BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
“It was a tough week for the Bluejays,” said Shawn Schultz, Merrill Varsity Baseball Head Coach. “We played two with DC Everest, losing 8-3 in Merrill on Tuesday and 3-1 at Everest on Thursday. On Friday, we lost to Mosinee 7-5.”
On Tuesday, May 16, 2023, the Bluejays played host to DC Everest at Merrill’s Athletic Park.
“We let it get away from us a little bit in the first inning,” Schultz said. “Everest jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning and we just couldn’t get our offense going enough to get back into the game.”
“Sam Reimann started on the mound but came out after one inning due to an injury,” he said. “Braden Voigt came in and did a really nice job. It can be tough to come in like that when you are not planning on pitching that early in the game, but he did a great job. He limited them to three runs as he pitched into the seventh when Tyson Glisch came in and finished it off.”
“Offensively, we had base runners but couldn’t come up with the big hit to score multiple runs in an inning,” Schultz said. “Nathan Brzoznowski hit his fourth homerun of the spring in the sixth to get it to 7-3, but we never got any closer.”
Box Score
DC Everest 8 @ Merrill 3
On Thursday, May 18, Merrill played DC Everest again, this time at DC Everest High School, but the Bluejays suffered another loss.
“We saw two really good pitchers in the game,” Schultz said. “For DC Everest, it was Nate Langbehn, and for us, it was Brady Kanitz. Both have been great all year and they dominated this game, as well.”
“We gave up some early runs in the first to give them the 3-0 lead, but after that Brady held them hitless,” he said. “EJ Weix came in for the sixth and did the same.”
“Against Langbehn, we had some base runners but couldn’t string anything together,” Schultz said. “But in the seventh, they brought in a reliever ,and we got on the board with a couple of hits by Tyson Glisch and Nathan Brzoznowski to make it 3-1, but came up just short with two outs and two on. Sam Reimann and Tyson Glisch finished the game with two hits apiece, and Kanitz struck out seven in five innings while giving up just the two hits.”
Box Score
Merrill 1 @ DC Everest 3
On Friday, May 19, the Bluejays were back at Athletic Park, this time hosting Mosinee.
“Mosinee came in with a 19-2 record and the #1 seed in our sectional,” Schultz said. “They showed offensively that they are a good hitting team in the game.”
“We got behind early again, trailing 4-0 after two innings, but we got one back in the third with a walk by Kaiden Henrich, a Brady Kanitz double, and an RBI groundout by Braiden Voigt.”
“Mosinee got one in the top of the fourth, and Merrill answered back with one in the fifth on another Kanitz double, a single by EJ Weix, and a sac fly from Voigt.”
“Mosinee got single runs in the sixth and seventh to make it 7-2,” Schultz said. “In the bottom of the seventh, Kanitz led off with a single to right, followed by a couple of walks to load the bases. Then Nate Brzoznowski was hit by a pitch to make it 7-3.”
“Isaak Clapper came up with a single to right to make it 7-4, and another HBP made it 7-5 with the bases loaded,” he said. “They (Everest) brought in a new pitcher who got Henrich to ground out to end the game.”
“On the night, Kanitz finished 3-3 with two doubles, Clapper was 2-3 with an RBI, and Voight had two RBI.”
Box Score
Mosinee 7 @ Merrill 5
“I think that we battled really well this week,” Schultz said. “The bats are coming around a little bit and the pitching has stayed pretty consistent.”
“We finish up the regular season on Monday with Antigo and then begin Regional play on Thursday. We are the #8 seed, so we get to host #9 seed Lakeland on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. We split with them earlier in the year, so it should be a good battle. The winner advances to play at Mosinee on Tuesday, May 30.”