By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
The Merrill Post 46 legion baseball team hosted the annual Art Perkins Memorial Tournament over the weekend. Merrill played four games in the tournament, however only came out on the winning side for one of them.
Merrill’s final game of the tournament was a 9-2 loss to Medford. After Medford scored four runs in the first two innings, Merrill found themselves in a deficit they couldn’t recover from.
Post 46 struck first, scoring one run in the top of the first inning. Peyton Becker and Ty Bailey got Merrill started with back-to-back singles. Later, an error on the Medford pitcher allowed a run to score and another runner to advance to third.
Medford’s four runs in the first two innings gave them a 4-1 lead, with another run in the fourth inning extending their lead. Another three Medford runs in the fifth inning made it an 8-1 game.
Merrill’s final run of the game came in the sixth inning. A Becker single, followed by a stolen base put a runner in scoring position for Casey Hoffman. Hoffman hit a hard grounder past the Medford shortstop, allowing Becker to score. Medford scored one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning, wrapping up their 9-2 win.
Merrill tops Madison
A 12-run first inning for Merrill set the tone as Post 46 outslugged the Madison Moose 25-17.
A Casey Hoffman three-run homer headlined the first inning action for Merrill, as they scored 12 runs to take a commanding lead over Madison. Ty Bailey and Jake Bailey would each double in two runs in the inning, with the rest of Merrill’s runs coming via walks.
Despite being down big, Madison began to claw back scoring two runs in the first inning, followed by seven runs in the second. A six-run third inning put Post 46 back in control with a 19-9 lead, however Madison responded with seven runs in their half of the inning, bringing them within 19-16. Post 46 added one run in the fourth and followed that up with five runs in the sixth, securing the win.
Leading hitters for Merrill include: Peyton Becker (3-5, 2RBI, 5R, BB), Ty Bailey (2-3, 2RBI, 3R, 3BB), Casey Hoffman (3-5, 4RBI, 3R, HR), Jake Bailey (3-5, 3RBI, 2R) and Caleb DeJong (2-5, 4RBI, BB).
Post 46 falls to Rhinelander
A Saturday morning pitchers duel, resulted in a 3-2 loss to Rhinelander. Peyton Becker threw all six innings for Merrill, allowing only three runs on five hits. However, Post 46 wasn’t able to get the bats going, totaling only three hits for the game.
Merrill got on the board first, scoring one run in the top of the first inning. After a Becker double, a wild pitch allowed him to move to third base, where Piersen Pyan drove him in with a single to right field. Rhinelander responded with two runs in their half of the inning, taking a one-run lead. Rhinelander’s lead was short-lived, as Post 46 scored one run in the second inning to tie the game. With a runner on first base Alex Gehrke hit a fly ball to left field, which the Rhinelander outfielder dropped, allowing the runner to score.
Rhinelander would put the game away, scoring one run in the sixth inning, which Merrill was unable to match.
The only two Merrill players to get in the hit column include Peyton Becker (2-4, R) and Piersen Pyan (1-2, RBI, BB).
Holmen bests Merrill
Post 46 fell behind early on Friday, putting themselves in a 4-0 hole, which they couldn’t come back from, falling 7-1 to Holmen.
Two Holmen runs in the first inning, followed by two more in the third, put Merrill in a tough spot early. Holmen then added one run in the top of the fifth inning and followed that up with another run in the sixth.
Already trailing 6-0, Merrill finally got on the scoreboard. Jake Bailey reached second base on a Holmen error, advancing to third on a groundout. A wild pitch then allowed Bailey to score Merrill’s lone run. Holmen topped off the game with one more run in the seventh, earning the 7-1 victory.
Brett Seubert started on the mound and pitched six innings for Merrill. Seubert allowed six runs on seven hits, while striking out three batters and walking two. Alex Gehrke pitched the final inning, allowing one run on one hit, while striking out one batter and walking one.
