WIAA STATE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS WIAA DIV. 2 BASEBALL SECTIONAL - Thrilling run, improbable season end a win shy of state

WIAA STATE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS WIAA DIV. 2 BASEBALL SECTIONAL

With a walk-off, two-run, eighth-inning homer by Max Dietzman in the semifinal and a 3-1 lead through three and a half innings in the championship game, the storybook run to state seemed to be falling into place for the Medford Raiders at Tuesday’s WIAA Division 2 Baldwin-Woodville baseball sectional.

Unfortunately, the script La Crosse Logan Rangers wrote during the sectional took over in the bottom of the fourth.

After winning their semifinal 9-5 over Altoona behind a seven-run first inning, the Rangers also hit Medford with a big rally, scoring six runs in the fourth to take a lead they didn’t give up in a 7-5 final that ended a tremendous 25-4 season for the Raiders and sent Logan (17-10) to the program’s first WIAA state tournament since 2007.

Medford last went to state in 2006 and came so close to returning Tuesday. After three straight come-from-behind, walkoff wins in post-season play, the Raiders never felt like they were out of the title game after falling behind, but this time, the late-inning magic wasn’t there. “One inning got away from us,” Medford head coach Justin Hraby said. “They are a scrappy hitting team and, as soon as we made a mistake, they capitalized on it. Sometimes the better team doesn’t win. I feel like we were the better team, but they played better and made big plays when needed.”

Logan’s big inning started with its number-three hitter, Bradley Check, pulling a leadoff double into the gap in right-center. An errant throw on Lucas Eilertson’s grounder put two runners on and they moved to second and third on Tyler Rumsey’s sacrifice bunt. Then, as the Rangers did in their big inning against Altoona, they kept finding holes to keep the train moving.

Jackson Bosch lined a single that dropped just in front of leftfielder Carson Carbaugh to score Check. Nick Joley dropped a single in front of centerfielder Evan Wilkins to score Eilertson and tie the game at 3-3. Preston Elston then got one into the wind and it carried over Carbaugh’s head for a go-ahead groundrule double that scored Bosch’s courtesy runner James Gruen.

Sophomore left-hander Hayden Strebig relieved starter Nick Steliga at that point and got a big second out with shortstop Tanner Hraby making a nice play to retire Carson Nelson on a ground ball. But Logan’s leadoff hitter Johnny Leaver pushed a bouncer up the middle that scored two runs and Kobe Szafran dropped a single into rightfield to plate the sixth run of the inning.

The Raiders had gone ahead 1-0 in the first when Hraby led off the game with a ground-rule double and scored on Carson Carbaugh’s two-out single. The Rangers tied it in the bottom half, then Medford regained the lead in the third when Parker Lissner singled, Carbaugh was hit by a two-out pitch and Steliga’s blooper to right was misplayed, allowing Lissner to score. Dietzman’s single scored Carbaugh.

The offense responded right after Logan’s rally, loading the bases with no outs in the top of the fifth. Steliga drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and Dietzman lifted a sacrifice fly to center, but the big hit that could’ve sparked a really big inning never came. Evan Wilkins singled in the sixth, but was thrown out trying to steal second and Carbaugh singled with two outs in the seventh but got no further than that.

Medford outhit Logan 8-6. Carbaugh was two for two and was hit by two pitches to reach all four plate appearances and Dietzman was one for two with two runs batted in.

“Carson Carbaugh was great at the plate for us all day and especially in game two,” Justin Hraby said. “He was on base every time and came up with clutch hits all day.”

Steliga, who had an 8-1 pitching record coming into the game, went 3.1 innings, allowing four hits and six runs, only two of which were earned. He had two strikeouts. Strebig, who got the relief win in the semifinal, was solid in his 2.2 innings, allowing a run on two hits with a strikeout.

“Nick and Hayden competed on the mound,” Hraby said. “Logan put some good swings on some good pitches and got the best of us.”

The win went to reliever Owen Check, who allowed three hits and two runs while striking out two and walking one in four innings. Eilertson, who got the save against Altoona, allowed five hits, struck out four and was charged with three runs, one earned, in his three-inning start. Six Rangers had one hit apiece.

Medford’s 25 wins is a single-season school record, beating the 24-4 team of 2021. The in-season 18-game win streak was also a school record. Both are numbers that were beyond the wildest dreams of anyone when practice began in March, and reaching the sectional final may have fit that category as well.

“What a ride,” Hraby said. “Most wins in a season, most wins in a row, who would have thought that? The guys just found ways to win games. We didn’t score a lot of runs, so we had to pitch well, play good defense and get some timely hits. They bought into that plan and had an amazing season.

“I am so proud of this group of boys, especially our seniors,” Hraby said. “I have been so blessed to have coached most of them since they were 8 years old. So many great memories throughout the years. Sad to see it end, but happy for the time we had. Over the course of the last four years, this group has seen a lot of success. Ninety-four wins, two conference titles, two regional titles and two sectional runner-up finishes. Not to mention breaking numerous records. The thing that gets overlooked though, is the character of these kids. They came ready to work everyday while keeping it loose and fun. I am sure going to miss them.”

