Tripped up after 8-0 start to the summer
POST 147 LEGION BASEBALL
Medford’s American Legion Post 147 baseball team met its toughest opponent so far of the summer season and was unable to do much with Rhinelander pitcher Isaac Bixby in a 5-1 loss to the Rebels Monday night at JC Field.
The battle for first place midway through the Great Northern Legion Conference season turned in the fourth and fifth innings. That’s when Rhinelander’s Post 7 squad made solid contact against Medford ace Logan Baumgartner and took advantage of some defensive miscues by Medford to score all of its runs.
Rhinelander (3-0 GNLC, 9-1 overall) got a complete-game, 96-pitch outing from Bixby, who went 3-0 with a 4.21 earned run average in 47 innings this spring for UW-Platteville. He still meets the age qualifications to play at the Legion level this summer. Bixby allowed three hits, two of which came in the first inning, struck out six. Neither pitcher walked a batter.
Baumgartner reached his 105-pitch limit with one out to go in the seventh. He struck out six and allowed just two earned runs on nine hits. Seth Mudgett got that last out for Medford with a fourpitch strikeout.
After an 8-0 start, Post 147 is now 8-2 overall.
Mudgett singled to lead off the bottom of the first, was bunted to second by Tanner Hraby and scored on Baumgartner’s high chopper off the hard infield dirt that bounced over the head of third baseman Max Ratty.
But after that, Medford had just three more base runners. Two came on errors and the other on a base hit up the middle in the fifth by Miles Searles. His hit and an error by Rhinelander shortstop Joe Schneider on a ball hit by Tucker Kraemer put two runners on with one out. But Bixby and the Rebels quickly ended that threat when first baseman Arian Patrone grabbed a liner by Mudgett while practically standing on the base to double off Kraemer.
Schneider’s single and an error on a ball hit by Ratty gave Rhinelander its first scoring threat in the fourth. Baumgartner struck out Jacksen Smith to get an out away from escaping it, but Owen Kurtz lined a single to right-center to drive in the tying run.
The Rebels took the game over in the top of the fifth. AJ Turek reached on a leadoff error and Bixby singled. Both runners advanced on a passed ball and scored on Ryan Jamison’s triple to the gap in right-center. He scored on Schneider’s groundout to first, but a good throw to home might have nabbed him. Ratty doubled later in the inning and scored on Smith’s base hit.
The teams were scheduled to meet again in Rhinelander Wednesday night. Post 147 is now off until Wednesday, July 6 when it plays two five-inning games in a non-conference doubleheader at Park Falls. Tomahawk is at Medford on Friday, July 8.
Medford won its first two games by large margins but a late-game rally came up a run short in the third game of the Abbotsford tournament, held Friday and Saturday at Red Arrow Park.
Stratford prevented Post 147 from earning a perfect 3-0 mark in the tournament by holding on for an 8-7 win on Saturday afternoon. A five-run first inning gave Stratford a lead it never lost, though Medford made things interesting before the game ended after five innings.
Down 8-2 entering the bottom of the fifth, Medford got a leadoff walk from Searles and an RBI triple from Baumgartner to get a rally started. Baumgartner scored on a base hit by Ty Metz and Nick Steliga followed with a base hit. With two outs, Metz scored on a wild pitch. Jacob Eckert walked and Evan Wilkins kept hope alive by reaching on an infield single that scored Steliga. Eckert would score on an errant pickoff throw. With the tying run on second base, Stratford got out of the jam when Mudgett grounded out to second.
Stratford took the lead immediately, taking advantage of a tough first inning for Medford’s Gavin Fuchs, who hit four batters and allowed a hit in a five-run first that also was fueled by a two-out error on Baumgartner that allowed two runs to score.
Post 147 got its first two runs in the bottom half, loading the bases with no outs and getting an RBI groundout from Steliga and a Searles run on a wild pitch. Stratford got a run in the second inning on a bases-loaded walk and added two more in the fourth on a two-run double hit off Searles, who pitched the last two innings. He struck out one and allowed five hits. Fuchs struck out two and walked two in three innings. Three of the six runs he allowed were earned.
Wilkins was two for three to lead Medford’s six-hit attack.
Earlier in the day, Medford took out Edgar 12-1 in six innings, breaking the game wide open with a seven-run rally in the top of the sixth. Metz threw five solid innings, striking out seven, walking one and allowing just three hits and an earned run. Mudgett allowed two hits and struck out one in a scoreless bottom of the sixth.
The offense broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third when Wilkins walked, Mudgett singled and Searles singled to drive in Wilkins. Mudgett scored on an error on a ball hit by Metz and Searles scored on a wild pitch. Wilkins scored on a fourth-inning wild pitch to make it 4-0 and Eckert’s sacrifice fly scored Fuchs, who had been hit by a pitch, to make it 5-1 in the fifth.
The big sixth inning started with a base hit by Mudgett. He stole second and scored on an error on a ball hit by Searles. Baumgartner was hit by a pitch and Metz walked to load the bases for Steliga, who singled in Searles. Fuchs walked to drive in Baumgartner. With two down, Metz scored on an error and Wilkins singled in Steliga. Mudgett singled in Fuchs and Wilkins scored on a wild pitch.
Mudgett went three for four out of the leadoff spot in the order. Searles was two for four.
In Friday’s tournament opener, Post 147 scored eight runs in the bottom of the third inning and cruised to a 13-1, four-inning win over host Abbotsford. Playing as the visitors, Abbotsford took a brief 1-0 lead, getting an unearned run off Baumgartner, who struck out two, walked one and allowed two hits in four innings.
Medford tied it in the bottom half on a two-out hit by Metz that drove in Kraemer and took the lead with a fourrun second. Eckert drew a bases-loaded walk, Mudgett hit a two-run double and Kraemer hit a sacrifice fly.
Braxton Weissmiller doubled over the rightfielder’s head to start the big third-inning rally that sent 14 batters to the plate. Metz singled to right and Steliga singled to left to score Weissmiller. After a wild pitch moved the runners, Metz scored on a Searles groundout. Steliga scored when a fly ball by Gavin Fuchs was dropped. Fuchs stole second and scored on Alex Dittrich’s single to center.
Eckert walked and Mudgett singled to load the bases. Dittrich scored on an errant throw home on Kraemer’s ground ball. Baumgartner was hit by a pitch to force in a run, Weissmiller walked in one and Steliga drove in the last one by getting plunked.
Mudgett and Metz each had two of Medford’s nine hits.
Medford 4, Minocqua 0
On June 22, Fuchs and Hraby combined on a one-hit shutout, striking out 11 in Medford’s 4-0 win at Minocqua.
Fuchs struck out six, walked two and allowed the only hit, a fourth-inning single by Will Fortier in his three innings of work. Hraby finished up. He struck out five and walked one.
Offensively, Post 147 had just five hits against the trio of Zach Peterson, Fortier and Danny Gahler. Hraby singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the top of the first. It stayed 1-0 until the fifth. Wilkins hit a one-out single and scored after three wild pitches.
A two-run seventh put it away. Wilkins was hit by a pitch and stole second. After Hraby walked, Wilkins scored when Parker Lissner reached on an error. Hraby scored on Max Dietzman’s base hit.
The game ended early in the top of the seventh as the lights at the field were not working.
The win put Medford at 4-0 in league play at the time. Wins earlier in June against Eagle River’s Northwoods team were not considered conference wins as Northwoods is unable to complete a full league schedule.
Medford’s Gavin Fuchs swipes second base during Post 147’s eight-run third inning that sealed a 13-1 win over Abbotsford.MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
