Blue Devils end losing streak
By Hub City Times staff
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield American Legion Blue Devils ended a six-game losing streak on July 14, by defeating Onalaska in both games of a doubleheader at Hackman Field in Marshfield.
Post 54 posted wins of 12-2 and 8-6. The victories followed a doubleheader loss to Holmen the day before. Marshfield lost the first game 7-3. The game was tied at three until Holmen put up three runs in the ninth inning.
Riley Boushack took the loss after taking over for starter Preston Wagner with the game tied. Boushack allowed the four earned runs in the ninth. Isaiah Baierl went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Eli Drexler and Devyn Palmer knocked in runs as well, and their Stratford teammate Ty Pankratz went 2-for-4.
Holmen won the second game 12-2. Chandler Schmidt suffered the loss. He surrendered eight runs (five earned) on 10 hits while walking just one and striking out seven.
Baierl went 3-for-4 with an RBI. The Blue Devils had a total of seven hits in the game. They had just three in a 6-2 loss to Waupaca on July 12.
The Comets got a run in the bottom of the first inning after Logan Schreiner walked a batter and hit the next two. With the bases loaded, Alex Thuerman’s groundball out scored Kadon Wanty. In the fourth inning, Brandon Wanty drew a leadoff walk, and later scored on a wild pitch.
Marshfield came back to tie the game in the fifth inning. Boushack led off the inning with a double to the gap in left-center field. Tragen Bogdonovich reached first on a dropped third strike by Waupaca catcher Brandon Wanty. After Ben Gust and Cole Hediger struck out, Preston Wagner drilled a two-run base hit that scored Boushack and Bogdonovich to tie the game at two apiece.
Even after allowing two runs, Schreiner still had a no-hitter going into the bottom of the sixth inning. That’s when the Comets broke the game wide open. After Kadon Wanty lined out to second baseman Ty Pankratz, Waupaca pitcher Adam Kennedy got an infield single. Brandon Wanty and Thuerman then did the same to load the bases with one out.
Drew Krcmar delivered an RBI base hit to right field to score Kennedy. Wanty scored when right fielder Cole Hediger sailed a throw to the plate over the head of catcher Ben Gust, allowing Wanty to score on the throwing error. Thuerman then scored from third on an RBI hit by Thomas Katuiin. Krcmar scored on a ground ball by Garrett Bohm that went to second for the force out on Katuin.
Schreiner’s no-hitter was long gone, and so was the game for Marshfield.
Kennedy got the win for the Comets. He threw seven innings, and gave up two runs on three hits, walked just one and struck out nine. Schreiner took the loss for Marshfield. He threw six innings, allowing six runs on five hits while walking two and striking out one.
Marshfield has not been hitting the ball well for Head Coach Josh Metz. “Just not as crisp as we had been playing”, Metz said before the Waupaca game. “We’re in a bit of a rut again offensively. We’re just waiting for one guy to break out, and hopefully everyone else follows suit. I don’t what it is. The approaches have been okay. They haven’t been great, but we’re kind of at that point where it seems like everything we hit is finding a guy unfortunately.”
Marshfield’s record was 13-18 heading into the final week of the regular season, and the regional tournament July 19-22 at Bukolt Park in Stevens Point.