A/C hitless in first round playoff loss to Mosinee

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Abbotsford/Colby baseball team saw their season come to close in the first round of the Division 2 WIAA playoffs last Thursday as the 14th-seeded co-op fell 12-0 on the road to the third-seeded Mosinee squad.

An eight-run first inning and a no-hitter for Mosinee starting pitcher Zach Nechuta propelled the home team over Abby/ Colby.

It was always going to be an uphill battle for the co-op, facing off against a team that reached the state tournament last season and who won the Great Northern Conference for a fourth straight season this year. Mosinee held a plus-83 run differential in conference games this season, largely going up against Division 2 opponents, and went 10-3 in such contests. Meanwhile, Abby/Colby held a minus-19 run differential in their 10 Marawood-North games, most of the teams belonging to Division 3 or 4 come playoff time.

Mosinee displayed why they managed to take home yet another conference title immediately in the first inning.

After Nechuta was able to set down the top of the co-op’s lineup in order in the top of the frame, the home team jumped on the Abby/Colby defense in the bottom half. After starting pitcher Payton Schreiber induced a ground ball out and struck out Mosinee’s second batter, Brady Lokken, things seemed to be starting well for the co-op. However, a dropped third strike resulted in Lokken reaching first instead of an out and things quickly spiraled out of control from there.

Four singles, a walk and three stolen bases resulted in three runs for Mosinee and loaded the bases. While Schreiber was able to bounce back with another strikeout, a passed ball and the fifth single of the inning drove in three more runs for the home team, doubling their run total at a point in which the co-op should have been out of the inning. An error by the Abby/ Colby defense kept them on the field and Lokken hammered a triple to give Mosinee an 8-0 advantage.

Outside of Lokken’s triple, much of Mosinee’s contact against Schreiber was not particularly hard, many of the singles coming on ground balls that squeezed past infielders. The co-op defense tightened in the following innings, and, after giving up six hits in the first, Schreiber gave up just two more the rest of the way.

However, the co-op could not find a way to get to Nechuta. The Mosinee starting pitcher set down 14 straight batters, striking out 10 of them. Down to their final out in the fifth inning, Carson Folz was finally able to reach base after an error, but Abby/ Colby was not able to take advantage of their sole base runner of the evening as a ground out on the next at-bat ended the contest.

The team finished the season with a 415 record overall.

Looking ahead to next season, Abby/ Colby will have plenty of opportunities to grow. While first-team all-conference selection Schreiber and first baseman Grayson Totzke have graduated, they will have a chance to bring back a large portion of their starting lineup. With a full season of varsity experience now under their belts, something that all but Schreiber lacked heading into 2025, the co-op will hope to take a step forward next year.

SPINNING IT ACROSS THE INFIELD - Arturo Lopez zips the ball over to first after making a play up the middle in front of second baseman Carson Folz against Mosinee.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD