After Oconto Falls High School endured a rough start in game one of a baseball doubleheader at West De Pere, the Panthers were able to bounce back and claim game two.
The Panthers (4-9, 3-9 Bay Conference) dropped the first game 3-2 and won the second game 4-2.
“We’ve lost a number of one-run games, and we’ve got to start getting over the hump,” Oconto Falls coach Charlie Rochon said. “Maybe we did here today.”
Junior starter Hunter Magnin helped the Panthers to the game two victory with a complete game, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out seven in the rubber game of the twinbill en route to snapping West De Pere’s four-game winning streak.
“He just started to focus a little bit more,” Rochon said. “He started to get his breaking ball down, he started to get his fastball down.”
Magnin endured a shaky initial inning, allowing both of the Phantoms’ runs, but settled in after that.
The Phantoms’ Jack Paulson doubled to lead off the game and came around to score on a Brendan Meissner sacrifice fly. Matt Bald also scored as Cal Herlache got an RBI groundout.
The Panthers responded the following inning when Magnin reached base on an fielding error, and eventually scored on an attempted stolen based by teammate Riley Gruetzmacher.
A three-run sixth inning helped Oconto Falls pull ahead with runs from Magnin, Gruetzmacher and Michael Manns.
“It was welcome,” said Rochon about the sixth-inning rally. “We started to put the ball in play a little bit and we made some things happen and they made some mistakes. We were finally able to capitalize on somebody else’s mistakes.”
With a 4-2 cushion in the seventh, Magnin did the rest. West De Pere (14-6, 9-4 Bay Conference) had first and second with two outs when Magnin got Meissner to ground out to Manns at shortstop to end the game.
Oconto Falls was unable to pull out a win in the first game despite a solid pitching performance by Gruetzmacher and reliever Bo Shroyer. Both combined to allow one earned run in the 3-2 loss.
“I give Oconto Falls a lot of credit. They came here and outplayed us today,” West De Pere coach Joe Rukamp said. “They very well could have won both games the way we played. We just came out flat and not a lot of energy.”
Gruetzmacher allowed five hits while striking out five in the first five innings. Shroyer held the Phantoms scoreless in the final inning.
However, the Panthers, after falling behind 3-0, were unable to provide the junior starter with run support until the sixth inning when they scored twice and loaded the bases with one out.
Rochon was tempted to call a suicide squeeze with his son, Bryce, at the plate, but with a force play available at home, the coach decided otherwise. Bryce Rochon ended up striking out, and West De Pere got the next out to escape with a one-run victory.
“We made it interesting,” Charlie Rochon said. “Hats off to the guys. They battled back and gave themselves a chance.”
Despite the doubleheader split, the Panthers coach remained optimistic after the team allowed a combined five runs in both games.
“It just shows a lot of character no matter who I put out there, they battle and do the job,” Rochon said. “We might not always look the greatest, but for being a younger group, they’re not doing badly. They’re better than their record indicates.”
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