Merchants go 1-1 at state tourney, fall in semi-final

The Abbotsford Merchants came just a few games short of their second state title in team history, falling in the semifinals of the Wisconsin Baseball Association’s Division B state tournament last weekend in Augusta.

Playing as the sixth seed in the eight team tourney, the Merchants won their first matchup, upsetting the third-ranked Ellsworth squad 11-7 in their quarterfinal game on Friday evening. They then ran into Whitehall, the eventual state champs, and could not quite find the same offensive production that had helped push them through to the semi-finals, instead falling 7-1.

Though they weren’t able to raise the championship trophy, the Merchants squad went 3-1 in the postseason and finished amongst the top-four teams in Division B. It was an impressive finish to a successful season for Abbotsford, who finished with an overall record of 16-9.

Pitcher and shortstop Tanner Hraby was also named as the Co-MVP of the Dairyland- Large along with Wisconsin Rapids’ Payton Nelson.

Whitehall, 7-1

While Abbotsford got on the scoreboard first and matched their semi-final round opponents in hits, a five-run fourth for the Whitehall Whitetails turned what was an otherwise close game into a lopsided final, eliminating the Merchants by delivering them a 7-1 defeat.

A pair of singles from Brett Nelson and Lucas Stahnke set up the sixth-seeded Abbotsford squad in the top of the second and they were able to take the lead after an error by the Whitetails on a ball put in play by Mateo Lopez.

However, that was where the offense ended for the Merchants, as they were held to just four hits and two walks outside of the second inning. Whitehall scored two runs in the bottom of the second to quickly end Abbotsford’s lead, and while a pair of singles from Blake Jakobi and JV Castillo gave the Merchants base runners on second and third with one out in the top of the third, they were unable to convert that success into runs.

The contest spiraled out of control in the bottom of the fourth. Seven of the Whitetails first eight batters reached safely, using a walk and a three singles to score two runs before three more walks and a hit batter surrendered by Abbotsford pitching quickly shifted momentum firmly in Whitehall’s favor. Reliever Brady Schmidt was able to get Abbotsford out of the inning with a strikeout, but the damage had already been done.

Schmidt continued to pitch well for the Merchants, holding the Whitetails scoreless in the final four frames, fanning five more batters and not allowing a hit or a base on balls. Unfortunately for Abbotsford, their opponent’s pitching was up to the challenge.

A single from Nelson in the sixth was the only hit for the Merchants following Whitehall’s big inning. A pair of walks drawn by Jakobi and Castillo in the eighth gave Abbotsford some life, giving them men on first and second with just one out, but once again Whitehall’s pitching proved to be formidable and the Merchants left the frame emptyhanded.

Castillo started the game on the mound for Abbotsford. He went three innings, allowing six hits and six runs while striking out one batter and walking two. Payton Schreiber came into the game briefly in the fourth, getting one out while walking two. He was charged with one run.

Nelson and Castillo both had two hits and the latter was on base three times after also drawing a walk. Jakobi and Stahnke both had singles and Stahnke scored the lone run for Abbotsford.

Ellsworth, 11-7

Tanner Hraby, Blake Jakobi and Blake Bargender all had three hits and the Merchants used six runs across the eighth and ninth innings to pull away late against the Ellsworth Hubbers in their quarterfinal game on Friday evening.

A three-run top of the third gave the sixthseeded Abbotsford squad a lead that they held through much of the middle portion of the game, but the third-seeded Hubbers snaked away that lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, going up 6-5 heading into the final two frames.

The bottom half of the Merchants order came through for the squad in the top of the eighth. Bargender started things off with a leadoff single, Lucas Stahnke reached safely on a walk and Aaron Morrow tied the game with a single through the left side of the infield.

Morrow’s single was the first of three straight hits for Abbotsford. Hraby drove in Stahnke for the go ahead run on a single and Jakobi followed up with a clutch RBI double. A sacrifice fly from Payton Schreiber two at-bats later gave the Merchants their fourth run of the inning and a 9-6 advantage.

Another single for Bargender to start the top of the ninth plus a single for Mateo Lopez set them up to score a pair of insurance runs on a two-out double from Hraby.

Now with a comfortable five-run lead, reliever JV Castillo closed the book on the Hubbers. While Ellsworth was able to manufacture a single run in the bottom half of the frame, it did little to dent the significant lead that Abbotsford had built for themselves.

The Merchants outhit their opponents 16 to 10 and had one more extra base hit. Half of their hits came during their late-inning rally, Abbotsford doubling their hit total in the final two frames of the contest.

Hraby started on the mound for the Merchants, and while the Hubbers were able to get to him in the first, the Abbotsford pitcher limited the damage. He held Ellsworth’s lineup relatively in check over the next few innings, allowing just one more run in the third and giving the Merchants an opportunity to open up a 5-2 lead thanks to RBI singles from Brett Nelson and Bargender and a run-scoring double from Castillo. He ended up getting tagged for a pair of runs in the sixth, but left the mound with the lead still intact, going six innings while striking out five batters and walking two.

Brady Schmidt also pitched in relief for the Merchants, going one and two-thirds innings while striking out two and walking three. Two runs were charged to Schmidt.

Hraby and Bargender had impressive days at the plate, both going 3-for-5 on Friday. Hraby drove in a game-high four runs and scored once while Bargender had two RBIs and two runs scored. Jakobi also had three hits, scoring once and driving in one run. Castillo and Nelson added two hits each and Schreiber, Lopez and Morrow had one apiece. Stahnke was the only member of the Abbotsford lineup to not get a hit, but he reached base several times and scored once in the Merchants’ victory.