MONROE - Immortalized. It's a place Jake Teasdale never could have imagined himself when he was a kid.
Saturday, the Monroe senior took his place in infamy by no-hitting the Thunderbirds of Baraboo in the first game of a doubleheader at Monroe High School, a 5-0 decision that ended with Teasdale squeezing a pop-up for the last out.
Then he squeezed his eyes shut and reminisced.
"I remember seeing in the paper that kids would throw no-hitters in baseball or softball and you wonder, 'How did they do that?' Now I'm part of that and that's pretty special," Teasdale said.
Teasdale only allowed runners in the top of the third as he walked two batters and another reached on an error.
Teasdale doled out a steady diet of fastballs and struck out five batters. In between innings, he and catcher Kyle Klopfenstein planned when to mix in some curveballs to keep the hitters honest.
After the final out, Monroe skipper Steve Christensen jogged out to shake his pitcher's hand and commend him on a feat that even "Klop" couldn't honestly believe.
"I don't think he knew, he just kind of looked at coach like, 'Are you serious,' Teasdale said.
The workmanlike catcher wasn't the only one in the dark.
"I think a lot of people were surprised when it was announced afterward," Christensen said. "I wasn't 100 percent sure he had it, but of course I wasn't going to say anything. Maybe we weren't sure because he made it look pretty easy, actually."
While Teasdale certainly won't be shy about the accolade, he insists that getting the victory was job No. 1.
"I could've cared less if I gave up 10 runs, so long as we got the win," Teasdale said.
The rest of the Cheesemakers gave Teasdale all the support he'd need with five runs in the bottom of the second inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, junior Mike Demianiuk drilled an RBI-single to left and, two batters later, Nate Barta socked a 2-run single on an 0-2 pitch.
Barta collected two hits in the second game, but Monroe fell 5-4 as Baraboo rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth off reliever Nick Reider. Starter Demianiuk worked five solid innings but his skipper wasn't ready to stretch the leash.
"We went into today hoping to get three, four or maybe five innings out of our starters," Christensen said. "Mike deserved to get the win."
Monroe is scheduled to host Verona in a Badger South contest Tuesday.
Saturday, the Monroe senior took his place in infamy by no-hitting the Thunderbirds of Baraboo in the first game of a doubleheader at Monroe High School, a 5-0 decision that ended with Teasdale squeezing a pop-up for the last out.
Then he squeezed his eyes shut and reminisced.
"I remember seeing in the paper that kids would throw no-hitters in baseball or softball and you wonder, 'How did they do that?' Now I'm part of that and that's pretty special," Teasdale said.
Teasdale only allowed runners in the top of the third as he walked two batters and another reached on an error.
Teasdale doled out a steady diet of fastballs and struck out five batters. In between innings, he and catcher Kyle Klopfenstein planned when to mix in some curveballs to keep the hitters honest.
After the final out, Monroe skipper Steve Christensen jogged out to shake his pitcher's hand and commend him on a feat that even "Klop" couldn't honestly believe.
"I don't think he knew, he just kind of looked at coach like, 'Are you serious,' Teasdale said.
The workmanlike catcher wasn't the only one in the dark.
"I think a lot of people were surprised when it was announced afterward," Christensen said. "I wasn't 100 percent sure he had it, but of course I wasn't going to say anything. Maybe we weren't sure because he made it look pretty easy, actually."
While Teasdale certainly won't be shy about the accolade, he insists that getting the victory was job No. 1.
"I could've cared less if I gave up 10 runs, so long as we got the win," Teasdale said.
The rest of the Cheesemakers gave Teasdale all the support he'd need with five runs in the bottom of the second inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, junior Mike Demianiuk drilled an RBI-single to left and, two batters later, Nate Barta socked a 2-run single on an 0-2 pitch.
Barta collected two hits in the second game, but Monroe fell 5-4 as Baraboo rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth off reliever Nick Reider. Starter Demianiuk worked five solid innings but his skipper wasn't ready to stretch the leash.
"We went into today hoping to get three, four or maybe five innings out of our starters," Christensen said. "Mike deserved to get the win."
Monroe is scheduled to host Verona in a Badger South contest Tuesday.
