MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (June 30–July 7)
SUMMER BASEBALL: Belmont 2, Pecatonica 0
BELMONT — This wasn’t the season Belmont baseball coach Trevor Kattre had hoped for, but the Belmont Babe Ruth summer season is still a welcome change.
After four months of inactivity and a cancelled spring season, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Belmont baseball returned to the diamond with a split against visiting Pecatonica in a Babe Ruth summer league doubleheader at BHS last Wednesday night.
Senior Luke Kamps, junior Riley Christensen and freshman Kolby Lancaster combined to tossed a 2–0 shutout in the opener, before the Belmont JV fell 8–0 in the nightcap.
The Braves returned to action Friday losing both ends of a doubleheader at Dodgeville 6–2 and 10–0.
The Braves’ (1–3) summer league team is made up of 24 players, including seven graduated seniors who had their final WIAA season cancelled in March. Belmont will play 20 games (in 10 doubleheaders) in July in their eight-team division. The Braves will play four games against each Platteville, Dodgeville and Pec, while playing a single doubleheader against Cross Plains, New Glaurs, Wisconsin Heights and Belleville.
Kattre plans to play his older guys during the first game of each doubleheader and his young guys in the night cap, de facto varsity and JV games even though most other teams in the league only have one roster of 11 or 12 players.
Members of the team include graduated seniors Justan Ernst, Luke Kamps, Dakota Kisamore, Cody Lindholm, Tommy Logsdon, Brady Wedig, Kolton Westemeier, juniors Riley Christensen, Mitch Douglas, Michael Douglas, Will Cutler, Tyler Simmons, sophomores Shane Freiburger, Ty Palzkill, Jayden Becker and freshmen Parker Galle, Kolby Lancaster, Konner Lancaster, Caden Lindholm, Fischer Ludlum, Jesse Ruiz, Collin Vida, Levi Westemeier and Tanner Yanna.
“Even though it’s a summer season, it’s refreshing just to be back on the field,” said Kattre. “We had really high hopes for the spring season coming off a state berth a year ago, so it was really disappointing, especially for our seniors, to not have a chance to make another run at it.
“But we have all our seniors playing with us this summer and its nice to be able to get them back on the field for their final season, to send them out the right way.”
Belmont traveled to Platteville Wednesday (6 p.m.) before hosting Pecatonica Saturday morning at 10 a.m.