A/C clubs three homers in win over Eagles
The Abbotsford-Colby baseball team went 1-1 in their two road contests this past week. The co-op defeated Auburndale by double digits on Saturday but fell to Adams-Friendship in a close game the evening prior.
13-3
A trio of home runs and solid pitching performance from JV Castillo and Payton Schreiber pushed the co-op past the Auburndale Eagles last Saturday. Schreiber, Evan Reis and Carlos Lara all went deep for the first time this season in the road win.
The reigning Marawood Player of the Year kept Auburndale’s offense in check long enough for the Abby-Colby lineup to get itself into gear. After giving up a run in the first, Castillo pitched three shutout innings, striking out six in his second appearance on the mound this season. While the Eagles managed a fair amount of baserunners in the opening innings, getting three hits and drawing three walks, Castillo and the co-op defense were able to hold them to just the single run in the first.
A three-run third inning and a four-run fourth quickly turned the game into the visitors’ favor. After being kept relatively quiet in the first two innings, the Abby-Colby lineup came to life, putting up crooked numbers in four of the final five innings and scoring in each of them.
The Eagles managed to pick up two additional runs in the bottom of the fifth, but it was not enough to bridge the gulf between the two clubs.
Blake Bargender continued his hot start at the plate, going 3-4 and driving in three runs to complement the three long balls. The co-op’s starting catcher has gotten a hit in all six of the co-op’s games this season and boasts a team leading .579 batting average through those six contests.
Castillo and Reis also had multi-hit games for the coop, both notching two hits against Auburndale. Castillo went 2-4 with a double, a walk, three runs scored and two RBIs. Meanwhile Reis scored twice and drove in himself on his solo home run. Each had a stolen base as well.
Lara had a three-RBI night, his home run the only hit he would need to bring in those runs. Schreiber needed no help getting himself home by knocking out a solo home run himself.
Jaxon Polivka also had a hit and a run scored.
Mateo Lopez, while not credited for a hit, still found himself on the basepaths multiple times and made the most of it. He swiped three bases and scored two runs.
Schreiber came in to relieve Castillo and pitched three innings, striking out two while walking two and giving up two hits. He was charged with the two runs surrendered in the fifth, but held Auburndale scoreless in the sixth and seventh.
4-3
In their only prior loss this season, the sixth inning proved to be the co-op’s undoing, surrendering three runs to Lakeland and the one run lead they had been holding in the process. The sixth inning was problematic once again for Abby-Colby, this time against Adams-Friendship. The hosting Green Devils, down since the game’s onset, scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 3-3, which would then lead to a walkoff in the bottom of the seventh to complete the comeback.
The visiting Abby-Colby squad established a lead early, putting up two runs in the first inning. Brandon Diedrich’s double drove in Evan Reis and Blake Bargender followed up with a hit of his own to drive in Diedrich.
The co-op built on their lead in the second inning. Noah Schraufnagel’s double put him in position to be driven in by Reis a few batters later, giving Abby-Colby a 3-0 advantage.
Meanwhile, Mateo Lopez had worked his way through the Adams-Friendship lineup with relative ease. The Green Devils eventually broke through in the third, but the damage was limited to just a single run. Lopez shut out the home team in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings and the co-op hung to a 3-1 lead.
Adams-Friendship finally got to Lopez in the sixth, forcing a pitching change from Abby-Colby. Evan Reis came on in relief and managed to navigate the co-op through the inning, but two Green Devil runners were able to come around to score, setting up the home team for their eventual walk off in the seventh.
Lopez went five innings, striking out six and walking one while surrendering three earned runs. Reis was saddled with the loss, going one-anda- third and striking out one batter.
Bargender and Diedrich both went 2-3 with an RBI. Reis, Schraufnagel and Jaxon Polivka each had a hit and Reis had the sole stolen base for the co-op.
Abby-Colby is now 4-2 on the season. Their first true home game is now scheduled for Friday, April 21 against the Chequamegon Screaming Eagles. Due to weather cancellations, the matchup will be a double-header, with the first game to start at 4:00 p.m. Chequamegon is 1-2 thus far this season, having split a series with Rib Lake and lost 8-1 to Assumption in their most recent game.
