DARLINGTON - Taylor Wiegel eventually found what he was looking for in Friday's 16-6, five-inning victory over Shullsburg-Benton in the opening round of WIAA Division 4 regional action.
After the Darlington junior narrowly missed the right field line with an inside-out shot in the first inning that would've scored two runs, he slapped another diving double about three feet to the left of the original mark in the second. The two-bagger brought in two runs and staked the Redbirds' starter to a 7-2 lead.
"I just told him to help himself out up there," Darlington coach AndySawall said. "We've just been putting bats on balls, being selective with what pitches we swing at and it's paying off."
The advantage would be 10-2 before the inning was through and, when Wiegel didn't deliver, his mates picked him up. He followed up his near-miss foul by getting hit by a Colton Laird fastball in the first before scoring on Nik Geissbuhler's 2-run triple to deep left.
In the second, senior Ethan Pickett crushed a 2-run, line-drive double to dead center to cap the 6-run inning.
In the top of the second, Wiegel labored to locate the strike zone, but eventually found it and retired the No. 1 and No. 2 hitters after walking four batters in the 2-run frame.
After a scoreless third, Wiegel was lifted with one down in the fourth and found confidence in his soon-departing reliever and former ace Kyle Calvert. The senior Calvert worked out of trouble after two scored with no one retired before he took the ball. He's a breath of fresh-air for a team that needs pitching after he suffered a mid-season injury.
Wiegel reached in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2, and found home plate every time, scoring four runs from his cleanup spot in the lineup.
"We've had production up and down the lineup and that's comforting," Sawall said.
Darlington earned a third meeting with SWAL rival and powerhouse Mineral Point, the No. 1 seed, next Tuesday. The Pointers swept he season series, but the second was a 3-2 heartstopper. Not to mention the secrets are all out.
"The third time you play somebody, we know where there better guys are going to be hitting and we've seen their best pitchers," Sawall said. "They're not going to surprise us; we've never gotten past this point and I hope they're not satisfied with just winning this one."
"I don't think staying hungry will be a problem."
After the Darlington junior narrowly missed the right field line with an inside-out shot in the first inning that would've scored two runs, he slapped another diving double about three feet to the left of the original mark in the second. The two-bagger brought in two runs and staked the Redbirds' starter to a 7-2 lead.
"I just told him to help himself out up there," Darlington coach AndySawall said. "We've just been putting bats on balls, being selective with what pitches we swing at and it's paying off."
The advantage would be 10-2 before the inning was through and, when Wiegel didn't deliver, his mates picked him up. He followed up his near-miss foul by getting hit by a Colton Laird fastball in the first before scoring on Nik Geissbuhler's 2-run triple to deep left.
In the second, senior Ethan Pickett crushed a 2-run, line-drive double to dead center to cap the 6-run inning.
In the top of the second, Wiegel labored to locate the strike zone, but eventually found it and retired the No. 1 and No. 2 hitters after walking four batters in the 2-run frame.
After a scoreless third, Wiegel was lifted with one down in the fourth and found confidence in his soon-departing reliever and former ace Kyle Calvert. The senior Calvert worked out of trouble after two scored with no one retired before he took the ball. He's a breath of fresh-air for a team that needs pitching after he suffered a mid-season injury.
Wiegel reached in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2, and found home plate every time, scoring four runs from his cleanup spot in the lineup.
"We've had production up and down the lineup and that's comforting," Sawall said.
Darlington earned a third meeting with SWAL rival and powerhouse Mineral Point, the No. 1 seed, next Tuesday. The Pointers swept he season series, but the second was a 3-2 heartstopper. Not to mention the secrets are all out.
"The third time you play somebody, we know where there better guys are going to be hitting and we've seen their best pitchers," Sawall said. "They're not going to surprise us; we've never gotten past this point and I hope they're not satisfied with just winning this one."
"I don't think staying hungry will be a problem."
