One-run games continue to haunt the Oconto Falls American Legion baseball team.
Oconto Falls (6-7, 3-6 Fox River Valley North Division) posted a 3-3 record last week, with all three losses by one run. All six North Division losses this season have been by a single run.
“We’re a lot better team than what we showed,” coach Chris Hillberg said. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t clean that up and finish strong. We’ve got a good team.”
Oconto Falls has played 13 games in the first 18 days of the summer season.
“I’m sure they’re not used to this many games. They don’t do that at a high school level, this many days in a row,” Hillberg said. “The mental and the physical aspect of that many games in a row is probably wearing on them a little bit.”
Despite having a 3-3 week, a handful of Oconto Falls players stood out.
“Derek Zahn had a nice week for us,” Hillberg said. “Brett Ash hit the ball very well. Bo Shroyer started off stroking the ball nicely earlier in the week. … I thought Hunter Magnin threw very well and he deserved a couple wins and we didn’t get him one.”
Oconto Falls 7, Seymour 3
In a rare appearance by Riley Gruetzmacher, who has primarily traveled with the Wisconsin All-Stars this summer, Oconto Falls defeated visiting Seymour on June 23.
Oconto Falls trailed 3-1 after four innings, but a six-run fifth inning secured the victory. Connor Sefcik and Shroyer each had RBI doubles.
Zahn put the initial run on the board with a second-inning solo home run.
“It was a pretty well-played game,” Hillberg said. “The bats started to come around a little bit.”
Marinette 5, Oconto Falls 4
On June 24, Marinette took a 3-0 first-inning lead. Oconto Falls responded with two runs in the second on RBI singles by Luke Truckey and Colton Giese.
Oconto Falls went up 4-3 in the fourth on a two-out, two-run double by Mike Manns. Marinette came back and scored two runs in the bottom of the inning and held on for a 5-4 victory.
Magnin took the loss on the mound despite pitching well.
“For some reason I can’t seem to win at that park ever,” Hillberg said. “It’s my curse, my nemesis. I’ve never won a baseball game there.”
Oconto Falls 13, Oconto 3
In Thursday’s 13-3 win at Oconto, Oconto Falls received two hits apiece from Geise, Manns, Shroyer, Zahn, Alex Johnson, Sefcik and Magnin.
Zahn hit a three-run double in a six-run second inning and produced a complete game on the mound, allowing two hits on three runs.
Oconto Falls 10, White Lake 0
Taylor Brabant pitched a complete game in Friday’s shutout.
“We were throwing by committee and it was nice to see that we could get six innings out of him,” Hillberg said. “We hit the ball well again.”
West De Pere 7, Oconto Falls 7
Oconto Falls had a rough doubleheader June 28 at the De Pere 17s.
In the first game, Oconto Falls took a 5-2 lead as Ash, Giese and Johnson got RBIs in a four-run second inning. Oconto Falls tacked on two runs in the fifth and was seemingly in complete control.
However, De Pere scored two runs in each of the last three innings as Oconto Falls committed three errors on the final three hitters of the game.
“It was just one of those games where you could see it coming and you just couldn’t stop it,” Hillberg said.
West De Pere 2, Oconto Falls 1
In Game 2, Ash, who went 3-for-3, scored a run in the third to give Oconto Falls the lead. Shroyer was cruising along with a one-hitter through five innings when his team’s defense collapsed again.
Oconto Falls surrendered two runs on three errors in the fifth and went down by one run. In the seventh, Oconto Falls loaded the bases with one out but couldn’t score.
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