MONROE - The Monroe baseball team rallied twice before losing a heartbreaking sixth straight game, falling to Oregon 7-4 in nine innings Tuesday, April 30.
Oregon came up with some two-out magic in the ninth inning to push across three runs and knock off the Cheesemakers. What can Monroe take away from a hard-fought game against Oregon?
"Overall with the effort, I can't complain," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "It's the competition aspect. We have been losing some games by a lot. They still may be doubting if we can compete with some of these teams. At times we showed flashes of playing good fundamental baseball. At other times, we struggled with the basics."
With two outs in the ninth, Oregon's Adam Brauns reached on an infield single off Monroe relief pitcher Lane Berndt. Berndt then walked Pierce Peterson. Oregon's Logan Laski delivered a go-ahead RBI single up the middle and Jere Bauer lined an RBI single to left to give the Panthers a 6-4 lead. Bauer was a thorn in the side of the Cheesemakers going 3-for-3 with two walks.
"We wanted to get him some experience," Huffman said of Berndt. "He was in a pressure situation every inning. His curveball wasn't breaking until later in the game. If you are just a fastball pitcher they will eventually square up on it and that is what happened in that last inning. Hopefully, he takes a lot away from that."
Monroe sophomore Logan Weckerly started and pitched four innings. He gave up just one run on three hits. Berndt pitched five innings and gave up six runs, but just three earned runs on 10 hits. He struck out five and walked three.
"He was shaking his arm a lot," Huffman said of Weckerly. "He had some tightness in his arm. We rode him as long as we could. He was throwing his fastball in the dirt. Normally, he is up in the zone with his fastball."
Monroe (1-9, 0-5 Badger South) rallied from a 4-2 deficit, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Pinch hitter Ryan Erickson led off the seventh with a walk. Junior Trent Einbeck singled and junior Ryan Hughes laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Monroe senior Noah Rucker reached on an error and Erickson scored to cut the Panthers' lead to 4-3. Monroe freshman Jaron Kuester bunted for a single to load the bases. Sophomore Chase Hellenbrand then came through with a clutch two-out game-tying RBI single to left to tie the game at 4. Hellenbrand went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Hughes went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and Kuester was 2-for-4 with both hits coming on bunts.
"I just wanted to make contact and get that run in," Hellenbrand said of his game-tying single. "We battled back. I thought we had a pretty good chance of winning in the next few innings. They just got the hits when they needed them."
Oregon's Simon Maurice sliced a double down the first base line in the first to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Laski retired the first seven batters he faced for the Panthers. He pitched eight innings and gave up four runs on 10 hits. The Cheesemakers broke through against Laski in the third. Hughes singled to left and then stole second. Rucker then ripped a game-tying RBI double to right. The Cheesemakers took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on senior Dusty Burkhalter's RBI single to center.
The Cheesemakers had a golden scoring opportunity in the fifth. With one out and two on in the fifth, Monroe senior Kevin Klopfenstein popped out on a bunt and it turned into an inning-ending double play. The Panthers squandered a bases-loaded scoring opportunity in the eighth. Oregon's Austin Adams, who was on base four times, hit a line drive to Rucker that he turned into an inning-ending double play.
"I thought we were going to win," Hughes said. "We were given our opportunities. We didn't take advantage of them. We thought this is one we could get."
Oregon came up with some two-out magic in the ninth inning to push across three runs and knock off the Cheesemakers. What can Monroe take away from a hard-fought game against Oregon?
"Overall with the effort, I can't complain," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "It's the competition aspect. We have been losing some games by a lot. They still may be doubting if we can compete with some of these teams. At times we showed flashes of playing good fundamental baseball. At other times, we struggled with the basics."
With two outs in the ninth, Oregon's Adam Brauns reached on an infield single off Monroe relief pitcher Lane Berndt. Berndt then walked Pierce Peterson. Oregon's Logan Laski delivered a go-ahead RBI single up the middle and Jere Bauer lined an RBI single to left to give the Panthers a 6-4 lead. Bauer was a thorn in the side of the Cheesemakers going 3-for-3 with two walks.
"We wanted to get him some experience," Huffman said of Berndt. "He was in a pressure situation every inning. His curveball wasn't breaking until later in the game. If you are just a fastball pitcher they will eventually square up on it and that is what happened in that last inning. Hopefully, he takes a lot away from that."
Monroe sophomore Logan Weckerly started and pitched four innings. He gave up just one run on three hits. Berndt pitched five innings and gave up six runs, but just three earned runs on 10 hits. He struck out five and walked three.
"He was shaking his arm a lot," Huffman said of Weckerly. "He had some tightness in his arm. We rode him as long as we could. He was throwing his fastball in the dirt. Normally, he is up in the zone with his fastball."
Monroe (1-9, 0-5 Badger South) rallied from a 4-2 deficit, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Pinch hitter Ryan Erickson led off the seventh with a walk. Junior Trent Einbeck singled and junior Ryan Hughes laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Monroe senior Noah Rucker reached on an error and Erickson scored to cut the Panthers' lead to 4-3. Monroe freshman Jaron Kuester bunted for a single to load the bases. Sophomore Chase Hellenbrand then came through with a clutch two-out game-tying RBI single to left to tie the game at 4. Hellenbrand went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Hughes went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and Kuester was 2-for-4 with both hits coming on bunts.
"I just wanted to make contact and get that run in," Hellenbrand said of his game-tying single. "We battled back. I thought we had a pretty good chance of winning in the next few innings. They just got the hits when they needed them."
Oregon's Simon Maurice sliced a double down the first base line in the first to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Laski retired the first seven batters he faced for the Panthers. He pitched eight innings and gave up four runs on 10 hits. The Cheesemakers broke through against Laski in the third. Hughes singled to left and then stole second. Rucker then ripped a game-tying RBI double to right. The Cheesemakers took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on senior Dusty Burkhalter's RBI single to center.
The Cheesemakers had a golden scoring opportunity in the fifth. With one out and two on in the fifth, Monroe senior Kevin Klopfenstein popped out on a bunt and it turned into an inning-ending double play. The Panthers squandered a bases-loaded scoring opportunity in the eighth. Oregon's Austin Adams, who was on base four times, hit a line drive to Rucker that he turned into an inning-ending double play.
"I thought we were going to win," Hughes said. "We were given our opportunities. We didn't take advantage of them. We thought this is one we could get."
