VERONA - The Cheesemakers and Verona battled in an extra-inning baseball thriller Thursday that sets the stage for tonight's scheduled rematch in Monroe.
Verona came out on top of a 9-8 contest that went eight innings.
The teams face each other again at 5 p.m. today at Monroe High School in a makeup game.
Monroe's offense gave it an early lead Thursday, picking up where it left off Tuesday when a five-run, seventh-inning rally beat McFarland.
Monroe took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and added four more runs in the third.
"We had them off balance for the first three innings. We came out swinging," Monroe coach Steve Christensen said.
With more than half the game over when Verona came to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, it looked as if the Cheesemakers would be celebrating another win this week.
But there's a reason why Verona is a talented team, Christensen said. The club boasts a first-team, all-conference player and three second-team all-conference players from last year.
Making mistakes doesn't help against a strong team, either.
"We helped them out in the fourth with two of our three errors," he said.
Monroe (3-6, 2-5 Badger South) gave up six runs and the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, but recaptured it in the top of the fifth inning.
Verona battled back again in the bottom half of the sixth to again take a one-run lead, which Monroe erased in its half of the seventh.
With the game tied 8-8 after seven innings, Verona held Monroe scoreless in the top of the eighth and put the Cheesemakers away with a run in the bottom of the inning.
"We battled the whole game and in general I was extremely proud of the way we approached the game," Christensen said. "As a group, these guys accept coaching and it's fun to see the improvement that is happening."
Jake Teasdale and Josh Popanz each had two RBIs, while Cory Kundert, Mitch Tordoff and Shawn Hart each drove in a run.
Kyle Klopfenstein, Nate Barta, Teasdale and Tordoff each had two hits in the game.
Verona's Nick Olson won the game in relief of starter Trevor Burmeister.
Monroe's Mike Rear took the loss in relief of starter Mike Demianiuk and reliever Nick Rieder.
Verona came out on top of a 9-8 contest that went eight innings.
The teams face each other again at 5 p.m. today at Monroe High School in a makeup game.
Monroe's offense gave it an early lead Thursday, picking up where it left off Tuesday when a five-run, seventh-inning rally beat McFarland.
Monroe took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and added four more runs in the third.
"We had them off balance for the first three innings. We came out swinging," Monroe coach Steve Christensen said.
With more than half the game over when Verona came to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, it looked as if the Cheesemakers would be celebrating another win this week.
But there's a reason why Verona is a talented team, Christensen said. The club boasts a first-team, all-conference player and three second-team all-conference players from last year.
Making mistakes doesn't help against a strong team, either.
"We helped them out in the fourth with two of our three errors," he said.
Monroe (3-6, 2-5 Badger South) gave up six runs and the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, but recaptured it in the top of the fifth inning.
Verona battled back again in the bottom half of the sixth to again take a one-run lead, which Monroe erased in its half of the seventh.
With the game tied 8-8 after seven innings, Verona held Monroe scoreless in the top of the eighth and put the Cheesemakers away with a run in the bottom of the inning.
"We battled the whole game and in general I was extremely proud of the way we approached the game," Christensen said. "As a group, these guys accept coaching and it's fun to see the improvement that is happening."
Jake Teasdale and Josh Popanz each had two RBIs, while Cory Kundert, Mitch Tordoff and Shawn Hart each drove in a run.
Kyle Klopfenstein, Nate Barta, Teasdale and Tordoff each had two hits in the game.
Verona's Nick Olson won the game in relief of starter Trevor Burmeister.
Monroe's Mike Rear took the loss in relief of starter Mike Demianiuk and reliever Nick Rieder.
