Slugger Lowell Chevalier had three doubles as Menominee American Legion hitters rocked Shawano pitchers for 18 hits in a 12-3 win Thursday in Keshena.
“There’s not much positive to say about today,” Shawano coach Will Gillis said. “We really didn’t come to play.”
The loss ended Shawano’s recent momentum from winning a key game against Fox River Valley-West foe Kaukauna on Monday and a 9-3 win over Bonduel Friday.
“They’ve been playing some good ball, I’ve been keeping up with them,” Menominee coach Brandon Frechette said. “When they come up here with that momentum, the boys have to be aware of it and come to play, and they did.”
“We made adjustments,” Frechette said. “That’s what I was most happy with, the adjustments they made at the plate.”
Trouble appeared for Shawano (7-5, 5-3 FRV-West) right away, when Menominee pitcher Richard Corn struck out three of the first four batters in the first inning.
Menominee (7-4) drew two walks from Shawano pitcher Shane Latender in the bottom of the frame, and then Chevalier, who would finished 3 for 4 with three RBIs, brought both home with a bouncing ball up the third baseline past third baseman Jon Koth.
Menominee extended its lead to 5-0 with an RBI single from Scott Cerveny and a two-RBI double from Brady Hoffman in the third.
In the top of the fourth, Shawano managed a run when Latender walked, advanced to third on a Jaryd Wilber single and scored on Koth’s single.
Latender gave way to Brendan Cummings on the mound in the bottom of the fourth, but Menominee’s bats continued to be hot. A Tom Williams single and Chevalier’s second double of the day set up Cerveny, who got both home on a single, to make the game 7-1.
In the fifth, Williams added a run on a sacrifice fly. That was followed by Chevalier’s third double, which brought in a run, and Walker Miller hit an RBI single.
Shawano managed three hits in the sixth, including a two-RBI double by Tasa Grignon, but Menominee shut down the rally when Ky Schmidt, who led Shawano with three hits, flew out to right field and Menominee caught Zack Sousek trying to tag up at first for the third out.
Sousek was also caught at third in the third inning when Corn nabbed a pop-up by Alex Frechette and quickly fed the ball to Williams on third base.
“Sometimes it’s about building a chemistry,” Frechette said of his defense. “That’s what they’re learning to do. If you don’t learn to play together, talent doesn’t do you a whole lot. … Being able to communicate on those double plays, that’s what we’re looking for.”
The game ended in the bottom of the sixth when Williams drove in a run off Schmidt, who came in for Cummings, and Menominee scored again on a Shawano fielding error on the same play. The teams had conflicting scores in their books, but both agreed to end the game.
Shawano’s trio of pitchers combined to allow 18 hits and four walks. They struck out four.
Corn allowed three runs on nine hits, struck out five and walked three.
“I can’t say enough about Richard Corn,” Frechette said. “Without him on the mound, it’s probably a lot closer game. He had them off balance. He just never slowed down since high school.”
Categories
