WBA REGIONALS: MEDFORD & WESTBORO - Moon Dogs get a WBA tourney win; Westboro does not

The Medford Moon Dogs gave up four first-inning runs Friday, then slowly but surely crept closer and finally overtook the Augusta Athletics in the eighth inning and won 7-6 to secure the team’s first-ever Wisconsin Baseball Association tournament victory.

Jacob Matyka capped a two-run eighth with the two-out, tie-breaking single with the bases loaded. Trenton Woebbeking struck out 16 batters while pushing through all nine innings on the pitcher’s mound, plus he homered and drove in two runs in the win. Ryan Paul doubled twice and had three of Medford’s 12 hits.

By winning the opening game of the Augusta regional of the WBA’s B Division post-season tournament, second-seeded Medford gave itself a chance at advancing to the state finals if it could upset topseeded Ellsworth on Sunday. But the Hubbers ended that hope with a lopsided 16-1 victory.

Augusta, who was 2-18 this summer in the Chippewa River Baseball League’s South Division and the third seed in the three-team regional pod, got off to a hot offensive start in front of its home crowd Friday. Trenton Dahnert led off with a single, stole second and scored on Nolan Taylor’s single. An error helped extend the inning and, after JJ Breaker’s RBI groundout, Cody Breaker smacked a tworun homer to give Augusta its quick 4-0 lead.

Woebbeking’s two-out solo homer got Medford on the board in the bottom half. Peyton Gilles and Ryan Paul doubled in the third to make it 4-2, but Augusta got those two runs back in the top of the fourth.

David Hecker’s two-run single in the bottom of the fourth pulled Medford right back within two. Paul doubled again and scored on Woebbeking’s single to make it 6-5 in the seventh. Gilles singled off reliever Brennan King to start the goahead rally in the eighth. He stole second and moved to third on Hecker’s groundout. After Ryan Paul walked, a throwing error on Medford’s double steal attempt scored Gilles. Woebbeking and Brett Paul walked to load the bases. Augusta got a force at home on Trent Klemm’s ground ball, but Matyka then came through with the big two-out hit.

Augusta got a leadoff double from Kaden Alexander in the ninth, but Woebbeking got his last three strikeouts, working around a two-out walk, to clinch the win. Woebbeking walked three and allowed eight hits and three earned runs. He also went two for four at the plate. Gilles was two for four and Austin Davies went two for three.

Ellsworth’s 11-4 win over Augusta on Saturday made Sunday’s game a winnertake-all matchup for the state berth. Medford pulled within 3-1 with an unearned run in the top of the fifth, but the wheels came off in the bottom of the fifth as Ellsworth scored 12 runs, capped by a Kasey Bass grand slam home run.

Medford finished 5-4 in Dairyland League and WBA games.

Westboro struggles

The Westboro Trojans dropped both of their games in their three-team pool, which was contested in Glidden Sunday after play was rained out on Saturday.

The second-seeded Trojans dropped the opener 16-0 to the top-seeded Glidden Orioles and then fell 17-2 to the thirdseeded New Richmond Millers, who then beat Glidden 4-2 to earn their spot as the eighth seed in the B Division state tournament.

The tone was set early in both games. Against the host Orioles, Westboro gave up five first-inning runs and five more in the third, including a grand slam home run by Collin Luhtala, to fall behind 10-0. Glidden put it away with four more runs in the bottom of the fourth.

Nick Pittman had two hits for the Trojans. Braxton Weissmiller and Marcus Klemm each added one. Westboro did have one scoring threat, loading the bases with one out in the top of the fifth, but a strikeout and fielder’s choice kept the Trojans scoreless.

Luhtala was four for five with seven runs batted in for Glidden. Westboro pitchers issued 16 walks in six defensive innings New Richmond put up a four-spot in the top of the first inning, tacked on two more in the second and eventually led 11-0 through five and a half innings before Westboro finally got its zero off the board. Nick Pittman walked and Kaleb Cracraft got the team’s first hit off New Richmond pitcher Brady Cunningham, a single. Brant Johnson drove in Pittman with a fielder’s choice and, after Weissmiller singled, James Holliday singled in the second run. Those three singles were Westboro’s lone hits.

New Richmond’s six-run top of the eighth closed the scoring.

This was the second straight year the teams met in the WBA tournament. New Richmond won last year’s game 15-5.

Westboro finished 3-6 in Dairyland League and WBA play.