‘Cats fall to Cards at state
By Casey Krautkramer
The weather was much warmer during Tuesday’s WIAA Division 4 state semifinal between the Edgar and Stevens Point Pacelli baseball teams than it was in the teams’ regular-season matchup on May 27. The Cardinals only beat the Wildcats, 4-2, the first time they played each other. The problem for Edgar in Tuesday’s state tournament game is that Pacelli’s bats also heated up with the increase in temperature.
It was 85 degrees on Tuesday afternoon during Edgar’s state semifinal against Pacelli, compared to 70 degrees when the two teams played each other on May 27 in Stevens Point. The No. 1 Division 4 state seeded Cardinals beat the No. 4 Wildcats, 14-2, in five innings in the second of two Division 4 state semifinals played on Tuesday. Pacelli pounded out 13 hits compared to only three for Edgar.
No. 2 seed Johnson Creek beat No. 3 seed Pittsville, 6-2, in the first Division 4 state semifinal on Tuesday morning. Both Pacelli (26-4) and Johnson Creek (23-6) lost their Division 4 state semifinal games last season but they will play against each other this season in the state championship at 9 a.m. this Thursday, June 19. Edgar (18-8) and Pittsville (22-8) concluded their baseball seasons on Tuesday
See STATE BASEBALL/ page 13
IT’S A MIRACLE MAUER WAS SAFE- Edgar junior catcher Gavin Mauer tagged up from second back on senior Fletcher Weiland’s fly out to center field in the top of the second inning. Mauer could have been easily tagged out while attempting to take third base but Stevens Point Pacelli sophomore third baseman Sully Schober dropped the baseball. STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
CAPPING OFF A 1-2-3 INNING ON THE MOUND- Edgar junior relief pitcher Lucas Stahnke fields a ground ball from Stevens Point Pacelli sophomore center fielder Jaden Garski and throws it to senior first baseman Fletcher Weiland for the last out in the bottom of the fourth inning. Fletcher’s younger brother, sophomore third baseman Sawyer Weiland, is pictured in the background. Stahnke executed Edgar’s only 1-2-3 inning in Tuesday’s game against Pacelli.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
LEADOFF WALK TO LEADING OFF FIRST BASE- Edgar senior right fielder Will Hackel walked to lead off the top of the third inning and he is shown leading off first base against Stevens Point Pacelli. He eventually scored in the inning on senior shortstop Leyton Schuett’s two-RBI single to left field that also scored senior second baseman Jase Apfelbeck.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER State baseball
Continued from page 12
at state.
Connor Handrick has coached Edgar’s baseball team to both of its only state tournament appearances in school history in 2023 and this year. He gave his players the following message after Tuesday’s state semifinal loss to Pacelli.
“It’s definitely not the way that we wanted our season to end but that is life,” he told the team. “You don’t always get to win in life. I told the guys to hold their heads high knowing that, especially this group of seniors, that they cemented their legacy knowing that in the last four years we made it to state twice and we’ve won two conference titles. We only had one prior to that. We’ve won three out of four regional finals and made it to sectionals three out of their four years so they have a lot of ground to stand on. They are a heck of a good group of guys to coach, so I am very proud of everything they did this year and in the last four years. They just need to stand on that knowing this was a successful season even if the cards weren’t in our favor today.”
Seeds from cottonwood trees floated in the air on a bright sunny Tuesday at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, which was in stark contrast to when Edgar made its first state baseball appearance in school history two years ago when it was a rainy day. Edgar lost to Ithaca, 4-3, in the 2023 Division 4 state semifinal.
Tuesday’s Division 4 state semifinal was a rematch of senior starting pitchers Jase Apfelbeck of Edgar and Keltin Opper of Pacelli from the Cardinals’ 4-2 home win on May 27, in which Opper only surrendered two hits to the Wildcats. Opper pitched another gem at state on Tuesday by only giving up three hits and two runs in five innings. He managed to get the last Edgar batter out in the game before needing to exit because he’d reached the 100 maximum pitch count.
Edgar was the visiting team in Tuesday’s Division 4 state semifinal and was up first to bat. Junior second baseman Lucas Stahnke drew a leadoff walk against Opper. Senior starting pitcher Apfelbeck and senior centerfielder Dakota Ellenbecker both struck out swinging and senior shortstop Leyton Schuett lined out to second base to end the inning. Coach Handrick told his players in the dugout that he loved how they worked the counts in their at-bats because Opper threw 21 pitches in the opening inning.
