By Nick Beversdorf
Reporter
On Monday, Merrill defeated Everest in one of the longer games to grace baseball. Originally scheduled for Wednesday, June 8, the game was pushed back to Monday due to inclement weather. What transpired was a game that turned into a stalemate in the sixth inning and continued into the 12th until Merrill finally got the extra two runs they needed to win. The final score was 6-4 with Merrill generating 10 hits and committing four errors.
Merrill took an early lead in the top of the first with Trevor Asmundsen scoring off a wild pitch. Merrill got another run at the top of the second with Adam Messerschmidt batting in Trey Seubert with a line drive to left. Everest tied the game at the bottom with two runs off a fly to center, but Merrill re-took the lead in the top of the third with Tyler Belfiori batting in Dylan Anderson with a hard grounder to third.
Merrill widened the lead in the fourth with Troy Pike scoring off an error from the Everest left fielder. Everest got a run at the bottom of the fourth off a sacrifice fly and then another run in the fifth to tie the game back up.
Sixth inning onward the game turned into a no-run stalemate. Base hits weren’t necessarily a problem, but neither team could get that crucial hit when runners were in scoring position, repeatedly sending the game into the next frame just shy of a potential run.
Slowly but surely, innings went by until the top of the 12th when Merrill got two runs. It started with Dan Duginski popping a grounder to second that batted in Drew Hoff. One strikeout later, Messerschmidt batted in Jared Schmeltzer with a sacrifice fly. At the bottom of the 12th, Merrill took care of business with Belfiori striking out one and catching a popup fly, and Hoff catching a fly ball in center to end the game.
Schmeltzer lead the effort at the plate with four hits, one run and one double. Other notable plate appearances include Adam Messerschmidt (3H, 2RBI, 1SB), Brian Timm (2H, 1BB, double), Seubert (1H, 1R, 1BB) and Asmundsen (1R, 3BB).
Trey Seubert started off pitching the first three innings, striking out two, walking two, allowing two hits and two runs-none earned. Schemltzer took over and pitched the next two innings, striking out two, walking five, allowing two hits and two runs-one earned. Belfiori pitched the remainder of the game, striking out eight, walking four, allowing two hits and no runs.
Dylan Anderson lead the fielding effort with 12 putouts and two assists. Other notable fielders include Timm (6PO), Hoff (5PO), Belfiori (3PO, 1A), Messerschmidt and Asmundsen (3PO each) and Seubert (2PO).
Loss to Antigo
After the protracted game against Everest, Merrill faced Antigo on Tuesday, losing 8-2. Merrill generated eight hits and committed two errors.
After a scoreless first, Antigo got one run in the second and three more in the third. After another run at the bottom of the fourth, Merrill managed their first run in the top of the fifth with Ryan Golisch batting in Asmundsen with a line drive to center. Merrill squeaked out one more run in the sixth with Timm scoring a run after Asmundsen struck out.
Antigo got three more runs in the sixth and Merrill was unable to produce any runs in the top of the seventh, ceding victory to Antigo.
Top hitters for Merrill include Hoff (2H), Belfiori (2H), Timm (1H, 1R, double), Asmundsen (1H, 1R, 1SB), Golisch (1H, 1RBI) and Pike (1H). Brett Seubert pitched the whole game, striking out none, walking three, allowing nine hits and eight runs-four earned. Asmundsen lead the fielding effort with six putouts. Other fielders include Hoff (5PO), Nick Bowe (3PO), Justin Pyan (2PO) and Golisch and Seubert with a putout each.