A/C bashes way to wins overAthens, Chequamegon
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford/Colby baseball team picked up three more conference wins over the past week. A stumble against Auburndale broke up victories over Chequamegon and Athens as the co-op improved their record to 7-3.
Athens, 14-2
A trio of three-run innings and a fourrun seventh helped propel Abby/Colby to a dominant win over Athens in the first game of a double-header between the two squads on Tuesday evening. The Bluejays were not able to match the offensive force of the visiting co-op, which cruised to the 14-2 win.
Starting pitcher Payton Schreiber put together a highly productive performance, both on the mound and at the plate. The junior held down the Athens lineup for most of the afternoon, striking out seven while scattering four hits and two walks over his four and two-thirds innings. The sole run he surrendered came in the third on a bloop single.
Schreiber did his part at the plate as well, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances. He collected three hits, including a two-run home run in the first inning and solo bomb in the fifth, and drove in six of the co-op’s 14 runs while scoring three more himself.
The co-op opened the game about as well as a team could. Leadoff hitter JV Castillo smacked a single to start things off and, after taking second without a throw from Athens, he was driven in on Blake Bargender’s follow up double. Schreiber then connected for his first home run of the day, crushing a 1-0 pitch to center field, plating both Bargender and himself on the play. After just three at-bats, Abby/Colby had put themselves ahead 3-0.
While Athens managed to stem the bleeding momentarily, getting out of the first without any more damage, the co-op continued to lay down the pressure in the second. The first three Abby/Colby batters reached base safely via walk or hit by pitch, loading the bases with no outs. An infield fly turned into a sacrifice after JV Castillo baited a throw back to first on the play, allowing Arturo Lopez to advance home on a heads up play by the freshman. More mistakes by Athens would lead to two more runs for Abby/Colby in the inning and they would hold a 6-0 lead after two innings played.
While the co-op was held off the board for the next two innings, Schreiber got the offense going again by leading off the fifth with a solo shot over the center field fence. A three-run sixth with a pair of run scoring singles from Schreiber and Reis, plus a four-run seventh with a leadoff triple from AJ Brodhagen and RBI hits from Lopez and Reis sealed the win for Abby/Colby.
Castillo came on in relief of Schreiber
See MARAWOOD WINS/ Page 28
HITTING THE CUT OFF - Evan Reis fires the ball back in to the infield during the co-op win in Athens. In addition to his solid defense, Reis had four hits in the double header, including a home run. STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
POWER BAT - Carlos Lara launches a ball into the outfield against the Bluejays Tuesday night. He had two home runs the week prior against Chequamegon.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Marawood wins
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and pitched two and third innings, striking out four while surrendering one run on three hits and a walk. He finished 2-for-3 from the plate, scoring four runs and stealing a base.
Reis was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs, Bargender had two RBIs and two runs scored and Lopez was 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Athens, 11-4
It was a similar story in the second game of Tuesday’s double-header with the Bluejays, as a strong second inning from the co-op’s lineup helped them gain control over the contest and eventually sweep their conference rivals with an 11-4 victory.
Six runs would come across the plate for Abby/Colby in the second. AJ Brodhagen’s second triple of the day would plate two runs to get the co-op on the board and Koren Decker single on the next pitch made it 3-0. JV Castillo followed with a double to drive in Decker and a single from Blake Bargender kept the offense moving and drove in Castillo. A single through the infield by Evan Reis drove in a sixth Abby/Colby run, an inning that had started when Reis reached on an Athens error.
Consecutive hits by Brodhagen, Arturo Lopez and Preston Bunkelman added two more runs to start of the third inning for the co-op and a single by Bargender gave his team a 9-0 lead after three innings of play.
While Athens would have a solid inning of their own in the top of the fourth, putting up three runs, Reis would get one of those back in the bottom half of the inning. The senior smashed the first pitch he saw for a home run to center field, his first of the season. Another Athens error would eventually lead to an 11th run for Abby/Colby, effectively undoing the work that the Bluejays had done and solidifying the co-op’s control over the contest.
