MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (April 8–15)
SWAL BASEBALL: Fennimore 2, Cuba City 0
By Jason Nihles, Boscobel Dial / The Fennimore Times / Platteville Journal
Bulldogs christen new field with 16–4 comeback win over Richland Center
BOSCOBEL — After a brief delay, the new Boscobel baseball field is open for competition.
The Bulldogs christened their swanky new facility — which features bullpens for both teams as well as a pair of hitting cages — with a 16–4 five-inning non-conference win over Richland Center Monday afternoon.
“Playing on the new field was fun,” said Boscobel head coach James Marks. “It was nice to be back home in front of our fans and not on the road. It felt good to get that first win on the field in front of our home community. The boys brought a lot of energy and had the will and the want to win the game.”
“It was a good win for us to get us back to .500. We got down early and our offense has been a struggle all year so I thought maybe we were going to have to play some small ball to get back in it, but the offense came alive in the third inning and we were able to use the long ball to fuel our comeback, and that’s something our program hasn’t done in quite some time.”
Senior Cameron Loos make history as the first Bulldog to record an official hit on the new field — a lead off double in the bottom of the first.
Junior Jarren Weahkee became the first player to homer on the new field when he smashed a grand slam over the left centerfield fence in the bottom of the third inning to give the Bulldogs a 5–4 lead after a shaky start.
“I told the boys before we batted in the fourth, ‘let’s try to get one run back here chip away to get back into this game,’” said Marks. “Then, we had a walk and a couple of hit batters, and Jarren came through with a nice deep fly for the grand slam. That flipped everything 180 degrees for us. The hitting became contagious and everyone wanted in on.”
Senior Landon Haessly added an RBI single in the fourth inning, then Weahkee hit a two-out, two-run single later in the inning to make it 8–4.
A hit batter, a Drew Sander two-run single, and another Hornet error, and a two-run double by Wyatt Anderson kept the rally going.
After Haessly walked, Loos hit the Bulldogs’ second home run of the game — this one a three-run shot over the left field fence —to make it 16–4, capping an 11-run running.
Haessly (1–1) ended up pitching five strong innings after giving up two runs in the top of the first inning. He struck out six Hornets while allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks in the complete game victory.
“After a shaky first inning, Landon seemed to settle in and got stronger as the game went one. Then we had three nice diving catches behind him in the top of the fifth inning to end the game, first by Gage Wayne in right, then Tyler Miller in left and finally by Cameron in center. It was nice to see those aggressive athletic defensive plays.”
Boscobel traveled to Cuba City (2–3, 2–1 SWAL) Tuesday afternoon and will now be off until a non-conference game at Stoddard Thursday, April 24.
Boscobel 16, Richland Center 4
(from Monday, April 14 @ Boscobel)
Richland Center...202 00 — 4 5 1
Boscobel................104 (11)x — 16 11 1
Leading hitters — RC: Jacob McDonnell 2x3 (RBI); B: Cameron Loos 3x3 (3RBI, 4R), Jarren Weahkee 2x3 (6RBI, 2R), Wyatt Anderson 1x2 (2RBI). 2B — B: Loos, Andreson. 3B — B: Bryar Wayne. HR — B: Loos. Weahkee.
W — Landon Haessly (1–1, 5IP, 5H, 4R, 3ER, 6K, 2BB). L — Deakyn Heisz (3.1IP, 5H, 7R, 7ER, 5K, 1BB).
