A/C pitching, defense come up big in wins
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford/Colby baseball team got off to a hot start to their 2024 regular season, winning all three of their games over the last week. The co-op squad outscored their opponents 24-3 in those contests while only giving up eight hits to opposing lineups over the stretch.
Chequamegon, 5-1
The Abby/Colby squad’s first Marawood- North conference game against Chequamegon turned into a defensive battle, one that the reigning conference co-op came out on top of. Payton Schreiber pitched a strong five-and-two-thirds innings for the home team and helped his cause with a key RBI double in the third to help Abby/Colby pull out the 5-1 victory.
The bats for both teams were kept quiet for much of the evening as the two Marawood squads combined for just six hits in their conference opener. Schreiber and Chequamegon starting pitcher Corbyn Phelps dueled over the first four innings, neither surrendering much to the opposing lineup. While Abby/Colby managed solid contact on a number of early at-bats, the Screaming Eagles’ defense held tough behind Phelps to keep the home team off the scoreboard.
And while the visitors’ gloves held up for much of the evening, their two errors proved to be costly.
The first came in the third inning, when a long fly ball from Evan Reis was dropped, allowing him to advance to second while JV Castillo moved over to third. Abby/Colby was able to take advantage, as a sacrifice fly courtesy of Blake Bargender broke the 0-0 tie and Schreiber’s follow up double plated Reis a pitch later. Another double from Carlos Lara had the co-op threatening to put up more runs, but Phelps and the Screaming Eagles were able to work themselves out of the jam and escape with just a 2-0 deficit.
The visitors were able to strike back in the top of the fourth. A leadoff walk would eventually lead to the base runner reaching third via a passed ball and an error on a pickoff attempt at second and a single from Chequamegon’s Marcus Purdy got his team on the board. Schreiber struck out the final two batters of the inning to end the threat, but the Screaming Eagles had pulled within one.
Abby/Colby bought themselves some breathing room in the bottom of the fifth. AJ Brodhagen got things started for the co-op with a single and a steal before advancing to third on a passed ball. Nano Lopez then drew a walk and was able to swipe second as well, putting two runners in scoring position for Preston Bunkelman.
The senior came through with contact, slicing the pitch to the right side of the infield. The Eagles could not make the play and both Brodhagen and Lopez would come in to score while Bunkelman was able to advance to second. A double from Castillo would drive in Bunkelman two atbats later, providing a key insurance run for the home team.
Castillo came on to pitch the final inning- and-a-third for the co-op and shut down Chequamegon, striking out all four batters he faced and sealing Abby/Colby’s first conference win of the season.
Despite solid defensive play for most of the game, both teams made the other pay when errors were committed. Of the six combined runs scored in the contest, only one of them was earned.
Schreiber was credited with the win, giving up one unearned run while surrendering just two hits and striking out nine.
Castillo reached base in three of his four plate appearances, scoring once and knocking in one. Five players, Castillo, Bargender, Brodhagen, Lopez and Koren Decker, stole bases for the co-op.
Lakeland, 7-0
The Abby/Colby defense came through in a shutout victory over Lakeland on Monday. The co-op pitchers looked right at home at Wisconsin Rapids, holding the Thunderbirds to just four hits in the contest and not surrendering a run in the 7-0 victory.
Evan Reis took on the bulk of the innings for Abby/Colby, surrendering just one hit over his four innings pitched while striking out five batters, earning the win for his efforts. Payton Schreiber added two innings of one hit ball himself and JV Castillo kept Lakeland off the board in his one inning of work as well.
The co-op played well behind their starting pitchers, only committing one error and keeping the Thunderbirds from gaining any sort of momentum. While Lakeland had runners on at various points throughout the evening, they could never string together enough offense to break onto the scoreboard. In all, the co-op managed to keep eight Lakeland runners stranded.
The top of the Abby/Colby lineup did much of the damage at the plate, with their first through fifth batters going a collective 7-for-18 and accounting for all seven of their runs.
They put the co-op up early, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first, and kept the pressure on throughout the game. The next time through the order, they scored three runs in the bottom of the third and then added two more insurance runs in the fifth inning. Four of Abby/Colby’s eight hits went for extra bases, with Castillo, Schreiber, Reis and Carlos Lara all hitting doubles in the win.
Reis helped his cause by going 2-for-4 at the plate, scoring two runs and collecting an RBI. Castillo also had two hits in his four at bats while scoring a run and Lara went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Schreiber scored two runs and knocked in two. Nano Lopez was 1-for-3 with an RBI and two stolen bases.
Unity, 12-2
The quartet of Payton Schreiber, JV Castillo, Evan Reis and AJ Brodhagen held the Unity Eagles to just two hits and struck out 12 batters in a non-conference matchup held at the neutral site location in St. Croix Falls. Abby/Colby collected seven hits and eight walks on offense and, combined with seven errors from Unity, the co-op was able to control the game from the onset and eventually picked up their second win of the season, 12-2.
While no player had more than one hit in the contest, Abby/Colby was able to keep the runs coming in throughout. After taking an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the co-op never looked back, scoring in every inning but the fourth. The Eagles defense did not do their pitching staff many favors, as all but three of the 12 runs surrendered by Unity were unearned. The Abby/Colby lineup was able to capitalize on those mistakes, carrying a 7-0 lead into the sixth inning before adding four more in the top half of the inning to
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NOTCHING ANOTHER K - Payton Schreiber unleashes a strike for the coop, picking up one of his nine strikeouts in their 5-1 win over Chequamegon on Tuesday. He picked up the win after pitching five and two-thirds innings while giving up just one unearned run.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
SPEED ON THE DIAMOND - JV Castillo rounds second during the third inning against the Screaming Eagles. He would score one play later to put Abby/ Colby ahead against their conference foes.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Fast start
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all but seal their victory.
Meanwhile, the Abby/Colby pitching staff were able to hold the Eagles in check for much of the afternoon. By the time Unity finally broke through in the final frame, the co-op had accumulated a 12-0 lead.
Schreiber started the game on the mound and had a solid showing, striking out four while only allowing one hit in his two innings pitched. Castillo came on in relief and likewise only allowed one baserunner in his two innings of work. Reis pitched an efficient fifth inning, throwing just eight pitches and striking out one, and Brodhagen closed out the game for the co-op. The junior did not give up any hits and struck out three, but the Eagles were able to score two off of three walks and an error in the seventh inning.
Castillo reached base in three of his five plate appearances, drawing two walks and collecting a single to drive in two runs while scoring one himself. Nano Lopez also had a solid day at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a walk and collecting one of the co-op’s three extra base hits with a double. The senior also came around to score twice.
Schreiber and Blake Bargender also hit doubles for the co-op. Brodhagen went 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Abby/Colby also showed off some speed on the base paths, stealing seven bases. Castillo, Brodhagen and Reis all swiped two bases and Preston Bunkelman snagged one.
A rematch between the co-op and the Chequamegon Screaming Eagles is scheduled for this coming Friday, April 12, this time in Park Falls. Abby/Colby will be looking to complete the series sweep over their conference rivals for the fourth season in a row. Game time is set for 4:45 p.m.
NOT SO FAST - Nano Lopez lays down the tag on Chequamegon’s Antonio Poetzl after catching the Screaming Eagles’ runner between second and third.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
