TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
The Merrill Bluejay Baseball Team played three games last week, one on Tuesday, May 4, and two on Thursday, May 6.
The Bluejay Boys played two conference games on Thursday at Wausau East. In the first game, Merrill was the visitor and came away with a win, scoring five runs against Wausau East’s two runs. Caleb DeJong (3H, 2R, 2RBI) and Mason Johnson (3H, 1RBI) stood out for the batters, while Sam Reimann and Peyton Becker pitched a combined .578 strike percentage.
“Sam Reimann made his varsity debut and was excellent on the mound,” Coach Shawn Schultz said. “He gave up a hit to the first batter of the game and then nothing after that. He had a chance to finish it on his own in the seventh, but with the pitch count rule, we had to bring in Peyton to finish it out. Caleb DeJong and Mason Johnson each had three hits in the first game and our defense played really well.”
Box score
Merrill 5
@
Wausau East 2
In the second game, Merrill was the home team.
Caleb DeJong (3H, 2R, 4RBI), Connor Cortright (2H, 1R, 1RBI), and Peyton Becker (2H, 1R) showcased their skills at bat. On the pitcher’s mound, Peyton Becker pitched two innings with a .614 strike percentage, while the team had a combined .540 strike percentage for the game. In the end, Wausau East beat Merrill by a score of 8 to 15.
“We battled but came out on the short end of a 15 – 8 game that we let get away from us in the last inning,” Coach Schultz said. “We were missing a couple of our regular pitchers for the day, but our guys stepped up. We fell behind early but worked it back to even with a big three-run homerun by Caleb. We battled through the game, but had a few misplays that led to extra runs for East. Caleb ended up with three hits again in the second game, giving him six hits and six RBI on the day. Peyton and Connor Cortright each collected two hits in the second game.”
Box Score
Wausau East 15
@
Merrill 8
“We had some excellent pitching for the week, all three guys on Thursday pitched well, Sam threw a great game, and the other guys gave us everything they had in game two on Thursday,” Coach said. “We were missing three of our top pitchers on Thursday, so it was a great opportunity for guys to step up, and they did. The defense made some great plays, but we have to make the routine plays more consistently. We are improving our at bats game to game, but we need to continue to increase our hard contact and execute in all three phases if we want to become the team we know we can be.”
Tuesday’s game was a non-conference game against Medford in Merrill.
Caleb DeJong (2H, 2RBI), Isaac Sutton (2H, 1R), and Alex Mann (1H, 1RBI) stepped up at the plate, while Alex Mann (.628), Michael McRae (.614), and Peyton Becker (.605) together put forth a .615 strike percentage on the pitching mound. Ultimately, the Bluejays clinched the win.
“We won 3 – 2 in nine innings,” Coach Schultz said. “It was a well played game by both teams with excellent pitching and defense. We scored two early on a two RBI single by Caleb DeJong. Alex Mann started and kept Medford scoreless through three and two-thirds innings. Michael McRae came in and kept it going, keeping it scoreless until the sixth. Peyton Becker came in and pitched three scoreless innings to finish. We made some great plays to keep the game tied and give Alex Mann a chance to win the game with a walkoff single that scored Ryder Depies with the winning run.”
Box Score
Medford 2
@
Merrill 3