DAIRYLAND LEAGUE LARGE DIVISION - Chaps break tie in the ninth; Reds drop two in the weekend
The Whittlesey Reds erased an early deficit with a four-run fifth inning Sunday afternoon, but they scored no more and fell 6-5 to visiting Marshfield in Large Division play within the Dairyland League.
The Chaparrals broke the 5-5 tie in the top of the ninth as Colin DeBoer hit a leadoff single and came all the way around to score on a double to deep centerfield by Riley Bauman.
The Reds and pitcher Nick Retterath were able to limit the damage in that inning to one run. Leadoff hitter Nick Meyer hit an infield single to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but he was caught trying to steal second on a perfect throw from Marshfield catcher Sean Bryant.
That was the fourth putout Marshfield recorded on Whittlesey baserunners in the last four innings, which was a big key to the Chaparrals being able to complete a regular-season sweep of the Reds. Marshfield foiled a first-and-third double steal attempt by Whittlesey in the sixth, nabbing Jeff Kraschnewski at home and Bryant also threw out Zach Haynes trying to steal second base for the first out of the seventh.
Later in the seventh, centerfielder Logan Homolka threw out Spike Alexander at home plate as he tried to score on a fly ball hit by Cody Loertscher.
Marshfield scored three times in the second and twice more in the top of the fifth to build a 5-1 lead. The Reds got right back in it in the bottom of the fifth. Kraschnewski drew a leadoff walk from Homolka, who pitched the first five innings. Darren Leonhard bunted for a hit and Cade Alexander moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt. Meyer’s double drove in both.
Haynes singled and stole second and Spike Alexander knocked in Meyer and Haynes with a base hit to tie it.
Retterath went the distance for Whittlesey, racking up 11 strikeouts.
The loss was the second of the weekend for the Reds. They made up a June rainout at Everest Saturday night and fell 9-3 to drop to 5-6 in the Large Division standings. Marshfield improved to 4-5 with its win and Everest, who also beat Merrill 10-9 on Friday, now sits at 6-4, good for a second-place tie with Minocqua.
The Rapids Redhawks remained unbeaten at 6-0 with a 7-1 win at Abbotsford Friday and they’ll be the next opponent for Whittlesey. The Reds will welcome the Redhawks for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday.
