MONROE - When the bats come up big, pitching needs to be there to shut the door. That was the case on Tuesday as Monroe slammed home a win over Stoughton, 10-4.
Monroe starting pitcher Logan Wells threw 98 pitches in seven innings of work. In recent outings he's needed that many through three or four innings.
"When you start a ballgame you want to finish it too. As a competitor you don't want to leave the game," Wells said.
The Cheesemakers (8-8, 5-2 Badger South) used two big offensive innings, in which they scored four and five runs, respectively, and Wells dominated the Vikings (4-11, 3-6) over the final four innings on the hills.
"We're bullheaded enough to hang in there and get us into a position to win," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "We had a big let-down inning and you could see the air kind of come out of the kids. Logan doesn't let that stuff effect him, though. He throws strikes, he battles and made pitches when they had to."
Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the second, Monroe scored four runs on three hits, a walk and hit batter, nearly batting around the order.
But the Cheesemakers failed to carry over the momentum on defense. Three errors helped allow Stoughton to tie the score at 4, and the Cheesemakers went quietly in the bottom half of the frame.
"That stuff just happens in high school baseball. You just have that 'one' inning. You just have to compose yourself and stay with it," said Wells, as senior who allowed one walk, six hits and three earned runs in seven innings. "Early in the game I was a little tight, but then you get going, blood pumping and things work out."
From there, Wells took over. He allowed just four baserunners over the final four innings, striking out six batters in that time frame.
"He found the strike zone," Huffman said of Wells. "It was kind of the 'get ahead, stay ahead' mentality."
Senior Dylan Schwitz, who went 3 for 3 with a walk and two runs, singled to open the fifth inning and later stole third. Mitch Marty came through with a two-out single through the hole on the right side of the infield to break the tie.
"I'm seeing the ball well (recently)," Schwitz said. "I'm looking fastball a lot and picking out the pitch I like and driving it."
The next inning, the Cheesemakers teed-off. Monroe sent 10 batters to the plate against reliever Adam Flynn and collected five hits, a walk and took advantage of two Viking errors. The big blow for Flynn was a two-out, full-count double off the right field fence by Austin Burandt, which plated two runs and capped the scoring. Burandt was just 1 for 2 in the game, but added two walks. Wells and Drew Nafzger each had two hits and Schwitz drove in three runs.
"We were able to get a couple hits, a couple runs and then boom, we had the momentum again and finished off well," Huffman said.
The Cheesemakers travel to Baraboo (7-8) on Friday for a doubleheader and close out the regular season at Madison Edgewood (10-6, 7-3) May 23. Then it's on to playoffs.
"Are we to the point where we want to be? Absolutely not. I don't know if you ever can be," Huffman said. "We show signs of it all year, on and off, and this was one step in the right direction."
The playoff seeding meeting is tonight. And when the postseason starts, it means every game may be the last for seniors like Wells, Marty and Schwitz.
"It hasn't hit me yet," Schwitz said of the impending end to everything high school related. "They talk about playing each game as your last, and I think it's sinking in. We're trying to have fun every game we play, and I think that showed tonight."
Monroe starting pitcher Logan Wells threw 98 pitches in seven innings of work. In recent outings he's needed that many through three or four innings.
"When you start a ballgame you want to finish it too. As a competitor you don't want to leave the game," Wells said.
The Cheesemakers (8-8, 5-2 Badger South) used two big offensive innings, in which they scored four and five runs, respectively, and Wells dominated the Vikings (4-11, 3-6) over the final four innings on the hills.
"We're bullheaded enough to hang in there and get us into a position to win," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "We had a big let-down inning and you could see the air kind of come out of the kids. Logan doesn't let that stuff effect him, though. He throws strikes, he battles and made pitches when they had to."
Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the second, Monroe scored four runs on three hits, a walk and hit batter, nearly batting around the order.
But the Cheesemakers failed to carry over the momentum on defense. Three errors helped allow Stoughton to tie the score at 4, and the Cheesemakers went quietly in the bottom half of the frame.
"That stuff just happens in high school baseball. You just have that 'one' inning. You just have to compose yourself and stay with it," said Wells, as senior who allowed one walk, six hits and three earned runs in seven innings. "Early in the game I was a little tight, but then you get going, blood pumping and things work out."
From there, Wells took over. He allowed just four baserunners over the final four innings, striking out six batters in that time frame.
"He found the strike zone," Huffman said of Wells. "It was kind of the 'get ahead, stay ahead' mentality."
Senior Dylan Schwitz, who went 3 for 3 with a walk and two runs, singled to open the fifth inning and later stole third. Mitch Marty came through with a two-out single through the hole on the right side of the infield to break the tie.
"I'm seeing the ball well (recently)," Schwitz said. "I'm looking fastball a lot and picking out the pitch I like and driving it."
The next inning, the Cheesemakers teed-off. Monroe sent 10 batters to the plate against reliever Adam Flynn and collected five hits, a walk and took advantage of two Viking errors. The big blow for Flynn was a two-out, full-count double off the right field fence by Austin Burandt, which plated two runs and capped the scoring. Burandt was just 1 for 2 in the game, but added two walks. Wells and Drew Nafzger each had two hits and Schwitz drove in three runs.
"We were able to get a couple hits, a couple runs and then boom, we had the momentum again and finished off well," Huffman said.
The Cheesemakers travel to Baraboo (7-8) on Friday for a doubleheader and close out the regular season at Madison Edgewood (10-6, 7-3) May 23. Then it's on to playoffs.
"Are we to the point where we want to be? Absolutely not. I don't know if you ever can be," Huffman said. "We show signs of it all year, on and off, and this was one step in the right direction."
The playoff seeding meeting is tonight. And when the postseason starts, it means every game may be the last for seniors like Wells, Marty and Schwitz.
"It hasn't hit me yet," Schwitz said of the impending end to everything high school related. "They talk about playing each game as your last, and I think it's sinking in. We're trying to have fun every game we play, and I think that showed tonight."
