Loyal Legion baseball team takes 2nd at state tournament

By Sara Bratcher (contributed) and Valorie Brecht In a first for the community, the Loyal Legion baseball team made it to the state tournament this past week, making their community proud for not only playing well but also showing great sportsmanship.

“It’s not just how you hit and chase a ball, it’s how you act on the team, and they represented our community well,” said head coach Dean Bogdonovich.

The Loyal American Legion Post 175 16U baseball team took second place in the state tournament on Tuesday, July 30, at the historic Mary Rountree Evans Field in Baraboo. The championship team from Tomah won the final game 4-0.

Team members, all of whom were 16 or younger, and their positions were (as listed on the Legion website): Andy Petkovsek, shortstop; Colten Sandelier, pitcher; Reed Stieglitz, center field; RoganAshbeck, second base; Carson Prein, center field; Brody Miller, third base; Carter Johnson, pitcher; Jake Lindner; catcher; Evan Kautzer, right field; Carson Bremmer, pitcher; Isaac Zabel, center field; Landen Landini, left field; Rhett Lamovec, third base; Talon Follen, left field; Jonah Vircks, right field; Adam Kautzer, second base; Kolten Pagenkopf, first base; and Hunter Walter, first base. Of the 15 players that participated in the tournament, one was from Greenwood. The Greenwood and Loyal American Legion posts jointly sponsored the team.

The state tournament consisted of eight teams: seven of which represented the champions of their respective regional tournaments, and the eighth, Baraboo, received an automatic bid as the host team. Loyal won four straight games at regionals to qualify for state, which was a double-elimination tournament played over five days, starting on Friday, July 26.

In all, Loyal played in six games over the course of the state tournament, winning four. On July 26, Loyal won 7-3 over West De Pere. On July 27, they won 10-4 over St. Mary’s Springs. On July 28, the Loyal team

Please see Legion baseball, page 12

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Legion baseball,

from p. 11

fell to Tomah 11-3 before returning on July 29 to win 16-3 over Baraboo and 11-3 on July 30 over St. Mary’s Springs. In the championship game, also held on July 30, the team lost 4-0 against Tomah.

Game 1 (Loyal versus West De Pere) highlights: Petkovsek pitched 5.1 innings, giving up only 2 hits, 2 walks and no earned runs, with 6 strikeouts. Loyal’s batters combined for 10 hits.

Game 2 (Loyal versus St. Mary’s Springs) highlights: Sandelier pitched 6 innings, giving up only 5 hits, 5 walks and 3 earned runs, with 5 strikeouts. Sandelier also scored 3 of Loyal’s total runs off of a double, single and being hit by a pitch. Walter went 3 for 5, with 3 singles, 1 run, 1 RBI and 2 stolen bases. With 2 opposing runners on in the bottom of the seventh, Vircks made a diving catch in left field to end the game.

Game 3 (Loyal vs. Tomah) highlights: Stieglitz pitched a stellar last inning for the Hounds, giving up no runs, 1 hit and 1 walk, while collecting all 3 outs on strikeouts.

Game 4 (Loyal vs. Baraboo) highlights: Bremmer pitched a complete game, giving up only 3 earned runs, with 8 strikeouts, and only walking 2. The Hounds were on fire at the plate. Every single Greyhound in the lineup claimed at least 1 hit and scored at least 1 run in this blowout that led to the game being called after the sixth inning due to the 10-run rule. Kautzer and Sandelier each had 3 hits, and scored 2 runs. Ashbeck batted in 3 runs.

Game 5 (Loyal vs. St. Mary’s Springs) highlights: Petkovsek pitched a complete game, giving up only 3 earned runs, with 2 strikeouts , and only walking 3. Overall, Loyal was patient at the plate, walking 8 times (including Walter twice) and tallying 9 hits (two coming from Stieglitz).

Game 6 (Loyal vs. Tomah, championship) highlights: Loyal’s committee of pitchers (Walter, Ashbeck and Stieglitz) held the championship Tomah team to only two hits, compared to Loyal’s four (Kautzer, Sandelier, Vircks and Bremmer with one each). Unfortunately, the difference in hits was not enough as the Greyhounds fell 4-0, due to walks (10) and errors (3). On the bright side, Loyal also kept Tomah to only 4 runs, which was no small feat given Tomah averaged 6.75 runs per game in the tournament leading up to this game.

Five Loyal players were selected for All-Tournament Team honors. They were, in no particular order: Petkovsek, Kautzer, Walter, Sandelier and Bremmer.

The team went 15-6 on the season, which began June 4. During the regular season, they hosted games at Greenwood and Loyal, playing teams from Neillsville, Auburndale, Stratford and Spencer, and other local teams. Their only losses were against Marathon, Medford and Tomah, as they lost to each twice. They won 12 of their last 14 games.

Bogdonovich said he was proud of his team for all their hard work, which paid off.

“In the regional, we were competing against Chippewa Falls, Menomonie and New Richmond, and then at state we had De Pere, St. Mary’s Springs and Tomah — so you have little Loyal, a town of 1,300 people that’s competing and winning against all of these towns that are over 10,000 people and have a lot bigger pool of kids to draw from,” he said.

Bogdonovich said he was also proud for the way the players carried themselves and showed respect for everyone involved.

“What meant more than the win-loss record was when a coach who has coached at New Richmond for more than 30 years told me that our team had a lot of class. We also had parents from opposing teams who said our kids showed great character. The umpires said they did a great job too… Since it’s Legion baseball, there’s a lot of veterans watching. If they saw the vets, they would make sure to thank them for their service. After we won one game, we were shaking our opponents’ hands and I saw our kids chasing toward the third base line. I thought, ‘What are they doing?’ Well, they were tracking down the umpires to make sure they thanked them. It’s good to see that. These are young men who appreciate their country and appreciate veterans, and you don’t always see that in our country today.”

Bogdonovich expressed his appreciation to his assistant coaches, Darin Bremmer and Andy Petkovsek Sr., with a special thank you going to Will Bratcher, who served as statistician.

“With all the rules and regulations, there’s a lot of pitch counts to keep track of and how many days of rest and things like that. He did a great job keeping track of all that,” said Bogdonovich.

He also extended appreciation to the the Loyal Legion Post 175 and the Greenwood Legion Post 238 for their support throughout the season, as well as all of the family and friends who helped make the season possible.

He has hopes of continuing coaching future summer teams and looks back on this season fondly.

“I’ve played for baseball for the last probably 45 to 50 years, and I wanted the kids to know it was more than a win-loss record. Baseball is America’s pastime. Watching them throughout the summer, I could tell they got it — they understood the intricacies of the sport. It’s about how they pick themselves up when they get down and become young men in the process.”

Above left, Jake Lindner caught for every game of the tournament. Above right, Hunter Walter catches the ball for an out at first base.