MONROE - With all that has happened in Monroe over the course of the past week and a half because of poor weather and bomb threats, the Cheesemakers were just glad to be outside playing.
"Not only has the weather been a factor, but with the entire thing with school it's just made for a screwed up week for us," head coach Steve Christensen said after Monroe's 5-1 loss to Mount Horeb in the season opener.
"Everything that's gone on in the past week has been hard and really uneasy on everybody."
The Cheesemakers looked both good and bad on the day. Good in the fact that the team's only true error came on a collision with an umpire and bad because of the holes in the bats.
"We didn't do things out in the field too bad. "We struggled where I thought we would struggle," Christensen said.
Senior southpaw Mike Demianiuk started on the hill for Monroe and was perfect through the first two innings. Then the wheels fell off for an inning.
"Mike pitched well except for one inning when they got a couple of seeing-eye hits. That happens," Christensen said.
The first batter of the third inning roped a ball over the head of left fielder Drew Geissbuhler for a double. Demianiuk then struck out his only batter of the game before letting up a dying quail single to put runners at the corners.
The error came moments later when a set play tried to pick off the runner attempting to go home on the double steal. Monroe shortstop Scott Kline ran towards the mound to intercept the ball on its way from sophomore catcher Mitchell Marty to second base, but ran into the field umpire and the ball bounced into the outfield, allowing the first run of the game to score. Three runs would score in the inning.
After allowing just three walks in 30 innings of work in 2008, Demianiuk walked a batter in just his third of 2009.
"Mike did well," Christensen said. "We had some anxious at bats in the game. We just need some repetition to build some confidence and consistency."
Monroe hadn't swung a bat off of live pitching or outside off a cage so far in the short season, and it showed as the Cheesemakers notched just a pair of hits in the game while striking out 11 times.
"All in all, it's a typical first game. They hit three balls hard and we hit two balls hard. (Mount Horeb) played in the Metrodome on Wednesday, so they had some innings behind them."
Mike Rear and Taylor Weckerly had Monroe's only hits. Marty had two walks and reached on an error in his first varsity game.
"That's the first time he's been behind a batter this season. We didn't get him behind anyone in the cage, and he kept the ball in front of himself and played well."
Geissbuhler also was on base twice and showed off his speed on the base paths.
"Drew's got some good speed and we have to find a way to get him on base so he can use that."
Rear relieved Demianiuk in the fifth inning and quickly ran into trouble. The senior walked the first batter he saw and allowed the bases to get loaded with no one out.
"I thought that was going to be a long inning," Christensen said.
However, Kline fielded a grounder perfectly and got a force out at home facing the Vikings cleanup hitter. The next batter grounded weakly back to Rear for the 1-2-3 double play to end the inning.
"We got out of it. Mike needs to throw strikes. He throws hard enough that other teams are not going to swing at it because it looks too hard, so he needs to throw strikes."
Monroe scored in the bottom of the fifth as Kline reached on an error and scored on a hit by Cory Kundert two batters later for Monroe's only run.
Mount Horeb would tack on two more in the seventh as Kris Rieder relieved Rear.
"You schedule a game for April 3 knowing that there are going to be some mistakes. But you hope that you can learn and get ready for conference."
The Cheesemakers host Milton on Thursday, April 9 at 5 p.m.
"Not only has the weather been a factor, but with the entire thing with school it's just made for a screwed up week for us," head coach Steve Christensen said after Monroe's 5-1 loss to Mount Horeb in the season opener.
"Everything that's gone on in the past week has been hard and really uneasy on everybody."
The Cheesemakers looked both good and bad on the day. Good in the fact that the team's only true error came on a collision with an umpire and bad because of the holes in the bats.
"We didn't do things out in the field too bad. "We struggled where I thought we would struggle," Christensen said.
Senior southpaw Mike Demianiuk started on the hill for Monroe and was perfect through the first two innings. Then the wheels fell off for an inning.
"Mike pitched well except for one inning when they got a couple of seeing-eye hits. That happens," Christensen said.
The first batter of the third inning roped a ball over the head of left fielder Drew Geissbuhler for a double. Demianiuk then struck out his only batter of the game before letting up a dying quail single to put runners at the corners.
The error came moments later when a set play tried to pick off the runner attempting to go home on the double steal. Monroe shortstop Scott Kline ran towards the mound to intercept the ball on its way from sophomore catcher Mitchell Marty to second base, but ran into the field umpire and the ball bounced into the outfield, allowing the first run of the game to score. Three runs would score in the inning.
After allowing just three walks in 30 innings of work in 2008, Demianiuk walked a batter in just his third of 2009.
"Mike did well," Christensen said. "We had some anxious at bats in the game. We just need some repetition to build some confidence and consistency."
Monroe hadn't swung a bat off of live pitching or outside off a cage so far in the short season, and it showed as the Cheesemakers notched just a pair of hits in the game while striking out 11 times.
"All in all, it's a typical first game. They hit three balls hard and we hit two balls hard. (Mount Horeb) played in the Metrodome on Wednesday, so they had some innings behind them."
Mike Rear and Taylor Weckerly had Monroe's only hits. Marty had two walks and reached on an error in his first varsity game.
"That's the first time he's been behind a batter this season. We didn't get him behind anyone in the cage, and he kept the ball in front of himself and played well."
Geissbuhler also was on base twice and showed off his speed on the base paths.
"Drew's got some good speed and we have to find a way to get him on base so he can use that."
Rear relieved Demianiuk in the fifth inning and quickly ran into trouble. The senior walked the first batter he saw and allowed the bases to get loaded with no one out.
"I thought that was going to be a long inning," Christensen said.
However, Kline fielded a grounder perfectly and got a force out at home facing the Vikings cleanup hitter. The next batter grounded weakly back to Rear for the 1-2-3 double play to end the inning.
"We got out of it. Mike needs to throw strikes. He throws hard enough that other teams are not going to swing at it because it looks too hard, so he needs to throw strikes."
Monroe scored in the bottom of the fifth as Kline reached on an error and scored on a hit by Cory Kundert two batters later for Monroe's only run.
Mount Horeb would tack on two more in the seventh as Kris Rieder relieved Rear.
"You schedule a game for April 3 knowing that there are going to be some mistakes. But you hope that you can learn and get ready for conference."
The Cheesemakers host Milton on Thursday, April 9 at 5 p.m.
