SHULLSBURG – The first 12 batters Wiota sent to the plate in the top of the seventh inning reached base and scored as the Indians broke open a tight game and held on to defeat the host Shullsburg/Benton Fever, 16-6, in seven innings in a make-up Home Talent League Western Section South Division clash at Badger Park on Saturday, June 24.
    The Indians added a win over Muscoda on Sunday afternoon to remain in the lead in the South Division with a 7-2 record. The Fever, who defeated Dodgeville, 4-2, in extra innings on Friday night, sits third in the South at 5-5 behind Ridgeway at 6-4.
    Verona continues to lead the North Division at 9-1 with Mount Horeb/Pine Bluff on their heels at 8-1.
    Wiota took a slim 4-3 lead into the seventh, but that lead soon ballooned to 16-3 before the Fever could even record an out. After taking three straight base on balls to load the bases to open the rally, pitcher Jeff Solberg helped his own cause by ripping a base-clearing, three-run double and Casey Schroeder blasted a grand slam home run eight batters later to extend the lead to 13.
    In between those two hits, Tommy Meier and Kory Tuescher had RBI-singles for the Indians, and teammates Ben Muhlstein and Mitch Marty each walked with the bases loaded to bring in runs.
    Justin Crotty went deep for the Fever in the bottom of the seventh with a three-run shot to cut the deficit back to 10, but Solberg recorded a fly out and strikeout to end the game by the 10-run rule.
    The Fever began the scoring in the bottom of the second inning when catcher Alex Wand dropped a single into right field off his cousin– Solberg– to bring in Jacob Green for the game’s first run.
    Wiota took over the lead on Brad Schliem’s two-run home run to left in the top of the fifth; however, the Fever answered back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead at 3-2. After Colton Bormann scored on an error to tie the game, Green ripped his second double of the day to bring in Nathan Hendrickson for the go-ahead run.
    The Indians didn’t stay behind for long as outfielder Jesse Sturtz lined a two-run single in the top of the sixth to put the guests into the lead to stay at 4-3, and then they pulled away in the seventh to earn the win.
    Solberg (3-2) earned the complete-game win after allowing just two earned runs over seven innings on eight hits and a walk with two Ks, and he led the way at the plate going 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored for Wiota.
    Sturtz also was 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs, while Schroeder drove in four runs and Schliem knocked in two. Marty and Tuescher each scored twice for Wiota, who had 10 different players score a run on the day with eight driving in runs and seven getting hits.
    Green was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a run and a RBI for the Fever. Tommy Behrens was 2-for-2 in the game, while Bormann and Hendrickson each scored twice for the hosts.
    Crotty (0-1) took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits with three walks and seven Ks over six innings. Hendrickson (eight) and Behrens (four) were tagged for 12 runs in the seventh on a combined five hits and six walks with Behrens recording three strikeouts in the frame.
    At Wiota, on Sunday, June 25, Kory Tuescher went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored and Casey Schroeder was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run to lead the Wiota offense, while pitcher Ben Conway allowed just one run and struck out 10 batters over eight strong innings to lead the Indians over the visiting Muscoda Mudcats by a score of 7-2.
    Tuescher scored on a single by Rooney Janecke in the first inning and again on a single by Merrill Brunson in the fifth inning, and Schroeder scored on a sacrifice fly and added a two-run double in the fifth to lead the Indians out to a 6-0 lead.
    Conway (2-0) yielded five hits and one walk en route to the win on the hill.
    Janecke also scored on an error in the first, and came in along with Brunson on Schroeder’s two-bagger in the fifth. Mitch Marty added a RBI-single in the sixth for Wiota.
    At Wiota, on Thursday, June 22, the Indians literally walked off with an extra-inning win over the Argyle Beavers after taking four consecutive walks with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to post a 3-2 HTL South Section Night League decision.
    The Indians (1-3 NL) scored two runs on a throwing error in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase a 2-0 deficit, and then held the Beavers (1-4) off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth innings to give themselves a shot at earning their first Night League victory of the season.
    After recording back-to-back strikeouts to start off the Wiota eighth, Argyle reliever Lukas Kolasch walked Tommy Meier, Jesse Sturtz and Cole McDonald to load the bases and then issued another free pass to Brad Solberg to bring in Meier for the game-winning run.
    Ryan Glendenning (1-0) earned the win in relief for Wiota thanks to tossing a scoreless eighth inning. He walked a batter and struck out another, but did not allow a hit or a run.
    Former Indian Parker Alsteens doubled and scored a run for Argyle, while Belmont graduate Mitch Steinhoff brought in another run for the Beavers with a bunt-single in the fourth.
    Hayden Hardyman had a double for Wiota. 
    The Indians (8-5 overall) have a Night League game at Evansville on Thursday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m.; and have Sunday League games at Hollandale on Sunday, July 2, at 1 p.m., and at home against Dodgeville on Tuesday, July 4, at 1 p.m.
    At Dodgeville, on Friday, June 23, the Fever stayed alive by scoring a run in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at 2-2, and then struck for two more runs in the top of the 10th to defeat the host Knights, 4-2, in a Western Section contest.
    The Knights (3-6 SL) scored single runs in the second and third frames to grab an early 2-0 lead on Shullsburg/Benton, but Trevor Kattre singled and scored in the fourth and Cox did the same in the ninth stanza to even the score at two all.
    The Fever took their first lead thanks to back-to-back errors by the Knights that brought in Tommy Behrens for the go-ahead score. Kattre followed with a RBI-double to drive in Jake Marshall for a key insurance run.
    The Knights managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 10th, but Colton Bormann coaxed a game-ending double play to seal a complete-game victory on the mound. Bormann (1-3) scattered 11 hits and two walks over 10 innings, but allowed just two runs to score while fanning six batters in the win.
    Dodgeville starter Danny Sullivan struck out 14 in nine innings, but earned a no-decision. He also went 3-for-5 to lead the Knights at the plate.
    Kattre was 2-for-5 on the night with a run and a RBI. Cox had two hits and a run, while Bormann and Nathan Hendrickson each drove in a run for the Fever.  
    At Shullsburg, on Thursday, June 22, a fast start shot the Blanchardville Bullets out to an early lead and the Fever (2-3) could never catch back up as they fell 5-1 in the Night League meeting.
    Back-to-back two-run doubles by Cody and Carson Carmody launched the Bullets (4-1) to a 4-0 advantage.
    The Fever answered back with a run in the bottom of the first when Nathan Hendrickson came in on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Green to make it 4-1, but that was all the offense the Fever could manage as Ryan Kleppe tossed six straight scoreless innings for the Bullets.
    Brant Gille went 2-for-2 at the plate for the Fever, who outhit their guests 5-4 on the night. Gille (0-2) also took the loss for the hosts.
    The Fever (7-8 overall) host Cross Plains in a Night League game on Thursday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m.; and have Sunday League games at Ridgeway on Saturday, July 1, at 4 p.m., and at West Middleton on Monday, July 3, at 3 p.m.

