By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
The Merrill American Legion Post 46 team is seven games into their season and currently holding a record of 1-6. In their first game of the year against Rhinelander, Post 46 kept the game close, however could not overcome a four run fourth inning by Rhinelander as they lost 5-1. The second game of the year was a struggle for Merrill as they failed to score a run against Wausau on their way to a 10-0 loss in five innings. Post 46 would go scoreless again in their next game against Plover, losing by a final score of 12-0. In their fourth game Merrill was able to snap their scoreless streak as they put up three runs against Stevens Point, however it would not be enough as Point scored 13 on their way to a 10-run-rule win in the fifth inning. The next game was against Wisconsin Rapids and would be a similar story as Rapids was able to take down Post 46 in five innings, winning by a score of 13-3.
Merrill tops Everest
In last Thursday’s game against D.C. Everest, Post 46 was able to put together a good game on their way to an extra inning win. It was a tight game with a lot of scoring, but Merrill would come out on top with a big ninth inning.
Everest got the jump on Merrill, scoring one run in the second inning, followed by two more in the third to take a 3-0 lead. Post 46 responded in the fourth inning, scoring five runs to take the lead. Peyton Becker and Brody Gehrke got the inning started with back-to-back walks. A double by Holden Smith scored Becker from second base and moved Gehrke to third. An Adam Detert sacrifice fly ball scored one more run for Post 46, and a double by Alex Gehrke plated two more runs for Merrill, with a passed ball scoring the final run of the inning.
Four more runs in the fifth inning gave Merrill a commanding lead. Two singles followed by two walks would push across a Merrill run. Detert would then come through again with a double to score two more runs. A Dan Duginski sacrifice fly would plate the last run of the inning and give Merrill a 9-3 lead.
Everest would respond in the sixth and seventh inning, scoring two runs in the sixth followed by six in the seventh. One run by Post 46 in the seventh inning would take the game to extra innings.
Neither team was able to score in the eighth inning, however in the ninth Merrill would get hot and score four runs. A hit by pitch followed by two walks loaded the bases for Post 46. A single by Jayden Suss scored two runs, followed by a single by Jake Bailey which would score another run. A ground out would score the final run of the inning and give Merrill a 15-11 lead. Everest would score one run in the bottom of the ninth but that would not be enough as Merrill took the 15-12 win.
Post 46 falls to Point
On Monday, June 25, the Post 46 team hosted Stevens Point for their second meeting of the year. It was a bad game for Merrill as they struggled to throw strikes on their way to a 20-5 loss.
Point took an early lead on Merrill, scoring six runs in the first two innings. A walk followed by a few passed balls allowed Merrill to score one run in the third inning.
A huge fourth inning by Point put the game out of reach for Merrill, as Point would score 13 runs in the inning. With the score being 20-1, Merrill didn’t give up as they were able to score four runs in the fifth inning. Two errors followed by two walks scored one run for Merrill and loaded the bases. Another walk and a hit by pitch would plate two more runs, with the last runner scoring on a passed ball. The game would end with a final score of 20-5.
The Merrill Legion team will be back on the field Thursday as they host Marshfield at 7 p.m.