Pitchers toss no hitters
Bluejays, Tigers hurlers do it vs. conference foes
By Casey Krautkramer
First on Thursday, Stratford junior Brady Schmidt threw a no hitter in a 4-0 home win against Marathon. Then on Tuesday, Athens sophomore Nick Pittman tossed a no hitter in a 14-1 home win against Phillips.
They didn’t pitch perfect games because Schmidt surrendered a pair of walks to Red Raiders freshman True Thurs and Pittman walked three batters and gave up an unearned run against the Loggers. Nevertheless, both of them had clutch pitching performances for their squads when they needed it most.
Stratford avenged an 8-7 loss at Marathon on April 27 and Athens ended a three-game losing streak.
Athens head baseball coach Todd Diethelm was proud of his team’s performance on Tuesday against Phillips.
“It was a good game for us,” Diethelm said. “We need to get back on the winning side and gain some confidence. With a young team and a losing streak, it really works on the team’s confidence. We talk daily about the mental side of baseball and how we handle adversity. This is a humbling game and how you face the difficult times will set you up for failure or success. It was a much needed victory.”
Diethelm loved to see Pittman have a great game on the mound against the Loggers.
“Nick pitched a good game; he kept them off balance and we played decent defense behind him which allowed him to pitch to contact and not think he needed to strike everyone out,” he said.
“He pitched four and two thirds of no hit baseball and I will take that every game. Hunter Haelke got the last out. I hated to take Nick out for the last out but I needed to set up my pitching for the rest of the week.”
Stratford needed to split its regular- season series against Marathon to have a chance at winning its third straight Marawood Conference championship this year. Meanwhile, Athens no longer has a shot to win the Marawood North title after losing a road doubleheader, 13-5 and 14-0, against Abbotsford/Colby on Thursday. Abbotsford/Colby has an 8-0 record in the Marawood North and will easily win its third consecutive conference championship this season. Athens also lost, 14-4, at Rib Lake on Friday.
Marshall Lehman, Stratford head baseball coach, was proud of Schmidt’s pitching performance as well as his entire team’s play win against Marathon, especially following the team’s close loss to Marathon two days prior to Thursday. The Tigers and Red Raiders are normally solid baseball squads that end up competing for the Marawood South Conference and Division 3 regional championships each season.
“Our team was determined to rebound from our Tuesday loss to Marathon and that starts with how we pitch on the mound,” Lehman said. “Brady was up to the challenge and he showed why he is meant to be on the mound for us. Our coaching staff is very proud of him and also his teammates for their great play behind him. It was a well rounded game for us and that is what we are looking for moving forward as we start to get more games in.
Brady Schmidt is the younger brother of Chandler Schmidt, who pitched the complete-game win in Stratford’s Division 3 state championship victory against Markesan in the 2019 season. It was the first time the Tigers had won a state title in school history. Chandler Schmidt is currently pitching for Division 2 college Winona State in Minnesota.
On Thursday, senior Jackson Ormond relieved Brady Schmidt and pitched a perfect final 1/3 inning to close out Stratford’s 4-0 shutout victory against Marathon. Ormond and sophomore Jack Tubbs both smacked doubles for the Tigers at the plate. Marathon junior starter Tyler Underwood was charged with the pitching loss despite only surrendering six hits and a walk. Only one of the runs he gave up was earned. His first cousin, freshman Blake Underwood, relieved him on the mound.
Stratford also beat Phillips, 11-1, at home on Friday. Ormond was the winning pitcher and junior Braden Bloom led the Tigers with a double and three RBIs against the Loggers. Stratford also defeated Auburndale, 6-2, on the road Tuesday but game statistics were not immediately available. Stratford improves its record to 4-1 in the Marawood South Conference and 6-2 overall this season.
Red Raiders blast Rockets
Marathon rebounded from Thursday’s road loss to Stratford by easily beating Spencer, 12-1, in a non-conference road game on Friday. Senior Hector Pintor struck out nine hitters to earn the pitching win. Senior Daniel LaQua batted three for three with a double and Tyler Underwood was also three for three at the plate against the Rockets.
Red Raiders junior Grant Warren hit three for four with a pair of RBIs in the team’s victory against Spencer. Senior Cooper Hoeksema led Marathon with three RBIs and sophomore Cody Radtke batted two for three at the plate. Marathon has a 4-1 record in the Marawood South Conference and is 7-2 overall this season.
Wildcats rough up Cards
Edgar’s baseball team dominated Newman Catholic, 19-4, in five innings on the road Tuesday. Junior Brett Baumgartner led the Wildcats with three RBIs and senior Brady Stencil added two. Sophomore Jase Apfelbeck was the winning pitcher after striking out eight Cardinals hitters. He only surrendered three hits, one walk and an earned run. Baumgartner relieved Apfelbeck for the final inning.
