NEW GLARUS - In a baseball game with postseason implications Sunday in the Home Talent League Western Section, New Glarus beat Wiota, 5-1, to keep its playoff bubble from bursting.
New Glarus' Kyle Spurley turned in another gem, pitching a two-hitter and allowing just one unearned run. Spurley received all the run support he needed in the first three innings, as the Tourists pounded out 10 hits.
"Pitching with the lead is a whole different ballgame than pitching from behind," New Glarus player-manager Stein Rear said. "You feel like you don't have to be perfect with every pitch."
The Tourists (3-8) set the tone in the first inning as Wiota's Tommy Meier walked Wade Hanna with two outs. Hanna stole second and scored on Mark Hamilton's two-out RBI single to left.
New Glarus added to its lead in the third as Griff Rear walked and Vance Vlasak singled. Mike Rear then delivered a two-out, two-run single to left to give the Tourists a 3-0 lead.
Mike Rear, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and is playing Senior Legion and Home Talent baseball this summer, has flourished in his first season in the wood bat league.
"I have been seeing the ball a lot better," Mike Rear said. "I'm a lot more relaxed. I hit the ball better with a wood bat. Most people, if they had a choice, they would choose an aluminum bat. I think it (using a wood bat) has a lot to do with me being relaxed."
It was a tough loss for the Indians (4-8), who now trail Ridgeway (7-4) by 3 1/2 games in the race for the sixth playoff spot in the Western Section. Wiota stranded eight runners on base and batted 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
"With baseball at any level if you score one run, you won't win many ballgames," Wiota co-manager Dick Schliem said. "We almost had to win that game to make the playoffs."
The Indians have four Sunday league games remaining, including a big game hosting Monroe on July 12.
"We will have to win out," Schliem said.
Rear was just one of four players with multi-hit games, including Hamilton (2-4, 2 RBI), Vlasak (2-4) and Hanna (2-3). Stein Rear hopes the hitting outburst - New Glarus has exploded for 14 runs in a two-game winning streak - continues.
"I think it's just that we have a lot of older guys on the team and we need to get some of the rust off," he said.
Now that it's July, the extra batting practice is paying dividends.
"Right now we have been fortunate to barrel some balls and find some holes," Stein Rear said.
Cody Austin singled leading off the fourth and came around to score when Drew Moen reached on an error. Moen later was thrown out at home on Vlasak's single.
In the seventh, Hanna singled and scored when Hamilton ripped an RBI double to give the Tourists a 5-1 lead.
After hitting two batters in the first two innings, Spurley settled down and retired 14 of the last 17 batters he faced. He walked four and struck out eight.
"I felt like I had to get a little loose," Spurley said. "I got into a rhythm and we were getting outs and ground balls. It was a big win. Their record doesn't show how good they are. They have a real good team."
New Glarus' Kyle Spurley turned in another gem, pitching a two-hitter and allowing just one unearned run. Spurley received all the run support he needed in the first three innings, as the Tourists pounded out 10 hits.
"Pitching with the lead is a whole different ballgame than pitching from behind," New Glarus player-manager Stein Rear said. "You feel like you don't have to be perfect with every pitch."
The Tourists (3-8) set the tone in the first inning as Wiota's Tommy Meier walked Wade Hanna with two outs. Hanna stole second and scored on Mark Hamilton's two-out RBI single to left.
New Glarus added to its lead in the third as Griff Rear walked and Vance Vlasak singled. Mike Rear then delivered a two-out, two-run single to left to give the Tourists a 3-0 lead.
Mike Rear, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and is playing Senior Legion and Home Talent baseball this summer, has flourished in his first season in the wood bat league.
"I have been seeing the ball a lot better," Mike Rear said. "I'm a lot more relaxed. I hit the ball better with a wood bat. Most people, if they had a choice, they would choose an aluminum bat. I think it (using a wood bat) has a lot to do with me being relaxed."
It was a tough loss for the Indians (4-8), who now trail Ridgeway (7-4) by 3 1/2 games in the race for the sixth playoff spot in the Western Section. Wiota stranded eight runners on base and batted 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
"With baseball at any level if you score one run, you won't win many ballgames," Wiota co-manager Dick Schliem said. "We almost had to win that game to make the playoffs."
The Indians have four Sunday league games remaining, including a big game hosting Monroe on July 12.
"We will have to win out," Schliem said.
Rear was just one of four players with multi-hit games, including Hamilton (2-4, 2 RBI), Vlasak (2-4) and Hanna (2-3). Stein Rear hopes the hitting outburst - New Glarus has exploded for 14 runs in a two-game winning streak - continues.
"I think it's just that we have a lot of older guys on the team and we need to get some of the rust off," he said.
Now that it's July, the extra batting practice is paying dividends.
"Right now we have been fortunate to barrel some balls and find some holes," Stein Rear said.
Cody Austin singled leading off the fourth and came around to score when Drew Moen reached on an error. Moen later was thrown out at home on Vlasak's single.
In the seventh, Hanna singled and scored when Hamilton ripped an RBI double to give the Tourists a 5-1 lead.
After hitting two batters in the first two innings, Spurley settled down and retired 14 of the last 17 batters he faced. He walked four and struck out eight.
"I felt like I had to get a little loose," Spurley said. "I got into a rhythm and we were getting outs and ground balls. It was a big win. Their record doesn't show how good they are. They have a real good team."
