The Northland Pines baseball team is now tied for third place in the Great Northern Conference after going 2-1 last week in conference play, with crucial play in the field and in the batter’s box.
The Eagles opened the week with a 4-1 win over Tomahawk last Tuesday before splitting a road doubleheader at Antigo, 7-0 and 9-7, last Friday.
“Our pitching continues to improve throughout the season. Some of the credit goes to guys making adjustments and focusing on their mid-week bullpen sessions. Some credit also goes to the work Griffin Beyer has put in calling pitches,” stated coach Peter Aerts. “He has really learned our pitchers well and sets up our pitchers to be successful with their strengths.”
Senior pitcher Jonathan Miller was one example of that in the opening game at Antigo. He gave up just one hit and struck out 10 batters in a complete game shutout performance. It was his second win this season on the bump in four starts.
“We talked last week about Jonathan throwing well, but having another level. He really showed that next level ability with his dominant performance,” said Aerts.
Offensively, the Eagles smacked 10 hits in the win. Alex Wethington got the scoring rolling in the top of the first inning with an RBI double to grab the early advantage.
It was a pitcher’s duel until Pines scored four more runs in the top of the fifth.
The first three batters in the frame got on base, including two singles by Nolan Huelskamp and Owen Grassl. Jason Linn grounded out, but it allowed the first run of the inning to score. Griffin Beyer picked up an RBI with a single to right field, while Wethington got his second hit of the game with an RBI single to make it a 5-0 game.
The offense scored two more in the seventh to complete the scoring.
“Our offense took a huge step forward this week. We cut down on strikeouts and increased the number of balls we hit hard,” explained Aerts. “Hitters did a great job this week, hunting good pitches to hit early in the count, and being tough outs when they did get two strikes.”
The Antigo bats came to life late in the second game, coming back from a 6-1 deficit after the fourth inning to win the game 9-7.
The Eagles got ahead 1-0 in the second and got a spurt in the fourth.
Huelskamp drove in a run with an RBI single to center field, and Davis Beyer also got an RBI single after driving in Huelskamp.
Beyer got two of his three RBIs after ripping a double to close the scoring in the inning.
Brody Hoeft pitched a good four innings by giving up just one run before Antigo scored three in the fifth to get the offense rolling.
Antigo would go on to score five more runs in the seventh to come from behind to win.
Beyer (Griffin) went 1-4 at the plate with three RBIs to lead the offense. Wethington and Ethan Miller had a pair of hits as well. The team collected nine hits in the loss.
Home win
Northland Pines opened its week with a home win over the Hatchets. The Eagles trailed early, but picked up the defensive intensity and kept Tomahawk off the board in the final six innings.
The Hatchets scored on an error in the top of the first to grab the 1-0 lead, but the Eagles reciprocated with a run of their own in the home half of the second inning.
After two quick outs, Ethan Miller extended the frame with a single. Owen Grassl stayed patient at the plate to force a walk and put two runners on base. Senior Davis Beyer, the ninth batter in the order, singled and drove in Miller to tie things at 1-1.
Starting pitcher Aiden Minx settled into the game after giving up a run in the first. He allowed just one hit in the next five innings of work, pitching six innings with five strikeouts and three walks.
The two teams remained tied until the bottom of the fifth, where Beyer reached on an error on a groundball to second and advanced to second on another error. Jason Linn moved him over to third on a bunt, and Griffin Beyer hit into a sacrifice fly to score the go-ahead run. An inning later, Jonah Will singled, and Brody Hoeft got hit by a pitch, to put another pair of runners on base with no outs. Will and Hoeft both stole third and second, respectively, and eventually got driven in on a wild pitch and single to make it 4-1.
Hoeft came in for the seventh and got the save by surrendering just one hit, one walk and striking out one.
Pines is now 5-6 overall and 3-3 in the GNC after the trio of games last week. The Eagles traveled to Ironwood on Tuesday of this week before hosting Rhinelander this Friday, May 9, for senior day in Eagle River.
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