Lancers overpowered by top-ranked Tigers
GRAND CHUTE – What’s it like to face a lineup that has smashed 20 home runs and pounded out a batting average of better than .500?
“Anywhere you put it, they’re going to hit it,” Kenosha St. Joseph senior Jacob Charon said.
That was the word from the Lancers starting pitcher after facing Webster in the WIAA Division 3 state semifinals Thursday at Fox Cities Stadium. Sometimes a team’s lofty statistics don’t end carrying weight when matched with the competition at the state tournament. Webster’s lineup, however, lived up to its billing.
The Tigers, who finished the regular season as the state’s top ranked team by the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association, pounded out 16 hits and reached double digits for the fourth time in the last five games with its 14-8 victory over the Lancers. They advanced to the state title game against St. Mary Catholic at 12:05 p.m. Thursday.
The Lancers, who were making their first appearance since the 2009 state championship season, went toe-to-toe with last year’s state runner-up for the first three innings, but couldn’t keep up with a team that put multiple runs on the board in the third-sixth innings.
Senior Jack Grosz drove in two runs for St. Joseph, which finished 20-6. Charon went 2 for 3 with one RBI and three runs. Freshman catcher Frank McGuire drove in three runs.
Senior Hunter Gustafson went 5 for 5 with four RBI and two runs for Webster, which improved to 26-3.
St. Joseph finished with one error, but a couple of misplayed balls that were credited as hits opened the door for Webster.
In Webster’s five-run second inning, a bunt by freshman Carsen Steinberg went for a single because no one was covering first. Instead of having one out and runners on second and third, the Lancers faced a bases-loaded situation and the next hitter brought in a run on a hit batter to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
Later in the inning with Webster ahead, 4-1, an error set the stage for two more runs to score.
And in the fourth inning, the Tigers scored two runs on a two-out fly ball by Rosenbaum that got lost in the sun and dropped just a few feet from the rightfielder.
The play put the Lancers in a 9-4 hole. Eventually they trailed, 14-4, before scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
“We’re right there if we clean up our defense. There were two plays that cost us five runs,” Lancers coach Zach Cunningham said. “We eliminate those two plays and we’re right there.”
St. Joseph caught a bad break on the base paths, too. After falling behind, 1-0, in the first, it got back to back triples from Charon and Grosz. Grosz’s hit brought home the Lancers' first run, but he was called out at the plate to end the inning trying to score.
It was the beginning of the end for a Lancers squad that entered the state tournament averaging 9.8 runs per game.
“We were super focused. Every practice was very intense. We knew our ultimate goal was to wins state," Charon said. "Obviously that didn’t happen, but we got here. It was a great accomplishment for our team.”
St. Mary Catholic 4, Mineral Point
Junior TJ Skrzypczak struck out five and allowed one hit in the victory. The teams combined for just three hits.