North

A/C baseball reigns atop Marawood- North

A blowout win Tuesday against the Prentice Buccaneers sealed the Marawood- North for the Abby/Colby baseball team, putting the title out of reach from the likes of Rib Lake and Chequamagon. Taking down then second-place Rib Lake last Thursday ahead of their drubbing of the Bucs helped the co-op defend their conference championship.

The co-op visited second-place Rib Lake on May 5. The match-up had huge implications for the Marawood-North, as the winner of the game would have a leg up in claiming the title for their own. In such a critical game, it was the Abby/ Colby club that came away victorious, winning 13-3.

Two days after Rib Lake had hung 15 on the co-op, starting pitcher Mateo Lopez made sure that things were different this time around. The junior went six-and-one-third innings and held their conference rivals to just five hits on their homefield.

Keeping the opposing offense in check would be key, as both teams initially struggled to bring runs home. The first run would score in the top of the third, where the co-op would eventually end up taking a 2-0 lead. Rib Lake would respond, finally taking a run off Lopez in the bottom half of the inning. The co-op managed to mitigate the damage though, and maintained their one run lead after three.

Two scoreless innings later and it looked like the co-op was going to be part of another tight game. However, if the offense could even drive one or two insurance runs over the last two innings, perhaps it would be enough to hold on to the victory.

They did that, breaking through in the sixth. But the offense did not stop at one or two runs. Led by a four hit performance from sophomore Jaxon Polivka and a six RBI night from freshman Payton Schreiber, the Abby/Colby lineup erupted for eight runs in the top of the sixth, giving them a 10-1 lead. They would add three more in the seventh, and while Rib Lake managed to bring around a couple runs themselves, it was nowhere near enough to bring them back into the game.

Lopez would get the win for the co-op, finishing the game with three runs surrendered on five hits, striking out seven and walking two. Sophomore JV Castillo would get two outs himself, striking out one.

On his four hits, Polivka would score once and drive in two, adding a stolen base for good measure. Schreiber’s clutch three hits, one of which was a double, proved to be a difference maker, as almost half of the co-op’s runs scored during his at-bats. Helping his own cause, Lopez went two-for-four and walked, scoring three times, stealing a base and bringing home one. Sophomore Evan Reis also scored three times, had two RBIs and one stolen base.

Marathon, 6-3

The Abby/Colby team then traveled to Marathon for a non-conference game against the Red Raiders last Friday. Marathon edged out the co-op, which fell 6-3.

It was a game of small ball for much of the evening, as runs were difficult to come by for both teams. Reis was on the mound for the co-op, where he and opposing pitcher Grant Warren would make things difficult for both offenses.

The Abby/Colby defense would face their first challenge early though, as Marathon would bring a hit batsman around to scoring position in the first inning. A hard hit ground ball up the middle was too difficult to corral for Castillo at shortstop and the Red Raiders took an early 1-0 lead. It looked like things were going to get out of hand quickly, as the home team proceeded to load the bases later in the inning, but solid defensive play behind Reis would help the co-op escape the bottom of the first without further damage.

After the first inning, it became abundantly clear to both teams that baserunners would be a premium commodity in this game. With this in mind, Mateo Lopez took a slow moving curveball that failed to break off the helmet in the fourth inning, taking his free base and giving the co-op a much coveted man on the basepaths. The co-op decided to go aggressive, trying to put Lopez in scoring position by stealing second. The decision paid off, as Lopez not only took second, but advanced to third as the throw down from the catcher on the play sailed into the outfield. Sophomore Carlos Lara did the rest, slapping an RBI single into left and tying the game at one run each.

It would be the Red Raiders who would strike next, as Marathon’s Tyler Underwood would deliver one of the hardest hit balls of the evening, sending one out to the warning track in right field to start off the bottom of the fifth inning with a double. He would come in to score on a sacrifice fly later in the inning, giving the home team the lead once more.

The co-op wasn’t done yet though. After struggling for five innings to find any gaps in Marathon’s defense, Abby/ Colby went small to start the sixth inning. Two bunt singles for the co-op put men on the corners with no outs. Lopez brought in one on a sacrifice groundout and Marathon made a pitching change

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD

after Lara was hit in the next at bat. Going up against new pitcher Hector Pintor, Polivka legged out an infield hit that also brought home the go-ahead run for the co-op. Abby/Colby now led for the first time in the game, up 3-2 going into the bottom of the sixth.

A single up the middle, a walk and a bunt later, however, and Marathon had bases loaded with no one out. Another walk would bring home the tying run for the Red Raiders, who would not look back as their offense continued to roll, scoring three more runs in the inning to establish a commanding lead. The coop could not muster any further runs in the seventh and the home team took the game 6-3.

Reis went five innings for the Abbotsford/ Colby combination, allowing four runs on five hits. He would keep the coop in the game for much of the evening, inducing playable ground balls and weak flys through those five innings. Castillo would also come in to pitch for the co-op, getting three outs in the sixth and giving up two runs on two hits.

The co-op lineup finished with five hits A/C

on the game, all of which were singles. Scoring runs for Abby/Colby were Reis, Castillo and Lopez. All three also recorded a stolen base for the co-op, along with sophomore Jackson Snapp.

23-1

The co-op welcomed conference foe Prentice to Red Arrow Park on Tuesday. The home team would dominate, riding an eleven-run second inning to take the game 23-1.

The visiting Buccaneers arrived in town looking for their first win of the season, but they would find themselves still searching by evening’s end. The Abby/Colby lineup wasted no time establishing themselves, hanging a crooked number in the first inning to go up 4-0.

Prentice would score its sole run off senior Nick Olvera in the top of the second, but Olvera would keep the opposing offense in check for the rest of the night. He would pitch four innings, striking out eight and only giving up three hits.

While the Buccaneers had managed to close the gap slightly in the top of the inning, the bottom of the second belonged entirely to the co-op, as eleven runners would cross the plate for the home team. They would score eight more in the fourth, still producing after several starters had been taken out of the game.

After a relatively quiet game in Marathon, the Abby/Colby bats came alive on Tuesday, being led by a three-for-three, four RBI performance from junior Brandon Diedrich and a two hit, two RBI night from sophomore Blake Bargender. Prentice did not do themselves any favors either, however, as eight walks and several errors kept the visitors consistently in trouble. In fact, the co-op’s 23 runs almost doubled their twelve hits; a statistical anomaly brought on by said walks and errors surrendered by the Buccaneers.

As the game rounded into the fifth inning, the co-op brought in Preston Bunkelman in relief of Olvera. The sophomore would strike out three batters in his inning of work, taking the final three outs for himself without giving up a hit or a walk. The game would end under the mercy rule in the fifth, with the Abby/ Colby co-op taking the victory 23-1.

Schreiber and junior Braxton Smith finished the evening with two hits each for the co-op and Castillo crossed the plate three times. Lopez recorded the co-op’s only extra-base hit, a double, and scored twice.

AND I’LL TAKE THIRD TOO! -Mateo Lopez slides in safely at third base after an overthrow at second allowed him to advance. He would score on a Carlos Lara single one play later.STAFF PHOTO/NEAL HOGDEN