WIOTA — With third base under a puddle of water, the Orioles moved their March 28 season-opening game against New Glarus to the hilltop diamond at Wiota Recreation Park.
What followed was a rollercoaster three-hour baseball game in which the visiting Glarner Knights won 14-12.
“They say the biggest amount of growth comes between Game 1 and Game 2,” New Glarus coach Chris Rear said. “We looked like a totally different team than we did (March 26). We looked nervous at Evansville, the players were tight.”
Argyle finished the game with an uncharacteristic five errors.
“It was your typical high school opening day — a lot of walks, a few errors, a couple hits here and there and a lot of runs,” Orioles coach Jeff Solberg said. “I’d like to say that I was proud of the way we scored runs, but I don’t think we played as well as we could have or as well as I expected to. I’m not coming away very impressed with it.”
It was your typical high school opening day — a lot of walks, a few errors, a couple hits here and there and a lot of runs.Argyle coach Jeff Solberg
Connor Siegenthaler opened the game strong for the Knights, hitting a solo home run to right with two outs in the top of the first. Siegenthaler scored three runs and reached base all five times he came to the plate in the game — one by error, once by walk, a hit by pitch and a single to go with the donkey ball.
Argyle responded to the home run by putting a four-spot up in the bottom half of the inning. The Orioles scored runs on a groundout, a sacrifice fly, a passed ball and a double off the bat of Clay Ritschard.
The Knights scored two more in the top of the second, as Siegenthaler hit a ball to left that was misplayed by Argyle outfielder BJ Penniston. Darris Schuett, trying to score from first, was thrown out at the plate on perfect relay throw to end the frame.
The Knights tied the frame in the top of the third on a single by Carter Siegenthaler, and then scored four runs in the top of the fourth to take an 8-4 lead. By the end of the fifth, New Glarus led 11-4.
“We barreled some balls up. We’ve been focused a lot in practice about that,” Rear said. “You put good swings on the baseball, good things happen.”
Argyle scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie it at 11, batting around the order in the process. Miken Godfrey and Gavin Johnson each had RBI singles, but the Orioles scored four runs on bases loaded walks to Mitchell Flannery, Jayden Johnson, and Jake Ploessl, and Mason Waage was hit by a pitch with the bases juiced.
New Glarus scored two runs in the top of the sixth to make it 13-11 on a single by Schuett and a sacrifice fly by Reeve Binger. Flannery walked in a run in the bottom of the frame to keep the O’s within a run, and a Carter Siegenthaler RBI single in the seventh capped the scoring.
“We get to that point where we have one error or a walk and they just drop their head and expect it to get worse instead of brushing it off and taking care of business,” Solberg said. “That’s a mental thing and that will change, hopefully.”
Carter Siegenthaler finished 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs, two runs and two walks in the eight-spot for New Glarus (1-1). Flannery walked thrice, while Waage, Ritschard, Ploessl and Johnson all walked twice.
On the hill, Gavin Johnson took the loss in relief, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks in two innings of work. Ploessl and Godfrey each threw two innings, allowing nine total runs on seven walks and five hits. Mitchell Flannery started on the mound and threw 29 pitches in the first inning, allowing three runs — one earned — on two hits and four walks.
We barreled some balls up. We’ve been focused a lot in practice about that. You put good swings on the baseball, good things happen.New Glarus coach Chris Rear
“It’s still high school baseball — it can go any way and no one is expected to win,” said Solberg, whose team has expectations to advance beyond the regional round in the postseason later this spring. “We’d like to think that we are going to have a better season than that. We’ve got a lot to work on.”
Binger threw 37 pitches and could only record two outs in the top of the first, allowing five walks and a hit and four runs to cross the plate. Peyton Mendleski came on in relief, tossing 3.2 and allowing four runs. Carter Siegenthaler closed out the final two-plus innings on the hill for the Knights, fiving up four walks and three hits but allowing only one runner to score.
“We’re young. We graduated a lot of seniors, a lot of innings on the mound. We’re playing a lot of rookies — a lot of young kids,” Rear said. “For them to continue to play in that situation shows a lot to me and our fans that the kids are going to continue to work hard, regardless of the score. Even after we got up 11-4 and gave up a seven-spot … we didn’t flinch. Our body language didn’t change, and our attitude in the dugout didn’t change. It’s a good win for us and something we can grow from.”
