Merrill Varsity Baseball wins first Regional game, shuts out West Salem 2-0

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, the Merrill Varsity Bluejays hosted West Salem in their first WIAA Regional game and came away with a 2-0 shutout victory.
“We won our first Regional game vs West Salem on Thursday, 2-0,” Merrill Varsity Boys Baseball Head Coach Shawn Schultz said. “We played excellent defense and got a great performance on the mound from Cam Wallin.”
Both teams went three up, three down in the first inning and traded base runners through the next three frames without either squad breaking through. The game’s first real scoring threat came in the bottom of the fourth when Noah Klug (1-2, 1 R, 1 HBP) was hit by a pitch and Cooper Wendorf walked, then advanced both runners to second and third on a wild pitch with one out. West Salem escaped the inning unscathed.
The Bluejays finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth. Ryker Remington (1-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB) drew a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a groundout before scoring the game’s first run on a wild pitch, putting Merrill up 1-0.
Merrill added an insurance run in the sixth when Noah Klug singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a walk by Tyson Ott. Connor Josiger (1-3, 1 RBI) then delivered a two-out base hit to score Klug and push the lead to 2-0.

West Salem threatened in the top of the seventh with a leadoff walk and a single with one out, putting runners on first and second. Wallin responded by striking out the next two batters to close out the shutout.
“It was a great team win as we executed on the mound and on defense,” Schultz said. “Offensively, we only had three hits, but we got down a couple of sac bunts, had a big stolen base, and then took advantage of a couple of mistakes. It was a good high school game.”
Wallin (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 SO) was dominant all afternoon on the mound, making two diving catches on bunts that turned into double plays and finishing with 10 strikeouts.
“We get to play on Tuesday at Wisconsin Dells,” Schultz said. “The Chiefs are 18-5 and Conference champs and the number one seed in our Sectional. We get the opportunity to go down there and compete and hopefully move on to the Regional final.”
Box Score:
West Salem 0 @ Merrill 2