Ashton rallies past Middleton

ASHTON – There are plenty of reasons to attend a Home Talent League baseball game in Ashton. The cornfield behind the left field fence provides a ‘Field of Dreams’ like atmosphere. There are plenty of brats hot off the grill and cold beverages available along with a 50-50 raffle that is second to none in the HTL. But nothing beats the main event, watching the home team A’s playing a solid brand of baseball that keeps the fans coming back. First baseman Luke Ballweg did just that Sunday afternoon, lining a two-run single that helped second-seeded Ashton rally from a late two-run deficit and edge third-seeded Middleton, 5-4, in the second round of the Northern Section playoffs. The victory sent the A’s (11-3) into the Northern Section championship at Sauk Prairie (13-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. The top-seeded Twins rallied for an 11-8 victory over fifth-seeded Reedsburg. “This team has done a good job of even when we go down early, we’ve been able to come back,” said Ashton center fielder Liam Belleveau, who had two hits, including a double and home run to help pace a nine-hit attack. “We’ve been really good at just staying in the ball game and giving ourselves opportunities.” Luke Ballweg, who led Ashton (11-3) with three hits, agreed. “It was a great game,” he said. “I’m proud we battled all the way.”  Middleton (10-4) left-hander Brady Schmitt kept Ashton at bay throughout the first six innings, limiting the A’s to just three hits and a walk. But after the 29ers used two walks and two hit batsmen to scratch out a run in the top of the seventh inning and take a 3-1 lead, Ashton roared back with four runs in its half of the frame to help end Middleton’s season. “One through nine, that’s a great lineup,” said Middleton manager Jacob Ross, who was also the 29ers catcher. “(Schmitt) did a good job throwing strikes, not throwing strikes, getting them to swing over some stuff.   “That’s a team that doesn’t strike out much. You’ve got to try to force weak contact, which Brady did through the first six innings really well.” Belleveau gave the A’s a boost when he led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a home run to right field on an 0-1 pitch to pull Ashton within 3-2. “It felt really, nice. I was tired of flopping little, lazy fly balls, so I was thinking about hitting something hard. I got a good one to do it on,” Belleveau said. “It was a change-up. I was sitting on a fastball. But it looked like a decent location for me which is usually middle up, and a little in. It all fell in line.” Ashton manager Logan Ziegler said that’s just what the A’s needed to unleash a potent offense that was averaging nearly eight runs per game this season. “That home run was absolutely, huge,” Ziegler said. “They had just stolen a run off us and we were feeling a little low. But we got that energy right back, and then we had a two-out rally.” Although Schmitt retired the next two hitters on infield ground balls, the A’s were just getting started. No. 9 hitter Brooks Kalscheur fouled off several pitches before lining a single to right field, and lead-off hitter Keegan Fleischman followed with a single to right field to move Kalscheur to third base. That ended the day for Schmitt, who allowed six hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. “He’s always tough. He always hits his spots,” Ziegler said of Schmitt, who threw 92 pitches. “I value hitting your spots over velocity or movement, and he does a great job of that. We had some pretty bad at bats, I felt. But we were able to learn from them and turn it around.” Right-hander Drew Farrell, who started the game in right field, then relieved Schmitt,  “We were hoping to get through the seventh and give Drew a clean inning, but facing that lineup for the fourth time is a tall task,” Ross said. Ashton Right fielder Shane Adler ripped an 0-1 pitch from Farrell to right-center field to score Kalscheur and tie the game at 3-3. Luke Ballweg followed with a single to right field to score Fleischman and Adler for a 5-3 lead. “It felt good,” Ballweg said of his third hit of the day. “I was just trying to look for something that was up in the zone and then be ready to swing. It showed up, and I hit it, and I got lucky. “It was a fastball up the middle. I’m sure (Farrell) wasn’t trying to throw it there, but it showed up, and I was just ready to go. Shane (Adler) had a real good at bat before me to put me in that situation. So, that was just good baseball by the team.” Ziegler said Ballweg was in the right place at the right time. “He’s always big for us in that spot, and I’m glad we can give him those opportunities,” Ziegler said. “He was 0-for last week, and I told him he owed me a few hits this week, and boy, did he pull through. He had a huge game for us.” Right-hander Carson Possehl, the third of three Ashton pitchers, retired six of the final eight batters he faced to pick up the win for the As. Possehl, who started 12 games for Clarke University in Dubuque last spring, allowed a run without a base hit in the seventh inning.  