Hornets playing good ball just at the right time
By Ginna Young
It was a long, drag-out week for the Cadott baseball team, but they never gave up, capping the four-game stretch with a win.
May 16 vs. McDonell conference (L 14-3)
To begin the four-game set, Cadott was on the road to McDonell for a conference bout, getting a run in the opening inning. The Macks would answer back with two runs in the bottom of the first, to take a one-run lead.
Neither team picked up a run in the second inning, but the Hornets put three runs on the board in the third, which would be it for them. McDonell would go on to score 11 more runs to claim a 13-4 victory.
“We got off to a good start, but we had a few too many errors and weren’t able to recover,” said coach Brandon Geist.
Junior Connor Roth went four innings on the mound for Cadott, giving up a hit, 7 runs and 7 walks, followed by junior Axel Tegels, who went just over an inning, allowing 5 hits, 6 runs and a walk. Junior Braden Denzine then took over, giving up a lone hit.
Leading on offense for the Hornets, was sophomore Warren Bowe, with 4 hits, while Tegels notched 2 hits. Senior Tristan Drier, Roth, juniors Ashton Bremness and Henry Danielson, and freshman Michael Wellner all came up with a hit.
“The kids played hard all the way through and never gave up,” said Geist.
May 18 vs. Osseo-Fairchild conference (L 7-4)
Two days later, Cadott was off to Osseo-Fairchild, where the opening inning mirrored the previous game, There, the similarities ended.
Both teams remained scoreless in the second and third innings, but the Hornets put two runs on the board in the fourth, while the Thunder added a run in their side of the inning. Cadott put one more run on the board in the fifth to take a one-run lead, but the Thunder wouldn’t go down added two runs in each of the next two innings, to take a 7-4 win.
“Tonight, they (Cadott) came out fast and aggressive, and played a full game on all phases of the game,” said Geist.
Danielson was on the mound for Cadott, going six innings, allowing 8 hits, 7 runs and 6 walks, while striking out 2 batters.
Bowe again came up big, with 3 hits, followed by Bremness and junior Nolan Nordrum, with 2 hits each. Chipping in with a hit each, were Drier, Tegels, Roth and Wellner.
“Took a really good team the distance and are playing some really good baseball at the right time, going into the playoffs next week,” said Geist.
May 20 vs. Loyal non-conference (L 15-9)
The Hornets then stepped out of the league to host Loyal, in what turned out to be a battle. Scoring was in short supply in the early innings, with Loyal adding a run in the second. Cadott finally got on the board in the third inning, with two runs, but Loyal answered back with three in the fourth.
Cadott then added a run in their half of the third, before coming up with one more in the fifth inning to tie the game. Loyal wouldn’t go down without a fight and belted in six more runs in the sixth inning, leaving Cadott with no choice but to drive in five runs of their own.
However, Loyal was able to come up with five more runs to take the win, 15-9.
“We weren’t able to overcome the miscues on defense,” said Geist.
Freshman Aiden Rykal was on the mound for Cadott, going just over five innings, giving 8 hits, 6 runs and 3 walks, while striking out 3. Tegels then took over for an inning, allowing 6 hits, 9 runs and 3 walks, striking out 1. Denzine also took a turn pitching, striking out a batter.
Bowe, Tegels and Roth, all ended with 2 hits on offense, while Bremness, Danielson and freshman Carter Matherne all had a hit.
“We got some good pitching and put together some good at-bats, but just too many mistakes defensively, today,” said Geist.
May 22 vs. Thorp conference (W 14-11)
After the weekend, the Hornets headed to Thorp for a match with Thorp, in what proved to be a challenge in the later innings.
“We came out flat and fell behind early,” said Geist. Thorp put a run on the board in the first inning, then three in the second, while holding Cadott scoreless, before adding another run in the fourth inning. The Hornets put four runs on the scoreboard in the fifth inning, but the Cardinals added another three in their side of the inning.
Cadott’s bats then came to life in the seventh and final inning, as they knocked in an impressive 10 runs. Thorp tried to mount a comeback, but only managed to come up with three runs and the Hornets claimed the win, 14-11.
With the victory, Cadott’s final record stands at 5-14 overall and 3-9 in the West Cloverbelt Conference, before they meet Stratford in the first round of WIAA playoffs.
Bremness went for five innings, allowing 8 hits, 8 runs and 6 walks, with 2 strikeouts to his credit. Bowe was on the mound for an inning, allowing a lone hit and a walked batter, while Roth also went for an inning, giving up 4 hits, 3 runs and striking out 1.
Tegels notched 4 hits, while Bowe, Drier, Roth and Bremness all had 2 hits, and Wellner chipped in with a hit.
“It was a great team win and shows there are signs of life in this team,” said Geist.
