Merrill Varsity Baseball goes 1-2 in three-game week, defeats Wausau East on Youth Night

The Merrill Varsity Boys Baseball Team played three games last week, dropping contests to Rhinelander on Monday and Tomahawk on Thursday before closing out the week with a dominant home win over Wausau East on Friday. The team now stands 3-9 in Conference play and 8-11 overall.

Bluejays vs. Hodags
The Merrill Bluejays hosted the undefeated Rhinelander Hodags on Monday, May 11, 2026, falling 3-1 in a hard-fought game.
“We played a good game with the undefeated Hodags on Monday,” Head Coach Shawn Schultz said.
“The game was scoreless through three innings, but Rhinelander scored a run in the fourth to take the lead on a double-play ground ball,” Schultz said. “They added another in the 6th and we answered when Noah Klug hit an RBI single to right to score Cam Wallin.” That cut the deficit to 2-1.

But Rhinelander added another run in the seventh to seal the win.
Cooper Wendorf went the full seven innings on the mound for Merrill, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits with 3 strikeouts and 1 walk.
“We played a great defensive game — made all the plays and Cooper Wendorf pitched really well against a tough offensive lineup,” Schultz said.
Noah Klug led the Merrill offense, going 2-2 with 1 RBI and 1 BB.
Box Score:
Rhinelander 3 @ Merrill 1

Bluejays vs. Hatchets
The Bluejays traveled to Tomahawk on Thursday, May 14, and dropped an 8-4 decision to the Hatchets in a game that slipped away in the late innings.
Tomahawk came out aggressively to take an early lead.
“Tomahawk jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning,” Schultz said. “Noah Klug settled down after that and pitched really well.”

Merrill answered with three runs of their own in the second.
“We were able to put together 3 runs of our own in the top of the next inning with a Connor Josiger sac fly and an Erik Grunenwald two-run double,” Schultz said.
“We took the lead in the 4th with some good execution with a Josiger double,” Schultz said. “Alex Koblitz sac bunted him to 3rd and Brody Klebenow hit a sac fly to take the lead.” Score at the end of the inning: Merrill 4, Tomahawk 3.
But the lead didn’t last long. Tomahawk erupted for five runs in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach.
“Trouble came in the bottom of the 6th when Tomahawk put together some hits and took advantage of some of our mistakes,” Schultz said. “They scored 5 runs to take an 8-4 lead and that was how it ended.”
Noah Klug started on the mound and took the loss, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing 8 runs (6 earned) on 7 hits with 4 strikeouts and 2 walks. Quinton Kurtzahls came in for relief to close out the final 0.2 innings.
Erik Grunenwald led the offense going 1-3 with 2 RBI, while Ryker Remington (1-3, 1 R) and William Miemietz (1-2, 1 R, 1 BB) also contributed for Merrill.
Box Score:
Merrill 4 @ Tomahawk 8

Bluejays vs. Lumberjacks

The Bluejays bounced back in a big way on Friday, May 15, hosting Wausau East in front of a strong Youth Night hometown crowd and rolling to a 7-1 victory.
“We had a great turnout for Youth Night, and the weather was fantastic,” Schultz said.
Merrill broke the game open with a five-run second inning.
“Offensively, we were a little sluggish,” Schultz said, “but we had RBI singles from Cole Rudie, Ryker Remington, Grunenwald, and Kurtzahls and a Josiger steal of home.”
The Bluejays added single runs in the fifth and sixth to extend the lead to 7-0 before Wausau East scored one in the seventh.
The pitching was dominant from start to finish. Quinton Kurtzahls and Brody Klebenow combined for 12 strikeouts on the night.
“Quinton Kurtzahls and Brody Klebenow did a great job on the mound throwing strikes and going after hitters,” Schultz said. “Each guy struck out 6 with only 2 walks.”
Kurtzahls earned the win, working 4.0 innings and allowing 4 hits with 6 strikeouts. Klebenow closed out the final 3.0 innings, scattering 2 hits with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks.
Cam Wallin led the offense going 2-4 with a double and 1 run scored. Cole Rudie was 2-2 with 1 RBI and 1 run, and Noah Klug crossed the plate twice going 1-2 with 1 BB. Ryker Remington (1-3, 1 RBI, 1 R), Erik Grunenwald (1-3, 1 RBI), Brody Klebenow (1-2, 1 RBI), and Quinton Kurtzahls (1-2, 1 RBI) each contributed as well.
Box Score:
Wausau East 1 @ Merrill 7

The Bluejays close out the regular season at home on Thursday, May 21, with Senior Night against the Antigo Red Robins.
Then they will play West Salem in Merrill on Thursday, May 28, at 5 p.m. to kick off Regionals.