A/C suffers road loss to Rib Lake, downs Tigers in cold
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford/Colby baseball team went 1-1 over the past week, winning a non-conference matchup with Stratford before falling in a key Marawood-North game in Rib Lake.
Rib Lake, 6-4
Abby/Colby traveled to Rib Lake to take on their undefeated conference rivals on Tuesday evening with hopes of securing a hold on the Marawood conference lead. Instead, they were dealt their first conference loss since May 3, 2022, as the Redmen used a two-run sixth to secure a 6-4 victory over the co-op.
It had been nearly two years since Abby/ Colby had lost to another Marawood-North squad. The last time had also come at the hands of the Redmen, with the 15-11 loss the only blemish on their 2022 conference record.
Rib Lake broke a 4-4 tie in the sixth after their leadoff batter D. Sutherl in the inning reached on an error and T. Scheith advanced him to third on a single. A fielder’s choice on the next at bat brought Sutherland home to give the Redmen the lead and a single by B. Heiser brought home another run before Abby/Colby could get out of the inning.
The co-op had an opportunity in the seventh to potentially tie the game back up after a pair of singles from Blake Bargender and Carlos Lara and a walk drawn by Evan Reis loaded the bases. The co-op could not find that final clutch hit, however, and came out of the inning empty handed.
As expected heading into the game between the two squads deemed most likely to be competing for the top of the conference before the season began, it was a tightly contested affair all afternoon. While Abby/Colby seemed to take a brief advantage at points, the Redmen answered immediately.
The co-op put up two runs in the top of the first after a double by Lara was able to score Bargender and Reis knocked in Payton Schreiber on a sacrifice fly. However, Rib Lake came back with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame. Then when the coop was able to work a few walks to score two runs in the top of the third, the Redmen immediately tied the game up during their next at-bats. When it came time for Abby/Colby to respond late in the game, they could not come up with the same offensive response as their opponents.
Abby/Colby finished the game with just four hits. Lara accounted for two of those hits while Bargender and Arturo Lopez each had one. Schreiber scored two runs after drawing three walks in the contest.
JV Castillo started on the mound for the co-op, going two innings while surrendering four runs on six hits. He struck out one and walked one. Schreiber pitched four innings in relief, giving up two unearned runs while striking out seven and walking two.
Stratford, 7-5
After falling behind early, the co-op showed some grit and dug themselves out
See A/C BASEBALL/ Page 12
SLAPPING DOWN THE TAG - Nano Lopez finishes off the play, getting the out after Blake Bargender’s well place throw on an attempted steal late in the game against Stratford.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
DELIVERING A STRIKE - JV Castillo fires in a pitch against the Tigers.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD A/C baseball
Continued from page 11
of a four-run deficit against Stratford last Friday afternoon. Abby/Colby scored seven straight runs in the comeback effort, earning themselves a 7-5 win.
Chilly temperatures may have had some effect, with only one of the 12 combined hits going for extra bases and the two squads committing a total of nine errors in the contest. Seven of those errors were charged to the Tigers, whose mistakes turned out to be quite costly. All seven of the runs surrendered by Stratford pitchers were unearned as the visiting co-op took full advantage of their opponents’ fielding mishaps.
The Tigers took the initiative in the Marawood North/South matchup, holding Abby/ Colby scoreless over the first two innings while their lineup got off to a fast start against starting pitcher Payton Schreiber. Two singles for Stratford to open the bottom of the first got the home team on the board first. Schreiber managed to work himself out of a bases loaded, no outs situation with only one more run surrendered, but the Tigers once again put the pressure on in the second.
A hit batsmen and a pair of singles loaded the bases once again for Stratford and then were able to bring across another run by working a walk. The second batter to be hit by a pitch in the inning drove gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead and with just one out, and the bases still full they were looking to do more damage. Abby/Colby turned to JV Castillo on the mound and the senior came up with a pair of important strikeouts to end the threat.
The co-op got two of the runs back in the top of third, despite only getting one hit in the inning. Castillo reached on an error and, after stealing second, was able to score on a single by Blake Bargender. The Abby/ Colby catcher was able to score later in the inning as a pitch escaped the Tigers catcher, allowing Bargender to come home and notch the co-op’s second run.
Abby/Colby pulled within one after two more errors by Stratford in the top of the fourth, but it was a big fifth inning that fully turned the tide. The Tigers committed three more fielding errors and the co-op broke through with hits in key at-bats to take control of the contest. A single from Carlos Lara knocked in Schreiber to tie the game and back-to-back RBI hits courtesy of AJ Brodhagen and Arturo Lopez put the co-op ahead. Brodhagen snagged third on third on a wild pitch, forcing an errant throw that allowed him to score a fourth run in the inning.
Meanwhile, Castillo and the Abby/Colby defense had rendered the Tigers’ lineup toothless after the first two innings. While Stratford scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, Castillo kept the basepaths mostly clean during his five and two-thirds innings of work. Surrendering just one hit and one walk, the co-op senior was almost untouchable in one of his best outings of the season thus far. He struck out eight and induced light contact during his time on the mound, holding back the Tigers as his lineup battled back into the contest. He closed the door on the contest in emphatic fashion, striking out the side in the seventh to seal the win.
Bargender was the only co-op hitter with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate and scoring a run. Nano Lopez had the only extra base hit in the game, a double in the second inning.
The co-op will have a very important rematch with Rib Lake on Thursday, April 25 at home. Splitting the season series with the Redmen will be an important step towards earning another conference championship while a loss will mean they will need a lot of help from the rest of the Marawood- North if they are to repeat as champions. The game will be just the second home game for Abby/ Colby of the season and will start at 4:45 p.m.
