MONROE - The Monroe baseball team showed a resiliency to come back, but lost a heartbreaker to Monona Grove 6-3 on Tuesday.
After trailing 3-1 to the Silver Eagles, Monroe (1-10, 0-6 Badger South) rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning. Monroe junior Desmond Ford, who went 2-for-3, singled to lead off the sixth. Junior Logan Weckerly moved Ford into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Brent Edmunds delivered an RBI triple to slice the Silver Eagles' lead to 3-2. Edmunds later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 3.
The Cheesemakers left eight runners on base and left the bases loaded in the third.
"We just had opportunities you can't pass up," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "We should have scored runs and been ahead in the sixth inning.."
The Silver Eagles came back and scored three runs in the seventh off Weckerly to seal the win. Monona Grove's Brady Blang singled and Clayton Luther followed with a go-ahead RBI double to give the Silver Eagles a 4-3 lead. The Silver Eagles scored their final two insurance runs on two Cheesemaker errors.
After Sean Saxby's RBI single to left in the third, Monona Grove starting pitcher Jordan Gerathanus struck out Matt Coplien and got Ford to fly out to right field. In both the fourth and fifth, the Cheesemakers had a runner on second and just one out, but couldn't push across a run.
"It's probably a different game if we score," Huffman said. "It probably alleviates some of the pressure in the seventh because you don't have to be as perfect."
Gerathanus pitched six innings and struck out 12. Weckerly pitched a complete game. He gave up four earned runs on 10 hits. He struck out three and walked three.
"Logan pitched well enough to win," Huffman said. "He kept us in the game the whole game."
Weckerly picked off two runners.
"He has really improved at holding runners," Huffman said. "He is kind of becoming the complete pitcher. We saw that potential in him. It's just a matter of scoring some runs and playing good defense behind him."
After trailing 3-1 to the Silver Eagles, Monroe (1-10, 0-6 Badger South) rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning. Monroe junior Desmond Ford, who went 2-for-3, singled to lead off the sixth. Junior Logan Weckerly moved Ford into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Brent Edmunds delivered an RBI triple to slice the Silver Eagles' lead to 3-2. Edmunds later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 3.
The Cheesemakers left eight runners on base and left the bases loaded in the third.
"We just had opportunities you can't pass up," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "We should have scored runs and been ahead in the sixth inning.."
The Silver Eagles came back and scored three runs in the seventh off Weckerly to seal the win. Monona Grove's Brady Blang singled and Clayton Luther followed with a go-ahead RBI double to give the Silver Eagles a 4-3 lead. The Silver Eagles scored their final two insurance runs on two Cheesemaker errors.
After Sean Saxby's RBI single to left in the third, Monona Grove starting pitcher Jordan Gerathanus struck out Matt Coplien and got Ford to fly out to right field. In both the fourth and fifth, the Cheesemakers had a runner on second and just one out, but couldn't push across a run.
"It's probably a different game if we score," Huffman said. "It probably alleviates some of the pressure in the seventh because you don't have to be as perfect."
Gerathanus pitched six innings and struck out 12. Weckerly pitched a complete game. He gave up four earned runs on 10 hits. He struck out three and walked three.
"Logan pitched well enough to win," Huffman said. "He kept us in the game the whole game."
Weckerly picked off two runners.
"He has really improved at holding runners," Huffman said. "He is kind of becoming the complete pitcher. We saw that potential in him. It's just a matter of scoring some runs and playing good defense behind him."
