Red Hawk baseball sees offensive boom, wins two of three

Whoever was keeping the scorebook for the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau baseball team last week probably needed a pencil sharpener and a good hand stretch to keep up with a dynamic offensive showing from the Red Hawks.

Coach Scott Hovell watched his team surpass 10 runs in two of the team’s three games as G-E-T handled Blair-Taylor last Monday as well as Luther last Thursday in a pair of wins surrounding a loss to Onalaska last Tuesday.

The Red Hawks (8-7 overall, 3-3 Coulee Conference) will hope to continue their offensive success this week on the road against Viroqua on Tuesday before a home-and-home against Arcadia on Thursday and Friday that starts at Arcadia High School.

G-E-T 12 B-T 1

The Red Hawks scored 11 runs spread throughout the third and fourth innings and never looked back against the Wildcats last Monday.

Six different players recorded a hit for G-E-T, which was highlighted by senior Owen Eddy’s performance that included a double and a triple. The Red Hawks combined for four extra-base hits as a club.

Blair-Taylor scored its lone run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Wildcats couldn’t muster enough offense to keep the game going. Blair-Taylor collected three hits as a team, led by two from Austin Thompson and another from Travis Pettis.

Oliver Marley got the start for the visiting Red Hawks and allowed a single hit through three innings of work to accompany three strikeouts and a walk. Relief pitchers Ben Hansen and Brenden Brady combined for two strikeouts and two walks while allowing two hits in two innings.

Blair-Taylor (5-7, 5-5 Dairyland Conference) split the pitching duties between four players, with the start going to Jackson Shramek. Shramek threw one strikeout and a handful of walks while allowing four hits, and Ryan Oldendorf relieved him to allow three hits and two earned runs. Ryan Flynn closed the game for the Wildcats and didn’t allow a hit in 12 pitches.

Onalaska 5 G-E-T 1

Tuesday’s game was up for grabs as late as the fourth inning as both teams had only scored a single run and offense was light on a windy day for fly balls.

Consecutive errors and the Hilltoppers finding their way to the base paths turned into four consecutive runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and the 5-1 win.

Onalaska claimed a 1-0 lead in the third inning thanks to Zavier Lawrence reaching home on a sacrifice fly, but G-E-T answered immediately in the top of the fourth inning.

Senior Warren Stoner took advantage of a defensive error by the Hilltoppers to tie the game before Onalaska’s late burst. Onalaska (7-2 this season) combined walks and errors to get on base, and a Carter Gilhausen double brought home two runs to put the hosts ahead for good.

Gilhausen finished with three RBI for Onalaska, which was held to three hits by G-E-T pitchers Collin Handke, Jack Beedle and Warren Stoner.

The G-E-T pitchers combined to throw four strikeouts and six walks. Stoner was the only batter for either team with more than a single hit and had two of the Red Hawks’ three hits.

G-E-T 10 Luther 0

The other high school baseball team in Onalaska saw a much more potent offensive attack from G-E-T last Thursday.

The Red Hawks again held their opponent to few hits, allowing just four to the Knights (2-11, 0-9 Coulee) while collecting eight of their own. A seven-run fifth inning from G-E-T provided enough of a cushion to end the game early.

Both Handke and Eddy had two hits for the Red Hawks, and Handke led G-E-T with a trio of RBI. Chris Wagner brought home a pair of runs as well for a G-E-T team that saw six different players reach the bases on offense.

Thomas Haney provided an efficient effort from the mound and went the distance, pitching all five innings. The senior struck out two Luther batters and walked one while throwing just 65 pitches to earn the win.