A/C bested in conference tests against Rib Lake, Athens

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Abbotsford/Colby fell in a pair of games against the top teams in the Marawood- North over the past week, losing to both Rib Lake and Athens.

Rib Lake, 10-0

While the co-op was able to keep their Marawood-North rivals in check for much of the evening, a five-run seventh inning for the visiting Rib Lake squad and a lack of offense for Abby/Colby turned the contest into a 10-0 defeat.

Starting pitcher Arturo Lopez and the home team’s defense mostly held through six innings, limiting the preseason Marawood-North favorites to just five runs over that span, despite five errors. Unfortunately for the co-op, they could not get to Rib Lake’s starter Talon Scheithauer, who held the Abby/ Colby lineup to just four hits over the course of his six innings pitched, striking out 11 over that span.

The co-op’s best scoring opportunity came in the first inning. Christian Fuentes worked a lead off walk and Payton Schreiber followed with a single to center field to give Abby/ Colby runners on first and second with no outs. After a strikeout, another walk earned by Carson Folz loaded the bases, but the coop was unable to capitalize as Scheithauer escaped the jam with two more strikeouts.

Lopez gave up just single run innings in the first, third and sixth and surrendered a pair of runs in the fourth, but the situation finally got out of hand in the seventh. A hit batsman and a single started the inning for Rib Lake and a pair of errors and a balk would allow the visitors to begin to pile up the runs. Relief pitcher Cutter Hamus would come in to finish up the inning and while the co-op was able to work a pair of walks and a dropped third strike to load the bases once again in the seventh, Rib Lake relief pitcher Seth Scheithauer maintained the shutout with a strikeout.

Lopez went six innings, giving up 10 runs on 11 hits and two walks, but only four of those runs were earned. He also struck out four batters. Hamus had zeros across the board in his one inning of relief.

The Abby/Colby starter was also the only co-op player to come up with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 from the plate. Schreiber fin-

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ished 1-for-2 with two walks and Fuentes had one hit in three at-bats and a walk.

Athens, 22-5

A tough seventh inning sealed Abby/Colby’s fate last Tuesday evening as the Athens Bluejays completed the Marawood-North series sweep with a 22-5 victory over the co-op.

While Abby/Colby still found themselves in a tough position down 10-4 heading into the final frame of the contest, the Bluejays delivered the final blow in the top half of the seventh, scoring 12 runs to put away their conference rivals.

Despite the 27 runs scored, neither team collected many hits, registering just 10 base hits combined. Free passes allowed by Abby/Colby pitching added up over the course of the evening, however, as they dished out 17 bases on balls and hit three batters. The co-op also committed four fielding errors, some of which hurt them early on when the game was still within reach.

While starting pitcher Payton Schreiber surrendered just two hits and struck out five batters in his four innings of work for the co-op, the Athens lineup was still able to register six runs during his time on the mound. Only three of those runs were earned as the Bluejays were able to make the most of free base runners and defensive miscues by the Abby/Colby defense.

After two innings of scoreless ball, Athens was able to get on the board first by notching a pair of runs in the top of the third without a hit. The co-op answered immediately in the bottom half of the frame. Irvin Aguilera led off with a double to left field and then advanced to third on a passed ball. A dropped third strike on the next at-bat allowed Aguilera to score, halving the Bluejays’ lead.

However, the Bluejays used a lead off hit-by-pitch and a walk to get their first two batters on base in the fourth. While Schreiber bounced back with two straight outs, the Bluejays continued to put on the pressure on the basepaths, stealing bases and scoring on wild pitches to extend their lead out to 4-1. A pair of unearned runs surrendered in the fifth put the co-op in a 6-1 hole.

Down but not out, Abby/Colby made things interesting in the fifth. Cutter Hamus was able to reach on an error and Aguilera and Hector Lopez followed up with walks to give the co-op bases loaded with one out. Owen Hanson was able to come up with a clutch single to right field that scored Hamus and Aguilera and then Christian Fuentes was able to notch an RBI and reach safely on an error by the Bluejays. The sequence allowed Abby/Colby to pull back within two, giving them a fighting chance heading into the final two frames.

A four-run sixth and a monster 12 runs in the seventh by Athens quelled any hopes of a late rally. Eleven of the coop’s 17 walks surrendered came in the final two innings, allowing their conference rivals to take control over the contest.

Aguilera finished the day going 1-for-1 with two walks and two runs scored. His double was the only extra base hit for the co-op. Hanson had two RBIs, one run scored and a walk and Schreiber went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

In addition to Schreiber, Abby/Colby used four other pitchers against the Bluejays. Grayson Totzke did not surrender a hit but had three runs come across the plate on five walks and two strikeouts in one-and-a-third innings of work. Cutter Hamus surrendered five runs, four of which were earned, on four hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning, Ayden Michlig gave up seven runs, six of which were earned, on one hit and five walks while striking out one in his third of an inning and Adrian Capetillo went two thirds of an inning, giving up one unearned run on one walk and one strikeout.

SACRIFICE BUNT - Irvin Aguilera gets his bat on the ball for a sacrifice bunt against Rib Lake on Tuesday. STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD