POST 147 LEGION BASEBALL - Junior Legion team makes a run at the regional championship

Medford’s American Legion Post 147 Junior 16U team made a first-day run at the four-team Chippewa Falls regional, but the host team ended that run with dominant wins Monday and Tuesday to earn the regional championship and a spot in the state tournament that starts Friday in Onalaska.

Chippewa Falls Post 77 lost on Sunday to Wisconsin Rapids but got a chance at revenge and got it with an 11-0 win over the Ramblers in the early game Monday. That left Post 77 and Medford as the last teams standing going into Monday’s late game. Undefeated Medford, coached by Spike Alexander and Nate Retterath, needed to win once to punch its ticket to state.

But Post 77 made it known quickly that getting that win wouldn’t be easy.

Chippewa Falls jumped ahead 3-0 in Monday’s first inning on run-scoring singles from Wesley Boos and Logan Hooper and a run-scoring wild pitch.

Medford had a chance to turn the momentum in the top of the second inning. Andrew Paff, Brayden Pronschinske and Ryder Kraschnewski all drew walks and Ace Arndt, after a lengthy at-bat, drove up Drew Brovold’s pitch count and got hit by a pitch to drive in a run.

With the bases still loaded and two outs, Chippewa Falls made a pitching change, going to Connor O’Kelly. A passed ball brought in a second run, but O’Kelly got out of the inning with a pop-up and he held Medford in check from there, finishing out the last 3.1 innings by allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Offensively, Post 77 hit Medford with a four-run third, a three-run fourth and ended the game early in the fifth with two more runs. Restyn Kraschnewski’s infield single in the fifth was Medford’s only hit. Ryder Kraschnewski went four innings for Medford and took the loss though five of the 10 runs charged to him were unearned. Austin Czarnezki struck out one batter in the fifth.

The story wasn’t much different in Tuesday’s winner-take-all title game.

Playing as the guests, Post 77 put together a two-out rally in the top of the first as Daniel Vacho singled and Boos walked, they advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Hooper’s single.

A five-run top of the second, highlighted by a three-run double by Boos broke it open.

Medford got a sacrifice fly from Andrew Mann in the third. Down 9-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Ryder Kraschnewski walked, Arndt singled and Restyn Kraschnewski doubled to drive in a run and Will Wojcik added a sacrifice fly.

Boos pitched 6.1 innings for Post 77, allowing three runs on six hits. He walked five, hit two and struck out two. Restyn Kraschnewski went four innings for Post 147, while Pronschinske covered the last two innings, allowing one unearned run and striking out one. Treyton Pilgrim had two of Medford’s six hits.

Chippewa Falls will join host Onalaska, Wittenberg, Sparta, Fond du Lac, Columbus, Stoddard and Beloit at the state tournament.

Good first day

Medford put itself into championship contention by going 2-0 on Sunday.

It started with an 11-1, six-inning victory over Altoona Post 550. Arndt threw a two-hitter, striking out seven, walking five and hitting one. He avoided damage after walking three in the first inning and settled in from there, only allowing an unearned run in the top of the sixth.

Post 147 scored three runs in the bottom of the first on three walks and a hit batter and put the game away with late offense in the fifth and sixth innings. Ryder Kraschnewski doubled and scored on Arndt’s single and Restyn Kraschnewski’s sacrifice fly drove in Arndt to make it 5-0 in the fifth.

Medford walked it off in the sixth. Pilgrim started it by reaching on an error. After a walk to Paff and a hit from Alex Lang, Dawson Rappe singled in a run, and Ryder Kraschnewski cleared the bases with a three-run double. He scored on an error on a ball hit by Arndt. Andrew Mann drove in the clincher with a sacrifice fly.

Ryder Kraschnewski was two for three to lead the offense.

Medford closed out day one with a 12-3 win over the Wisconsin Rapids Post 9 Ramblers, who had beaten Chippewa Falls 7-4 in its first game. Post 147 led 8-0 through three innings and wasn’t really threatened after that.

Andrew Mann’s two-run double highlighted a four-run bottom of the first. Wojcik had a sacrifice fly. Arndt’s groundout and Wojcik’s hit drove in second-inning runs. Hits by Pronschinske and Arndt drove in runs in the third.

Ryder Kraschnewski hit a two-run single in the sixth.

Wojcik covered the first 5.2 innings and allowed just two hits and one earned run to get the win. He struck out two, walked six and hit one. Ryder Kraschnewski was three for three atop the batting order and walked twice. He scored three runs. Arndt, Wojcik and Mann had two hits apiece.