MONROE - Mother Nature hasn't been kind to baseball teams this spring. Monroe committed four errors in its first game in nine days and lost to Madison Edgewood 9-2 on Friday.
Monroe (1-8, 0-4 Badger South) has lost eight straight games. However, coming into the game against the Crusaders (2-5, 1-4), they have lost three conference games by a total of five runs. They were on the brink of rallying against the Crusaders, but some errors in the field were too much to overcome.
"I thought we came out kind of flat," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "When you have a long layoff you never know how a team will react. We gave them four or five runs throughout the game. It comes down to making the routine plays."
It looked like Monroe junior pitcher Logan Weckerly would work his way out of a jam in the third inning and preserve a 1-0 deficit. He got Edgewood's Aaron Mack to hit a pop up to center. Monroe sophomore centerfielder Jaron Kuester dropped the ball and the Crusaders scored a run and extended the inning. Colton Demorett followed with an RBI single to give the Crusaders a 3-0 lead.
"That's a play Jaron makes nine times out of 10," Huffman said. "It's a play we have to make and we get out of the inning down 1-0."
The Cheesemakers rallied in the fourth. Monroe junior Sean Saxby, who went 2-for-4, crushed a double off the fence in right to spark the rally.
"It was almost out," Saxby said. "I knew with the weather, I figured it wouldn't carry. It felt really good."
Matt Coplien lined a single to left. Junior Desmond Ford reached on an error when Demorett's throw to second base sailed into center and Saxby scored. Senior Isaiah Siemers delivered a single to load the bases. Weckerly walked to bring in a run to cut the Crusaders' lead to 3-2.
"They are a group of kids who will always battle and won't mail it in," Huffman said. "They swung the bats fairly well. Sometimes they will find holes and sometimes they won't. That's baseball. They gave themselves a better shot at competing."
The Crusaders got to Weckerly on the mound with a three-run sixth and three-run seventh. Edgewood's Alex Wendler, who went 2-for-3, led off the sixth with a single to left. K.C. Daniels singled to right. Edgewood's Cody Link hit a deep fly ball to center and Kuester looked to be in position to track it down, but just missed the catch and a run scored. The next hitter then came through with an RBI single past a drawn-in infield to give the Crusaders a 5-2 lead.
"That ball was hit well," Huffman said of Link's towering shot to center that Kuester misjudged. "He usually makes that play. He just has to track the ball into his glove. We just have to shore up a few of the little things."
Mack singled off Weckerly to lead off the seventh. He then stole second and Demorett singled. Mack scored on the play when a wild throw home got away at the plate to give the Crusaders a 7-2 lead. Edgewood's Bobby Dunn then hit a roller for a two-run single that just went under shortstop Chase Hellenbrand's glove to put the game away.
Weckerly pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up nine runs (five earned) on 10 hits. He struck out two and walked two.
"They just started hitting the ball," Saxby said. "They just probably woke up. When they hit the ball hard, it makes it tougher to make plays. We are a young team. We are learning as we go. We are not too far away. We just need to limit the mistakes."
Huffman said it was a combination of Weckerly getting his pitches up and the Crusaders taking a better hitting approach.
"Edgewood has a really good hitting team," Huffman said. "They put good swings on it. It's just a matter of time. We had a walk a few hits and it just kind of snowballed."
Demorett started and pitched four innings. He gave up one earned run on five hits. Link pitched three shutout innings in relief.
Monroe won't have to wait long to try turning the tables. The Cheesemakers will play at Milton on Monday. It will be a big week for the Cheesemakers with four conference games. Monroe will play 15 games in the final month of the season before the regional tournament starts.
"Baseball is a team game, but it's all about individual efforts," Huffman said. "We are really close (to picking up conference wins). It's a matter of making the plays in the clutch and getting the clutch hits. It's taking a good moment in an inning here and there and putting it together for seven innings. We have to put a complete game together."
Monroe (1-8, 0-4 Badger South) has lost eight straight games. However, coming into the game against the Crusaders (2-5, 1-4), they have lost three conference games by a total of five runs. They were on the brink of rallying against the Crusaders, but some errors in the field were too much to overcome.
"I thought we came out kind of flat," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "When you have a long layoff you never know how a team will react. We gave them four or five runs throughout the game. It comes down to making the routine plays."
It looked like Monroe junior pitcher Logan Weckerly would work his way out of a jam in the third inning and preserve a 1-0 deficit. He got Edgewood's Aaron Mack to hit a pop up to center. Monroe sophomore centerfielder Jaron Kuester dropped the ball and the Crusaders scored a run and extended the inning. Colton Demorett followed with an RBI single to give the Crusaders a 3-0 lead.
"That's a play Jaron makes nine times out of 10," Huffman said. "It's a play we have to make and we get out of the inning down 1-0."
The Cheesemakers rallied in the fourth. Monroe junior Sean Saxby, who went 2-for-4, crushed a double off the fence in right to spark the rally.
"It was almost out," Saxby said. "I knew with the weather, I figured it wouldn't carry. It felt really good."
Matt Coplien lined a single to left. Junior Desmond Ford reached on an error when Demorett's throw to second base sailed into center and Saxby scored. Senior Isaiah Siemers delivered a single to load the bases. Weckerly walked to bring in a run to cut the Crusaders' lead to 3-2.
"They are a group of kids who will always battle and won't mail it in," Huffman said. "They swung the bats fairly well. Sometimes they will find holes and sometimes they won't. That's baseball. They gave themselves a better shot at competing."
The Crusaders got to Weckerly on the mound with a three-run sixth and three-run seventh. Edgewood's Alex Wendler, who went 2-for-3, led off the sixth with a single to left. K.C. Daniels singled to right. Edgewood's Cody Link hit a deep fly ball to center and Kuester looked to be in position to track it down, but just missed the catch and a run scored. The next hitter then came through with an RBI single past a drawn-in infield to give the Crusaders a 5-2 lead.
"That ball was hit well," Huffman said of Link's towering shot to center that Kuester misjudged. "He usually makes that play. He just has to track the ball into his glove. We just have to shore up a few of the little things."
Mack singled off Weckerly to lead off the seventh. He then stole second and Demorett singled. Mack scored on the play when a wild throw home got away at the plate to give the Crusaders a 7-2 lead. Edgewood's Bobby Dunn then hit a roller for a two-run single that just went under shortstop Chase Hellenbrand's glove to put the game away.
Weckerly pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up nine runs (five earned) on 10 hits. He struck out two and walked two.
"They just started hitting the ball," Saxby said. "They just probably woke up. When they hit the ball hard, it makes it tougher to make plays. We are a young team. We are learning as we go. We are not too far away. We just need to limit the mistakes."
Huffman said it was a combination of Weckerly getting his pitches up and the Crusaders taking a better hitting approach.
"Edgewood has a really good hitting team," Huffman said. "They put good swings on it. It's just a matter of time. We had a walk a few hits and it just kind of snowballed."
Demorett started and pitched four innings. He gave up one earned run on five hits. Link pitched three shutout innings in relief.
Monroe won't have to wait long to try turning the tables. The Cheesemakers will play at Milton on Monday. It will be a big week for the Cheesemakers with four conference games. Monroe will play 15 games in the final month of the season before the regional tournament starts.
"Baseball is a team game, but it's all about individual efforts," Huffman said. "We are really close (to picking up conference wins). It's a matter of making the plays in the clutch and getting the clutch hits. It's taking a good moment in an inning here and there and putting it together for seven innings. We have to put a complete game together."
