MONROE - The summer baseball season didn't end the way the Monroe Senior Legion team wanted it to.
Milton's Drew Rust went 4-for-4 with six RBIs to power the Red Hawks past Monroe 14-6 Monday, July 15 in the regular season finale. Monroe finished the summer 2-10 and will miss the Senior Legion tournament after failing to finish in the top two in the Stateline League.
"We showed signs this summer," Monroe coach Eric Losenegger said. "It was a couple of steps forward and then it seemed like five steps back at times. It's hard to play with just nine or 10 guys each week."
Monroe's Logan Weckerly started and pitched five innings. He gave up six earned runs on nine hits. He walked three and hit one. Weckerly and Sean Saxby combined walked five and hit two batters. Four of the seven batters walked or hit came around to score.
"(Weckerly) didn't throw many strikes," Losenegger said. "He got behind in the count a lot and it was hot. The pitch count ran up there a lot. We gave them too many bases and they hit the ball with guys on base."
It was the reverse for Monroe, which went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base.
"Tonight, it was a microcosm of our season this summer and spring," Losenegger said. "When it starts to snowball it goes away in a hurry."
Milton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on RBI singles by Owen Peterson and Rust.
The Red Hawks added to their lead in the third. Weckerly walked Milton's Mitch Bachinski to lead off the inning. Milton's Connor Bowen reached on an error and Rust ripped an RBI double to right center. Gavin Williams followed with an RBI single to give the Red Hawks a 4-1 lead.
Monroe had a golden scoring opportunity in the third. Saxby singled and Williams walked two to load the bases with just one out. Mitch Swanson, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI, grounded into a fielder's choice and the inning ended with a runner thrown out rounding third.
Rust gave Milton a lift in the fourth, lining a three-run double to right center to give the Red Hawks an 8-2 lead. Monroe didn't go away quietly, though, rallying for two runs in the fourth.
Weckerly and Desmond Ford both walked in the fourth to set up another scoring opportunity. Tyler Dahl delivered a two-run single up the middle to slice Milton's lead to 8-4. Monroe had the leadoff runner on in four of the seven innings and four Milton pitchers walked 10. Williams earned the win for the Red Hawks going 3 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits and walked seven.
"We just couldn't get the big hit," Losenegger said.
Dahl, who will be a sophomore at Albany High School, was excited to come through in the final game this summer. He finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
"I was just thinking that we needed to come back," Dahl said of his two-run single in the fourth. "We needed to have a spark to have a chance to come back."
After falling behind 11-6, Monroe battled back with a two-out rally in the sixth. Dahl lined a single to center and Chase Hellenbrand was hit by a pitch. Milton's Brett Yahnke walked two to force in a run. Monroe's Isaiah Siemers came through with an RBI single to cut Milton's lead to 11-6. That's as close as Monroe would get. Despite the loss, Dahl was glad that he played with Monroe this summer.
"It was definitely a great experience," he said. "I learned a lot from playing with them. It was a challenge at first because there was a lot faster pitching. I adjusted after a while and it was a lot of fun."
Milton's Drew Rust went 4-for-4 with six RBIs to power the Red Hawks past Monroe 14-6 Monday, July 15 in the regular season finale. Monroe finished the summer 2-10 and will miss the Senior Legion tournament after failing to finish in the top two in the Stateline League.
"We showed signs this summer," Monroe coach Eric Losenegger said. "It was a couple of steps forward and then it seemed like five steps back at times. It's hard to play with just nine or 10 guys each week."
Monroe's Logan Weckerly started and pitched five innings. He gave up six earned runs on nine hits. He walked three and hit one. Weckerly and Sean Saxby combined walked five and hit two batters. Four of the seven batters walked or hit came around to score.
"(Weckerly) didn't throw many strikes," Losenegger said. "He got behind in the count a lot and it was hot. The pitch count ran up there a lot. We gave them too many bases and they hit the ball with guys on base."
It was the reverse for Monroe, which went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base.
"Tonight, it was a microcosm of our season this summer and spring," Losenegger said. "When it starts to snowball it goes away in a hurry."
Milton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on RBI singles by Owen Peterson and Rust.
The Red Hawks added to their lead in the third. Weckerly walked Milton's Mitch Bachinski to lead off the inning. Milton's Connor Bowen reached on an error and Rust ripped an RBI double to right center. Gavin Williams followed with an RBI single to give the Red Hawks a 4-1 lead.
Monroe had a golden scoring opportunity in the third. Saxby singled and Williams walked two to load the bases with just one out. Mitch Swanson, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI, grounded into a fielder's choice and the inning ended with a runner thrown out rounding third.
Rust gave Milton a lift in the fourth, lining a three-run double to right center to give the Red Hawks an 8-2 lead. Monroe didn't go away quietly, though, rallying for two runs in the fourth.
Weckerly and Desmond Ford both walked in the fourth to set up another scoring opportunity. Tyler Dahl delivered a two-run single up the middle to slice Milton's lead to 8-4. Monroe had the leadoff runner on in four of the seven innings and four Milton pitchers walked 10. Williams earned the win for the Red Hawks going 3 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits and walked seven.
"We just couldn't get the big hit," Losenegger said.
Dahl, who will be a sophomore at Albany High School, was excited to come through in the final game this summer. He finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
"I was just thinking that we needed to come back," Dahl said of his two-run single in the fourth. "We needed to have a spark to have a chance to come back."
After falling behind 11-6, Monroe battled back with a two-out rally in the sixth. Dahl lined a single to center and Chase Hellenbrand was hit by a pitch. Milton's Brett Yahnke walked two to force in a run. Monroe's Isaiah Siemers came through with an RBI single to cut Milton's lead to 11-6. That's as close as Monroe would get. Despite the loss, Dahl was glad that he played with Monroe this summer.
"It was definitely a great experience," he said. "I learned a lot from playing with them. It was a challenge at first because there was a lot faster pitching. I adjusted after a while and it was a lot of fun."
