MEDFORD BASEBALL - Two early deficits hurt after Raiders get big one at Mosinee
MEDFORD BASEBALL
There was no quit in the Medford Raiders after they twice fell behind big, but the comebacks on both occasions came up a little short.
The second of those was Monday when Medford fell behind 8-0 after just two innings in non-conference play at Marshfield. The Raiders pulled within 8-6 but that was as close as they got while dropping a 12-7 to fall to 1-3 overall on the young baseball season.
Evan Czarnezki provided some fireworks for Medford, smacking a pair of home runs. But the search for reliable pitching depth continued as the Tigers (23) roughed up two of Medford’s younger arms in the early going and then put the game away with a three-run sixth. Marshfield outhit Medford 10-4 and took advantage of seven walks issued by Raider pitching and four errors.
Four of the walks and three of the hits came in the bottom of the first when Marshfield put a six-spot on the board. Tyler Kumm, Tyler Kremer and Conner Vandeberg hit consecutive RBI singles and Mason Anderson had a sacrifice fly in the inning.
Down eight, Medford made it interesting in the middle innings. Charlie Gierl beat out an infield hit with one down in the top of the fourth. After Ryder Kraschnewski walked, Czarnezki yanked an Evan Calverly offering over the fence along the leftfield line for a three-run bomb to get the Raiders on the board. Walks to Broden Schilling and Evan Wilkins ended Calverly’s outing. Sam Hierlmeier drew a four-pitch walk from reliever Bryce Schade to load the bases for Wojcik, who popped out. Lissner, though, kept the inning going by drawing a walk to force in Schilling. Hayden Strebig’s single to right scored Wilkins to make it 8-5.
In the fifth, Schilling and Wilkins drew two out walks and Schilling eventually scored on a wild pitch.
But, Marshfield got an unearned run in the bottom half and then got the lead back to six in the sixth before Czarnezki hit a solo home run to left with two outs in the seventh. He finished two for four.
Wojcik took the loss, going 1.1 innings and allowing eight runs, though only three were earned. He struck out one, allowed three hits and walked five. Ryder Kraschnewski went four innings, allowing six hits and four runs, two of which were earned. He walked two and struck out one. Parker Lissner got the last two outs in the sixth, allowing a hit.
Vandeberg led Marshfield’s offense, going three for four out of the eight-spot in the lineup. Three others had two hits each.
Medford looks to improve its 1-1 Great Northern Conference record today, Thursday, in a 5 p.m. start at Tomahawk. The Hatchets are also 1-1 in league play after routing Lakeland Monday 15-4. The Raiders have an 11 a.m. non-conference game at D.C. Everest Saturday before hosting Antigo in GNC play Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Lakeland 9, Medford 8
Twenty-four hours after a big road win at Mosinee, the Raiders were done in by a seven-run fourth inning from Lakeland that wound up giving the T-Birds just enough scoring in Medford’s disappointing 9-8 GNC loss at Raider Field.
Down 9-3, the Raiders made it interesting in the bottom of the seventh, using four Lakeland errors to score five runs. But the tying run was stranded on first base when reliever Drew Warren finally got the third out on a strikeout.
Having burned their top two pitchers at Mosinee, Medford turned to Conor Anderson, who made his first varsity start and got through three innings with a 2-1 lead. The Raiders took the lead in the third. Wojcik walked, Lissner singled and a run scored on an error on a ball hit by Strebig. An error on a ball hit by Czarnezki with two outs scored the second run.
A walk and two hit batters were not a good omen to start the top of the fourth, however. On a check swing, a ball hit by Ashton Bremer dropped into no-man’s land behind second base to tie the game. Freshman Restyn Kraschnewski took over on the mound in a tough spot. The first batter he faced, Jack Stella, reached on an error to drive in the go-ahead run. Warren walked to drive in a run, Ben Peterson and Merick Trotter singled back up the middle to score two runs. After Medford got a fielder’s choice out at home, another run scored on Tristan Rainey’s fielder’s choice and Benny Gahler singled in one more to make it 8-2.
