GILMAN BASEBALL - Pirates rally for big win at Columbus, then get shut out Tuesday

GILMAN BASEBALL

Andrew Hoeser stymied Gilman’s offense Tuesday, holding the Pirates to just four hits and host Neillsville-Granton gradually widened what had been a slim 2-0 lead in the later innings while securing a 6-0 Eastern Cloverbelt Conference baseball win.

Riding high after a big win at Columbus Catholic on Thursday, Gilman was unable knock off one of the two remaining contenders for this year’s conference championship. Neillsville-Granton improved to 8-1 in league play to stay a game behind 9-0 Loyal. With the loss Gilman slid to 5-4 and 9-7 overall.

Hoeser struck out six batters and walked only one while pitching the shutout for Neillsville-Granton.

Connor Nichols was two for three for Gilman, while Tate Krizan was two for two out of the ninth spot in the order. The Pirates’ only serious threat came in the third inning. Dawson Robinson was hit by a pitch and Krizan singled to start the inning. But the potential rally fizzled on a fly ball, a fielder’s choice and a strikeout.

Neillsville-Granton quickly got ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first on two hits, a walk and two errors. The hosts got a run in the fourth, two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth. Neillsville-Granton was led by Gunnar Barth, Boden Opelt and Kaiden Strey, who had two hits apiece.

Dawson Grunseth started for Gilman. He went 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits and five walks while striking out four. He allowed five runs, four of which were earned. Max Pocket allowed a run in 1.1 innings.

The rematch is in Gilman today, Thursday. The Pirates then go to Alma Center Lincoln Friday for a nonconference contest and to Prentice on Monday for another. Gilman then closes out conference play by hosting Owen-Withee/Thorp on Tuesday and then visiting the Redhawks in Thorp on May 22.

Pirates 12, Dons 11

Max Pockat came through with a clutch two-out, two-run tie-breaking single in the top of the seventh and Beau Pockat, who was four for four at the plate, got the last two outs, stranding the tying run at third in a thrilling 12-11 win over Columbus Catholic in Marshfield.

The win came two days after Columbus blew out Gilman 17-3 on the Pirates’ home field and was the first for a Pirate team over the Dons since the final game of the 2019 regular season. The Pirates rallied from a 10-5 deficit through four innings to do it.

It wasn’t the cleanest of defensive games for either side, but the Pirates certainly made the Dons pay for their seven errors, scoring seven unearned runs off three Columbus pitchers.

The Dons got their 10-5 lead after fourrun rallies in both the bottom of the third and fourth innings, overturning Gilman’s 5-2 lead. Gilman could’ve put a big dent in the Dons’ lead in the fifth, loading the bases with one out, but the Pirates only got one run out of it on an RBI groundout from Lucas Halida.

The sixth, however, was a different story.

After Max Pockat threw a quick onetwo-three fifth, Nichols drew a walk to start it. Talyn Podolak drew a one-out walk and Beau Pockat ripped a double over the leftfielder’s head to score Nichols. An error on a ball hit by Max Pockat scored two runs. After Robinson singled, a two-out wild pitch scored Max Pockat with the tying run.

The Pirates escaped a bases-loaded threat by Columbus in the bottom half as Max Pockat got Carson Eckes to fly out to Grunseth in rightfield for the third out.

Trevin Duellman started the top of the seventh by singling to the hole deep at short off Dons’ reliever Ray Becker. Nichols dumped a single to shallow center. Duellman was forced out at third by Grunseth’s comebacker to Becker and Podolak grounded out to short. The Dons played the percentages by intentionally walking Beau Pockat to load the bases for Max Pockat, who was hitless in four atbats. But Pockat foiled the plan by lining a 1-2 pitch into rightfield to score the goahead runs.

The Dons didn’t fold. Mac Konieczny pulled a single down the leftfield line and was balked to second. Max Pockat got Carter Sommer to ground out. That was his last batter after 4.1 innings. Beau Pockat got Becker to line out to Duellman at short, but Devin Timmler’s single scored Konieczny. A bad pickoff throw sent Timmler to third, but Pockat struck out Brock Weiland looking to end it.

Beau Pockat’s two-run double highlighted Gilman’s three-run first, which included three Columbus errors. Becker answered with a two-run single in the bottom half. Two runs scored on a dropped pop-up hit by Robinson in the top of the third.

Max Pockat allowed 11 hits and nine runs, four of which were earned, but he got the win, striking out one and walking two. Robinson pitched the first two innings. He struck out one, walked two and allowed four hits and two earned runs. Duellman was two for five at the plate. Columbus outhit Gilman 16-9.