MONROE - Errors and coming up with a clutch hit with runners in scoring position are areas the Monroe baseball team will look to improve on after dropping a doubleheader to Portage Saturday.
Portage rolled to a 9-2 win over Monroe in the first game and 11-5 in the second game. Monroe senior Hunter Ward went a combined 3-for-5 in the doubleheader.
Monroe junior Jared Baumgartner pitched 5 2/3 innings in the first game and only five of the nine runs he gave up were earned on 11 hits. He struck out four and walked four.
"It was a good outing," Monroe coach Eric Losenegger said of Baumgartner. "He was right around the plate. He kept us in the game."
With Monroe (0-5, 0-3 Badger South) trailing 6-2, the Warriors put the game away with a three-run sixth. The Cheesemakers committed three errors.
Junior teammate Dagon Rach pitched 1 1/3 shutout innings in relief. Portage pitcher Brett Walker and the Warriors limited the Cheesemakers to two hits - a single by Ward in the third inning and a single by Rach in the fourth.
Walker pitched four innings to get the win. He gave up one earned run on one hit, struck out four and walked five.
In the second game, the Warriors were clinging to a 1-0 lead after three innings. Portage broke the game open with a six-run fourth.
The Cheesemakers scored five runs in the seventh off Portage pitcher Collin Brandsma. Monroe junior Trevor Meier had a key two-run single in the seventh. Ward went 2-for-3 and junior Hayden Zahradka was 2-for-4.
Monroe junior Jared Cline pitched six innings and gave up seven runs, but just three earned on nine hits, while striking out two and walking two. The Cheesemakers had three errors.
"There were a couple of grounders we didn't make plays on and we had some miscues in the outfield and his (Cline's) pitch count got up there. We just couldn't give him enough support. Each time out we are striking the ball better. It's just a matter of coming up with that clutch hit with two outs or runners on second and third," Losenegger said.
Monroe will host Madison Edgewood at 4:30 p.m. today in a Badger South Conference game.
Portage rolled to a 9-2 win over Monroe in the first game and 11-5 in the second game. Monroe senior Hunter Ward went a combined 3-for-5 in the doubleheader.
Monroe junior Jared Baumgartner pitched 5 2/3 innings in the first game and only five of the nine runs he gave up were earned on 11 hits. He struck out four and walked four.
"It was a good outing," Monroe coach Eric Losenegger said of Baumgartner. "He was right around the plate. He kept us in the game."
With Monroe (0-5, 0-3 Badger South) trailing 6-2, the Warriors put the game away with a three-run sixth. The Cheesemakers committed three errors.
Junior teammate Dagon Rach pitched 1 1/3 shutout innings in relief. Portage pitcher Brett Walker and the Warriors limited the Cheesemakers to two hits - a single by Ward in the third inning and a single by Rach in the fourth.
Walker pitched four innings to get the win. He gave up one earned run on one hit, struck out four and walked five.
In the second game, the Warriors were clinging to a 1-0 lead after three innings. Portage broke the game open with a six-run fourth.
The Cheesemakers scored five runs in the seventh off Portage pitcher Collin Brandsma. Monroe junior Trevor Meier had a key two-run single in the seventh. Ward went 2-for-3 and junior Hayden Zahradka was 2-for-4.
Monroe junior Jared Cline pitched six innings and gave up seven runs, but just three earned on nine hits, while striking out two and walking two. The Cheesemakers had three errors.
"There were a couple of grounders we didn't make plays on and we had some miscues in the outfield and his (Cline's) pitch count got up there. We just couldn't give him enough support. Each time out we are striking the ball better. It's just a matter of coming up with that clutch hit with two outs or runners on second and third," Losenegger said.
Monroe will host Madison Edgewood at 4:30 p.m. today in a Badger South Conference game.
