A JOB WELL DONE

WBCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC

Gardner has big weekend with West All-Stars

Of course, Aiden Gardner of Medford was going to soak up the experience of being amongst the top senior baseball players in Wisconsin for two days.

But the Raiders’ All-GNC, All-District and honorable mention All-State catcher felt he had a job to do at last weekend’s 38th annual Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Classic held in Oshkosh.

And he certainly accomplished it. Gardner more than held his own in his role with the West All-Stars collecting four hits in six at-bats and rotated flawlessly through three different defensive positions as the team went 1-2 in its series of games.

The West fell 9-3 to the East All-Stars on Friday night, blew out the North All-Stars 12-1 early Saturday afternoon and lost a one-run game to the South All-Stars later in the afternoon on a walkoff double by Gavin Kilen of WIAA Division 1 state champion Milton.

The game on Friday was halted in the sixth inning after an injured player was taken away by ambulance. Rain shortened the event’s last two games on Saturday, including the South’s win over the West and the East’s win over the North, which sealed the East’s 3-0 record for the weekend.

Gardner is the third Medford Raider in four years to play in the classic, following Cade Alexander in 2019 and Spike Alexander last year. He actually would have been one of two Raiders in this year’s game, but two-time Great Northern Conference Player of the Year and second-team All-State infielder Caleb “Chubs” Guden reported to basic training at the Air Force Academy last week and was unable to play.

Gardner said Guden’s absence served as his motivation to make sure he played well Friday and Saturday.

“The experience was more than I could have asked for,” Gardner said on Monday. “I met a lot of awesome people.

My coaches and teammates were awesome, a blast to be around, and the talent there was great. I know Chubs was supposed to be there but had to decline because he had to report to the Air Force Academy. He is my best friend and when I got selected not only did I want to come to the All-Star Games to represent Raider baseball and make the Raider fans and my coaches proud, but there was a huge part of me that was there playing for Chubs and playing to make him proud as well. I wanted to dedicate a great week- end of ball to him, and I felt I did a really good job of that.”

Gardner’s biggest highlight came in the 9-3 loss to the East Friday when he drove in two of the team’s runs with a line-drive triple to left off Matthew Mueller of Brookfield Central, a big left-hander who is a Gonzaga University commit.

“I was definitely waiting for a fastball,” Gardner said. “I knew that was going to be the best pitch to try to hit. He’s a Gonzaga commit and his off-speed stuff was definitely better than anything I’ve seen in the GNC. I got the count to where I’d figure I’d see a fastball. He put it in my wheelhouse, I got a good swing on it and hit it hard.”

Gardner went two for three in that game, one for one in the win over the North and one for two in the weathershortened finale against the South. His other three hits were all singles. While he made it look easy with four hits, Gardner said facing the best pitchers in the state was anything but.

“That was definitely some of the best pitching I’ve seen my whole life,” he said. “It was crazy to see. The off-speed pitches had a little more movement to them that made them harder to hit. The pitcher from Brookfield Central. They were saying he tops out at 94 mph. They said he was throwing 90-91 in that game we saw him. That fastball you could tell really had some zip. The off-speed was a little sharper and it was still quicker than what you usually see.”

Gardner felt he was fortunate, while playing with the Whittlesey Reds, to have faced the Rapids RedHawks the previous weekend in the Dairyland League.

“It was good to have my metal bat again,” he said. “I’ve been using a wood bat playing with Reds. We played Rapids two weekends ago and I think that really helped me because we saw guys who pitch at UW-Stevens Point or in junior college. After seeing those guys, I think it prepared me for what I saw this weekend.”

The West had an 18-man roster, which allowed half of the players to be on the field for half of each game. They did have to rotate positions, however. Gardner saw time at his usual position of catcher, receiving for Boyceville’s Jacob Granley, he got time in the outfield, where he saw a few innings for the Raiders this spring and he even got an inning at third base in the win over the North.

“Our coach asked me if I had ever played infield before, and I said, ‘no,’” Gardner said. “Then he asked if I could play third base because I have you down for an inning there. I don’t think I’ve played infield since maybe seventh or eighth grade, if not earlier, and that would’ve been second base.”

Nothing was hit to Gardner while he played third and the outfield. He had a highlight while catching, throwing out the only base runner who attempted to steal second base on him.

The West’s roster included area players like Henry Reimann of Merrill, Ethan Graham of Wausau West, Camden Daul of Stratford, Noah Grimm of Pittsville, Kaden Thauer of Stevens Point, Jonah Hanson and Gabe Richardson of Eau Claire North and Cole Ladick of Wisconsin Rapids. Dylan O’Connell of Eau Claire Memorial shared the tournament’s Tom Nygaard MVP award with Mukwonago’s Will Johanes. Johanes hit three home runs during the tournament while O’Connell had several hits and spectacular defensive plays.

“At first I was a little nervous, but once my parents dropped me off at the dorm, it was good,” Gardner said. “I knew the Eau Claire guys coming in, like Dylan O’Connell and Noah Grimm of Pittsville. But we all got comfortable with each other right away. It was good to meet all of the guys. It was just a good experience.”

Gardner doesn’t have concrete plans yet for his immediate future, but he said Monday some collegiate options might still be out there if he chooses to go that routes, especially after his weekend performance.

“It was awesome,” Gardner said. “It was a great experience. That’s for sure.”