A/C sweeps Loggers, bounced in three home games
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford/Colby baseball team notched one final win before heading into the postseason, downing Marawood-North rival Phillips last Thursday. The coop went 1-3 over their final four games, falling in a trio of home games against Fall Creek, Stanley-Boyd and Pittsville. The co-op finished with a 4-14 overall record and went 3-7 in conference play, ending the regular season in fifth place in the Marawood-North.
Pittsville, 25-2
The co-op found themselves out gunned in their final game of their regular season schedule, falling in five innings to Pittsville, 25-2.
A seven-run top of the first for the Panthers set the tone early for a game whose outcome was never truly contested. The visiting Pittsville squad needed just one hit to go up 7-0 in the opening frame, drawing six walks and using an error and a hit by pitch to fuel their effort against starting pitcher Grayson Totzke.
The second offered no reprieve for Abby/ Colby. The Panthers continued their patient approach at the plate, a strategy that netted them even more runs in the second. Pittsville pushed 12 base runners across the plate in the inning to take a formidable 19-0 lead, getting to a combination of Ayden Michlig and Cutter Hamus on the mound for the co-op for four hits and eight walks. Outs were hard to come by for the Abby/Colby defense, which allowed nine runs to score before the second out of the inning was recorded.
The co-op got on the board in the fourth. Payton Schreiber hit a leadoff double to put himself in scoring position and Jaxston Malzahn delivered a two-out single to drive in his teammate two at-bats later.
The co-op’s other run came in the fifth. Javier Rivera was able to get on board after advancing on a dropped third strike. A double from Michlig moved him over to third and Schreiber delivered a two-out single on his next at-bat to drive in Rivera.
Schreiber finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored and Malzahn was 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Phillips, 14-3
Catcher Jaxston Malzahn hit three doubles and drove in seven runs, starting pitcher Payton Schreiber struck out 11 batters and the visiting Abby/Colby squad completed the season sweep over the Loggers last Thursday, defeating them 14-3 in five innings.
The co-op used nine hits and 10 walks to keep their Marawood-North rivals on the back foot, scoring in four out of the five innings and consistently putting runners on the base paths.
Schreiber pitched all five innings for the visitors, surrendering just a single earned run and giving up just four hits and two walks. An impressive 11 of the 15 outs captured by the co-op came via the strikeout as most of the Loggers lineup struggled to keep up with Schreiber’s pitching repertoire.
A three-run first inning highlighted by hits from Ayden Michlig, Arturo Lopez and Malzahn gave the co-op a lead they never relinquished. A pair of leadoff walks for Owen Hanson and Christian Fuentes turned into more runs for Abby/Colby in the second as Michlig drove in one on an RBI single and Schreiber knocked in another with a sacrifice fly. Irvin Aguilera drew another walk and Malzahn once again came through for the co-op, giving them a 7-0 advantage with a two-RBI double.
The Loggers managed to scratch out a run in the bottom of the second, but seven combined runs in the fourth and fifth innings solidified the co-op’s complete control over the contest. Malzahn’s third double of the day cleared the bases in the fourth to drive in three more runs and Schreiber, Lopez and Totzke all delivered two-out, RBI hits in the fifth. Phillips collected two unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth but it wasn’t enough to stave off the mercy rule, giving Abby/Colby their fourth win.
Malzahn reached safely in all four of his plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with three extra base hits and seven runs batted in. He was also hit by a pitch. Both Lopez and Michlig had two hits each, the former collecting two RBIs and two runs scored while the latter scored three times and batted in one run while walking once.
Both Fuentes and Aguilera scored three times each despite not having a hit between them, though they did combine to have five walks. Schreiber was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs and Totzke had two RBIs on one hit and a walk.
Michlig led the team with four stolen bases. Fuentes, Lopez and Javier Rivera all had one each.
Stanley-Boyd, 8-6
Two runs in the seventh turned the game in the favor of the visitors as Abby/Colby fell to Stanley-Boyd 8-6 last Wednesday afternoon.
With the game knotted at 6-6, relief pitcher Arturo Lopez had helped stabilize the game for the co-op, pitching four shutout innings and allowing just a single hit over that span. The Orioles were able to use some mistakes from the Abby/ Colby defense to take the lead for themselves. Carter Welzin was able to advance to second on a leadoff single to put himself into scoring position. He went on to score on an infield single two at-bats later and then a second run would come in on a pair of errors by the home team.
