Posted: July 21, 2010 |(0) Comments

Homestead baseball

The Highlanders closed their regular season on a rush, winning four games last week to improve their record to 15-15 as they headed into WIAA Tournament play.

They swept a doubleheader from Sheboygan Falls, 5-2, and, 8-3, Friday after belting Greendale, 8-0, July 15 and downing Tosa West, 11-1, in six innings on July 13.

Doug Mueller (five innings, four strikeouts and the win) and Andy Holtorf (two innings and three strikeouts) combined on the shutout win over Greendale.

Max Beckers continued his hot season with two hits including a home run and two RBIs, while Jake Erfourth and Zach Enea had two hits apiece.

The Highlanders took on North Shore rival Whitefish Bay (16-21) in a WIAA regional final on Tuesday (see separate story) and if advancing will likely face top sectional seed Nicolet on Friday in a 10:30 a.m. sectional semifinal at Cedarburg.

Brown Deer baseball

"That's what I like, a one-inning win."

Those were the comments of Brown Deer senior pitcher Joey Mattefs after the Falcons got a two-out RBI single from Danny Korpela in the bottom of the eighth to beat Wauwatosa West, 8-7, in the completion of a suspended game on July 13.

Mattefs pitched a scoreless top of the eighth inning in the suspended game, which had been postponed by storms last month. He made a nice snare off a high one-hopper, whirling and starting a crisp inning-ending 1-6-3 double play with shortstop Chris Smith making the neat pivot at second base.

Mattefs started a two-out rally by pulling a walk. After Mattefs stole second, Korpela reached out and hit a short flare to left that the Trojan outfielder missed by barely two feet. The play at the plate was not close.

The victory also got the sour taste out of the mouth of the Falcons after a discouraging loss to Cudahay moments before the Tosa game.

Brown Deer had picked up a 2-0 lead in the second, after Sean Andryauskas hit a shot at the shortstop. Both Dylan Coleman (single) and Kyle Okray (double) scored easily.

But that would be it for the Falcons, as they left the bases full in both the first and fifth innings against Cudahy starter and winner Joe Jagler (seven strikeouts, two walks and one hit batsman).

The Packers scored in the fourth and then in the fifth to tie the game.

A controversial interference call on a steal and then a subsequent sacrifice fly led to the eventual winning run in the sixth.

Nicolet baseball

The Knights closed the regular season quietly with a split against a pair of Greater Metro nonconference foes.

They downed GMC Tournament runner-up Franklin, 3-1, July 15 and then were beaten by Sussex Hamilton, 7-4, Friday.

Nicolet (25-11) took on Shorewood in a WIAA regional final on Tuesday and if it won would advance to a 10:30 a.m. sectional semifinal at Cedarburg against the winner of Homestead-Whitefish Bay (see separate story).

The sectional final, with a WIAA State Tournament berth on the line, will be at 4:30 p.m., also at Cedarburg.

Joel Sharon (three innings) and Bobby Herrick (four and the win) split the pitching duties in the win over Franklin.

A balk in the second and a wild pitch in the fourth helped the Knights to a 2-0 lead. The Sabers (24-14) scored in the sixth to cut the deficit to 2-1, but then the Knights scored an insurance run.

Shorewood baseball

The Greyhounds were beaten by Grafton, 14-3 Saturday, after absorbing a 32-12 defeat at the hands of South Milwaukee.

With the two defeats, the Greyhounds finished the regular season at 7-26. They took on sectional top seed Nicolet in a WIAA regional final on Tuesday (see separate story) and if advancing will play a 10:30 a.m. Friday sectional semifinal at Cedarburg against the winner of Homestead and Whitefish Bay.

The sectional, also back at Cedarburg, is at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Declan Gruber had two hits and knocked in all three runs for Shorewood against Grafton (18-9), but a six-run Blackhawk third did in the Greyhounds as Gruber and Dylan Knutson gave up 14 hits.

South Milwaukee (21-14) had 24 hits and scored 10 runs in the sixth and 13 in the seventh. That rally spoiled a 10-run Shorewood fourth that had given them an 11-9 lead for the moment.

Joe Kelley had three hits, including two doubles and three RBIs for Shorewood as Adam Kessenich added two hits and three RBIs.

Whitefish Bay baseball

The Blue Dukes closed the regular season on a positive note with a doubleheader sweep of Wauwatosa West on the road Saturday.

Bay took the opener 10-8, in eight innings and then won the nightcap, 8-4.

The Blue Dukes (16-21) hosted Homestead (15-15) in a WIAA regional final on Tuesday (see separate story).