Kraschnewski finished the game out and finished with a respectable first outing with five hits, two walks and four runs allowed, though just one run was earned. He struck out one. Anderson finished with four strikeouts. He allowed five earned runs, four hits and five walks.
The offense didn’t do much against Peterson. Lakeland’s starter went four innings, allowing three hits, one earned run and two walks while striking out four. Medford got an unearned run against Warren in the sixth and then got close in the seventh. Wojcik led off with a walk and Lissner reached on an error by the shortstop, Strebig reached on a dropped fly ball by the centerfielder to load the bases and Gierl reached on an error by the third baseman. Wojcik scored, the bases were loaded and there were still no outs.
Ryder Kraschnewski grounded out to Warren, but a run scored. Czarnezki’s fly ball to left was dropped, allowing two runs to score, making it 9-7. Restyn Kraschnewski flied out to center, but Wilkins kept hope alive by singling in Czarnezki. That’s where the rally ended.
Medford had just four hits, one apiece by Wojcik, Lissner, Sawyer Elsner and Wilkins. The Raiders drew six walks and Lakeland had seven errors.
Medford 9, Mosinee 7
On Thursday, Medford got its first win over arch-rival Mosinee in two years, holding on for a thrilling 9-7 victory on the Indians’ home field.
The Raiders never trailed, using threerun rallies in the second and sixth innings to take leads of 4-1 and 8-4. Mosinee tied the game in the third and got within 8-7 in the sixth. Medford, however, got big plays when they needed them to get its first win of the Chandler Schmidt coaching era.
Possibly the biggest play came in the bottom of the sixth. Mosinee cut its fourrun deficit in half on a two-run single by Elliot Yirkovsky. With two outs and runners on second and third, Carter Fandrey singled to leftfield to drive in a run. But Hierlmeier, for the second time in Medford’s first two games, threw out a runner at home from leftfield, this time getting Yirkovsky with Czarnezki putting the tag on him just in time to end the inning.
The Raiders then got a key two-out insurance run in the top of the seventh when Restyn Kraschnewski was hit by a pitch and Wilkins and Hierlmeier singled.
Mosinee put two on with two out in the seventh, but second baseman Ryder Kraschnewski made a nice play, moving far to his left to cut off a ball hit by Zach Nechuta and throwing him out at first base.
Schmidt juggled the batting order from game one to game two and it made a difference.
Wojcik drew four walks in five at-bats atop the order and scored twice. Lissner was two for five with four RBIs out of the two-spot. Czarnezki and Wilkins also had two hits apiece.
Wojcik walked, stole second and scored on Lissner’s hit right off the bat. Fandrey’s RBI single tied it in the bottom of the first. Czarnezki led off the top of the second with a single, stole two bases and scored on an infield hit by Wilkins. Hierlmeier and Wojcik walked to load the bases. Nechuta relieved Mosinee starter Ethan Oatman and was greeted by Lissner’s two-run single.
After Mosinee tied it with a three-run third, with all of that damage coming after a two-out error, Czarnezki’s RBI groundout gave Medford the lead in the fifth. In the sixth, Hierlmeier and Wojcik drew one-out walks. Hierlmeier scored at the front end of a double steal. Wojcik beat the throw home on Lissner’s fielder’s choice to make it 7-4. Lissner stole second and scored on Strebig’s single.
Strebig got the win. He pitched into the sixth and allowed six hits, three walks and six runs, though only two were earned. He struck out eight. Gierl got the last six outs, allowing two hits, a walk and a run while striking out one.
Medford first baseman Hayden Strebig catches a throw from pitcher Restyn Kraschnewski, retiring Lakeland's Max Keuer who had hit a tapper to the mound. This out ended the top of the sixth inning. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
