Owen-Withee wins pitchers’ duel; Pirates lose 10-9 at Loyal

GILMAN BASEBALL

The Gilman Pirates got into their first pitchers’ duel of the 2023 baseball season with both teams combining for just seven hits in Owen-Withee’s 5-2 victory.

Elliot Ackerman came within two outs of a complete-game win for the Blackhawks, who completed a regular-season sweep of the Pirates and improved to 5-5 in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference and 6-6 overall. Gilman fell to 2-8 overall and in conference.

Ackerman struck out six, walked none and allowed three hits.

Three Gilman pitchers held Owen-Withee to just two runs until the bottom of the sixth when the host Blackhawks broke a 2-2 tie. Caleb Pyrchalla drew a leadoff walk and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Henry Buss. Gilman’s Dawson Grunseth struck out Brett Baehr, but Ackerman walked and Colin Fritz was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Carter Klabon. The Pirates misplayed his ground ball, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Ethan Soweija then lined a huge single to center to plate two more.

Owen-Withee scored single runs in the second and third innings to go up 2-0. The Blackhawks loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Gilman’s Dalton Wisocky limited the damage to an RBI groundout by Ackerman. Soweija walked in the third and scored on a twoout base hit by Alex Gutowski.

The Pirates got on the board in the fourth when Grady Kroeplin tripled and scored on a Wisocky groundout. They tied it in the fifth when Trevor Vick reached on an error, Talyn Podolak singled and Vick scored on a two-out error on a pop fly hit by Anthony Syryczuk.

Podolak was two for three for Gilman and Kroeplin had the third hit. Kroeplin was the starting pitcher but lasted just four batters, walking three and striking out one. Wisocky got out of the basesloaded jam by getting Fritz to line into an unassisted double play by Gilman first baseman Brayden Olynick. Wisocky went 2.1 innings, struck out three, walked three and allowed a hit and two earned runs. Grunseth went 3.1 innings and struck out seven. He walked two and allowed three hits and three runs.

Gilman is scheduled to complete Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play Friday with a 4 p.m. doubleheader at Columbus Catholic. Gilman has added a non-conference home game with Greenwood for Monday at 5 p.m. WIAA Division 4 tournament play starts Thursday, May 25.

Loyal 10, Gilman 9

Gilman couldn’t quite dig out of a 6-2 second-inning hole, pulling within one twice before falling 10-9 to host Loyal Friday in a game played at Granton.

Down 10-8 to start the top of the seventh, Gilman seriously threatened to take the lead. Kroeplin doubled in a run with two outs with Joey Syryczuk advancing to third on the play. The Greyhounds intentionally walked Branden Ustianowski to load the bases and set up a force at any base. It worked as pitcher Colten Sandelier got Olynick, who has been one of Gilman’s top run producers, to hit a comebacker to end the game.

Gilman had seven hits and took advantage of seven Greyhound errors to stay in the game after Loyal’s five-run second inning. The first error helped Gilman score two in the top of the first, which was answered by a Loyal run in the bottom half. Three early walks fueled the five-run second and Loyal paid it off with a sacrifice fly from Eli Zettler, an RBI single by Ethan Lindner and an RBI double from Drew Stieglitz.

Gilman got three in the third to get right back in it at 6-5. Walks to Olynick and Adam Draeger started the inning, but Olynick was caught trying to steal second. Alex Copenhaver singled, then Max Ustianowski reached on an error to knock in a run. Another error on a ball hit by Anthony Syryczuk scored two.

The Greyhounds went up 9-5 by the end of the fourth, but Gilman made another run in the sixth. Joey Syryczuk and Kroeplin were hit by pitches with one out and both scored on a double by Branden Ustianowski. A balk moved Ustianowski to third and he scored on Olynick’s hit. Loyal pitcher Rogan Ashbeck got two fly ball outs to keep Loyal ahead 9-8. The Greyhounds got a big insurance run in the bottom half on Sandelir’s two-out RBI single.

Anthony Syryczuk was two for four and scored twice. Branden Ustianowski was one for four with three RBIs. Joey Syryczuk started and went five innings. He allowed nine runs, eight of which were earned, on six hits and four walks. He struck out three. Dawson Robinson allowed a run and two hits in the sixth.

Spencer 15, Gilman 6

On Thursday, the Pirates pulled within 5-4 of visiting Spencer through five innings, but eight hits and a couple of errors later, it was 13-4 in the top of the sixth and the Rockets went on to win 15-6.

Gilman gave up four runs in the top of the first inning, but gradually chipped away. Grunseth kept Spencer off-balance through four innings after taking over for Kroeplin just two outs into the game.

But the Rockets caught up to him in the sixth and earned their sixth conference win of the spring at the time.

Spencer jumped ahead in the first thanks to walks to the first two hitters, sacrifice flies by Reed Knecht and Luke Roehrborn, an RBI single by Kaiden Miller and a run on a passed ball.

Gilman answered in the bottom half with an unearned run and got a twoout run in the fourth when Copenhaver walked, stole second and scored on Podolak’s single. After the Rockets got a run in the top of the fifth, Gilman countered with two in its half. Joey Syryczuk drew a one-out walk from pitcher Tyler Peterson and Kroeplin doubled. With two outs, Olynick came up with a big two-out, two-run single to make it 5-4.

But that all changed in the top of the sixth when Spencer’s eight-run rally started with a leadoff walk. Knecht doubled, then Miller, Andrew Sieracki, Carter Luepke, Madden Prybylski and Knecht all had run-scoring hits and Roehrborn hit a sacrifice fly Podolak walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the sixth. Olynick drove in Kroeplin with a ground ball for Gilman’s final run in the seventh.

Kroeplin went three for four and scored twice. Olynick was one for three with three RBIs. Podolak was one for one and drew two walks while driving in one.

Grunseth’s pitched well enough to keep Gilman in the game in the middle innings. He went 4.2 innings and allowed six hits, six runs, five of which were earned and three walks while striking out five. Robinson got the last five outs and allowed six hits and five runs, two of which were earned. Kroeplin walked four and allowed two hits and four runs, three of which were earned in a tough start and took the loss.