Wausau West falls to Preble in extra innings

GREEN BAY - Members of the Wausau West baseball team collected their equipment and filed out of their dugout along the third base line in relative silence.

Then again, it would be difficult for anyone to find the words to describe what happened to the West program in the final two innings of Tuesday’s WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal game with Green Bay Preble.

Top-seeded Preble scored the final three runs of the game without a hit in a comeback 7-6 win over the No. 4 Warriors in eight innings at Bay Port High School.

“It’s pretty tough,” said West starting pitcher Garrett Hohn, who struck out 10 before leaving the game in the seventh inning. “We came in here thinking that we were the best team (in the sectional). We had the opportunities late (against Preble) and we just didn’t come through.”

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The Hornets loaded the bases with one out in the eighth on a walk and two hit batsmen. Jarrett Scheelk grounded into a forceout at home and a relay to third on the play trying to catch Preble’s Zach Champine rounding the base failed as the ball sailed into left field.

Champine scored from third on the play which set off a wild celebration at home plate by a Preble team that trailed by four runs after a half inning.

Preble got caught on a botched suicide squeeze with one out and the bases loaded in the seventh, but scored two runs in the inning on a pair of wild pitches — the last coming with two outs in the inning on a full count — to tie the score 6-6.

West’s first six batters reached safely - five hits and a walk - as the Warriors jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first. The Warriors loaded the bases with one out in the second and chased Preble starter Griffin Summers in the inning.

“We wanted to come and get an early lead, get comfortable and play our game,” West coach Ryan Whalen said. “We got it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep it.”

West’s Payton Nelson went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and the Warriors first four batters reached base a combined 10 times. Warriors catcher Paul Weise walked four times, including twice intentionally.

Preble’s Jarrett Scheelk got out of the jam in the first and allowed only two unearned runs the rest of the way, which came on an error with two outs in the sixth that gave West a 6-2 lead.

Summers singled home two runs with two outs in the bottom of the inning to set up the dramatic seventh inning.

The Hornets loaded the bases on two singles and a walk and scored on a wild pitch to close to within a run. Caleb Schoenholz struck out and then, with the bases loaded and Brody Bialkowski at the plate, Preble tried a squeeze bunt.

Bialkowski did not get the bunt down and Weise ran Preble’s Ryan Dougherty back up the baseline before flipping the ball to third for the tag.

Bialkowski worked a full count in his at-bat the 3-2 pitch went to the backstop to allow Scheelk to score from third.

“You have to execute when the pressure situations come up and that got us today,” Whalen said. “We had a 4-0 lead and also 6-2 and we couldn’t close it today. It’s one thing we have preaching all year is learning how to close out teams and we just didn’t do that.”

WP-Jarrett Scheelk. LP-Logan Grunenwald. Leading hitters: WW, Payton Nelson 3-4, 2B, three runs scored; Zach Pearson 1 for 4, 2 RBI; Preb, Ryan Dougherty 3 for 3, 2 RBI.

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter@timmyjo11