MCFARLAND — Lake Mills’ baseball team knocked Pewaukee — the top-ranked team in the Division 2 Coaches Poll — from the ranks of the unbeaten, 4-0 at the McFarland triangular on Saturday.
Winning pitcher Brody Henderson drew a walk to lead off the game, stealing second and third bases on separate plays before scoring on Wyatt Werner’s sacrifice fly.
Mason Flood opened the Lake Mills second with a walk and later scored on a wild pitch. Jack Vogel then came around on an error at shortstop for the L-Cats, who led 4-0 on Alex Parys’ RBI single in the fourth.
“Executing those at bats when you get those chances was pivotal for us,” Lake Mills baseball coach Adam Hosey said. “Brody took advantage of getting extra bases on some dirt balls. That first run was big to open gates. Being at the 3 spot in the second puts your pitcher in a better spot.
“Pewaukee did not take a base on us either. We were stressing getting that ball home and for catcher Max Stelter to be alert as well. I gave him props for keeping their runners at bay. Defensively, guys were shifting where they needed to be and able to read things on a windy day. It was a full team effort. I loved seeing everyone in their role and taking it on.”
That was plenty of run support for Henderson, who pitched a four-hit shutout with one walk and one strikeout. He worked around a pair of doubles, retiring nine consecutive Pirates (13-1) to end it.
“For Brody, it was about composure and just staying focused,” Hosey said. “The way he looked out there, we knew we had the right guy on the bump. We made a lot of defensive plays as his only strikeout did not come until the seventh. Max and Brody were locked in all day.”
The L-Cats dropped their second game of the day, 7-6 to the Spartans who scored four first-inning runs including three on a single by Adam Stephany.
Lake Mills got within 4-2 on a Vogel run-scoring single in the third. Werner got cut down trying to score from second base on the play.
McFarland — on an error and two-run double by Stephany — pushed its lead to 7-2 in the fourth.
Lake Mills responded in the fifth, loading the bases with no outs. Mason Keith walked to score a run, Ace Everson had an RBI single, Parys contributed a sacrifice fly before Henderson lined a triple to center, scoring Everson to make it 7-6. The L-Cats (6-5) loaded the bases before a liner to left ended the frame.
The L-Cats stranded a man at third in the sixth and watched Dylan Schaefer strike out the side in the seventh to end it for the Spartans (10-4).
“We had baserunners in position at times and either had strikeouts or and hit balls that didn’t get through,” Hosey said. “We drew 11 walks, so I loved our approaches and how we got on base. It’s the game of baseball. You don’t always get that clutch hit.
“I loved the way we battled back to get it close in the late innings. McFarland made some great plays and timed their rotation well. “Vogel, our first baseman, was dealing with the wind and balls spiked over to him. He might not have noticed how big a part of the day he was. He picked numerous balls out of the dirt.”
LAKE MILLS 4, PEWAUKEE 0
Lake Mills 120 100 0 — 4 4 0
Pewaukee 000 000 0 — 0 4 2
Leading hitters — P: Zach (2B), Sopha (2B).
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — LM: Henderson W; 7-4-0-0-1-1; P: Bigler L; 1-0-2-0-3-0, Long 2-4-1-1-2-1, Witek 3-0-0-0-0-2.
MCFARLAND 7, LAKE MILLS 6
Lake Mills 011 040 0 — 6 9 4
McFarland 400 300 x — 7 5 3
Leading hitters — LM: Henderson 2x5 (3B), Flood 2x3, Keith 2x2; M: Stephany 2x2 (2B).
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — LM: Werner L; 3-3-6-3-6-1, Frohmader 3-2-1-0-0-4; M: Cappozzo W; 3-4-2-1-4-0, Stephany 1.2-3-4-1-5-2, Steinke 0.1-0-0-0-2-0, Steinke 0.1-0-0-0-2-0, Schaefer 2-2-0-0-0-4.
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