EDGERTON - The Cheesemakers' rollercoaster baseball season ended Tuesday as Monroe (9-15) fell 10-1 to No. 1-seeded Edgerton (16-4) in the WIAA Division 2 regional semifinals.
"We can't take anything away from (Edgerton)," Cheesemakers coach Steve Christensen said. "They hit the ball really hard. Today, they were a lot better than we were."
A couple of those hard hits in the first inning erased an early Monroe lead and set the tone for the game.
The Cheesemakers led briefly after scoring in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Scott Kline singled and went to second on Alex Dammen's sacrifice bunt. Senior captain Taylor Weckerly drove in Kline with a single up the middle that just snuck past the glove of the second baseman. Weckerly and Kline each finished with two of Monroe's six hits.
That was the last lead Monroe would enjoy this season.
Hard-throwing righty Mike Rear took the ball for the Cheese in the bottom half of the first. On his second pitch, Edgerton lefty Adam Gregory sent a no-doubt home run to right field to tie the score. Three batters and an out later, Rear hung a changeup to cleanup hitter Kyle Johnson, who launched a ball high into the trees beyond the left-field fence.
"The first one would not have been a home run at our place, but the second one probably would have," Christensen said.
Rear had problems keeping his curveball down, and he attributed some of the fault to the low, coarse dirt mound.
"I struggled with the mound, but that's no excuse. I wasn't hitting my spots like I should have been," Rear said.
Edgerton went back to work in the second inning, getting a one-out ground-rule double down the left-field line by No. 8 hitter Zach Nelson. Rear walked the nine-hitter, then allowed an RBI single to Gregory.
After another run scored, Rear struck out Riley Clifton, then catcher Mitch Marty hurled the ball to second to catch Gregory sleeping on the base paths. Shortstop Cory Kundert caught the ball and tagged the runner cleanly in front of the bag and jumped up to come back into the dugout. However, umpire Dale Kylman was re-setting his pitch count clicker and was not watching the play.
Christensen's objection was turned down, but Rear escaped further damage.
"(Kylman's calls) probably didn't have an effect on the game, Christensen said, "but it adds to your mental stress."
Another riled Monroe in the fourth.
Edgerton added three more runs in the third inning to push the lead to 8-1. In the top half of the fourth, senior Mike Demianiuk reached on a one-out throwing error by the shortstop, but as he rounded first, first baseman Keith King stepped in Demianiuk's way and grabbed him in an apparent attempt to keep him from advancing to second. No interference was called, and Demianiuk was called out at second.
"Everything magnifies when you are behind. You would think the umpires would make the calls they are supposed to be able to make, but he missed both of those," Christensen said.
Edgerton scored two more in the fifth off of reliever Kris Rieder to put the game nearly out of reach.
Despite the loss, Monroe finished with its most wins (nine) since 2001 - the final year of an undivided Badger Conference in which Monroe finished with a 17-4 record.
"I thanked the kids at the end. They have been a real nice group to work with. They've done what we've asked and we've competed in close games. I can't complain," Christensen said.
Weckerly was upset his career ended the way it did, but was pleased with the way the team performed.
"It didn't end the way I wanted. It was an up-and-down season, but we played a few games really well," Weckerly said.
Demianiuk, the Cheesemakers' ace all season, also was sad to see his senior season end the way it did, but offered advice to next year's team.
"They've got to work hard in the summer, fall and winter. That's when you win the games, because that's when you get better," he said.
"We can't take anything away from (Edgerton)," Cheesemakers coach Steve Christensen said. "They hit the ball really hard. Today, they were a lot better than we were."
A couple of those hard hits in the first inning erased an early Monroe lead and set the tone for the game.
The Cheesemakers led briefly after scoring in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Scott Kline singled and went to second on Alex Dammen's sacrifice bunt. Senior captain Taylor Weckerly drove in Kline with a single up the middle that just snuck past the glove of the second baseman. Weckerly and Kline each finished with two of Monroe's six hits.
That was the last lead Monroe would enjoy this season.
Hard-throwing righty Mike Rear took the ball for the Cheese in the bottom half of the first. On his second pitch, Edgerton lefty Adam Gregory sent a no-doubt home run to right field to tie the score. Three batters and an out later, Rear hung a changeup to cleanup hitter Kyle Johnson, who launched a ball high into the trees beyond the left-field fence.
"The first one would not have been a home run at our place, but the second one probably would have," Christensen said.
Rear had problems keeping his curveball down, and he attributed some of the fault to the low, coarse dirt mound.
"I struggled with the mound, but that's no excuse. I wasn't hitting my spots like I should have been," Rear said.
Edgerton went back to work in the second inning, getting a one-out ground-rule double down the left-field line by No. 8 hitter Zach Nelson. Rear walked the nine-hitter, then allowed an RBI single to Gregory.
After another run scored, Rear struck out Riley Clifton, then catcher Mitch Marty hurled the ball to second to catch Gregory sleeping on the base paths. Shortstop Cory Kundert caught the ball and tagged the runner cleanly in front of the bag and jumped up to come back into the dugout. However, umpire Dale Kylman was re-setting his pitch count clicker and was not watching the play.
Christensen's objection was turned down, but Rear escaped further damage.
"(Kylman's calls) probably didn't have an effect on the game, Christensen said, "but it adds to your mental stress."
Another riled Monroe in the fourth.
Edgerton added three more runs in the third inning to push the lead to 8-1. In the top half of the fourth, senior Mike Demianiuk reached on a one-out throwing error by the shortstop, but as he rounded first, first baseman Keith King stepped in Demianiuk's way and grabbed him in an apparent attempt to keep him from advancing to second. No interference was called, and Demianiuk was called out at second.
"Everything magnifies when you are behind. You would think the umpires would make the calls they are supposed to be able to make, but he missed both of those," Christensen said.
Edgerton scored two more in the fifth off of reliever Kris Rieder to put the game nearly out of reach.
Despite the loss, Monroe finished with its most wins (nine) since 2001 - the final year of an undivided Badger Conference in which Monroe finished with a 17-4 record.
"I thanked the kids at the end. They have been a real nice group to work with. They've done what we've asked and we've competed in close games. I can't complain," Christensen said.
Weckerly was upset his career ended the way it did, but was pleased with the way the team performed.
"It didn't end the way I wanted. It was an up-and-down season, but we played a few games really well," Weckerly said.
Demianiuk, the Cheesemakers' ace all season, also was sad to see his senior season end the way it did, but offered advice to next year's team.
"They've got to work hard in the summer, fall and winter. That's when you win the games, because that's when you get better," he said.
