another shot and take advantage of it.”
Baumgartner struck out three and walked one in three scoreless innings. Nolan Lurvey hit a first-inning single off him but wound up getting caught trying to steal third base. Fuchs struck out two and walked one while allowing two unearned runs in the last two innings.
“Ty and Logan were very good again for us on the mound,” coach Hraby said. “Both of them have established themselves as legitimate aces.”
Dietzman’s two-run double was the big hit in the second inning rally. Eckert and Hraby had RBI doubles in the threerun fourth. Tucker Kraemer had a tworun single and Hraby hit an RBI double to highlight the fifth.
Medford takes an interesting road trip Saturday, playing at Division 1 squads Oshkosh North at 10 a.m. and Appleton West at 1:30 p.m. Lakeland is next week’s GNC foe. The T-Birds are in Medford Tuesday, while the Raiders go to Minocqua on May 12.
11-run inning wins it
The Raiders faced a 7-2 deficit going into the bottom of the fifth inning in Friday’s non-conference Auburndale, but an 11-run rally capped by a Baumgartner grand slam took care of that in a 14-7 win at Raider Field.
Steliga got the win in relief by holding the Eagles scoreless in the last three innings. He struck out three hitters, walked one and allowed three hits. Tanner Hraby threw 2.2 relief innings early with three strikeouts.
“Tanner and Nick both did a great job of coming in and throwing strikes with all their pitches,” coach Hraby said. “They kept their hitters off balance and were very effective. Both did not give up a run in their time on the mound.”
Offensively, the Raiders eventually knocked around Auburndale pitching for 14 hits, nine of which came in the big fifth inning. The first hit of the inning was a single to left by Steliga after he had thrown his first scoreless inning in the top half. Hraby doubled to right to send the courtesy runner, Kraemer, to third base and an errant throw at the end of the play scored Kraemer and put Hraby on third. He scored on a base hit by Miles Searles.
Baumgartner lined a double to centerfield. With one out, Dietzman was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Lissner, whose drive to the outfield fell to the grass following a scary collision between the left and centerfielders. That scored two runs. Metz followed with a bad-hop single that drove in a run and tied the game at 7-7. But the Raiders were far from done. With two outs, Steliga singled to center to knock in the go-ahead run, Hraby singled in a run. After a balk and then a walk to Searles, Baumgartner, on the day he announced he will play college basketball next season at UW-Stevens Point, crushed a pitch well over the leftfield fence for the grand slam that busted the game wide open.
Medford added an unearned run in the sixth. After giving up three runs to start the game, the Raiders pulled within 3-2 in the bottom of the first inning when Hraby singled, moved to third on a wild pitch and stolen base and scored on a Searles single. Dietzman later singled in courtesy runner Evan Wilkins, who was in for Weissmiller, who had singled.
Auburndale extended its lead with a four-run fourth.
Hraby was four for four out of the leadoff spot in the order and scored three times. Baumgartner was two for four with four RBIs and two runs scored. Searles continued to hit well out of the two-spot, going two for three with two runs scored and two driven in. Steliga went two for four.
“Tanner really got things going for himself in this game,” Justin Hraby said. “It all started with a bunt single. After that, he had some really nice at bats and attacked the ball. Logan had a big day, committing to play basketball at UW-SP and hitting a grand slam all in the same day. Miles Searles had another big day at the plate. He has really been swinging the bat well for us and has been a huge factor in our current win streak. Nick Steliga had some big at bats for us. Nick has been working hard all year and that hard work is really starting to pay off for him.”
Logan Baumgartner
