DEERFIELD - In a game dominated by starting pitching, Deerfield came up with just enough offense to squeak out a 1-0 win over Monroe Friday evening.
Dusty Burkhalter started on the bump for Monroe and pitched six and two-thirds innings. Burkhalter gave up just three hits and one unearned run. The run came in the bottom of the seventh to give the Demons a walk-off victory. Monroe coach Dustin Huffman was very pleased with Burkhalter's outing.
"He pitched really well," Huffman said. "They're a pretty free-swinging team. He only had 32 pitches through three innings. He pitched to contact, which is not a bad thing if we're fielding well. Until the last inning, we fielded really well. Considering he doesn't pitch a lot for us, it was very good."
Unfortunately for the Cheesemakers, they were only able to muster one hit, a Sean Saxby single, against Deerfield starter Cole Erickson. Huffman said Erickson did a great job of keeping Monroe's hitters off balance.
"He was good. He had a real good fastball. Probably one of the better fastballs we've seen," Huffman said. "I talked to their coach after the game and he said he was their number one. He had a really nice breaking pitch. He was able to locate it where he wanted. He kept our hitters off balance. The speed change between his fastball and curveball was quite different. His fastball was in the low to mid 80's, and when he mixed in that curveball, it really gave hitters a hard time."
On Monday, April 29, Monroe (1-7) will play Fort Atkinson at Stoughton due to scheduling issues caused by this spring's wet weather.
Argyle 3, Belmont 1
Argyle 5, Belmont 2
ARGYLE - The Argyle baseball team continued their hot start to the season by sweeping Belmont in a Six Rivers crossover doubleheader.
After each team was held scoreless in the first two innings of the first game, Argyle broke through for two runs in the third on a Brock Bruehlman two-RBI single. The Orioles picked up another run in the fourth.
Alec Treuthardt started the first game for the Orioles, racking up 11 strikeouts in five innings while giving up just one unearned run.
"The biggest thing is our pitchers are throwing strikes, and the guys on defense are making plays," said Argyle coach Chuck Bredeson.
In game two, the Orioles beat behind a solid effort from starting pitcher Kyle Olson.
Olson pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned), and three hits, to get the win.
"Kyle came out in the first inning and struggled a little bit," Bredeson said. "After that, he beared down. He did a good job of settling down."
Argyle improved to 5-1 with the win. The Orioles have already seen an improvement from last season, when they went 2-20.
"I think we are really surprising ourselves," Bredeson said of the fast start. "We expect them to play well and do the things we work on, and they are doing it."
Mineral Point 4, Darlington 2
DARLINGTON - Mineral Point rallied for three late runs to pick up a come-from-behind win over the Redbirds.
Darlington took a 2-1 lead into the sixth inning. The Pointers tied the game up in the sixth before scoring two in the seventh to complete the comeback.
Ben Muhlstein started for Darlington and took the loss. He pitched all seven innings, giving up seven hits and one earned run. Tannler Ames picked up the win for Pointers. He racked up 14 strikeouts.
"The ump had a wide strike zone and we didn't take advantage," said Darlington coach Matt Austin. "We took too many pitches. (Ames) pitched very well. He had good control and stayed where he was getting calls."
Offensively, Cole McDonald was 2-for-3 for Darlington, while Jason Singer was 2-for-3.
"Jason Singer and Cole McDonald hit the ball well," Austin said. "Those two are good hitters. It was nice to see them hit well against a good pitcher."
Darlington fell to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the SWAL with the loss.
Benton-Shullsburg 5, Pecatonica 1
Benton-Shullsburg 10, Pecatonica 3
SHULLSBURG - The Pecatonica baseball team dropped a pair to Benton-Shullsburg Friday night, losing 5-1 and 10-3.
In game one, Benton-Shullsburg scored two in both the first and second innings. Pecatonica got their run in the third, but was unable to push any more across the plate.
"We gave them a couple in the first and second," said Pec coach Jim Strommen. "(Pecatonica starting pitcher) Drew (Schliem) settled down after that. He got behind in the count the first couple innings. He pitched well. Only one run the last four innings.
"We had chances, we out-hit them," Strommen said. "We left guys on base. We were unable to get two-out hits. We had some chances, just unable to take advantage."
Jacob Scoville led the Pec offense with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate. Geoff Daley went 2-for-4 with a double.
"They're my two seniors, our three and four hitters. They did a nice job," Strommen said.
Game two was a bit more lopsided.
Benton-Shullsburg put up five runs in the first inning to take a commanding lead. Pec scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning.
"They have a quality team. They have a lot of speed," Strommen said of Benton-Shullsburg. "We didn't handle their running game the best. They took advantage of that."
The Vikings (3-4, 2-3 Six Rivers East) play at Barneveld on Monday and then have a doubleheader against Albany on Tuesday. "We start four freshmen. They tend to struggle against quality pitching," Strommen said. "We need to string a few more hits together for us to be successful and that starts with the upperclassmen. We can't expect freshmen to carry the load, they need to. Our pitching will keep us in games. We just need to be more opportunistic."
