BRODHEAD - Monroe junior Logan Weckerly didn't waste his time trying to throw many off-speed pitches on a gusty season opener Thursday in Brodhead.
Weckerly and junior Lucas Neuenschwander combined to toss a four-hit shutout to propel Monroe to a 4-0 win over Brodhead-Juda. Weckerly pitched four innings to get the win. He struck out one and walked two.
"He (coach Huffman) told me not to worry about my off-speed pitches because it was so cold," Weckerly said. "He wanted me to just worry about throwing my fastball for strikes.
"It feels good to get the first win. The last few years we haven't been as good as we thought we could have been."
Weckerly and the Cheesemakers proved up to the challenge against the Cardinals. Monroe sophomore Jaron Kuester coaxed a walk off of Brodhead-Juda pitcher Daniel Skoumal in the first inning. Brian Wang laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Kuester into scoring position. Monroe junior Chase Hellenbrand then crushed an RBI triple down the right field line to give the Cheesemakers a 1-0 lead. Junior Mitch Swanson then delivered lining an RBI single to right to give the Cheesemakers a 2-0 lead.
"It feels good regardless of where we were playing," Hellenbrand said of the game that was first scheduled for Monroe, but moved to Brodhead because Monroe's clay infield still had a frost. "A win is a win. It felt really good to get that first hit. It wasn't just me. It was everyone on the team contributing."
In addition to the stellar pitching by Monroe, the Cheesemakers also stole six bases, had three sacrifice bunts and played solid in the field without committing an error. Monroe coach Dustin Huffman understands that is a recipe for a winning team.
"They did all the little things right," Huffman said of the Cheesemakers. "We stole bases and laid down bunts. It's a well-rounded game for the first game. It's a good starting point."
Brodhead-Juda coach Tom Nipple said both teams played well for a season opener. Brodhead-Juda's Tyler Updike went 2-for-3 to lead the Cardinals.
"We didn't beat ourselves," Nipple said. "We put the ball in play. We just didn't string hits together. When you hit in the gym or batting cage it's different. I don't care what you say, when it's 35 degrees your attitude towards hitting is different than when it's 70 out."
One bright spot for the Cardinals was senior Derek Turner's work as a relief pitcher. Turner pitched three innings and gave up just one run on one hit and struck out six. Senior Tyler Davis also pitched two innings in relief and gave up one run.
"They haven't pitched yet," Nipple said. "We wanted to get them some work. We didn't want to run them down, but we wanted each one of them to get their feet wet."
The Cheesemakers had a golden opportunity to add to their lead in the fourth. Brent Edmunds walked and stole second. Junior Matt Coplien singled and Kuester walked. With the bases loaded and one out, Wang hit a blooper to second to knock in a run to extend the Cheesemakers' a 3-0 lead. Kuester, who went 1-for-2 with two walks, came through with an RBI single up the middle. Both Desmond Ford and Edmunds each had two stolen bases.
"It's great we were able to get a two-run lead for Logan," Huffman said. "We were able to put a little more pressure on them and they had to be a little more perfect. I feel like in last year's season we were always the ones behind early. Tonight, we were on the other end. Logan was able to come out and do what he does. We will take this every game."
Weckerly and junior Lucas Neuenschwander combined to toss a four-hit shutout to propel Monroe to a 4-0 win over Brodhead-Juda. Weckerly pitched four innings to get the win. He struck out one and walked two.
"He (coach Huffman) told me not to worry about my off-speed pitches because it was so cold," Weckerly said. "He wanted me to just worry about throwing my fastball for strikes.
"It feels good to get the first win. The last few years we haven't been as good as we thought we could have been."
Weckerly and the Cheesemakers proved up to the challenge against the Cardinals. Monroe sophomore Jaron Kuester coaxed a walk off of Brodhead-Juda pitcher Daniel Skoumal in the first inning. Brian Wang laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Kuester into scoring position. Monroe junior Chase Hellenbrand then crushed an RBI triple down the right field line to give the Cheesemakers a 1-0 lead. Junior Mitch Swanson then delivered lining an RBI single to right to give the Cheesemakers a 2-0 lead.
"It feels good regardless of where we were playing," Hellenbrand said of the game that was first scheduled for Monroe, but moved to Brodhead because Monroe's clay infield still had a frost. "A win is a win. It felt really good to get that first hit. It wasn't just me. It was everyone on the team contributing."
In addition to the stellar pitching by Monroe, the Cheesemakers also stole six bases, had three sacrifice bunts and played solid in the field without committing an error. Monroe coach Dustin Huffman understands that is a recipe for a winning team.
"They did all the little things right," Huffman said of the Cheesemakers. "We stole bases and laid down bunts. It's a well-rounded game for the first game. It's a good starting point."
Brodhead-Juda coach Tom Nipple said both teams played well for a season opener. Brodhead-Juda's Tyler Updike went 2-for-3 to lead the Cardinals.
"We didn't beat ourselves," Nipple said. "We put the ball in play. We just didn't string hits together. When you hit in the gym or batting cage it's different. I don't care what you say, when it's 35 degrees your attitude towards hitting is different than when it's 70 out."
One bright spot for the Cardinals was senior Derek Turner's work as a relief pitcher. Turner pitched three innings and gave up just one run on one hit and struck out six. Senior Tyler Davis also pitched two innings in relief and gave up one run.
"They haven't pitched yet," Nipple said. "We wanted to get them some work. We didn't want to run them down, but we wanted each one of them to get their feet wet."
The Cheesemakers had a golden opportunity to add to their lead in the fourth. Brent Edmunds walked and stole second. Junior Matt Coplien singled and Kuester walked. With the bases loaded and one out, Wang hit a blooper to second to knock in a run to extend the Cheesemakers' a 3-0 lead. Kuester, who went 1-for-2 with two walks, came through with an RBI single up the middle. Both Desmond Ford and Edmunds each had two stolen bases.
"It's great we were able to get a two-run lead for Logan," Huffman said. "We were able to put a little more pressure on them and they had to be a little more perfect. I feel like in last year's season we were always the ones behind early. Tonight, we were on the other end. Logan was able to come out and do what he does. We will take this every game."
