Wildcats fall to Aquinas in last tuneup

The Blair-Taylor baseball team lost to a highly seeded team in a different division in its final game before beginning Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament play.

While most teams were getting ready to begin tournament action on Thursday, both Division 4 B-T and Division 2 La Crosse Aquinas had byes in the opening round. That led to a late addition to the schedule between the two squads last Thursday, but B-T couldn’t get going offensively, finishing without a hit in a 2-0 loss.

The No. 1 Wildcats concluded the regular season with a record of 13-5-1 before opening the tournament on Tuesday at home against No. 8 Cochrane-Fountain City. The winner of that game will play either No. 5 Cashton or No. 4 Royall on Wednesday, with the highest seed hosting.

The sectional semifinals and finals are scheduled for next Tuesday at River Ridge. The winner of B-T’s regional is scheduled to play at 10 a.m., and the sectional final will begin at 4 p.m. 

Aquinas 2 B-T 0

The Wildcats fell behind early and were held hitless.

Both of Aquinas’ runs came with two outs in the first inning as the Blugolds hit a double and a single in consecutive at-bats. 

B-T threatened with two runners on base in the sixth, but a strikeout ended that inning. The Wildcats went down in order in the seventh.

The Wildcats struggled to make contact against Aedan David, striking out eight times. 

Colby Dahl and Ty Tranberg split the pitching duties for B-T. Dahl got the start and the loss, pitching the first three innings, allowing two hits and two walks without a strikeout. Tranberg tossed the last three innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out three.