Hunter Magnin was strong on the mound. He then supplied the offense when it mattered most.
With Connor Sefcik on second and nobody out in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday, Magnin came up to bunt. After a foul and a called strike, he went back to swinging and, on the next pitch, put down a perfect swinging bunt.
Seymour third baseman Zach Potter charged the ball and rushed a throw, which got past the first baseman, and Sefcik came around to score, giving the Oconto Falls American Legion baseball team a 5-4 win.
“It’s always nice to get the team a win. … We are going to get back on a hot streak,” Magnin said after pitching an eight-inning complete game. He gave up four runs on six hits, struck out three and did not issue a walk.
The game was a tug of war the whole night. Oconto Falls had command early as Magnin allowed only one hit through the first five innings. Sefcik and Wes Brabant each had RBI singles for Oconto Falls, accounting for the only two runs of the game after five.
Seymour (3-6, 3-5 Fox River Valley-West) led off the sixth with three straight singles to load the bases. Cleanup hitter Reed Blake then hit a weak grounder down the first-base line. Brabant charged from third and hesitated on whether to throw home or to first. He decided to throw to first, but the throw was wide; two runs scored, tying the game. The next hitter, Sean Palubicki, grounded out but brought in shortstop Seth Jepson. Two batters later, Ryan Peterson added an RBI double, and Oconto Falls had dug itself a 4-2 hole.
In the bottom of the seventh, Oconto Falls leadoff hitter Sam Shroyer drew a one-out walk. Evan Sigmund singled behind him, and then catcher Mike Manns brought them in with a sharp two-run single to right, tying the score and forcing extra innings.
Magnin pitched a scoreless eighth inning before his game winner in the ninth.
“These guys never get shook,” Oconto Falls coach Chris Hillberg said. “They never get too high or too low. I knew they could come back and get the win.”
Blake pitched well for Seymour. He allowed four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out one in seven innings. Phil Grelecki took the loss in relief, allowing a run on two hits without recording an out.
Oconto Falls (18-5, 5-2 Fox River Valley-North) combined timely hitting with strong pitching.
“The credit goes to Hunter. We just couldn’t hit him,” Seymour coach Jim Niespodzany said. “Our guys just have to have good at bats; theirs did.”
The Oconto Falls offense was led by Manns, who was 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Sefcik also went 2 for 3 with one RBI and a run scored. Evan Sigmund was 2 for 4 and scored a run.
Jepson led Seymour’s offense, going 2 for 4 with a run scored.
