MONROE — For the first time in nearly two years, the Cheesemakers scored a conference victory. On March 30, Monroe split a twin-bill with defending Badger South champion Watertown.

“Two games today are better than the 20 we played last year,” Monroe head coach Eric Losenegger said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but this is a good one. This feels good.”

After losing 7-2 in cold and cloudy day on the field — with wind chills hovering right around the freezing point — Monroe rebounded in Game 2 and won 8-2.

The Cheesemakers scored a run in the top of the first after Hayden Zahradka doubled to left center and courtesy runner Mike Lange scored on a wild pitch. 

In the bottom half of the inning, Trevor Meier took the hill and immediately looked in-focus. He cruised through the frame on just seven pitches.

Watertown tied it at 1 in the bottom of the second inning, and led 5-1 after four. Time seemed to be slipping away from Monroe, as the Gosling pitching staff kept the Cheesemakers at bay — even with Monroe loading the bases in the top of the fifth.

“I was having a hard time with a couple off speed pitches, but I was able to rely on the fastball a fair amount,” Meier said.

In the sixth inning, the sun poked out from behind the clouds and all that was cold and dreary for Monroe suddenly changed.

Watertown pitcher Nick Logan walked Jared Dillon and Jared Cline on eight straight balls. Brett Falterstack came on in relief and Nick Benkert sent the third pitch he saw into right field for a single to again load the bases with nobody out for Monroe. On a 1-2 count, lefty Max Golembeski singled to opposite field to drive in a pair of runs to make it 4-3, and advanced to second on an error in the outfield.

“Once you’re getting a lot of hits strung out, it’s contagious. Everyone got fired up in the dugout,” Meier said.

A passed ball allowed Benkert to score from third, still with no one out. Henry Brukwicki walked to put runners on the corners.

The Goslings again went to the bullpen, this time to Anthony Dominguez, who struck out pinch-hitter Cael Losenegger, but a passed ball during the at-bat allowed Golembiewski to score and tie the game at 5. Zahradka and Payton Stauffacher both walked to again load the bases. Another passed ball allowed Brukwicki to score, then Dagon Rach scored Zahradka on a groundout to short.

Dillon then singled in a run on a shot to left field, bringing home Brukwicki to make it 8-5.

“We’ve been working really hard on outside, inside, middle, off-speed — it’s really showed off here. It really helped when the first two guys got walks on four pitches,” Dillon said.

The game didn’t end without some anxiety on both sides. Dillon took the mound to close for the first time this season and immediately allowed a double and single to make it a 2-run game. Dominguez then lined out to Rach at second, and Watertown runner Jacob Crogan was doubled off by nearly two steps on the force out trying to tag up.

“It wasn’t the ‘Oh boy, here we go again’ game. It didn’t snowball on us. We made the plays that we had to do. The kid hits a liner — an atom ball right at Dagan Rach — and he makes a good throw to first base,” coach Losenegger said.

The field umpire initially said Crogan was safe, but after Losenegger asked him to confer with the home plate umpire, the runner was called out. Watertown’s dugout exploded in anguish and coach Andrew Cashin argued near the mound against the call being overturned. 

Dillon struck out Ben Rothweiler moments later to end the game.

“Second game we made some plays on defense and put some balls in play. It put us in a good position to win,” Meier said.

Brukwicki was 2-for-3 with a walk in Game 2, while Dillon, Zahradka and Meier each reached safely twice. Meier allowed five runs on five hits and five walks on 94 pitches in 4.2 innings. Cline pitched a shutout 1.1 innings on 24 pitches. The Cheesemaker trio struck out six batters.

“I really think our team really strung together and played as one unit,” Dillon said.

In the first game, Monroe jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first before Watertown scored seven unanswered over the next five innings. 

Lange allowed six runs — four earned — on five hit and five walks in 4.1 innings of work. Lange also had seven strikeouts and threw 96 pitches. Cline and Dillon each pitched in relief, with Cline allowing one run and striking out three in 1.2 innings of work.

“Jared Dillon was awesome today throwing strikes — he didn’t get on the mound at all on our spring trip because he caught two games. The first game today he came in and threw well, and so we went with him to close the door and that’s what we’re looking for him to do this year — Tuesday game close it out and Thursday game closing out,” Losenegger said.

The Cheesemakers opened the season by going 0-3 in a road trip to sunny Southern Illinois. Monroe lost to Morton 16-3 in the season opener March 26, then fell to Pontiac 5-2 March 27, and then again to Pontiac 13-8 the next day.

“Our spring trip was awesome for us as far as our kids coming together. We’ve got a mix of seniors, juniors, a couple sophomores and a freshman. They spent the week together down in southern Illinois. We didn’t win any games, but it was an awesome trip and this was a product of that,” Losenegger said.

Before the season, Losenegger had made it a goal for his team to compete in every game this season, something the program has struggled with since winning the conference title in 2001.

“Our goal was to compete in each and every game. This was a 13-1 conference championship team last year. You stood out there and watched them play baseball today and they are a very good team and will probably win conference again this year,” Losenegger said. “And we competed in the first game — our pitchers battled and kept us in it. We stayed right there with them and you see what happened (in Game 2).”

The players said they felt better after the spring break trip, and already feel stronger about their chances this season.

“I really think our spring trip helped. We got to bond and come together, and I can tell it definitely paid off here with this doubleheader,” Dillon said.