WIOTA – Twice was nice as Wiota knocked Monroe out of the Home Talent League post-season tournaments in the opening round of both the Night League and Sunday League playoffs last week.
    The #6-seeded Indians (4-5 in NL, 15-11 overall) began the South Section Night League playoffs by upsetting the #3-seeded Brewers by a score of 9-5 in Monroe on Thursday, Aug. 2.
    The teams switched fields and seeds to start the Western Section playoffs on Sunday, Aug. 5, but the result was the same as the #3-seeded Indians (11-6 in SL) blanked the #6-seeded Brewers, 12-0, at Wiota Park.
    Wiota advances to meet Cross Plains in a NL playoff game in Cross Plains (9-0) on Thursday, Aug. 9, starting at 7:30 p.m.; and the Indians will face Ridgeway in a SL playoff contest in Ridgeway (12-5) on Sunday, Aug. 12, at 1 p.m.
    At Wiota, on Sunday, Aug. 5, shortstop Merrill Brunson drove in four runs and scored twice to lead Wiota, while teammates Kory Tuescher and Jeff Solberg each plated two runs and scored once to lead the Indians over the visiting Monroe Brewers, 12-0, in the opening round of the Western Section playoffs.
    The Indians used a couple of big innings to pull away from the Brewers (5-12), plating four runs in the second frame, three in the fourth and four more in the fifth to open up an 11-0 advantage.
    Solberg led off the second stanza with a double and scored two batters later when first baseman Jayson Haldiman drove him in with a single. Outfielder Tommy Meier followed with a RBI-double, while Taylor Wiegel plated Haldiman with a sacrifice fly and Tuescher drove in T. Meier with a single to stake the hosts out to an early 4-0 lead.
    Brunson extended the Wiota lead to 7-0 in the fourth when he drove a Rooney Janecke offering into the corn behind the centerfield fence for a three-run home run.
    A sacrfice fly by Tuescher, a RBI-single by Brunson and a two-run single by Solberg in the fifth frame gave the Indians a comfortable 11-0 cushion.
    In the sixth, pinch hitter Matt Keister led off with a single and later scored on an infield single by Ronnie Rush to close the scoring at 12-0.
    Solberg finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a double to pace the 14-hit Wiota attack. Haldiman was 2-for-3 and Brunson was 2-for-4 on the day for the Indians, who had nine different players score and seven players drive in a run in the game. Six players drove in a run and scored a run for the hosts.
    Wiota pitchers Ryan Von Haden and Justin Doyle combined for seven shutout innings on the hill. Von Haden (2-0) worked the first five innings, allowing five hits with no walks and striking out two; while Doyle tossed the final two frames, yielding two hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
    At Monroe, on Thursday, Aug. 2, Wiota avenged a 10-run regular season loss to the Brewers from June by taking down the hosts by a score of 9-5 in the opening round of the NL playoffs.
    The Indians scored runs in five of their seven at-bats, grabbing the lead for good with two runs in the first and third frames before putting the game away with a three-run sixth.
    Wiota led 4-0 after their turn at bat in the third, but the Brewers (6-3) sliced their lead in half in the bottom of the third and still had the bases loaded with nobody out when Nick Flannery came in to replace Indian starter Tommy Meier.
    Flannery worked his way out of the jam without any further damage to preserve the 4-2 lead, and his teammates would tack on four insurance runs over the next three innings to increase the lead to 8-2.
    Justin Doyle led off the fourth frame with a solo home run for Wiota, while Jayson Haldiman ripped a two-run single in the sixth and Jason Boll added a RBI-base hit in that same frame to put the game out of reach.
    Flannery (3-1) surrendered three runs over the final two innings, but held on for the win after striking out seven batters while allowing seven hits and two walks.
    Taylor Wiegel went 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run to lead the 11-hit assault. Doyle and Matt Keister each scored twice, and Haldiman drove in two runs for the Indians.

SUNDAY LEAGUE
Monroe… 000 000 0 -   0    7  3
Wiota…… 040 341 x - 12  13  1
Leading Hitters: Jeff Solberg 3x4, Jayson Haldiman 2x3, Merrill Brunson 2x4. HR- Brunson. 2B- Solberg, Tommy Meier.
WP- Ryan Von Haden. LP- Hahn.
At Wiota on Sunday, Aug. 5

NIGHT LEAGUE
Wiota…… 202 103 1 - 9  11  2
Monroe… 002 001 2 - 5    8  4
Leading Hitters: Taylor Wiegel 2x4. HR- Justin Doyle. 2B- Wade Black.
WP- Nick Flannery. LP- Rieder.
At Monroe on Thursday, Aug. 2

North/West rallies past East/Southeast at HTL All-Star Game
    MADISON – Mazomanie’s Quintin Zander singled home Middleton’s Scott Brabender for the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the North/West Sections over the East/Southeast squad, 5-4, in the 2012 Home Talent League All-Star Game held at the Madison Mallards’ Duck Pond in Warner Park on Friday, Aug. 3.
    The N/W All-Stars trailed 4-1, but rallied to tie the game behind a two-run home run by Cazenovia’s Nick Ihde in the bottom of the fifth inning and a RBI-single by Brabender in the sixth.
    Brabender walked to open the rally in the ninth, moved up to second on a base hit by Dodgeville’s Mark Ludwig and came around to score on Zander’s two-out single to close the scoring at 5-4.
    Wiota’s Jeff Solberg was one of the nine pitchers used by the N/W team, working one inning and allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk.
    Plain’s Joe Gorman tossed a three-up, three-down ninth to earn the victory as the N/W squad held their opponents off the scoreboard over the final four frames.
    Wiota’s Brad Schliem joined Solberg on the winning team.

HTL ALL-STAR GAME
East/So’East… 001 030 000 - 4  10  3
North/West….. 000 121 001 - 5  12  1
Wiota Hitters: Jeff Solberg 0x1, Brad Schliem 0x0.
WP- Gorman. LP- Bates.
At Madison on Friday, Aug. 3