POST 147 LEGION BASEBALL - Senior Legion wins two, then loses two at Antigo tournament

After 28 innings of baseball in two days at the Antigo Mid-Summer Tournament, Medford’s American Legion Post 147 Senior Legion may have been one pitch away from a winning record in the event, but the team came up just short in its final game.

A late rally against the Germantown Post 1 Dragons ended with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh and one of Medford’s best hitters, Tanner Hraby at the plate with a chance to tie or put Post 147 ahead. Unfortunately, Germantown reliever Jackson Butzke won the at-bat, getting Hraby to pop out on the infield for the third and final out of the inning and the game.

With the loss, Medford finished 2-2 in the round-robin tournament. Fond du Lac went 4-0, Germantown was 3-1, D.C. Everest was 1-3 and the host Typoon was winless.

Post 147 had charged back from an 8-3 deficit against Germantown by scoring four times in the top of the sixth. Carson Carbaugh and Ryder Kraschnewski started the rally with singles. With two outs, Hraby and Parker Lissner each singled in runs, Medford got another on a double steal and Jackson Blomberg’s RBI single pulled Medford within one.

Carbaugh singled with one out in the seventh, but was caught trying to stretch it into a double for a big second out. Ryder Kraschnewski singled to keep the game alive, Restyn Kraschnewski walked to end the day for Germantown starter Douglas Wagner and Butzke walked Sam Hierlmeier on a 3-2 pitch to bring up Hraby.

Medford got an RBI double from Payton Schreiber and RBI single from Charlie Gierl with two outs to grab a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Dane McKenna’s two-run single in the bottom half tied it. The Dragons got three in the second to go up 5-2 and three unearned runs in the fourth, highlighted by Logan Zaverl’s RBI triple, to go up by five.

Post 147 collected 14 hits with every hitter in the lineup getting at least one. Hraby, Lissner, Blomberg, Carbaugh and Ryder Kraschnewski had two each. Carbaugh pitched the first two innings. Restyn Kraschnewski covered the last four, allowing just two hits and four walks along with three unearned runs.

In the team’s first game Sunday, Post 147 was shut out on five hits by Fond du Lac Post 75’s Alex Demos in an 8-0 final.

The Lakers scored single runs in the bottom of the first and second innings and then broke the game open with a five-run third that included consecutive RBI doubles from Mason Faust, Greyson Wenger and Noah Ditter.

Hraby, Lissner, Gierl, Carbaugh and Restyn Kraschnewski had Medford’s hits.

Hraby took the pitching loss. He struck out six, walked one and hit one while allowing 10 hits and six earned runs in six innings.

Two wins on day one

Post 147 capped a strong first day by outscoring D.C. Everest Area Post 492 by a score of 15-8 Saturday afternoon.

This one looked like it could be a blowout when Medford scored six runs in the bottom of the first and had three-run rallies in each of the next two innings to go up 12-4.

While the lead was never seriously threatened, Everest used a three-run top of the fourth to pull within 12-7 before Post 147 put it away late.

Blomberg’s two-run single and a twoout RBI single by Evan Wilkins were the key hits in the six-run first that made it 60.

Carbaugh hit a two-run single in the second and the third inning featured an RBI double from Parker Lissner and a tworun single by Blake Bargender. Hraby hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and JV Castillo hit a run-scoring double in a two-run sixth.

Lissner and Hraby both went three for five. Castillo, Carbaugh and Wilkins had two hits each.

Castillo got the win, going five innings. He struck out four, walked three and allowed five hits and seven runs, five of which were earned. Gierl covered the last two innings. He allowed an earned and three hits while fanning one.

Medford started the tournament Saturday in a wild one, outlasting host Antigo 11-10. Post 147 had leads of 5-0 and 9-3 but found itself in a 9-9 tie at the end of the fifth inning before putting two runs on the board in the top of the sixth inning, which wound up being just enough.

Blomberg drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth with a groundout and Bargender added a sacrifice fly.

Antigo tightened things in the bottom of the seventh, putting two runners on base with a single and an error. Medford just barely got the out at first on JT Oelke’s RBI groundout for the second out of the inning. Ryder Kraschnewski then got Parker Chaney to ground out to end it.

Payton Schreiber’s two-run double put Post 147 on top in the first. Lissner singled in a run with another scoring on a throwing error and Schreiber added an RBI single to make it 5-0 in the top of the second. After Antigo scored three runs in the bottom half, Medford put up a fourspot in the top of the third.Gierl singled in one run, Lissner doubled in two and Hraby drove in one with a ground ball.

Antigo tied it with consecutive threerun rallies in the fourth and fifth innings.

Kraschnewski got the relief win, going 2.2 innings and allowing two hits and one unearned run. Blomberg got the start and went 4.1 innings. He allowed nine earned runs on five hits, four walks and four strikeouts.

Lissner was three for five with three RBIs. Schreiber was two for three with three RBIs before exiting with an injury.

Levi Binversie was three for three for Antigo with two runs driven in and four runs scored.

Winding down

Now 6-4 in its summer season, Medford will finish the regular season by hosting Rhinelander Friday at 6:30 p.m. and then Stratford Monday in a pair of five-inning games with first pitch set for 6 p.m.

From there it’s on to Class AA postseason play, which starts with the sixteam, double-elimination regional tournament hosted by Minocqua. Medford will play the host 89ers at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 24 to start the regional. Post 147 will play at either 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. the next day and go from there, looking to earn the state berth that goes with the regional championship.

Antigo, Eagle River, Merrill and Rhinelander are the other teams in the tournament.

The state tournament is set for Aug. 1-5 at New London.

Post 147 is also entered in the Wisconsin American Legion Baseball Association’s 16-and-under post-season tournament. The Junior Legion squad is in a four-team, double-elimination regional hosted by Chippewa Falls that starts Sunday, July 20. Medford faces Altoona in the tournament opener at 10 a.m. and will play again that day against either Wisconsin Rapids or Chippewa Falls.

The regional champion advances to the July 25-29 state tournament in Onalaska.