After pitching the final two innings of the first game, JV Castillo started the second and went two and twothirds innings, giving up just one hit while striking out three. Carlos Lara finished up the third and Evan Reis finished out the final two innings surrendering four runs on three hits and two walks. Only one of those runs were earned.
Bargender, Reis, Brodhagen and Arturo Lopez were all 2-for-3 from the plate, with Brodhagen driving in three runs and the others putting up two RBIs each. Castillo scored and had an RBI while stealing two bases, Nano Lopez was 1-for-3, scored two runs and stole two bases and Bunkelman had a hit, an RBI and a run scored.
Auburndale, 7-3
The co-op traveled to Auburndale last Saturday to make up for a canceled April 2 contest. The Eagles were able to get across runs early and then hold back a potent Abby/Colby lineup to deal the visitors a 7-3 defeat.
A three-run first inning and a two-run second helped Auburndale secure control over the contest. While both squads finished with seven hits, the Eagles were able to come up with more production with runners in scoring position.
While they were able to score a run on a dropped third strike, Abby/Colby was probably hoping for more after JV Castillo and Blake Bargender gave them first and third with no outs to start the contest. They came out of the inning with the lead, but the missed opportunity for more would loom after the Eagles came up to bat.
The co-op was one strike away from getting out of the first inning unscathed. After putting away the first two batters of the inning, starting pitcher Payton Schreiber had Auburndale first baseman Caden Weinfurter down 0-2. However, Weinfurter was able to work a walk and then the Eagles’ Kaden Anderson and Nathan Richardson hit back to back doubles to take a 2-1 lead. A single then knocked in Richardson and put Abby/Colby in a two-run hole.
A hit-by-pitch and a walk gave Auburndale another scoring opportunity in the second. The Eagles were able to take advantage with a single and a sacrifice fly scoring two more runs for the hosting squad.
The co-op mounted a response in the top of the third. After a single from Bargender and a double from Schreiber, Carlos Lara was able to plate both runners with a single to left field and cut into the Auburndale lead. A double from Nano Lopez to leadoff the fourth and a JV Castillo single to start the seventh gave Abby/Colby further opportunities to score, but they were unable to capitalize.
Schreiber suffered the loss, giving up five runs in three innings while striking out five and walking four. Castillo came on in relief, pitching three innings himself. He struck out six, walked one and gave up two runs on three hits.
Bargender was 2-for-4 with a run scored, Lara went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Lopez and Schreiber both had doubles for the co-op.
Chequamegon, 13-0
Evan Reis threw five innings of no-hit baseball, Carlos Lara hit a pair of home runs and the Abby/Colby co-op shredded Chequamegon on the road last Friday, sweeping their Marawood-North foe with a 13-0 victory.
After a game that was perhaps too close for comfort for the reigning conference champions earlier in the week, the Abby/Colby squad made sure that there was no doubt in their second contest against the Screaming Eagles.
After an error by Chequamegon allowed the visitors to get on the board, a two-out, two-run blast over the left field wall from Lara in the top of the first inning gave the co-op squad an early 3-0 advantage.
The early home run was just the start of an impressive offensive performance from Lara. The senior first baseman then smoked a 3-1 pitch to deep center field in the third to drive in two of the six runs Abby/Colby would score in the blowout inning. Lara’s second bomb of the afternoon came an inning later, driving in three more runs as the co-op continued its rout of their conference rivals.
Meanwhile, Reis was cruising through the Chequamegon lineup. He struck out 11 of the 18 batters he faced in one of the most dominant pitching performances for the co-op in a season already full of impressive starts on the mound. While the Eagles were able to draw four walks, they never truly mounted much of a scoring threat.
On top of Lara’s 3-for-4, seven RBI day, Blake Bargender gave his squad a two-hit, two-run performance, Payton Schreiber knocked in a run while scoring twice and AJ Brodhagen and Preston Bunkelman both went 1-for-2. Nano Lopez came through with a two-RBI double in the third inning and JV Castillo scored twice and stole two bases.
LONG BALL CELEBRATION - Payton Schreiber is greeted at home plate by Carlos Lara after hitting his second home run of the game.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
