Baseball: Warriors upset top-ranked Sun Prairie East

As far as signature wins go, this one was a doozy.

On Saturday, May 18, the Waunakee baseball team upset top-ranked Sun Prairie East 6-4, staving off the Cardinals in a non-conference victory after taking an early six-run lead.

The Cardinals, ranked No. 1 in the final Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Division 1 poll of the season, plated two runs in the third and fourth innings, but they couldn’t get any closer.

Waunakee went on top in the bottom of the first inning, when Tate Schmidt tripled in two runs and Wes DuCharme singled in another.

An inning later, an Oliver Lee single and a wild pitch helped Waunakee pad its advantage.

Luke Hurlebaus struck out three and walked two, while surrendering eight hits and four runs in five innings of work to get the win. Cole Krause earned a save for the Warriors.

With two hits apiece, DuCharme, Hurlebaus and Schmidt led the way offensive, with Lee and Schmidt each driving in a pair of runs.

Clean defense contributed to the win, as the Warriors turned a double play and didn’t commit an error. At the plate, Danny Cotter had a double and Schmidt and Hurlebaus smacked triples. DuCharme, Schmidt and Brady Barman all had stolen bases.

Waunakee improved to 12-13 overall, with a 7-7 mark in Badger Large Conference play.

Waunakee 13, Madison West 3Up 6-2, the Warriors put up four runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth to pull away in a five-inning victory.

Barman, Schmidt and Lee all went 2-for-4, as Colin Murphy and DuCharme also had two hits, with Barman and Schmidt collecting doubles and Murphy tripling and finishing with three RBIs. DuCharme scored two runs and drove in two.

Nate Bound went five innings to get the win, fanning four and walking two. He gave up four hits and three earned runs.

Waunakee 2, Sun Prairie East 1DuCharme was a bulldog on the mound, allowing only one run despite giving up eight runs over seven innings. He struck out two and walked one.

Murphy grounded out in the sixth to bring in the winning run.

Waunakee only two hits, one each for DuCharme and Schmidt. Bound, Cotter and Schmidt recorded multiple steals, as the Warriors finished with six steals.

Waunakee 12, Fort Atkinson 4Leadoff man Danny Cotter went 4-for-4 and Cole Krause added three hits as Waunakee topped the visiting Fort Atkinson baseball team 12-4 in Badger Large play on Thursday.

The Blackhawks (6-17, 4-10 in conference) started the game by rallying for three runs. Braden Hausen, who had two hits and reached safely in three of his four plate appearances, singled to open the game. Jordan Zahn was hit then by a two-out pitch followed by a walk to Cam Haagensen. Gavin Kanters dug in next, producing a bases-clearing double on a line shot to center.

Waunakee (10-13, 7-7) used six hits to plate six runs in the second. Oliver Lee singled to open the inning and later scored on Wes DuCharme’s base knock. Krause added an RBI single before Cotter doubled home a pair. Brady Barman and Tate Schmidt also chipped in run-scoring hits.

Fort scratched to within 6-4 in the third, when Trent Wilson led off the inning with a single and scored on Kanters’ one-out double.

The Blackhawks would manage just two more baserunners — one via error and another on a walk — the rest of the way.

Waunakee scored three times in the fourth and fifth innings to break it open.

Wilson started for Fort and took the loss, surrendering eight runs (three earned) on nine hits in three innings.

“This was a frustrating loss after how well we played Tuesday night (in a 6-0 win over Waunakee),” Fort Atkinson baseball coach Andy Schwantes said. “Trent competed well enough to give us a chance, but some costly errors let them break the game open and we had a hard time getting our energy back after the second inning. We will keep working hard at practice to clean things up.”

WAUNAKEE 12, FORT 4

Fort 301 000 0 — 4 5 4

Waunakee 060 330 x — 12 15 1

Leading hitters -- FA: Kanters 2x3 (2 2B), Hausen 2x3; WA: Cotter 4x4 (2 2B, 3B), Schmidt 2x4 (2B, 3B), DuCharme 2x4, Krause 3x3.

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) -- FA: Wilson L; 3-9-8-3-1-1, Block 1.1-5-4-4-0-2, Schrader 1.2-1-0-0-1-2; WA: King 2-3-3-3-2-0, Solverson W; 2-2-1-1-0-0, Krause 3-0-0-0-1-7.

Fort Atkinson 6, Waunakee 0Jordan Zahn pitched a four-hit shutout as Fort Atkinson’s baseball team upended Waunakee 6-0 in Badger Large play at Jones Park on Tuesday, May 14.

Trent Wilson and Cam Haagensen powered the Fort offense, both contributing three hits. Wilson scored twice while Haagensen drove in three runs.

The Blackhawks backed Zahn with three early runs. Braden Hausen reached on an outfield error to lead off the first, took second on Braeden Hoth’s sacrifice bunt, reached third on a Wilson single before scoring on a Haagensen base knock to center.

Fort pushed its lead to 3-0 in the third. Hoth reached on pitcher Luke Hurlebaus’ error, then scored with one away when Haagensen bunted for a hit. Wilson, who also bunted for a hit, came around on Alexis Martinez’s fielder’s choice.

Wilson opened the fifth with his third base knock of the game, scoring on Haagensen’s third hit. Haagensen made it 5-0 when he scored via error at shortstop for Waunakee (8-13, 6-7).

Jackson Leibman doubled with one away in the seventh and scored when Hoth bunted for a hit.

Zahn struck out just one and walked none. He stranded Colin Murphy at third in the second inning, then picked off Tate Schmidt in the fourth. Zahn navigated around Oliver Lee’s lead off single in the seventh, using a pair of ground balls that resulted in fielder’s choices before retiring Zach King with two men aboard to end it.

FORT ATKINSON 6, WAUNAKEE 0

Waunakee 000 000 0 — 0 4 3

Fort 102 021 x — 6 10 2

Leading hitters -- FA: Wilson 3x4, Haagensen 3x3, Leibman (2B).

Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) -- W: Hurlebaus L; 5-7-5-2-1-4, Dettor 0.1-3-1-1-0-0, Schmidt 0.2-0-0-0-0-0; FA: Zahn W; 7-4-0-0-0-1.