MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (June 2–9)
WIAA D3 BASEBALL: No. 3 Fennimore 4, No. 2 Mineral Point 3 (9 innings)
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal
Eagles beat SWAL champion Pointers in extra innings to win D3 regional title
MINERAL POINT — Fennimore baseball coach Brent Sheckler and his Golden Eagles are used to the stress of the WIAA Playoffs.
A year ago, Fennimore battled its way to its first WIAA State Tournament winning a pair of one-run sectional games on walk-off hits by 2025 graduate Tyson Starkey and a gritty complete game pitching effort from fellow graduate Ethan Sheckler in last year’s 4–2 regional final win over New Glarus.
This year’s team may have a slightly different cast of character, but it still has the same flare for the dramatic.
The third-seeded Golden Eagles overcame an early 6–0 deficit to beat No. 6 seed New Glaurs 9–8 on a walk-off RBI single by Corey Dresen in last Tuesday’s WIAA Division 3 regional semifinals.
Fennimore (18–8) then traveled to Mineral Point and beat the SWAL champion Pointers for the first time in three tries this year 4–3 in nine innings on an RBI single by Dresen in the top of the ninth to win a second straight WIAA D3 regional title.
“That was as much of a gauntlet regional as I have even been through,” said Sheckler, who is now in his 21st season as a head coach. “If you put good pitching on that New Glarus team, they could be a state championship caliber team. We knew they were going to score runs, but we also knew we could score on them.”
“New Glarus was a wild game. We got down big, but our boys kept battling. Our experience really paid off in that game. This group of guys have been in pressure games last year on the way to state, as well as in the summer season and again this year.”
“Then Ryder (Zdanczewicz) came up huge in relief of Grant, Casey (Dresen) made an unbelievable catch in the bottom the seventh inning and season and ended up coming through with the eventual game-winning hit in the top of ninth inning for us.”
After winning their second regional title in as many years, Sheckler’s Eagles advanced to play No. 1 seed and Southwest Wisconsin Conference champion Dodgeville (22–2) in a WIAA Division 3 Riverdale Sectional semifinal game Tuesday at 1 p.m. Fennimore's season ended with a 7–2 loss to the Dodgers (24–2), who went on to beat Viroqua for the sectional title and berth to state.
“Winning the regional was one of our goals going into the season,” said Sheckler. “We thought we had the team to do it all year. We definitely gave ourselves some reason to have doubts in the middle of the season, but we have been playing really good baseball as of late."
To even get to last Wednesday’s showdown with the SWAL champs, Fennimore had to climb out of a 6–0 deficit a day earlier against the Glarner Knights.
New Glarus (14–9) scored two in the first inning against Fennimore starter Gianni Filardo on an RBI ground out, solo homer by Julseth, and after back-to-back singles Sheckler turned to ace Casey Dresen to get out of the jam.
The Knights tacked on two more runs on another RBI ground out and an RBI single by Nehmer to make it 4–0.
In the second inning, a walk and a one-out single by Julseth turned into two more runs on an error by Zdanczewicz in left field.
Fennimore battled back with five in the bottom of the second taking full advantage of two walks and two New Glarus errors.
Corey Dresen made it 6–2 with an RBI single, then two batters later Casey Dresen ripped a two-out, two-run single to centerfield and came all the way around to score on a Riverdale error in outfield to make it a one-run game.
New Glarus tacked on a run in the top of the fourth, but Fennimore scored three times in the bottom half of the inning, tying the game on a two-out RBI single by Filardo and taking an 8–7 lead on an RBI single by senior Jude Kinney.
The Knights re-tied the game on an RBI single by Colstad in the top of the sixth, but Zdanczewicz, who relieved Dresen earlier in the inning got out of the jam without further damage.
He then pitched a 1–2–3 top of the seventh to set the state for Fennimore’s game-winner.
Rowan Kinney drew a lead off walk and Payton Chappel came on to pinch run.
