Twins fall just short of a title

VERONA — It was a perfect setting for an amateur baseball championhip game last Sunday at Charles Stampfl Field at Community Park in Verona. With the smell of brats and burgers wafting through the air and a capacity crowd eagerly anticipating a matchup of the Northern and Western Section champions of the Home Talent League, it was the classic winner-take-all scenario to wrap up the postseason round-robin series. For the third year in a row, though, it was business as usual for the host Verona Cavaliers.  The visiting Sauk Prairie Twins had hopes of ending the two-time defending champion Cavaliers’ dominance. As former Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain used to say when he made a game-saving final catch, though, “Not today, not today.” James Rae broke up a tie game with an RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh inning to ignite a three-run rally that lifted Verona to a 5-2 victory over Sauk Prairie.  “Call it what you want, a dynasty or whatever,” said Verona manager Justin Scanlon, who also started at shortstop for the Cavaliers. “We enjoy each other. We like playing baseball with each other. We like winning.”   Verona, which had an amazing 69-game winning streak between Night League and Sunday League play snapped on July 21, finished the year 17-1. The Cavaliers also won the Night League title for the third straight season as well. It was tough ending for Sauk Prairie (16-2), which had its 12-game winning streak in Sunday League play snapped by the Cavaliers. But player/manager Lucas Koenig said it was another fantastic season for the Twins. “I know championships are special. But it’s the relationships, the legacy that we have created here that is really, special, the camaraderie, the sportsmanship, the enthusiasm, that’s what it’s all about,” Lucas Koenig said. “We have 20 guys who are here all the time. From 18-year-olds to 41-year-olds, it’s playing the game you love and supporting each other that is something really, special that we have here.”  Sauk Prairie first baseman Mike Jordahl, who played for the Cavaliers on their 2018 and 2019 back-to-back HTL championship squads, said the Twins left it all out on the field. “All year long, we weren’t going to blow anyone out,” Jordahl said. “It was always going to be tight games, and it was all about preaching defense. Our defense clearly kept us in all those games.” That was especially true against Verona, led by the scintillating play of Twins’ shortstop Alex Mayer. “He was phenomenal,” Sam Koenig said of Mayer, who finished with four assists and a putout, that included a run-saving double play. “He came to play and made some huge plays for us. He honestly kept us in the game. But our hats off to (Verona). They played better than us today.”  The game was tied, 2-2, when Verona strung together three hits and a walk off Sam Koenig in the bottom of the seventh inning to take control. Mayer, who also had two hits, made a tremendous throw from deep in the hole at shortstop, and Jordahl finished it off with a great stretch at first base to retire Mason Fink for the first out of the inning. But Verona leadoff hitter Johannes Haakenson, who finished with two hits, followed with a smash up the middle for a single that Sam Koenig narrowly missed fielding.  “Sam’s excellent at that play, fielding his position. He’s one of the best fielding pitchers I’ve seen,” Lucas Koenig said. “He thought he should have had it.” Sam Koenig, who allowed three earned runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts, agreed. “I’d say nine times out of 10, I snag that comebacker,” Sam Koenig said. “I was cursing that back in the dugout when I got back in there. It something I expect to make.” After Haakenson stole second, Sam Koenig struck out NJ Elias for the second out. But Rae fouled off several pitches before lining a triple to deep center field on a 3-2 pitch to score Haakenson and give Verona a 3-2 lead. Stephen Lund then worked Koenig for a walk before Tristan Largent lined a two-run double to center field. Largent was thrown out at third base to end the inning, but the damage had been done. Sam Koenig, who started at third base and relieved Twins’ starting pitcher Connor Leister in the fifth inning, summed up the challenge the Twins were facing. “Verona’s a good team, a deep team. We knew we had to be on our ‘A’ game defensively and on offense,” Sam Koenig said. “We played well, but that’s baseball.” It was Sauk Prairie’s first appearance in the HTL Final Four championship game since 2019, when the Cavaliers also defeated the Twins. “It’s definitely, frustrating,” Sam Koenig said. “Every time we’ve played Verona, it’s been tight.” Jordahl drew a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth inning, but closer Erik Jaschinski induced Mayer to ground into a double play to end the game and set off a boisterous celebration on the pitcher’s mound. That setting was perfect