Medford 5, Merrill 3

For the second straight tournament game, Medford never led in Tuesday’s first semifinal until the last swing of the game. And what a swing it was.

Dietzman crushed a 1-0 offering from Merrill’s Isaak Clapper well over the 365foot sign in straightaway centerfield to cap a comeback from a 3-1 deficit as his home run walked off Merrill 5-3 in eight innings.

Carbaugh started the inning by ending an eight-pitch at-bat and poking a single up the middle. Steliga bunted him to second and Carbaugh strolled home with the winning run on Dietzman’s blast.

“I’d be lying if I said anything other than it feels amazing,” Dietzman said. “That right there, that’s the moment that kids dream about.”

“We had moved Carbs over and I knew Max had been putting the ball in play the whole game, so just hoping he’d find a hole here,” Justin Hraby said right after the win. “Their outfield was playing pretty deep and if we got a base hit we’d have a pretty good chance to score Carbs. When he swung the bat, I thought double right away, it’s over (centerfielder Carter Baade’s) head, and it just kept going “I’m so happy for Max because we were on him steady to swing the bat, instead of popping out to left,” Hraby added. “He swung hard and you see what happens when he does that. When he’s right and getting after pitches early, he can hit the ball like that on any given at-bat.”

Clapper took over in the seventh for Merrill’s left-handed starter Brady Kanitz, who kept the Raiders in check in his six innings. He gave up just four hits and three walks, while striking out one. He gave up three runs, two of which were earned.

“Going from Brady to Clapper, that’s a decent speed change,” Dietzman said. “Clapper obviously still has a good fastball, but he mixes more in there. Brady is more of a fastball pitcher so you can sit on it more. Clapper switches stuff in more so it’s hard to judge what’s coming. He’s a great pitcher, great ball player. He just left one hang over the plate too much.”

Merrill built its 3-1 lead through four and a half innings basically by just hitting the ball where Medford wasn’t. Kanitz’s leadoff double in the top of the second was a rocket to deep center and he wound up scoring following bloop singles by Kaiden Henrich and Cooper Wendorf. In the third, Clapper walked, stole second and scored when Kanitz’s looper fell in left and bounced past Carbaugh for a double.

The Raiders got within 2-1 in the bottom of the third. Hraby drew a one-out walk and hustled from first to third on a wild pitch by Kanitz. As it turned out, he would’ve scored easily from second when Braxton Weissmiller crushed a double to deep center.

Sam Reimann doubled for Merrill with two outs in the fifth. Medford opted to intentionally walk Kanitz to set up forces at the bags and, instead, face EJ Weix who had been retired in his first two at-bats. But this time, his seeing-eye grounder slowly rolled untouched up the middle to score Reimann.

The Raiders finally did a little more damage against Kanitz in the bottom of the fifth. Wilkins walked, Hraby was hit by a pitch and Lissner bunted them up 90 feet. Weissmiller’s sacrifice fly scored Wilkins and Carbaugh’s double to rightcenter scored Hraby.

“Last week we struggled bunting,” Justin Hraby said. “There were three different times against Ashland (in the regional final) we didn’t get bunts down. If we get those bunts down we have a better chance to score. I think we were two for two today on bunts. Parker got his down and Nick got his down at the end. That was key. I’ll be honest, we did work on it a lot in the last three or four practices. Just those little things, run a pitch count up, having good at-bats and getting balls in play puts pressure on defenses. We didn’t strike out much. I thought we did a good job of grinding and making Kanitz work. Kanitz pitched a heck of a game.”

Also pitching well were Tanner Hraby and Strebig. Hraby hit his 100-pitch limit at 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and three walks while striking out 10. The biggest thing in his outing, coach Hraby said, was that whenever Merrill did score, the damage was always limited to one run. Strebig walked one and struck out one while getting four outs. Carbaugh was two for four and was the only Raider with multiple hits.

Merrill, who Medford beat 10-2 on May 13, finished the year 14-13.

“I’d lie if I said that I haven’t felt anything but nervousness and anxiousness in all three of those games,” Dietzman said of playing in a third straight tournament thriller. “I believe that’s when you’re strongest with butterflies in your stomach, you’re feeling anxious.”

“It’s really hard to explain because you can’t just turn it on at any given time, but this team just stays with it,” Justin Hraby said. “They know that they’re not going to jump out and blow teams out. They’ll just stay with it. They may get down early in the game and they just stick with the other team, chip away a little bit and find a way to win late. It’s been a good recipe so far. Let’s see if we can do it one more time.”

Max Dietzman feels the high of a walk-off home run to end Medford’s 5-3 WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal win Tuesday, while Merrill first baseman Brady Kanitz feels the low after he did all he could to help the Blue Jays pull off a potential upset. Kanitz pitched six strong innings and hit two doubles. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS

Max Dietzman follows through on his swing and watches his game-winning home run fly over the centerfield fence.