Dusty Burkhalter started on the bump for Monroe and pitched six and two-thirds innings. Burkhalter gave up just three hits and one unearned run. The run came in the bottom of the seventh to give the Demons a walk-off victory. Monroe coach Dustin Huffman was very pleased with Burkhalter's outing.
"He pitched really well," Huffman said. "They're a pretty free-swinging team. He only had 32 pitches through three innings. He pitched to contact, which is not a bad thing if we're fielding well. Until the last inning, we fielded really well. Considering he doesn't pitch a lot for us, it was very good."
Unfortunately for the Cheesemakers, they were only able to muster one hit, a Sean Saxby single, against Deerfield starter Cole Erickson. Huffman said Erickson did a great job of keeping Monroe's hitters off balance.
"He was good. He had a real good fastball. Probably one of the better fastballs we've seen," Huffman said. "I talked to their coach after the game and he said he was their number one. He had a really nice breaking pitch. He was able to locate it where he wanted. He kept our hitters off balance. The speed change between his fastball and curveball was quite different. His fastball was in the low to mid 80's, and when he mixed in that curveball, it really gave hitters a hard time."
On Monday, April 29, Monroe (1-7) will play Fort Atkinson at Stoughton due to scheduling issues caused by this spring's wet weather.
Argyle 3, Belmont 1
Argyle 5, Belmont 2
ARGYLE - The Argyle baseball team continued their hot start to the season by sweeping Belmont in a Six Rivers crossover doubleheader.
After each team was held scoreless in the first two innings of the first game, Argyle broke through for two runs in the third on a Brock Bruehlman two-RBI single. The Orioles picked up another run in the fourth.
Alec Treuthardt started the first game for the Orioles, racking up 11 strikeouts in five innings while giving up just one unearned run.
"The biggest thing is our pitchers are throwing strikes, and the guys on defense are making plays," said Argyle coach Chuck Bredeson.
In game two, the Orioles beat behind a solid effort from starting pitcher Kyle Olson.
Olson pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned), and three hits, to get the win.
"Kyle came out in the first inning and struggled a little bit," Bredeson said. "After that, he beared down. He did a good job of settling down."
Argyle improved to 5-1 with the win. The Orioles have already seen an improvement from last season, when they went 2-20.
"I think we are really surprising ourselves," Bredeson said of the fast start. "We expect them to play well and do the things we work on, and they are doing it."
Mineral Point 4, Darlington 2
DARLINGTON - Mineral Point rallied for three late runs to pick up a come-from-behind win over the Redbirds.
Darlington took a 2-1 lead into the sixth inning. The Pointers tied the game up in the sixth before scoring two in the seventh to complete the comeback.
Ben Muhlstein started for Darlington and took the loss. He pitched all seven innings, giving up seven hits and one earned run. Tannler Ames picked up the win for Pointers. He racked up 14 strikeouts.
"The ump had a wide strike zone and we didn't take advantage," said Darlington coach Matt Austin. "We took too many pitches. (Ames) pitched very well. He had good control and stayed where he was getting calls."
Offensively, Cole McDonald was 2-for-3 for Darlington, while Jason Singer was 2-for-3.
"Jason Singer and Cole McDonald hit the ball well," Austin said. "Those two are good hitters. It was nice to see them hit well against a good pitcher."
Darlington fell to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the SWAL with the loss.
Benton-Shullsburg 5, Pecatonica 1
Benton-Shullsburg 10, Pecatonica 3
SHULLSBURG - The Pecatonica baseball team dropped a pair to Benton-Shullsburg Friday night, losing 5-1 and 10-3.
In game one, Benton-Shullsburg scored two in both the first and second innings. Pecatonica got their run in the third, but was unable to push any more across the plate.
"We gave them a couple in the first and second," said Pec coach Jim Strommen. "(Pecatonica starting pitcher) Drew (Schliem) settled down after that. He got behind in the count the first couple innings. He pitched well. Only one run the last four innings.
"We had chances, we out-hit them," Strommen said. "We left guys on base. We were unable to get two-out hits. We had some chances, just unable to take advantage."
Jacob Scoville led the Pec offense with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate. Geoff Daley went 2-for-4 with a double.
"They're my two seniors, our three and four hitters. They did a nice job," Strommen said.
Game two was a bit more lopsided.
Benton-Shullsburg put up five runs in the first inning to take a commanding lead. Pec scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning.
"They have a quality team. They have a lot of speed," Strommen said of Benton-Shullsburg. "We didn't handle their running game the best. They took advantage of that."
The Vikings (3-4, 2-3 Six Rivers East) play at Barneveld on Monday and then have a doubleheader against Albany on Tuesday. "We start four freshmen. They tend to struggle against quality pitching," Strommen said. "We need to string a few more hits together for us to be successful and that starts with the upperclassmen. We can't expect freshmen to carry the load, they need to. Our pitching will keep us in games. We just need to be more opportunistic."
