By Nick Beversdorf
Reporter
Tomahawk varsity baseball, after a narrow victory over Lakeland, lost to Mosinee in the Division Two Regional Championship this past Wednesday (June 1).
With #2 seed Tomahawk getting a first-week bye, they played their first post-season game against Lakeland this past Tuesday (May 31). Thanks to four runs right away in the first inning, Tomahawk narrowly defeated Lakeland with a final score of 5-4. Tomahawk generated five hits and committed four errors.
Lakeland, batting first, got two runs right away in the first frame. Tomahawk countered with four to establish the lead. After a scoreless second and third inning, Tomahawk tacked on another run to bring their total to five. Lakeland responded with two runs in the fifth to bring them precariously close to tying, but the Tomahawk defense held the line at 5-4 to the game’s end.
Top hitters for Tomahawk include Isaac Weber (2H, 2RBI), Justin Jarvensivu (1H, 2R, 1BB), Jakob Panzer (1H, 1R) and Zach Volz (1H). Both Eli Wurl and Brandon Vecchio pitched a great game, many times getting the team out of jams. Brandon pitched for five innings, striking out four, walking five, allowing six hits and four runs-two earned. Eli pitched the last two innings, striking out one, walking one, allowing one hit and no runs.
“It was really important that the guys battled back in the bottom of the 1st inning after Lakeland took a two-run lead,” comments head coach Wes Roessler. “Lakeland had the momentum at that stage of the game and we needed to answer before things got out of control. The guys did a great job of staying focused in some tough situations and Brandon and Eli did a great job on the mound. They were able to get us out of some jams and the defense made some great plays. It always seems like a back and forth game when we play Lakeland. Any team can win and in regional play, the stakes are even higher.”
Tomahawk then faced GNC rival Mosinee the next day. Although the Hatchets played very well, Mosinee edged them out in the last few innings to secure the victory. The final score was 3-1 with Tomahawk mustering two hits and committing three errors.
After three scoreless innings, Tomahawk took the lead in the top of the fourth with one run. However, Mosinee got their first run in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the bottom of the sixth. The Hatchets couldn’t answer in the seventh, and Mosinee took their victory.
Top hitters for Tomahawk include Weber with a hit and an RBI and Panzer with a hit and a walk. Kaleb Kaminski pitched very well, striking out two, walking one, allowing four hits and three runs-none earned.
“This was a hard loss for the guys,” adds Roessler. “They were very confident coming into the game and played them tough; Kaleb pitched the best game that I ever saw him pitch. He was very efficient and made some outstanding pitches. We had some opportunities and didn’t capitalize. We needed a clutch hit or two and the game might have turned out differently. We made a few mistakes on the bases and in the field that we can’t do against a team like Mosinee.
“Overall, I am very proud of the accomplishments these young men achieved this year. They played all of the conference teams tough and never gave up. We had several extra inning games and we won them all. They believed in themselves and they made a lot of progress throughout the season. The reason the team was able to achieve what they did was because of our great senior leadership.”
Conference Awards
Kaleb Kaminski: 2nd team – Pitcher
Brandon Vecchio: 2nd team – Outfielder and Utility
Jakob Panzer: 2nd team – Outfielder
Honorable Mentions:
Justin Jarvensivu – Infield
Isaac Weber – Infield
Brandon Vecchio – Pitcher
Kaleb Kaminski – Infield
Head coach Wes Roessler was also named GNC Coach of the Year.