BRODHEAD, Wis. — It hasn’t been the best season for Brodhead/Juda third baseman Brooks Malkow, who had been pulled from the lineup for the past two weeks due to a lack of production from the plate.
But in the biggest moment of the season, Cardinals’ head coach Aaron Guilbault put his full trust in the junior to come through.
Malkow didn’t disappoint.
Brodhead/Juda was all tied up at six against Beloit Turner with two outs and a runner on second base in the bottom of the seventh when Malkow, pinch hitting for Tyrin Foster, smacked a 2-2 pitch over left fielder Brayden Ward’s head and allowed Kohen Sawle to come sprinting home for the winning run.
“I was looking for a middle fastball,” a grinning Malkow said. “I got it middle up and just gave it a ride.”
The 7-6 win not only helped the Cardinals (11-9, 9-4 conference) split the season series with the Trojans (11-8, 9-6), but it clinched them at least a share of the RVC Rock title. Should Brodhead/Juda sweep a doubleheader against Clinton on Saturday, it would bump Turner down to second, keep the Cougars at bay and win the crown outright.
A split would put Clinton in position to share the league title with the Cardinals, so long as they beat winless Whitewater on Monday.
“I haven’t hit in about two weeks,” Malkow continued. “So, to come in there and just have my coaches have the confidence in me to make that hit and capitalize, it feels really good.”
Guilbault said it was actually fitting that Malkow was the one to deliver the walk-off single.
“It’s not been one guy this year,” the head coach continued. “(No. 9 hitter) Tyrin had a walk-off before and (No. 7 hitter) Max Pinnow came up huge with that two-run double earlier in the game. We’ve been getting such huge contributions from the bottom half of our lineup. And when you can do that, good things are destined for you.”
The Cardinals’ trailed 6-5 coming into the last at-bats. Sam Searls singled with one out but Turner reliever Jayden Mosley got Pinnow to strike out. Searls stole second and Sawle blasted an RBI single into shallow center field to tie it up at six.
“It’s grit,” Malkow said of his teammate. “That’s all it is. That’s what we’ve done all year. And Kohen is actually my best friend, so to see him do that is great.”
The Cardinals have not won a league title since 1989, and both Guilbault and Malkow stressed that the bond the team shares is a big reason why they are set up to break the drought.
Guilbault cited a sign above the entrance of their dugout that reads “If you’re not prepared to put the team first, turn around,” as their team mantra..
“It’s more about the culture and the people in baseball than it is about the X’s and O’s,” Guilbault added. “This group has shown me time and time again that family-first, teammate-first approach. It’s just fun to watch.”
It was a heart-breaking loss on the other side as the Trojans poured on four runs in the seventh to steal the lead away only to see Brodhead/Juda snatch it right back.
“We weren’t good at the plate again,” Clowes said. “It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve been able to stack together good at bats. Hats off to Brodhead. They work hard, had an opportunity to win the game and their kids took advantage of it.”
Trailing 5-2, Senior Andy Buckley laced a two-run single with the bases loaded off Clayton Elliott to tie it at five in the seventh for Turner before he scored on a passed ball to take the one-run lead.
Sawle allowed a single to start his relief appearance but got two strikeouts and a fly out to give his team a chance.
And the Cardinals got a strong outing from Sam Searls, who allowed a one-run single to Brayden Ward in the third to give Turner a 2-0 lead before settling in for 5 2-3 innings where he allowed three hits and two earned runs with four walks and eight strikeouts.
“Sam told me before the game that this the most locked in he’s ever been,” Malkow said. “So, I had no doubt in him to go out there and perform like he did.”
Ryan Searls had an RBI single in the third and Sam Searls an RBI sac bunt before Pinnow, who finished with two hits, had his one-run double. David Masloke added an RBI single in the fourth and Sawle scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.
Fernando Tillery had two hits for Turner, who was outhit 7-6, and Cesar Alfaro allowed three runs on four hits and four walks in three innings in his start from the mound.
The Trojans will try to get back on track against Jefferson and Denmark at Saturday’s UW-Whitewater Triangular.
“It’s all windshield,” Clowes said. “There’s no rear view mirror at this point in the year. It’s a collection of just doing little things well and stacking them over and over and over again. We have a lot of little things to clean up at the end of the year here, so we get back to work.”
• LINESCORE:
BRODHEAD/JUDA 7, BELOIT TURNER 6
BT 002 000 4 — 6 6 1
B/J 003 101 2 — 7 8 3
Leading hitters: BT, Tillery 2x4; Ward 1x2, 1 Run, 1 RBI; Buckley 1x3, 1 Run, 2 RBI; Piccione 1x3, 2 Runs; Jacobson 1x1. B/J, Pinnow 2x4, 1 RBI; Senobe 1x4, 1 Run; Masloske 1x1, 1 Run, 1 RBI; R. Searls 1x3, 1 Run, 1 RBI; S. Searls 1x3, 1 Run, 1 RBI; Sawle 1x2, 2 Runs, 1 RBI; Malkow 1x1, 1 RBI.
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): BT, Alfaro 3.0-4-3-3-4-1, Mosley 3.2-4-4-3-3-4. B/J, S. Searls 5.2-3-2-2-4-8, Elliott 0.1-1-4-4-2-0, Sawle 1.0-2-0-0-1-2.
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