Wildcats falter late in two losses
The Blair-Taylor baseball team was close to picking up two Dairyland Conference wins last week, but struggles late in both games left the squad with two losses.
The Wildcats were tied with Alma/Pepin entering the bottom of the seventh last week Tuesday, but a walk-off home run sent B-T home with a loss. The Wildcats were leading Augusta through four innings on Friday, but the Beavers scored four runs in the fifth and sixth innings to win the game.
The losses put B-T at 2-3 on the season before their games at Osseo-Fairchild on Monday and at home against Whitehall on Tuesday of this week. On Thursday, they’re set to host Cochrane-Fountain City before heading to Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran.
This coming Monday, they play at home against Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau before facing Eleva-Strum on Tuesday and Arcadia on Wednesday.
A/P 9 B-T 7
A walk-off two-run home run sent the Wildcats home on the losing end of a back-and-forth game.
B-T tied the game on a wild pitch with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, but they weren’t able to force extra innings.
Grant Hoffer reached on an error to start the bottom of the seventh for the Eagles before Madox Stewart sent line drive over the fence in left field to win the game.
B-T battled throughout the game as the Eagles put up five runs in the first two innings.
The Wildcats scored four in the second as Michael Waldera walked with the bases loaded before consecutive singles by Kole Trapp and Tavian Shramek made the score 4-3.
The Eagles played small ball, scoring two runs on one hit, a walk and a hit batter in the second.
After the Wildcats tied the game in the fourth, A/P’s Ashton Radatz led off the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run. Hoffer added an RBI single to put the Eagles ahead by two.
Shramek singled in another run in the fifth to bring B-T within one.
The Wildcats were down to their last out with nobody on before Jackson Shramek doubled in the top of the seventh. The B-T junior then stole third before tying the game on a wild pitch.
Tavian Shramek and Trapp both had two hits for the Wildcats.
Ryan Flynn took the loss, pitching the bottom of the seventh. Jackson Shramek pitched one inning, allowing four earned runs on one hit and three walks. Tavian Shramek came on in the second inning and struck out six while allowing four hits in five innings.
Augusta 8 B-T 6
After a three-run inning put the Wildcats ahead, they lost the lead by giving up three runs in the top of the fifth.
B-T took the lead in the fourth when Nitek singled to score Tavian Shramek. Jackson Shramek scored on a passed ball to give the Wildcats a 6-4 advantage.
Errors were a problem for the Wildcats in the bottom half of the inning as they committed four straight with one out, allowing there runs to score as the Beavers took the lead. Augusta added another run in the top of the sixth.
The Wildcats loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth. A line drive was caught for the second out of the inning before Flynn was thrown out at home after a single by Tavian Shramek.
The teams went back and forth as Augusta scored two in the top of the first before B-T put up three in the bottom of the second. Augusta scored two more in the third, B-T scored three in the fourth. B-T couldn’t answer Augusta’s three runs in the fifth, however.
Tavian Shramek led the Wildcats at the plate, going four-for-five with an RBI and two runs scored. Jackson Shramek added two runs and Nitek had two RBIs.
Anthony Oldendorf took the loss, pitching three innings with five hits and three walks, while he struck out one. Tavian Shramek pitched three innings, striking out four without a hit or a walk allowed, however, four unearned runs were scored on him.
