MONROE - Stoughton ace pitcher Dillon Nowicki, who has a fastball that has been clocked at 85 mph, was on the mound Thursday, so Monroe High School baseball coach Dustin Huffman knew his Cheesemakers faced an uphill challenge.
Monroe senior Garrett Gogin went 2-for-4 with three RBI to help the Cheesemakers rise to the challenge with a 9-3 victory.
"He's probably the best pitcher in the conference," Monroe junior Carter Sawdey said. "We just took good swings at the plate. We capitalized by getting some big hits."
Those big hits led to the first Badger South Conference win of the season for Monroe (2-3, 1-2).
Sawdey led off the first inning with a single. He stole second and scored when the Vikings' left fielder dropped a fly ball hit by senior Jaron Kuester.
Monroe added to its lead in the second. Senior Brent Edmunds led off the second with a single. Sophomore Hunter Ward moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Jacob Ritschard reached on an error. Junior Cole Murray followed with an RBI single to center to stake the Cheesemakers to a 2-0 lead.
Monroe junior Hogan Edwards went 3-for-4 with one RBI to add to the Cheesemakers' 14-hit attack. Kuester went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Both junior Hunter Weckerly and Edmunds finished 2-for-4.
"By just putting the bat on the ball, good things will happen," Huffman said. "It's cliche when they say hitting is contagious, and it was tonight. It was a big confidence booster."
The Cheesemakers broke the game open with a four-run fourth. Ward doubled to right. Ritschard moved him to third base with a sacrifice bunt. Murray walked. Gogin delivered an RBI single to give the Cheesemakers a 3-0 lead. Kuester came through with an RBI single to right. Edmunds followed with an RBI single to score Gogin. Kuester reached on an error and scored on a wild throw to the plate to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 6-1.
Nowicki pitched four innings and gave up six runs. The Vikings were plagued by seven errors.
Weckerly pitched 61⁄3 innings to get the win. He limited the Vikings to one earned run on four hits. He struck out four and walked one.
"He pitched to contact well," Huffman said. "The first two games he has pitched he has put us in great spots to win. He doesn't get rattled too much. He's a competitor. I feel like the guys really rally around him well."
In the fifth, Ritschard had an RBI single, and Gogin had a key two-run double to put the game away.
Monroe was coming off two games earlier this week in which they committed a combined 16 errors. The Cheesemakers showed a vast improvement Thursday, making just one error.
"Their arms were pretty
sore with all the defensive work we did in practice throwing," Huffman said. "It showed tonight. They made the plays."
Monroe senior Garrett Gogin went 2-for-4 with three RBI to help the Cheesemakers rise to the challenge with a 9-3 victory.
"He's probably the best pitcher in the conference," Monroe junior Carter Sawdey said. "We just took good swings at the plate. We capitalized by getting some big hits."
Those big hits led to the first Badger South Conference win of the season for Monroe (2-3, 1-2).
Sawdey led off the first inning with a single. He stole second and scored when the Vikings' left fielder dropped a fly ball hit by senior Jaron Kuester.
Monroe added to its lead in the second. Senior Brent Edmunds led off the second with a single. Sophomore Hunter Ward moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Jacob Ritschard reached on an error. Junior Cole Murray followed with an RBI single to center to stake the Cheesemakers to a 2-0 lead.
Monroe junior Hogan Edwards went 3-for-4 with one RBI to add to the Cheesemakers' 14-hit attack. Kuester went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Both junior Hunter Weckerly and Edmunds finished 2-for-4.
"By just putting the bat on the ball, good things will happen," Huffman said. "It's cliche when they say hitting is contagious, and it was tonight. It was a big confidence booster."
The Cheesemakers broke the game open with a four-run fourth. Ward doubled to right. Ritschard moved him to third base with a sacrifice bunt. Murray walked. Gogin delivered an RBI single to give the Cheesemakers a 3-0 lead. Kuester came through with an RBI single to right. Edmunds followed with an RBI single to score Gogin. Kuester reached on an error and scored on a wild throw to the plate to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 6-1.
Nowicki pitched four innings and gave up six runs. The Vikings were plagued by seven errors.
Weckerly pitched 61⁄3 innings to get the win. He limited the Vikings to one earned run on four hits. He struck out four and walked one.
"He pitched to contact well," Huffman said. "The first two games he has pitched he has put us in great spots to win. He doesn't get rattled too much. He's a competitor. I feel like the guys really rally around him well."
In the fifth, Ritschard had an RBI single, and Gogin had a key two-run double to put the game away.
Monroe was coming off two games earlier this week in which they committed a combined 16 errors. The Cheesemakers showed a vast improvement Thursday, making just one error.
"Their arms were pretty
sore with all the defensive work we did in practice throwing," Huffman said. "It showed tonight. They made the plays."
