BENTON – Shullsburg/Benton pitchers Nathan Hendrickson and Matt Cook were nearly unhittable on Friday afternoon, while the Miner-Zephyrs’ offense was firing on all cylinders as the co-op stampeded their way to a pair of five-inning victories over the Monticello Ponies in their regular season finale at Swift Park on May 18.
    Hendrickson (9-2 record) tossed a three-hit shutout with no walks and seven strikeouts to lead the Miner-Zephyrs (20-5 overall, 17-4 in conference) to a 10-0 win in the opener, and– not to be outdone– Cook (8-1 rec.) fired a one-hit shutout over four innings with three walks and five Ks to lead the hosts over the Ponies (5-20, 5-17) for the sweep.
    Kyle Hoppman went 2-for-2 and homered for S/B in game one. Collin Hauser also finished 2-for-2 and Jacob Scott doubled for the Miner-Zephyrs, who used a seven-run eruption in the second inning to grab control of the game.
    In game two, Connor Crotty went 2-for-4 with a home run for the hosts. Scott went 3-for-3 with another double, while Hendrickson, Cook, Hauser and Nick Soppe each added two hits to aid the 15-hit attack. Pierce Russell also doubled for S/B.
    Shullsburg/Benton received the #2-seed in their WIAA Division 3 tournament regional bracket and an opening round bye. The Miner-Zephyrs will host the winner of the quarterfinal game between #3-seed Southwestern (10-10) and #6-seed Argyle (3-19) in a regional semifinal contest at Benton’s Swift Park on Tuesday, May 29.

GAME ONE
Monticello….. 000  00 -   0  3  1
Shulls/Bent… 172  0x - 10  8  0
Leading Hitters: Kyle Hoppman 2x2, Collin Hauser 2x2. HR- Hoppman. 2B- Jacob Scott.
WP- Nathan Hendrickson. LP- Kolasch.

GAME TWO
Shulls/Bent… 412  33 - 13  15  1
Monticello….. 000  00 -   0    1  6
Leading Hitters: Nick Soppe 2x4, Connor Crotty 2x4, Nathan Hendrickson 2x3, Matt Cook 2x2, Jacob Scott 3x3, Collin Hauser 2x3. HR- Crotty. 2B- Scott, Hendrickson, Pierce Russell.
WP- Matt Cook. LP- Klitzke.
At Benton on Friday, May 18