After relieving right-hander Ben Collier to open the inning, Possehl hit shortstop Hayden Hellenbrand with a pitch and walked third baseman Connor Manthey. First baseman Easton Zempel then grounded into a force play, and Hellenbrand scampered home from second base to push the 29ers’ lead to 3-1. “Hayden’s an incredible player,” Ross said. “He does everything super, duper well. His instincts are just off the charts. He saw that the catcher was backing up first base, and home plate was open. It was a nice play by Hayden and a big play to get us an insurance run.” Ziegler agreed. “That was a heads up play by them,” he said. “I think we’ll learn from that. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again in the future, but this team’s got a lot of fight in them.” After the A’s flipped the score with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Possehl retired Middleton in order in the top of the eighth inning. “He just bounces back like that,” Ziegler said of Possehl. “He doesn’t have too many bad innings. He would probably say that was one of his worst innings of the season, but we have a lot of trust in him. He told me he was fine, and obviously he showed it.” Middleton, though, wasn’t finished yet. Possehl retired Hellenbrand on a fly ball to right field to open the ninth inning, but Manthey ripped a double to left center field. Zempel then singled and designated hitter Andrew Zimmerman hit a sacrifice fly to right field to pull the 29ers within 5-4. Then with the 29ers down to their final out, Possehl struck out Farrell to end the game. “That’s baseball,” said Possehl, who allowed two runs on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts in three innings of work. “Sometimes you’re not going to have your best stuff all the time. I was able to escape, and our offense was good enough to get the job done.” Possehl said Ashton’s offense provided all the inspiration he needed to close the door on Middleton’s season.  “As soon as we got the lead, I knew it was game over,” he said. “I knew we had it. All year long, as soon as I get a lead there’s no looking back.” Veteran right-hander Derrick Rothwell started his third consecutive game for Ashton and scattered five hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. “It’s awesome, he’s one of our leaders,” Ziegler said of Rothwell. “Everyone loves seeing him out there. It gets the guys going.” Rothwell retired the first batter in the top of the fourth inning before giving up consecutive singles to Andrew Zimmerman, Farrell and Schmitt. But Adler fielded Schmitt’s single to right field and threw Zimmerman out at home plate to keep the game scoreless. “That was the play of the game,” Luke Ballweg said. “I don’t think the runner got off to a great start, but Shane came up shooting. He can still throw it at 32, 33, however old he is. It was awesome.” Left fielder Dylan Klock followed with an RBI single to right to score Farrell for a 1-0 Middleton lead. Ashton tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Adler drew a leadoff walk, moved to third on Luke Ballweg’s double to left-center field and scored on second baseman Dylan Carrington’s sacrifice fly to left field. Middleton regained the lead in the top of the fifth inning when Ross led off with a single to right field and eventually scored on Andrew Zimmerman’s sacrifice fly to left field. But Ashton’s trio of hurlers were able to keep Middleton’s offense relatively in check. “We always refer to them as a three-headed monster,” Luke Ballweg said. “You’ve got Rothwell to open and from there we can go either Ben Collier or Carson Possehl. They’re awesome.  “They all have got great stuff, and they compete well for us. They’ve got good velo, and they’re the guys we want on the mound every Sunday.” Belleveau said Ashton’s pitching depth has been a key to its success this season.  “We’ve struggled on offense at times, but they’ve kept us in every ballgame,” he said. “It’s awesome that we have that depth and that consistency. I’m lucky I don’t have to hit against them.” Ross said the loss stings, in part because all four of the 29ers’ defeats this season were by one run. “We were close to having a real special year,” Ross said. “It was a special year. It stings for sure.” Farrell agreed that it was a great game that could have gone either way. “There are no easy holes in that lineup, and they battled a little harder than us,” he said. “It was a great game. They executed, but we had our shots. It was going to be that type of game. We all knew that.”  • On deck:  Sauk Prairie will host Ashton for the Northern Section championship on Sunday at 1 p.m. It will be rematch of a Sunday League game that was rescheduled for July 13 where Sauk Prairie pulled out a 16-10 victory in a wild affair that included 32 base hits, eight hit batsman and an army of potential runs left on base. “Both teams were missing some big names,” said Ziegler, who started in center field in the previous matchup. “We wanted another shot at them. We have some payback we’d like to deliver. We hope we can do it.” Possehl said the A’s have been eagerly awaiting a rematch with Sauk Prairie. “We have a little chip on our shoulders from that game,” he said. “It’s going to be awesome playing to get to go to the Final Four.”   Aug. 4 Ashton 5, Middleton 4 Midd .....… 000 110 101 – 4 9 0 Ashton ...... 000 100 40x – 5 9 0 Pitchers (ip-h-er-so-bb) – Mid: Brady Schmitt (6.2-6-4-4-2-2), Drew Farrell (L: 1.1-3-1-1-1-0). A: Derrick Rothwell (3.2-5-1-1-2-1), Ben Collier (2.1-2-1-1-0-1), Carson Possehl (W: 3-2-2-2-2-2). Leading hitters – Mid: Drew Farrell 2x4; Easton Zempel 2x5; Connor Manthey (2B). A: Luke Ballweg 3x4 (2B), Liam Belleveau 2x4 (2B), (HR); Keegan Fleischman 2x4; Shane Adler (2B).