Tina L. Scott
Editor
Merrill’s Athletic Park will be a host site for the Wisconsin Baseball Association (WBA) Semi-Finals in the Merrill Regional Bracket.
Beginning on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, the Merrill Rangers will play the Jim Falls Sturgeons at 7:30 p.m.
Semi-Final games will continue through the weekend, with the Everest Merchants playing the Spring Valley Hawks on Saturday, Aug. 13, at 12:00 noon. The loser of the Friday night game will play the Hayward Hawks at 3:00 p.m. The loser of the noon game between Everest and Spring Valley will play the Eau Claire Cavaliers at 6:00 p.m.
On Sunday at 12:00 noon, the winner of the Friday night game will play the Hayward Hawks, and then at 3:00 p.m. the winner of Saturday’s 12:00 p.m. game (either Everest or Spring Valley) will play the Eau Claire Cavaliers.
Two teams will advance to the WBA Finals being held on Aug. 19-Aug. 21, 2022, in Onalaska.
The WBA is a non-profit organization comprised of six adult amateur baseball leagues in Central, Western, and Northern Wisconsin. This includes the Chippewa River League, the Independent League, the Mississippi Valley League, the St. Croix Valley League, the Upper 13 League, and the Dairyland League.
The Merrill Rangers are a part of the Dairyland League, along with the Abbotsford Merchants, Everest Merchants, Interwald Woodticks, Marshfield Chaparrals, Medford Mood Dogs, Minocqua Wood Ducks, Pittsville River Bandits, Rib Lake Osprey, Spirit Twins, Tomahawk Titans, Wausau River Hawks, Westboro Trojans, and Whittlesey Reds.
Merrill Rangers finished the Dairyland season 10-3.
The lineup for the Rangers includes: #1 Brad Kanitz OF/1B; #3 Alex Gehrke P; #5 Caleb DeJong OF; #9 Casey Hoffman IF/C; #12 Peyton Becker SS/2B; #13 Brody Gehrke P; #14 Isaac Sutton OF; #15 Garrett Pagel C; #16 Dakota Ress OF; #19 Alex Mann IF; #21 Spencer Schneider P/IF; #22 Chase Bonnell IF/P; #23 Piersen Pyan OF; #27 Shawn Schultz P; #33 Zach Kriegel P/1B; #34 Trevor Asmundsen SS/2B; #35 Justin Pyan 1B/OF (Coach); #44 Rondae Donahue OF; and #69 Tyler Westfall 3B.