GRAND CHUTE, Wis. – Champions were crowned at the 2019 State Baseball Tournament at Neuroscience Group Field Thursday,
DIVISION 1
Sam Stange launched a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase a 4-3 deficit and propel Eau Claire North (25-4) to the Division 1 championship with a 5-4 win over Sun Prairie (24-8) Thursday evening.
The Huskies grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two-run double by Joe Feck. The Cardinals responded with an unearned run in the third inning on a Spencer Bartel single.
The Cardinals scored three times in the top of the sixth inning on a number of fielding misplays by the Huskies. The rally was ignited by a pair of infield errors and a two-run double to left by Carson Shepard. That set up the late-inning Stange heroics.
Gabe O’Brien and Keegan Dehnke each contributed to the Huskies’ offense with two hits, and Joel Zachow was credited with the victory in relief. Austin Goetsch tossed 5 2/3 innings, yielding three rus and three hits with three strikeouts. All four of the runs surrendered by the Huskies in the game were unearned.
The Huskies win their second State baseball title in their 14th State appearance, also winning the title in 2011. Sun Prairie places runner-up in its 15th tourney experience.
DIVISION 2
Antigo (21-5) won it first State baseball championship with an 8-3 victory over Union Grove (27-4) in the Division 2 championship game Thursday afternoon.
Both teams scored a pair of runs in first inning. Union Grove took the lead on a two-run double by Jack Clark. Brady Renfro belted an RBI double and later scored on an infield out to tie the game for the Red Robins.
The Broncos took a 3-2 lead with a run in the fourth inning, but Antigo erased that lead and took a 4-3 advantage with a pair of runs in the fifth. With two outs, Nevin Cornelius singled, and Logan Doering blasted a two-run shot that cleared the right field fence.
The Red Robins expanded their lead to 8-3 with four runs in the sixth inning, The rally was fueled by five hits and two costly Bronco’s errors, one allowing three runners to score.
Cornelius collected a game-high three hits, and Sebastian Noskowiak and Renfro had two hits. Both of Renfro’s hits were doubles. Doering drove in a game-high three runs. Noskowiak was the winning pitcher, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out six through 6 2/3 innings.
The Red Robins win the title in their sixth State appearance, and Union Grove is runner-up in its second State experience.
DIVISION 3
Stratford (22-2) won the Division 3 championship with a 9-4 victory over Markesan (22-6) Thursday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.
The Tigers broke open a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh inning with four runs, all scoring with two outs. The two big blows in the inning were two-run singles by Eli Drexler and Chandler Schmidt.
Markesan tallied single runs in the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Tigers tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth inning with a pair of unearned runs. Riley Bauman drove in both the runs with a two-out single to center. The Hornets knotted the game at 3-3 with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning.
Schmidt led the Stratford offense with three hits, including a triple, to drive in three runs. Bauman and Devyn Palmer each collected two hits to lead the 10-hit attack. Schmidt earned the complete-game win on the mound, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out six.
The Tigers win their first baseball title in their second State Tournament appearance, and Markesan finishes runner-up in its third State experience.
DIVISION 4
Webster (30-0) is a champion for the second year in a row, winning the Division 4 title with a 11-1 victory over previously undefeated Mineral Point (27-1) in the championship game.
The Tigers’ second straight title follows the Division 3 championship they won a year ago.
Mineral Point scored the game’s first run, but the five runs on five hits the Tigers scored in the second inning erased the deficit and would be all they needed. Auston Sigfrids singled in Trevor Gustafson, who doubled to start the inning. Carsen Stenberg and Jack Washburn each had run-scoring singles in the inning.
The Tigers added two runs in the fourth inning on Owen Washburn’s RBI single and his steal of home by Stenberg later in the inning. Webster added an insurance run in the seventh inning with four runs on just one hit. The runs scored on two bases loaded walks, a hit batter and a passed ball.
Jack Washburn went the distance, surrendering two hits and one run with 12 strikeouts in the game.
Webster wins its second title the Tigers’ third State Tournament appearance. The Pointers are runners-up in their second State experience.