Apfelbeck also surrendered a leadoff walk to Pacelli senior shortstop Malise Beduhn to start the bottom of the first inning. Cardinals sophomore centerfielder Jaden Garski then grounded out to pitcher Apfelbeck on a bunt that moved Beduhn to second base. Pacelli senior second baseman Lucas Haemmerle’s RBI single to center field scored Beduhn, and Haemmerle advanced to second base. Cardinals senior first baseman Tomas Uemura smacked an RBI triple to center field. Apfelbeck got junior designated hitter Nate Haemmarle to ground out to him and he then struck out sophomore catcher Eric Reincke to end the inning. Pacelli led Edgar, 2-0.
Wildcats junior catcher Gavin Mauer singled down the right field line to start the top of the second inning. Sophomore third baseman Sawyer Weiland’s sacrifice bunt advanced Mauer to second base. Senior Fletcher Weiland flied out to centerfield. Mauer tagged up on the play from second base and could have easily been tagged out at third base but Cardinals sophomore Sully Schober dropped the baseball. Gavin’s older brother, senior left fielder Brock Mauer, struck out swinging to end the inning.
Pacelli busted out with eight runs on seven hits and an error in the bottom of the second inning. Schober singled through the left side between shortstop and third base. Sophomore right fielder Bryce Flaker laid down a perfect bunt to safely reach first base. Senior left fielder Braeden Flaker bunted the baseball and Apfelbeck fielded it and looked to third base and then threw to first base, but Flaker was safe to load the bases with no outs. Beduhn’s ground ball got past second baseman Stahnke for an error to score a run.
The Cardinals continued to pile on runs in the bottom of the second inning. Garski bunted safely to load the bases again with no outs. Lucas Haemmerle then smacked a three RBI double to center field. Uemura’s RBI triple to right field led to coach Handrick making a pitching change. Stahnke and Apfelbeck switched positions with Stahnke coming in to pitch and Apfelbeck going to second base. Nate Haemmerle and Reincke each had RBI doubles down the left field line against Stahnke, who was then able to strike out Schober and Bryce Flaker before getting Braeden Flaker to ground out to shortstop Schuett to end the inning.
Edgar got on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning. Senior right fielder Will Hackel walked but then Stahnke struck out swinging. Apfelbeck doubled to left field and Dakota Ellenbecker walked to load the bases with only one out in the in- See STATE BASEBALL/ page 20 State baseball
Continued from page 13
ning. Schuett came through in a clutch situation with a two RBI single to left field that scored Hackel and Apfelbeck. Gavin Mauer reached first base on a fielder’s choice with Ellenbecker the force out at third base. Sawyer Weiland then lined out to center field to end the inning.
Pacelli’s offense was back at it again by scoring four runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 14-2 advantage. Beduhn was hit by Stahnke’s pitch. Garski popped out to Stahnke for the first out. Beduhn then stole second base without a throw. Lucas Haemmerle had an RBI single to center field that scored Beduhn. Uemura smacked an RBI triple. It was his third triple of the game, which is a new record for most triples in a state tournament game among all divisions. Nate Haemmerle had an RBI ground out to first baseman Fletcher Weiland for the second out in the inning. Reincke doubled down the left field line. Senior Nathan Reimer pinch ran for Reincke and he scored on Schober’s single down the left field line. Bryce Flaker flied out to Edgar left fielder Brock Mauer to end the inning but damage had already been done.
Edgar’s Fletcher Weiland grounded out to shortstop to start the top of the fourth inning. Brock Mauer walked. Hackel struck out swinging for the second out of the inning. Stahnke and Apfelbeck both walked to load the bases. Ellenbecker fouled off two of Opper’s pitches before grounding into a fielder’s choice to get Apfelbeck out at second base to end the inning.
The Wildcats executed their first 1-2-3 inning of the game against the Cardinals in the bottom of the fourth. Stahnke struck out Braeden Flaker looking, Beduhn popped out to second baseman Apfelbeck and Garski grounded out to Stahnke.
Edgar, however, was sent down 1-2-3 by Opper in the top of the fifth inning to end the game. Schuett struck out swinging, Gavin Mauer grounded out to second base and Sawyer Weiland flied out to left field.
Coach Handrick reflected on Edgar’s baseball team reaching its goal of returning to the state tournament this season after losing in sectionals last year.
“I think it meant the world to them,” he said. “Now by no means is that all they wanted but it was like ‘hey we made it down once let’s make it down twice to solidify what we are building here,’ so they were proud to make it down but they definitely had all the aspirations of making some noise down here and we just came up on the short end today.”
SECURING THE CATCH IN THE SUN- Edgar senior second baseman Jase Apfelbeck catches a pop up by Stevens Point Pacelli senior Malise Bedhun in the Wildcats 1-2-3 top of the fourth inning against the Cardinals in Tuesday’s WIAA Division 4 state semifinal in Grand Chute.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