A single from Lopez gave the co-op a
See A/C BASEBALL/ Page 20
A CLOSE PLAY AT THE PLATE - Javier Rivera tries to slide in underneath the tag during the co-op’s home non-conference game against the Fall Creek Crickets last Monday.
STAFF PHOTO/SAMANTHA YOCIUS A/C baseball
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base runner in the bottom of the frame, but the Orioles defense secured two straight outs following the hit to seal their victory.
A three-run first inning for the Orioles meant that they never trailed in the contest, but the co-op was never far behind. A single for Ayden Michlig in the bottom half of the opening frame and a trio of errors by the Stanley-Boyd defense allowed the co-op to pull back within one. The Orioles added three more runs in the second, but Abby/Colby once again had an answer, putting up their own three runs in the bottom of the third after singles from Christian Fuentes and Payton Schreiber and further mistakes by the Orioles fielders allowed the co-op to claw their way back within a run.
Michlig was able to knot the game by driving in Jaxston Malzahn in the bottom of the fourth on a fielder's choice. Unfortunately for the co-op, that run would be their last, as they were held scoreless over the final three innings.
Michlig started on the mound for Abby/Colby, giving up six runs, four of which were earned, on three hits and two walks in one and one-third innings of work. He also struck out three batters. Cutter Hamus came in to finish the second inning, giving up one hit and one walk in two-thirds of an inning. Lopez pitched the rest of the game, going five innings while giving up two unearned runs on three hits and striking out four.
Malzahn, who entered the game in the fourth, was 2--
STAFF PHOTO/SAMANTHA YOCIUS
for-2 from the plate. Also collecting hits were Michlig, Schreiber, Lopez and Fuentes. Michlig and Schreiber both scored two runs each and had an RBI.
Fall Creek, 16-4
Six runs in both the fifth and sixth innings turned what was once a close game into a blowout as the Fall Creek Crickets downed Abby/Colby 16-4 in six innings last Monday.
The visitors held a slim 4-3 advantage heading into the fifth when they turned the game upside down by racking up six runs to distance themselves from the co-op. A pair of leadoff walks turned into two runs on a fielder’s choice that resulted in no outs for the co-op. An error allowed a third run to score and a pair of clutch hits for the Crickets ballooned the Fall Creek lead out to seven.
Four hits, including a home run, and three walks for the Crickets, as well as more defensive miscues by Abby/Colby, allowed the visitors to match their run total from the previous inning in the sixth. Facing a 16-3 deficit, the co-op managed to notch a run in the bottom half of the frame, but it was not enough to stave off elimination.
Despite the double-digit gap in the final score, the early portions of the contest felt much closer. After Fall Creek jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second, the co-op was able to answer with their own three-run effort in the bottom of the third.
Ayden Michlig opened the inning with a single to center field and Irvin Aguilera followed by reaching safely on an error by the Crickets. Both would come around to score on balls that escaped the catcher and Carson Folz was able to drive in a third run with a one-out RBI single.
Other than the third inning scoring spree, the Fall Creek pitching staff was able to keep the co-op in check. While they finished with six hits and three walks and had additional runners due to errors and hit batters, Abby/Colby was not able to really take full advantage of these situations, stranding nine base runners over the course of the game.
Starting pitcher Payton Schreiber went three and two-thirds innings for the co-op, giving up four runs and five hits. Only two of the runs were earned. He struck out five and walked three. Arturo Lopez came in to finish the fourth inning and pitched the entire fifth, giving up eight runs, six of which were earned, on two hits and three walks. The reliever struck out three batters. Cutter Hamus pitched the final inning for the co-op, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks.
Folz had two hits in his two at-bats, collecting an RBI and a walk. Michlig, Schreiber, Jaxston Malzahn and Owen Hanson all had one hit each and Michlig and Schreiber both scored a run.
With the regular season now in the books, the co-op will face a tough opponent in the first round of the Division 2 WIAA playoffs. After drawing a 14-seed, Abby/Colby will have to travel to Mosinee to take on the third-seeded winner of the Great Northern conference. Mosinee is 12-6 this season, going 10-3 against conference opponents but only 2-3 in nonconference games. With there being more parity than in recent years within the conference and a non-conference record below .500, this year’s Mosinee squad may not be quite as strong as the team that went to state last year, but they still will pose an extremely tough road opponent. The playoff game is scheduled for Thursday, May 29th, at 5 p.m.
STAYING HOT AT THE PLATE - Jaxston Malzahn, pictured getting a hit in the Fall Creek game on Monday, had a solid week in the batter’s box for the co-op. The Abby/Colby catcher went 6-for-8 with three extra base hits across the team’s first three games last week.
