Oconto Falls had De Pe re on the ropes early, however, a knockout punch wasn’t in store.
The Oconto Falls Legion baseball team jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the De Pere 17U squad got its hitters going and scored 10 unanswered runs to tally a 10-6 victory in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon.
“The one thing you can’t do is walk guys, give them free bases, and we started doing that,” Oconto Falls coach Chris Hillberg said.
Oconto Falls (5-3) won the opening game 5-2 as Hunter Magnin threw a complete game five-hitter to pick up the victory.
Alex Johnson went two for two at the plate for Oconto Falls in the first game and Jacob Mogged had two RBIs.
In the second game, Oconto Falls had a tough time cashing in with big hits. The team stranded 14 runners and left the bases loaded in the first, fifth and sixth innings.
“We get one or two hits in that situation with the bases loaded, especially early on in the game, that’s game over,” Hillberg said. “Just a few guys pulling their head off the ball a little bit, trying to overswing and trying to drive it out of the park instead of trying to find a gap, and it showed.”
Oconto Falls jumped on De Pere starting pitcher Zak Sanders and scored five runs on four hits. The first five hitters in Oconto Falls’ lineup scored as Bo Shroyer, Taylor Brabant and Colton Giese each had RBI singles and Bryce Rochon got an RBI on a bases loaded walk.
After the big first inning, Oconto Falls could only tack on one more run. Derek Zahn drove home Mogged in the second to give the home team a six-run cushion.
De Pere (5-2) scored once in the second, twice in the third and took the lead in the fifth with four runs, highlighted by a two-run double by Jake Buboltz.
After collecting four first-inning hits, Oconto Falls had just five the rest of the game. Giese, Mogged and Zahn all had two hits apiece.
“The loss isn’t as disappointing as watching the boys going into a shell and just losing their focus, losing the momentum,” Hillberg said. “Do I like losing when we’re up 6-0? No. It just shouldn’t happen. But we didn’t deserve to win.”
The doubleheader marked Oconto Falls’ fifth and sixth games during a six-day stretch. Hillberg said his guys were probably a little worn out from playing the aggressive schedule.
“We talked about a few things (after the game) and said, ‘Forget about it, move on,’” Hillberg said.
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