Zdanczewicz reached on a bunt single and sophomore Jack Sheckler walked to load the bases before Corey Dresen lined a walk-off RBI single to left field to win the game.
Wednesday’s regional final was every bit as dramatic.
Biba and Point starter Hudson Schroeder were locked in a scoreless pitcher’s dual through four innings — a far cry from the 25–12 Mineral Point win in these two teams’ final regular season meeting May 12.
Fennimore broke through first in the top of the fifth with an RBI single by Jack Sheckler, followed by a two-run single by senior Shawn Jahnke-Fiedler.
The Pointers finally got to Biba in the sixth when Rolli and Adam Cody led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and Brett Bossert knocked them in with a two-run triple.
Evan Kearns followed with an RBI double to tie the game.
A two-out Fennimore throwing error allowed Mineral Point’s No. 9 batter Rolli to reach second and chase Biba from the game.
“Evan with Grant at just 76 pitches, we had already decided that we were going to go to Ryder in the bottom of the seventh if they got back to the top of the order,” said Sheckler. “Ryder started in right field, but had to come out of the game with a slight hamstring injury,” said coach Sheckler. “Rowan came into the game and had a couple good ABs and drew a key walk, and it ended up allowing Ryder was on the bench able to warm up while we were in the field and get his hamstring loose.
“It was still a really tough decision for us to take Grant out at that point, but we love Ryder’s mentality in these big situations at the end of games. He has that bulldog mentality that he gets from wrestling.”
Zdanczewicz came on and spiked his first offering in the dirt for a wild pitch, allowing Rolli to move up 90 feet to third base. He then hit Mineral Point lead off batter Adam Cody, the 2026 SWAL Player of the Year on the eighth pitch of the at-bat with a 2–2 count.
“That hit by pitch really worked out for us because it probably would have been a wild pitch allowing the game-wining run to score.”
As it was, Grady Finley lofted a looping fly ball down the right field line for what looked like a walk-off RBI single, but Casey Dresen made an all-out diving catch in fair territory to end the inning and send the game to extras.
The teams traded scoreless half innings in the eighth before Jack Sheckler led off the top of the ninth with a single.
Corey Dresen then grounded into a fielder’s choice but beat out a potential double play throw to first base to limit the damage.
Dresen then stole second before Jahnke-Fiedler flied out to left for the second out.
Casey Dresen took the first pitch he was from Mineral Point’s Brylen Lee through the left side of the infield for a go-ahead RBI single.
In the bottom of the ninth, Fennimore got two quick outs on a ground out back to the mound and a ground out to Filardo at shortstop.
But Rolli came up with his second single of the game and Zdanczewicz hit Cody with a pitch for the second time in three innings, when the Mineral Point standout leaned over the plate and took one off his elbow pad.
But with the potential game-winning run on first base, Finley grounded out to shortstop to end the game.
Zdanczewicz (2–1) earned his second pitching win in as many regional games, allowing just one hit, two hit batters and one walk in 2 1/3 innings of relief.
WIAA Division 3 Regional Final
No. 3 Fennimore 4, No. 2 Mineral Point 3
(from Wednesday, June 2 @ Mineral Point)
Fennimore........000 030 001 — 4 6 2
Mineral Point....000 003 000 — 3 7 0
Leading hitters — F: Shawn Jahnke-Fiedler 1x5 (2RBI), Casey Dresen 1x4 (RBI), Ryder Zdanczewicz 2x2, Jack Sheckler 2x4 (RBI); MP: Adam Cody 1x3 (R), Brett Bossert 2x4 (2RBI, R), Evan Kearns 1x4 (RBI), Rolli 2x4 (R). 2B — F: Sheckler; MP: Kearns. 3B — MP: Bossert.
W — Ryder Zdanczewicz (3–1, 2.1IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0K, 1BB). L — Brylen Lee (4IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 0K, 3BB).
