By Steve Pilz

OSSEO — The Marshfield Chaparrals amateur baseball team had its six-game winning streak come to a halt Tuesday night when it dropped a 9-4 decision to the Osseo Merchants at Jon Soiney Field.

Both squads put their pitching staffs through their paces with the Merchants using four hurlers and the Chaps three ahead of this weekend’s opening Wisconsin Baseball Association playoff games.

The Chaps open the playoffs at the Haugen Knights at 8 p.m. Friday and concluded their regular season schedule with a Wednesday night home game against Eau Claire.

Marshfield drew first blood against Osseo when Justin Rayburn lashed a one-out single in the top of the first. Luke Wirtz followed with a single, and Sam Schwanebeck plated Rayburn with a run-scoring double. With two outs Bobby Pilz drilled a pitch into the hole at short and legged out the throw at first to score Wirtz. The Chaps led 2-0.

The Merchants pulled to within a run in the second on an RBI double by James Gilbertson.

Marshfield starter Jack Donahue almost got out of his three-inning stint without a crooked numbered inning, but after registering the first two outs in the third, he walked a batter and surrendered a single. After an error, Osseo’s Sam Waters had a two-run single followed by Nolan Matson’s RBI single, and the Chaps trailed 5-2.

Pilz relieved Donahue in the fourth. He gave up three runs in the fifth on another Gilbertson double that scored two, preceded by Jesse Brockman’s run-scoring single.

Noah Panzer pitched the final three innings for the Chaps and gave the Merchants nothing.

“It was good to get three of our pitcher’s some work before playoffs start Friday,” said Rayburn, the Chaparrals’ player/manager.

The Chaps concluded their scoring in the ninth when Nate MacDonald led off with a walk. He came all the way around to score on a close play at the plate on a ringing double to right field by Rayburn. After a pair of fly balls to the right fielder, Josh Metz reached on an error, scoring Rayburn, but that was as close as the Chaps could get, making the final 9-4.

“We hit the ball well tonight,” concluded Rayburn, “but we still got outhit by a very good Osseo team.”

(This article was originally published at MarshfieldAreaSports.com.)

Merchants 9, Chaparrals 4

Marshfield 200 000 002 – 4 11 1

Osseo 014 130 00x – 9 12 2

WP: Preston Gamroth. LP: Jack Donahue

SO: Donahue (3 inn.) 1, Bobby Pilz (2 inn.) 3, Noah Panzer (3 inn.) 1; Aaron Hagberg (2 inn.) 1, Gamroth (2 inn.) 1, James Gilbertson (2 inn.) 1, Alex Meyers (3 inn.) 1. BB: Donahue 2, Pilz 1, Panzer 2; Hagberg 1, Gilbertson 2, Meyers 1.

Top hitters: M, Sam Schwanebeck 3×4, 2B, RBI; Justin Rayburn 2×5, 2B, RBI; Donahue 2×2; Pilz RBI. O, Gilbertson 2×4, 2 2Bs, 3 RBIs; Sam Waters 2×4, 2 RBIs.

Records: Marshfield 11-8; Osseo not provided.