MONROE - The Cheesemakers brought the right bat bag to the ballpark on Friday, and got help from pitcher Mitch Marty and Brodhead-Juda's defense. The three factors were blatantly evident as Monroe won the WIAA Division 2 playoff opener 7-1, and moves on to face off against Edgerton on May 31.
"We had success earlier in the year against Brodhead at their place, but we knew it was going to be a lot different of a game with it being the postseason," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "We wanted the kids to come out and be hungry right away. We hung them with a zero to start and got a couple (of runs) right away. That's huge for our confidence."
Monroe scored two runs in the first inning thanks to a booming double by Kramer Henning and a hard liner off the bat of Austin Burandt that scooted under Trenten Scheidegger's glove.
In the bottom of the second, the bats continued to boom. Dylan Cleaveland lofted a deep fly to right that was dropped by David Hatter allowing the inning to keep going. Dylan Schwitz, who roped a hard liner to left to lead off the game for the Cheesemakers, took Brodhead-Juda starter Carson Scheidegger deep over the left centerfield wall.
"I was seeing the ball real well," Schwitz said. "My mechanics have been pretty good and I've been able to watch the ball make contact with the bat."
Mitch Riese followed Schwitz with a single to left and then Henning dropped a bomb over the scoreboard in right field to make it 6-0.
"I had to show (Schwitz) up and get the last laugh," Henning joked.
Brodhead-Juda coach Paul Ritschard relieved Carson Scheidegger, the Cardinals' only senior, for Trent Gerlach.
"We were making stupid mistakes: Fly balls that were in our glove, grounders out in the outfield and not catching the strikes and allowing passed balls," Ritschard said. "(Carson) threw fastballs right down the middle that were taken out of the park. It was really frustrating to see it all. The demoralizing part is ourselves.
"Carson's been a guy we've been able to count on the mound. Even today, those home runs never should have happened because of the pop up that he had that was an error. He gave us grounders and pop ups today, and he's been doing that for us all year long."
Gerlach walked Marty and Austin Burandt reached on an infield error to keep the inning going. Drew Nafzger then sent a fly to left that was dropped by Trenten Scheidegger to plate Monroe's final run. Gerlach settled down after the inning, as Monroe could never string enough hits or Cardinal errors together after that. The Cheesemakers didn't help themselves, however, as they chased several balls out of the strike zone.
Henning didn't have a problem finding his pitch. Monroe's senior 3-hitter finished 3 for 4 with the home run, a double and single.
"I want to get out there and swing at the best pitch," Henning said. "I want to make sure I can get hits so I can contribute to the team."
Marty and Nafzger also had doubles for Monroe.
Brodhead-Juda took some time to settle in. First baseman Derek Turner was injured in warm-ups with an apparent broken finger and the lineup had to be re-shuffled just minutes before the first pitch.
Marty also kept the Cardinals guessing, taking a no-hitter into the fifth before Tyler Davis, Turner's substitute, sent a single to left field. Marty allowed just three hits and a walk in six innings of work. He also struck out five.
"A fastball over the plate is still a fastball over the plate. That's the thing they need to understand is that it doesn't matter how fast the pitcher's throwing or what a curveball is, if they wait for that fastball they can still hit it," Ritschard said. "That was a confidence builder for a few of these kids."
Monroe brought in Jared Weber to pitch the seventh because Marty was nearing a pitch count, and the game seemed out of reach at the time. That's not to say Weber didn't make it interesting. After loading the bases with no one out, Weber, who has under a handful of appearances this year, forced Davis into an RBI groundout. He then struck out Tyson Young and Matt Trotter to end the game.
"Mitch did a great job by getting ahead early (in the count). He was able to throw a lot of his pitches for strikes. He had them leaning and guessing," Huffman said. "For (Weber) to come in and get some varsity playoff experience it was good. He was rocky a little bit because he was probably nervous, but he was able to hunker down and move us on."
But now the Cheesemakers have to travel to Edgerton, the No. 2 seed in the regional.
"We have a lot of experience and we've been riding that all year," said Huffman, when asked why he thinks his squad has a chance to move on. "We have a lot of senior leadership and we're real comfortable with Logan (Wells) going down there and throwing strikes. That's what he does best."
Should Monroe win, the Cheesemakers would play either Clinton or Evansville the next day, June 1. The sectional semifinal and final are in Monroe June 7.
