Wildcats baseball to state for first time
Edgar walks off Pacelli in the sectional title
By Casey Krautkramer
Edgar’s baseball team on Tuesday night advanced to its first state tournament in school history after an extra inning 2-1 walk-off win against Stevens Point Pacelli at Tucker Westfall Memorial Field in Athens.
The WIAA Division 4 sectional championship was scoreless through the first seven innings. Pacelli junior Payton Flees smacked a solo homer off Edgar sophomore pitcher Leyton Schuett in the top of the eighth inning. Edgar head coach Connor Handrick switched pitchers to freshman Lucas Stahnke who closed the door on the Cardinals.
Edgar had the top of the lineup at the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning. Schuett singled and sophomore Dakota Ellenbecker walked off relief pitcher Flees. Wildcats sophomore Jase Apfelbeck’s RBI single scored Schuett to tie the game at one run apiece. Stahnke then smacked an RBI double that scored Ellenbecker for the winning run.
The Wildcats ran onto the field to jump on top of Stahnke at second base. The flock of Edgar fans clad in the school’s yellow and green colors also ran onto the field to celebrate the baseball team’s first ever trip to the state tournament.
Edgar improves its record to 13-7 this season while Pacelli ends its season at 17-11. Edgar will play in its first WIAA state baseball tournament in a Division 4 semifinal either in the first or second game of the 9 a.m. session this Tuesday, June 13, at Neuroscience Group Field in Grand Chute. The Division 4 state championship is at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 15.
Sectional semifinal
Edgar beat Florence, 7-3, on Tuesday morning in the WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal at Tucker Westfall Me- morial Field in Athens.
The Bobcats were the second straight Northern Lakes Conference opponent for the Wildcats. Athens also defeated Three Lakes/Phelps, 2-0, in last Wednesday’s regional championship in Three Lakes. Schuett was the winning pitcher in the regional championship and Ellenbecker led the Wildcats at the plate by batting one for two with an RBI and a run scored.
In Tuesday’s sectional semifinal, Edgar added three insurance runs in the top of the fifth inning. Senior second baseman Brady Stencil had an RBI single, Stahnke stole home plate on a wild pitch and senior catcher Justin Davis hit an RBI sacrifice fly to score a run. Schuett struck out his seventh Florence batter in the bottom of the fifth inning as Edgar hung onto a 6-1 lead.
Stahnke took over on the mound and he pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning. Stencil obtained his third RBI of the game with an RBI single in the top of the seventh inning to give Edgar a 7-1 lead against Florence. Stahnke had trouble with his pitching command and he surrendered two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Coach Handrick brought in a new pitcher to get the final out of the game. Florence ended its season with a 13-5 record.
