Shawano, Bonduel split pair of Legion games

The Shawano and Bonduel Legion baseball teams split a pair of games on July 14 in Shawano.

Shawano took game one 11-6, which was a completion of a suspended July 4 game. Bonduel then held on late for a 6-5 win in game two.

Game 1

Shawano led 4-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning on July 4 when heavy rains fell in Bonduel and postponed the conclusion of the contest.

The four runs all came in the third inning. Ashton Henning belted a two-run homer to right-center field to plate Carson Popp. Andrew Popp later scored on an error before Jacob Polzin singled home Braedyn Kowalkowski.

Henning was on the mound for the July 4 game and also was pitching when the game resumed. He ended up getting an additional eight outs before being replaced by Polzin, who got the final four outs.

A couple of Shawano errors allowed Bonduel’s Jack Johnson to score in the bottom of the fourth, making it 4-1. Shawano got the run right back, with Kowalkowski scoring on a Polzin groundout.

The Patriots tacked on another run in the sixth and looked to be in cruise control when Zac Jurmu scored on a wild pitch, but the Grizzlies tightened things back up with a four-run sixth.

Garrett Engel, Charlie Tauchen and Reece Stoltenow each drew bases-loaded walks, scoring Johnson, Brett Margelofsky and Noah Weier. Cole Anderson earned a RBI the hard way, being plunked by a pitch to force in Mason Bohm.

The back-and-forth affair continued as Shawano put up five runs in the seventh. Polzin plated Kowalkowski on a single for the first run before Dylan Hodkiewicz drove in Carsen Herm and Parker Beyer on a single. A Bonduel error allowed Hodkiewicz and Brady Hannes to each cross home plate.

Most of the damage done in the frame came on well-placed hits.

“If we get down in the count, we’re down 0-2, your goal should be to put the ball in play,” said Polzin. “You’re more likely to get runners moving when you put the ball in play, so as long as we can do that, good things can happen for us.”

Bonduel scored once in the seventh, as Weier singled in Margelofsky, but Polzin was able to induce a groundout to end the contest.

Mason Bohm started the July 4 game for Bonduel and worked the four innings. Weier began the resumed game on the hill and got the final nine outs.

Game 2

After a brief break, game two began, with a pitching matchup of Bohm against Polzin.

Bonduel struck first in the top of the second inning, with Tauchen singling home Margelofsky with two outs.

Shawano came back with two runs in its half of the second. Kowalkowski scored after a Jurmu single and Bonduel error. With the bases loaded, Bryce Popp scored on a Henning chopper to third, with Jurmu being called safe on a close force play at third.

Bonduel scored its final five runs in the third inning. The Grizzlies took advantage of three Patriots’ errors in the frame.

Weier scored on the second error of the inning before Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk to plate courtesy runner Mason Zuleger. Anderson drove in Stoltenow on a sacrifice fly for another run before the third Shawano error allowed Margelofsky and Johnson to both score.

After the two-run second inning, Bohm settled in and allowed just one more run in the fourth. Shawano’s Carson Popp drove in Hodkiewicz on a sacrifice fly to center, with Johnson making a sliding catch on the play.

Bohm ended up working five innings to earn the win on the hill.

“I really struggled there in the middle of my outing today. I started off well, and then things didn’t go well, but I got back to it,” said Bohm. “At the end of the day, I just got to throw strikes and trust my guys to make plays behind me.”

Tauchen pitched the sixth inning for the Grizzlies. The inning started with a single and walk before a fielder’s choice play had runners on first and third with one down. Engel, the Grizzlies’ catcher, threw out a runner trying to steal second before Tauchen got a strikeout to end the threat.

Cade Johnson worked the seventh for Bonduel to finish off the win. Shawano got within two when Kowalkowski singled in Henning and then within a run when Andrew Popp scored on an error, but Johnson got a flyout to center to end the contest.

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