"I'm not sure how we'll fare, but we're going to go out and play the game at 110 percent and play like it's our last," Schwitz said.
"We had success earlier in the year against Brodhead at their place, but we knew it was going to be a lot different of a game with it being the postseason," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "We wanted the kids to come out and be hungry right away. We hung them with a zero to start and got a couple (of runs) right away. That's huge for our confidence."
Monroe scored two runs in the first inning thanks to a booming double by Kramer Henning and a hard liner off the bat of Austin Burandt that scooted under Trenten Scheidegger's glove.
In the bottom of the second, the bats continued to boom. Dylan Cleaveland lofted a deep fly to right that was dropped by David Hatter allowing the inning to keep going. Dylan Schwitz, who roped a hard liner to left to lead off the game for the Cheesemakers, took Brodhead-Juda starter Carson Scheidegger deep over the left centerfield wall.
"I was seeing the ball real well," Schwitz said. "My mechanics have been pretty good and I've been able to watch the ball make contact with the bat."
Mitch Riese followed Schwitz with a single to left and then Henning dropped a bomb over the scoreboard in right field to make it 6-0.
"I had to show (Schwitz) up and get the last laugh," Henning joked.
Brodhead-Juda coach Paul Ritschard relieved Carson Scheidegger, the Cardinals' only senior, for Trent Gerlach.
"We were making stupid mistakes: Fly balls that were in our glove, grounders out in the outfield and not catching the strikes and allowing passed balls," Ritschard said. "(Carson) threw fastballs right down the middle that were taken out of the park. It was really frustrating to see it all. The demoralizing part is ourselves.
"Carson's been a guy we've been able to count on the mound. Even today, those home runs never should have happened because of the pop up that he had that was an error. He gave us grounders and pop ups today, and he's been doing that for us all year long."
Gerlach walked Marty and Austin Burandt reached on an infield error to keep the inning going. Drew Nafzger then sent a fly to left that was dropped by Trenten Scheidegger to plate Monroe's final run. Gerlach settled down after the inning, as Monroe could never string enough hits or Cardinal errors together after that. The Cheesemakers didn't help themselves, however, as they chased several balls out of the strike zone.
Henning didn't have a problem finding his pitch. Monroe's senior 3-hitter finished 3 for 4 with the home run, a double and single.
"I want to get out there and swing at the best pitch," Henning said. "I want to make sure I can get hits so I can contribute to the team."
Marty and Nafzger also had doubles for Monroe.
Brodhead-Juda took some time to settle in. First baseman Derek Turner was injured in warm-ups with an apparent broken finger and the lineup had to be re-shuffled just minutes before the first pitch.
Marty also kept the Cardinals guessing, taking a no-hitter into the fifth before Tyler Davis, Turner's substitute, sent a single to left field. Marty allowed just three hits and a walk in six innings of work. He also struck out five.
"A fastball over the plate is still a fastball over the plate. That's the thing they need to understand is that it doesn't matter how fast the pitcher's throwing or what a curveball is, if they wait for that fastball they can still hit it," Ritschard said. "That was a confidence builder for a few of these kids."
Monroe brought in Jared Weber to pitch the seventh because Marty was nearing a pitch count, and the game seemed out of reach at the time. That's not to say Weber didn't make it interesting. After loading the bases with no one out, Weber, who has under a handful of appearances this year, forced Davis into an RBI groundout. He then struck out Tyson Young and Matt Trotter to end the game.
"Mitch did a great job by getting ahead early (in the count). He was able to throw a lot of his pitches for strikes. He had them leaning and guessing," Huffman said. "For (Weber) to come in and get some varsity playoff experience it was good. He was rocky a little bit because he was probably nervous, but he was able to hunker down and move us on."
But now the Cheesemakers have to travel to Edgerton, the No. 2 seed in the regional.
"We have a lot of experience and we've been riding that all year," said Huffman, when asked why he thinks his squad has a chance to move on. "We have a lot of senior leadership and we're real comfortable with Logan (Wells) going down there and throwing strikes. That's what he does best."
Should Monroe win, the Cheesemakers would play either Clinton or Evansville the next day, June 1. The sectional semifinal and final are in Monroe June 7.
"I'm not sure how we'll fare, but we're going to go out and play the game at 110 percent and play like it's our last," Schwitz said.