HTL SUNDAY LEAGUE
Wiota………… 000  022 (12) – 16  11  6
Shulls/Bent……. 010  020  3 –   6    8  1
Leading Hitters: W– Jeff Solberg 3x5, Jesse Sturtz 3x5. HR– Brad Schliem, Casey Schroeder. 2B– Solberg, Sturtz. S/B– Jacob Gren 2x4, Tommy Behrens 2x2. HR– Justin Crotty. 2B– Green (2).
WP- Jeff Solberg. LP- J. Crotty.
At Shullsburg, on Saturday, June 24

Muscoda…. 000  000  000 – 7  11  2
Wiota……… 000  001  001 – 2    5  2
Leading Hitters: M– Hach 2x5, Ahnen 2x5. WI– Kory Tuescher 3x3, Casey Schroeder 2x4. 2B– Tuescher, Schroeder.
WP- Ben Conway. LP- Troxel.
At Wiota, on Sunday, June 25

Shulls/Bent….. 000 100 001 2 – 4    6  1
Dodgeville…… 011 000 000 0 – 2  11  2
Leading Hitters: S/B– Trevor Kattre 2x5, Joe Cox 2x5. 2B– Kattre. D– J. Larson 2x5, Sullivan 3x5.
WP- Colton Bormann. LP- A. Larson.
At Dodgeville, on Friday, June 23

HTL NIGHT LEAGUE
Argyle… 000  200  00 – 2  5  1
Wiota…. 000  002  01 – 3  4  2
Leading Hitters: A– 2B– Parker Alsteens. W– 2B– Hayden Hardyman.
WP- Ryan Glendenning. LP- Lukas Kolasch.
At Wiota, on Thursday, June 22

Blanchardville… 400  010  0 – 5  4  5
Shulls/Bent……. 100  000  0 – 1  5  1
Leading Hitters: B– 2B– Co. Carmody, Ca. Carmody. S/B– Brant Gille 2x2.
WP- R. Kleppe. LP- Gille.
At Shullsburg, on Thursday, June 22