Oconto Falls eliminated Shawano from the American Legion Class AA Region 3 tournament Friday night at Memorial Park.
Defensive mistakes were again costly for Shawano (11-7) in the 11-5 loss.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, Shawano tied the score in the top of the second on Mason Boogren’s two-run double and took the lead an inning later when Zack Sousek scored on an error.
Oconto Falls (12-10) tied the game on Derek Zahn’s double to left field, an echo of the two-run double he hit to help beat Shawano on Thursday night in the double-elimination tourney.
“Derek Zahn’s bat has just been huge for us in this tournament,” Oconto Falls coach Chris Hillberg said. “It seems like every time he’s up, he’s hitting a double. Just stroking the baseball. It’s a joy to watch.”
Alex Johnson then hit a double to center field that chased Shawano pitcher Clint Dallas from the mound. Like in Thursday’s loss, both high-hit doubles were hard for Shawano outfielders to find in the darkening sky.
Boogren, who had a good inning closing out Shawano’s 7-3 victory against Mosinee earlier in the day, couldn’t stem Oconto Falls’ momentum.
“When you get in a hole early, sometimes it’s tough to come back from that,” Shawano coach Will Gillis said. “We’ve done it this year. It gets tough, especially in a tournament like this, when you know you have to win today, you have to win two tomorrow.”
A sacrifice fly by Connor Sefcik and an RBI single by Dylan Woosman put Oconto Falls up for good.
Oconto Falls would add six more runs over the next two innings.
Shawano’s Chase Henning scored on a wild pitch in the fifth and drove in Jon Koth in the sixth.
Boogren was 1 for 3 with two RBIs. Frechette was 2 for 4.
“We didn’t get a clutch hit, but we still had good bat at-bats,” Gillis said. “I wasn’t too unhappy with anyone’s at-bats. I think everyone had good approaches at the plate.”
Dallas allowed four runs on six hits in two innings. He struck out one and walked one. Boogren allowed seven runs on six hits and walked one. Boogren was replaced in the sixth by Brandon Cummings, who allowed a hit and struck out one. Shawano also had three errors in the game.
Colten Giese was 3 for 3 to lead Oconto Falls. Derek Zahn and Michael Manns had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs apiece.
Zahn earned the win, allowing five runs on seven hits and walking five in 5 1/3 innings of work. Taylor Brabant finished the game. He struck out one and allowed no hits and no runs.
“Like I told the kids, the things that plagued us all year when we lost, were the things that plagued us tonight,” Gillis said. “We didn’t play great defense.”
In its first game Friday, Shawano dispatched Mosinee from the tournament.
Shawano rallied from a 1-0 deficit with a pair of runs in the fourth, added two more in the fifth and, after Mosinee got within 4-3, got a trio of runs in the sixth.
“When they came back on us, we came right back on them,” Gillis said. “We put them down for good. That was big.”
Grant Wainio had a pair of doubles, including a two-RBI shot in the sixth, to lead Shawano at the plate. He also picked up the win on the mound before being relieved by Boogren in the sixth inning.
Wainio allowed three runs on eight hits. Boogren allowed a hit, struck out two and walked one in 1 2/3 innings.
Clint Dallas was 2 for 3 with an RBI single in the fifth. Zack Sousek had two hits, including an RBI single in the fourth.
Mosinee pitcher Chris Tomski allowed seven runs on nine hits, walked nine and struck out one.
The coach said the season was a major step in the right direction.
“This is a humongous improvement over last year,” Gillis said. “This year we were 10-4 in the conference. Last year we were 2-10. We went from last to second. Overall, we beat some teams in the area that are really good teams. … I couldn’t be happier with the kids that came out.”
Oconto Falls will face Kaukauna at noon Saturday.
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