The Wildcats’ late-inning rally against Abbotsford/Colby fell a little short at home on Friday. Edgar scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning but still lost a 5-4 nail biter at the end. Apfelbeck was the losing pitcher.
Edgar doubled up Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, 12-6, on the road Thursday. The Wildcats scored all of their runs in the last two innings. Sophomore Lucas Stahnke was the winning pitcher for Edgar and he was relieved by sophomore Leyton Schuett. Seniors Dillan Yonker and Justin Davis along with Apfelbeck collected two RBIs each in the victory. Edgar has a 4-2 record in the Marawood South Conference and is 5-3 overall this season.
Bluejays softball is hot
The Athens varsity softball team won its seventh consecutive game on Tuesday night after beginning the spring with four straight losses. Athens’ victory on Tuesday was extra special because it came against Marawood North softball arch-rival Phillips, which is normally Athens’ top competitor each year in its quest to win the conference championship.
Athens beat Phillips, 6-1, on a windy Tuesday in Athens. Bluejays sophomore pitcher Danica Diethelm out dueled Loggers senior Kendall Weik. Diethelm earned the complete-game win by striking out 14 Phillips batters. She only surrendered three hits, seven walks and one earned run. Weik suffered the complete-game pitching loss by going up six earned runs.
Bluejays junior Sydney Coker led the team in hitting by going two for three with an RBI and one run scored. Junior Jazelle Hartwig doubled and was two for four with an RBI.
Athens improves its record to 5-0 in the Marawood North Conference and 7-4 overall this season. The team’s tough work isn’t done yet this week because Athens plays at Phillips this Thursday, May 4, and then against defending Division 5 state champion Wisconsin Rapids Assumption at home this Friday, May 5.
Athens swept a road doubleheader against Rib Lake by scores of 12-0 and 16-5 on Friday. Diethelm earned both pitching wins and she was also relieved by junior Paige Westaby in both contests.
Tigers tame Red Raiders
Stratford swept its regular-season conference series against Marathon on Thursday at home, although Thursday’s game was much closer than the Tigers’ win against the Red Raiders two prior days. Stratford pounded Marathon, 12-0, on the road on April 25 but the Red Raiders showed some fight on Thursday in Stratford. Marathon’s late-inning rally came up short as Stratford won a 5-4 nail biter.
Tigers sophomore Laney Pankratz was the winning pitcher against the Red Raiders on Thursday. Marathon senior Kali Prihoda suffered the pitching loss.
The top of Stratford’s hitting order did the majority of the damage against Marathon. Senior leadoff hitter Tessa Berg batted one for three with a walk and two runs scored, senior number two hitter Bailey Linzmaier was one for two with two walks and a pair of runs scored, sophomore number three batter Emma Roeper was two for four with two RBIs and a run scored, freshman cleanup hitter Tria Tubbs was two for three with an RBI and freshman number five batter Gracie Schmidt was one for three with an RBI.
Marathon junior Bridget Salber hit two for four with a triple and two RBIs against Stratford on Thursday. Sophomore Katie LeBlanc batted two for four with a double and a run scored while junior Lauren Karlen was two for four with an RBI.
The Red Raiders also lost, 15-0, to the Wittenberg-Birnamwood Chargers at home on Friday. Marathon is winless in the tough Marawood South Conference but it has a 5-8 overall record this season.
Stratford also beat Northland Pines, 8-0, at home on Friday. Tubbs was the winning pitcher. Stratford has a 2-2 record in the Marawood South Conference and is 9-4 overall this season.
Wildcats are struggling
Edgar on Tuesday lost its fifth straight game and the team has lost five out of its last six contests this season albeit against tough opponents like Wausau East, Stevens Point Pacelli, twice against Wisconsin Rapids Assumption and against Newman Catholic.
The Wildcats fell, 3-1, against the Newman Catholic Cardinals on the road Tuesday. Last week Edgar lost both of its games, 4-2 and 6-0, against Wisconsin Rapids Assumption. Junior Makala Wirkus was the losing pitcher in both contests against the Royals.
Edgar has a 2-4 record in the Marawood South Conference and is 4-7 overall this season.
THROWING ACROSS THE DIAMOND FOR AN OUT- Stratford senior third baseman Sonia Peterson fields a ground ball in Thursday’s 5-4 home win against Marathon. She’s shown in the process of throwing the softball to freshman first baseman Tria Tubbs for an out. Freshman shortstop Gracie Schmidt is pictured next to Peterson.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
