Marawood champs beat Bucs, Royals
By Nathaniel Underwood As a comfortable win at Prentice wrapped up conference play last week for the Abbotsford/Colby baseball team, they once again found themselves on the top of the Marawood-North standings. While the result was the same, the road to their second consecutive Marawood-North conference championship was much different for this year’s squad than its predecessor.
Much of that had to do with the fact that the 2022 iteration was significantly younger than 2021’s team.
Faced with the challenge of having to replace seven seniors to graduation, three of which were first-team all-conference and two more were honorable mentions, one might have expected and maybe even excused some growing pains. But the co-op never lowered such expectations on themselves; from the start, their goal was to win their conference.
And while those aspirations could have seemed lofty for a team that had just lost a large chunk of its starting lineup, there was still cause for such expectations to be met. Namely in that three members of the second all-conference team were returning in senior Nick Olvera and juniors Mateo Lopez and Brandon Diedrich. Also coming back as sophomores were a trio of key contributors, JV Castillo, Evan Reis and Blake Bargender, that would now have a year of varsity experience under their belts.
However, with Olvera and Diedrich both dealing injuries at different points in the season, things could have very quickly turned on the co-op. There were certainly some question marks about who would fill the roles of the sincedeparted class of 2021 at the beginning of the season, and those questions could have been amplified with some of the more experienced members of the team missing time. But the team has seen some of its younger members stepping into their new positions and delivering, especially in clutch moments.
There were many tight games this season in which the co-op managed to come from behind in late innings, including three against conference foes Phillips, Athens and Rib Lake. If any of these didn’t go the co-op’s way, things could have looked very different for the now conference champs.
“We just keep stressing to the kids, and them to each other, that they need to trust their approach,” Coach Ryan Bargender stated when asked about the team’s late-game heroics. “They know what pitches they can handle and what to look for. Everyone has confidence in each other.”
And while there were times when that clutch hit seemed elusive, this squad has demonstrated a late game poise that is usually associated with a more experienced team.
“The kids never get too high or too low,” Bargender added after one such late-game win against Rib Lake. “Everyone in the lineup is capable of hitting and getting on base so we are never out of any games.”
Despite their success so far, this Abby/ Colby club believes that they have yet to reach their peak. Bringing Olvera and Diedrich back into the fold after injury is part of that equation. Their presence will help both in the lineup and add depth to the pitching rotation.
“We have some guys that have stepped up and been a surprise at the plate and some guys that we expected to lead us but are scuffling,” Bargender said, “Once they hit like they can, our lineup will be even more solid. Being that we are so young, one senior, this has been a tremendous learning year for us. Replacing seven seniors hasn’t been easy. It’s taken us a while to figure out who fits where and we are still not done figuring out our best lineups.”
With the conference schedule behind them and the Marawood-North title under their belts, the Abby/Colby club looks forward to the remainder of their season. As they await their placement in the WIAA tournament, they will have several upcoming non-conference games to keep sharp and smooth out some wrinkles in their game. They played the first of these games against Assumption last Friday.
8-2
With conference play in the books, the co-op started the end of their regular stretch by inviting the Assumption Royals to Red Arrow Park last Friday. The home team would ride a six-run first inning to their thirteenth win of the season, taking the game 8-2.
The Abby/Colby club would show off both sides of their offense in the first inning. They would play small ball, stealing bases and moving runners over at the top of the lineup. After the first run of the game being scored off a sacrifice hit, Mateo Lopez would turn a walk into a run single-handedly, swiping second and third before heading home on an overthrow by the Assumption catcher. That wouldn’t be the only time a misplay by the Royals would lead to runs for the co-op, as a fumbled pickoff throw to first base with runners on the corners would turn into another run for Abby/Colby.
After showing off their speed, the home team made it clear that they could hit as well. Freshmen Payton Schreiber and Blake Bargender slapped line drives into the outfield, scoring two more for the co-op. Nick Olvera capped off the inning by stretching out an RBI double of his own. By the time the Royals had gotten out of the inning, they found themselves down 6-0.
The co-op would continue to lay on the pressure in the second. Sophomore Carlos Lara launched a heater to dead center, but the Royals’ centerfielder mistimed his jump and the ball sailed over his head; another miscue by Assumption that would lead to two more runs for the co-op.
While Abby/Colby offense would slow in latter innings, the eight runs they scored in the first two would be all they would need to support Lopez’s stellar game on the mound. He would go six innings for the co-op, striking out eight and walking only one. The Royals would muster only four hits against him all evening, as solid defense behind the pitching of Lopez would keep the visitors from mounting much of a comeback. They would take back two runs, scoring once in the fourth and another in the sixth, but even these attempts never truly threatened the co-op’s hold over the game. JV Castillo would come on to close out the game in the seventh, holding Assumption to two hits and striking out one in the final inning.
The co-op finished the game with eight runs on eight hits and nine walks. They also stole eight bases, which helped fuel the team’s early scoring in the first. In addition to Lopez’s two bases, sophomore Jaxon Polivka added two of his own and Brandon Diedrich and sophomores Castilo, Evan Reis and Jackson Snapp each had one.
Prentice, 22-0
In their final conference game of the season, the co-op traveled to Prentice on May 12. The second game against the Buccaneers ended much the same as the first, with the Abby/Colby club winning handily, 22-0.
With the Marawood-North already clinched for the co-op, this game did not have much other than pride riding on it. The Buccaneers had yet to win a game this season, and taking one off the backto- back conference champions would make that first win all the sweeter.
Whatever hopes the home team had before the game were likely dashed early on as the co-op quickly established themselves. By the end of the second inning, the score was already 13-0. The Abby/ Colby lineup was picking up right where they left off two nights prior, seemingly able to score runs at will. Castillo and Diedrich led the way for an offense that had contributions up and down the order. Castillo had three singles in four atbats and Diedrich recorded two hits of his own, one of which was a triple, the only extra-base hit for the team. Each of them had three runs batted in.
While their offense was scoring runs, Diedrich and Castillo were perhaps having an even more impressive day on the mound. The pair struck out a combined ten batters and only gave up one hit, keeping the Buccaneers in check throughout the evening.
The runs continued to come in even as the starters were taken from the game. Four runs in the third and five in the fourth ran the score to 22-0, where it would remain until the game was called in five innings.
Bargender and Preston Bunkleman also had multi-hit games for the co-op, with Bargender scoring three runs on two hits and two walks and Bunkleman driving in two RBIs.
