WIAA baseball: This time, tight game goes Lancers' way (with photos)

Jim Polzin  —  5/28/2008 12:19 pm

Kyle Schmidt's latest post-game run along the warning track was a pleasant one.

That hasn't always been the case for the Madison La Follette senior, who on more than one occasion this season has used his cool-down run to do exactly that: blow off steam after a close loss.

That wasn't necessary Tuesday night, not after the Lancers reversed their season-long agony in one-run games by pulling out a 5-4 victory over Madison East in a WIAA Division 1 baseball regional semifinal.

So what was running through Schmidt's mind during his back-and-forth journey from one foul pole to the other at Warner Park?

``I was thinking, `What a great game our team just pulled together,' '' Schmidt said. ``It's good to win one of those one-run games for once.''

Schmidt earned the victory with a complete-game effort, and Jake Zadra scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning after an error as third-seeded La Follette (11-10) advanced to a regional final Friday at second-seeded Beaver Dam.

The Lancers, who were 1-5 in one-run games during the regular season, blew a three-run lead, then rallied from a 4-3 deficit to beat the sixth-seeded Purgolders (9-11) for the third time this season.

To their credit, the Lancers didn't dwell on past failures when faced with another pressure-packed situation Tuesday.

``We can't change the past,'' La Follette coach Jim Pliner said. ``We can't do anything to change what happened five minutes ago, much less the one-run losses that happened earlier in the year.''

Zadra got things going in the seventh with a one-out infield single and moved to second on a ground out. When Ben Marvin hit a sharp grounder that East shortstop Ryan Reuter couldn't handle -- the Purgolders' fourth error of the game -- Zadra didn't hesitate around third and scored easily to keep La Follette's season going.

``We battled the whole way,'' East coach Jay Brazeau said. ``We were one out from getting out of that (jam) and getting to the plate again.''

The Lancers built a 3-0 lead after scoring two runs in a fourth inning that began with a controversial call.

Mitchell Dunse led off the inning by striking out on a low pitch, but he hustled down to first base because he thought the pitch was in the dirt. East catcher Jake Page came up with the ball cleanly and had plenty of time to throw out Dunse at first base, but Page held on to the ball because he didn't believe the ball hit the dirt and heard the words ``strike three'' from the home-plate umpire.

The Purgolders went on to commit two errors in the inning and dig itself into a three-run hole. But East answered, pulling to within one on a two-run home run by Danny Amundson in the top of the fifth.

The Purgolders scored twice more in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. Tyler Harrington and Max Strommen, the bottom two batters in the East lineup, drove in runs in the inning.

Schmidt, who will be playing baseball at UW-Milwaukee on a partial scholarship starting next season, kept East at bay the remainder of the game. The Lancers tied it in the sixth with an RBI groundout from Joe Pecosky, setting the stage for the game-winner in the seventh.

Not bad for a team that has had trouble in close games this season.

``It was in my head, personally,'' said Schmidt, who threw 107 pitches. ``But there's nothing you can do about it. You just go out there, pitch your hardest, play your hardest, and whatever happens, happens. I'm glad we pulled together for the win.''

Tuesday's other area scores

Division 1

Madison West 9, Verona 8 (eight innings)

Monona Grove 9, Stoughton 8

Watertown 5, Sun Prairie 4

DeForest 4, Waunakee 3

Division 2

Madison Edgewood 17, McFarland 7 (six innings)

Evansville 4, Lodi 1

Portage 3, Adams-Friendship 2

Edgerton 2, Monroe 1

Division 3

New Glarus 3, Cuba City 0

Waterloo 10, Marshall 1

Deerfield 11, Poynette 7

Horicon 7, Cambridge 1

Division 4

Barneveld 6, Argyle 0

Pecatonica 6, Black Hawk 1

Juda 2, Albany 0

Burlington Catholic Central 11, Monticello 4

Link to WIAA Division 1 bracket

Link to WIAA Division 2 bracket

Link to WIAA Division 3 bracket

Link to WIAA Division 4 bracket

Jim Polzin  —  5/28/2008 12:19 pm