‘Jays flying high now

Squad has cleaned up early errors

As the weather gets warmer, the Athens varsity baseball team is committing less errors on the field. The Bluejays easily beat the Phillips Loggers, 10-0, on Thursday at Tucker Westfall Memorial Field to complete the regular- season sweep.

Senior Brooks Kraus scattered five hits and three walks while striking out seven batters to earn the pitching win. Sophomore reliever Hunter Haehlke got the save. Senior third baseman Kody Lepak led the Bluejays with three RBIs, while sophomore Ty Johnson and Kraus collected a pair of RBIs each.

Athens head coach Todd Diethelm said although the team is out of the running to win the Marawood North Conference championship this year, after losing a pair of games to Abbotsford/ Colby, the Bluejays are focusing on making a long playoff run at the end of this season.

“I thought we played our most complete game of the season in our win against Phillips at home with pitching, defense and hitting,” he said. “This is the best we’ve hit the ball this season, so I think now we are playing to get ready for the tournament time. We just need to improve every game and work hard in practice.”

Kyler Ellenbecker, Athens senior catcher, said the team made too many costly mistakes in games earlier this season that led to close defeats. Things are now looking up for the Bluejays. It’s important for him to keep alive Athens’ strong tradition of winning baseball, considering his older brother, Klay Ellenbecker, was a pivotal member of the Bluejays’ WIAA Division 4 state championship teams in 2017 and 2018.

“I’d say our tradition means a lot here,” Kyler Ellenbecker said. “Even on the first day of practice, we still talk about those guys on the Athens baseball state championship teams that had great communication with their teammates and strong leadership skills.”

The brothers’ parents are Adam and Penny Ellenbecker. Kyler Ellenbecker plans to play linebacker for a Division 3 college football program in Wisconsin next fall while works toward earning a college degree in physical education.

Athens’ baseball team has lost a pair of road games, 9-8 to Wisconsin Rapids Assumption on Friday and 11-10 to Chequamegon on Tuesday, since its regular-season sweep against Phillips on Thursday. The Bluejays have a 5-4 record in the Marawood North and are 5-6 overall this season.

Wildcats stun Tigers

Edgar’s varsity baseball squad upset Stratford, 4-2, on Tuesday at home to hand the Tigers their first Marawood South Conference loss this season. Stratford is ranked seventh in this week’s Division 3 Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association poll.

Senior Jordan Bunkelman was the winning pitcher for Edgar while senior Ashton Schuett earned the save. Stratford sophomore Brady Schmidt suffered the loss in relief of senior starting pitcher Dillon Kirsch.

Wildcats senior leadoff hitter Everet Brehm batted a perfect two for two with a pair of runs scored. Bunkelman paced Edgar with two RBIs and Ashton Schuett had one RBI in the victory. Tigers senior leadoff batter Camden Daul hit two for three with a run scored. Senior Gavin Kirsch and sophomore Henry Zaleski had one RBI each for Stratford.

Edgar also won a pair of games at the end of last week, 9-7 at Wausau Newman on Thursday and 7-1 versus Phillips on Friday.

Stratford won two games home games at the end of last week, 9-2 against Auburndale on Thursday and 6-0 against Chequamegon on Friday. Edgar now has a 5-4 record in the Marawood South Conference after Tuesday’s victory against Stratord, and is 8-4 overall this season. Stratford falls to 7-1 in the Marawood South and 12-2 overall. The two teams will tangle again at 4:45 p.m. this Thursday, May 12, in Stratford.

Raiders win three straight

Marathon’s varsity baseball team has now won three consecutive games.

The Red Raiders first roughed up the Wisconsin Rapids Assumption Royals, 7-1, on May 2. Senior Kyle Hollenbeck was the winning pitcher. Junior Hector Pintor led the Red Raiders by hitting three for four with two doubles and a pair of RBIs. Sophomore Tyler Underwood batted a perfect three for three. Senior Nathan Hanke was also two for two at the plate and sophomore Grant Warren doubled.

Marathon then swept its regularseason series against Assumption with a 12-1 thumping against the Royals on Thursday. Grant Warren batted two for four with three RBIs. Junior Pierson Hamann hit two for three and sophomore Cooper Hoeksema smacked a double.

The Red Raiders beat Abbotsford/ Colby, 6-3, on Friday at home. Hector Pintor was the winning pitcher. Grant Warren doubled twice and Tyler Underwood had one double. Junior Daniel LaQua batted two for three at the plate.

Marathon now has a 4-2 record in the Marawood South Conference and is 7-3 overall this season.

FOCUSED ON HIS SENIOR SEASON- Athens senior shortstop Cooper Diedrich stands in the batter’s box during the team’s 10-0 home win against Phillips on Thursday. He’s a key member of the 2022 Bluejays spring baseball squad. Right now, his plans after graduating from high school this year are to play college basketball for Division 3 UW-Stout.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

SENIOR SHOWCASING HIS TALENT- Edgar senior Ashtyn Schuett is pictured scoring a run against Marathon in an earlier game this season. He had an RBI while earning the pitching save during Edgar’s 4-2 home upset win against Stratford on Tuesday.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER