By Hub City Times staff

MARSHFIELD — Fourteen hits and four runs were still not enough to put the Marshfield Chaparrals in the win column on Aug. 3 in Sparta. Marshfield’s amateur baseball team lost 5-4.

Sparta jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, after Marshfield starting pitcher Hunter Korger walked a few batters followed by an RBI base hit.

The Chaps grabbed the lead in the fifth inning, when Jared Klein and Austin Littman led off with singles. Klein scored on an RBI single by Riley Erickson, who in turn scored on a hit by Luke Wirtz.

Sparta tied the game in the bottom of the same inning, but Marshfield grabbed the lead again in the eighth inning, scoring two more runs.

Jason Kurth got a base hit, then Lucius Messerschmidt got a single. Littmann drove in Kurth, and Messerschmidt scored on a ground ball by Justin Rayburn that was mishandled by the Sparta shortstop. But, it was not enough. Sparta scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game.

Korger threw five innings, giving up four hits, with four strikeouts and four walks. He also gave up two runs.

Littman led Marshfield at the plate by going 3-for-4. Rayburn and Kurth were 2-for-4. Jack Donahue went 2-for-5.

Rayburn, also the team’s manager, called it “a good tune-up game before the playoffs.”

The Chaps are 17-3 after the Sparta loss, and start postseason play Aug. 11 against Hudson at 3 p.m. in Rib Lake.