NEW GLARUS — There’s something about the Highway 69 rivalry against Belleville that brings out the best in New Glarus senior Jake Roth. On April 23, he had the game-winning outfield assist and two days later walked off the Wildcats with an infield single in the bottom of the 10th inning of a 5-4 win on Thursday, April 25.

“It brings out the better end of us and them too,” Jake Roth said of the rivalry. “It raises everyone’s ability. It’s the biggest game on the schedule no matter what, so everyone’s going to play up to the standard of the other team. No matter what the records show, it’s going to be a good game.”

In the last seven games, the two teams have played in five 1-run games. New Glarus swept Belleville this season 3-2 and 5-4. The Knights took two from the Wildcats in 2023 by scores of 8-7 and 7-6. In 2022, New Glarus grinded out a 3-2 win. The other contests that year were blowouts in favor of Belleville, 15-2 and 11-1.

Early innings proved this would be another tight game, as Belleville took a one-run lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly from Devin Frydenlund. New Glarus responded with a run in the bottom of the frame with a sacrifice fly from Landon Stelter.

After a scoreless second, the Knights took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third. 

Ashlin Mihlbauer and Nolan Julseth drew back-to-back one-out walks. Stelter then went down 0-2 on two off-speed pitches but still lined a double to center, scoring two. Belleville starting pitcher Frydenlund limited the damage by getting Nathan Hendrickson to fly out to left. New Glarus’ designated hitter Zander Hauser nearly beat out an infield single — which would have scored another run — but Niles Monroe made a great throw to first to end the inning.

Knight starting pitcher Leyton Mihlbauer threw just 10 pitches in a shutdown fourth inning. Austin McKinley flew out to center on the first pitch, and Leyton Mihlbauer struck out JJ Moyer and Marcus Hebgen.

Frydenlund matched Leyton Mihlbauer with a 1-2-3 bottom of the frame, giving his team the momentum. Logan Derke reached on a one-out error by Stelter. Brennan Keyes then executed a hit-and-run, putting runners on second and third. 

Perhaps flustered with runners on, Leyton Mihlbauer walked Monroe on five pitches, loading the bases. Frydenlund then hit a sacrifice fly out to center, scoring Derke. Despite another Knight error, New Glarus escaped the inning, as first baseman Braden Rear got McKinley out, unassisted.

Frydenlund hit Leyton Mihlbauer to lead off the bottom of the fifth, but the mistake didn’t come back to haunt him. Ashlin Mihlbauer bunted his brother over to second. Nolan Julseth grounded out, and Stelter flew out to left.

Each pitcher faced the minimum in the sixth, leading to Belleville’s last chance in the top of the seventh.

Leadoff batter Derke drew a walk after going down in the count 1-2. Keyes then laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Leyton Mihlbauer attempted to get the lead out at second, just as he did in the second and third innings. This time, his throw went into the outfield. Monroe then loaded the bases with a bunt single.

Frydenlund tied the game at three with a sacrifice fly to center. Keyes tagged up and slid into third safely but was called out for leaving early. The inning ended with a fly out to center.

Down to their last three outs, the Knights had every opportunity to score and end the game in regulation. Jake Roth lined a one-out single to left on just the second pitch of his at bat, turning it over to the top of the order.

“He’s got the perfect mentality in the 9-hole,” New Glarus head coach Chris Rear said of Jake Roth. “He’s a good fastball hitter. He doesn’t like to take a lot of pitches, but that’s fine. You’re in the 9-hole — they’re going to give you fastballs. It adds a little element of speed at the bottom of the order. He just embodies that spot. It’s a good spot for him.”

Jake Roth was rewarded second, as Frydenlund balked on the pick-off attempt. He then tagged up on Leyton Mihlbauer’s flyout to right. Ashlin Mihlbauer drew a five-pitch walk, putting runners on first and third. Frydenlund left runners stranded by getting 3-hole hitter Julseth to fly out to right.

In an unexpected turn of events, Belleville’s leadoff batter Moyer attempted to reach via bunt in the eighth. Leyton Mihlbauer fielded and threw him out on just one pitch. 

“Leyton fields everything. We could be surprised on the corners, and Leyton’s going to get it,” coach Rear said. “He has grown into a leader right now — keeping guys engaged and moving forward. We set a standard on how we play, and he embodies that.” 

Although he hit the next batter, Mihlbauer got the next two batters to pop out. The leadoff out ended up being crucial, as Leyton Mihlbauer reached 100 pitches in Derke’s at bat and was allowed to finish the inning.

Stelter led off the bottom of the eighth with a single. Coach Rear then gave the signal for Hendrickson to bunt, and Stelter — anticipating the play — took too big of a lead. Belleville catcher picked off Stelter, squashing New Glarus’ momentum. Frydenlund got out of the inning with a pop out and strikeout.

In the ninth, Belleville scored on three walks and an error. Relief pitcher Matt Roth left the bases juiced by getting Hebgen to ground out to Leyton Mihlbauer, who moved to shortstop.

Jake Roth hit the replay button in the bottom of the ninth, singling to left on the second pitch of his at bat. Leyton Mihlbauer attempted to bunt him into scoring position but was called for being out of the box on the attempt.

Ashlin Mihlbauer executed a hit-and-run, putting runners on first and third with one out. The play forced a pitching change, and relief pitcher Derke hit Julseth to load the bases. Jake Roth scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. 

“I felt like as a senior leader, I had to step up for the team and make some plays for the team to get us to victory,” Jake Roth said. “But the guys hitting me in to tie the game — shoutout to them too. It wasn’t just me. There were other guys stepping up as well.”

Ashlin Mihlbauer attempted to take the lead on the same play but was thrown out at home. New Glarus still could have walked off the game in the bottom of the ninth if it weren’t for Monroe’s throw to first and Moyer’s stretch, beating out Stelter by half a step.

Matt Roth had a shutdown inning in the 10th, striking out Brady Durni. Derke popped up to first, and Leyton Mihlbauer dove to his knees and threw out Keyes to end the inning.

“The two shortstops today — those last three innings between Leyton and Niles Monroe — they’re both amazing players,” coach Rear said. “If he (Monroe) doesn’t make a great play on Stelter’s ground ball, the game ends three innings prior.”

Hendrickson led off the bottom of the tenth with a single up the middle. Hauser bunted him over to second, and Matt Roth drew a full-count walk. Rear grounded into a fielder’s choice, putting Hendrickson 90 feet from home.

With two outs, Jake Roth hit the first pitch to Isaac McKinely at second and beat the throw to walk off the game. He finished 3-for-5 scoring the fourth run of the game and driving in the fifth. Hendrickson, who scored the game-winning run, went 2-for-5. Stelter was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs despite three errors in the field. In total, New Glarus committed six errors.

“They are keeping their heads up and sticking their chest out. They are understanding that there’s more game to play. One error occurs, it happens. It can’t be two, three or five,” coach Rear said. “What’s your routine when you make a mistake? How do you clear your head? We’ve talked about that.”

New Glarus, ranked No. 10 in Division 3, improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Capitol South. They have a 1/2 game lead on Cambridge, who is 5-1. The two teams clash on April 30 and May 2.