because it was the Cavaliers’ trio of starting left-hander Regan Klawiter and right-handed relievers Sam Pederson and Jaschinski that stymied the Twins all afternoon. Sauk Prairie stranded 13 runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the first and seventh innings. “It came down to we didn’t get that big hit when we had the runners on,” Lucas Koenig said. “We had some spots to really stick it to them, and they got out of those jams.” However, Sauk Prairie didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Jordahl reached base with one out on an infield error, Sam Koenig drew a walk and Lucas Koenig was hit by a pitch to lead the bases. Mayer then lined an 0-1 pitch to right field to score Jordahl for a 1-0 lead. But Klawiter, who tossed 4 1/3 innings, and allowed one earned run on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks, struck out Ty Brisky and Spencer Alisch to end the threat. “That was massive,” Scanlon said. “Klawiter has been our guy for the last couple of years. He’s thrown a lot of innings. But for whatever it is, he’s struggled to get out of the first inning. “Things go wrong for him. He gets a bleeder or an error, but it was huge to buckle down and get out of that jam.” Scanlon said that set the stage for the pitching rotation that the Cavaliers have counted on in the playoffs. “That fired him up, too, and let him relax and make some decent pitches, which he did,” Scanlon said of Klawiter. “Hats off to him and to Sam (Pederson), who came in and was lights out. He got into a little trouble in the seventh and then it’s a nice luxury to bring in EJ for the last few.” Verona tied the game in the bottom of the third inning on Scanlon’s RBI-single to center field. The Cavaliers then made it 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning after Lund led off with a double and scored on Colby Davis’ one-out single to right field. But Sauk Prairie battled back to tie the game in the top of the fifth inning. Jordahl led off with a double to chase Klawiter. After Sam Koenig reached on an infield single, Lucas Koenig ripped a single to right field to score Jordahl to tie the game at 2-2. Pederson, though, retired Mayer on a popup and got Brisky to ground into an inning-ending double play. Scanlon said his three-headed monster on the mound has made it tough on opponents all season. “We like how they play off each other, a lefty, then you get a sidearm righty and then a firm big righty,” he said. “That makes it tough for these teams.” Verona threatened to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Mayer made a magnificent defensive play. With runners at first and second and no outs, Rae hit a smash up the middle that seemed destined for an RBI single. But Mayer made a diving stop behind second base, got the force play at second and gunned a throw to Jordahl at first for the double play. “When Alex Mayer is just truly playing for the love of the game, he’s so much fun to play with, that enthusiasm and joy that he plays with,” Lucas Koenig said. Sam Koenig then retired Largent on a popup to strand the potential lead run at third base. “Connor came out and really pitched his heart out,” Lucas Koenig said. “He came out fired up. That was awesome to see. He had his good stuff. Sam then came in and got out of that jam.” Scanlon said he had a lot of respect for the Twins. “They’re a class act over there,” Scanlon said. “They made a couple of great defensive plays. That shortstop Mayer, that was one of the best plays I’ve seen, diving up the middle and getting a double play to really take us out of a big inning that could have gone sideways in a hurry.” The Twins loaded the bases in the seventh inning, but Jaschinski — who pitches for Carroll University — took over for Pederson and struck out Alisch to end the threat. Scanlon said the Twins were a worthy opponent. “We like to play competitive baseball, and that was a competitive baseball game from the first pitch to the last pitch,” he said. “Hats off to them, they brought it. And the crowd they brought, they haven’t won (the championship) in a long time, and they were fired up and ready to go.” The Twins were hopeful that they would secure their first HTL title since 1966. But it wasn’t meant to be. Jaschinski retired six of the final seven batters he faced to end the Twins’ season. Leister summed up the Twins’ collective feelings. “We had a great group. Any day of the week, I’d play with these guys,” said Leister, who pitched a strong 4 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and a walk. “I bet if we played these guys 10 times, we’d go back and forth.”    Sunday, Sept. 1 Verona 5, Sauk Prairie 2 Sauk .…..... 100 010 000 – 2 6 0 Verona …... 001 100 30x – 5 9 2 Pitchers (ip-h-er-so-bb) – SP: Connor Leister (4.2-5-2-2-2-1), Sam Koenig (L: 3.1-4-3-3-3-3). V: Reagan Klawiter (4.1-3-2-1-6-2), Sam Pederson (2.1-3-0-0-1-1), Erik Jaschinski (W: 2.1-1-0-0-3-3). Leading hitters – SP: Sam Koenig 2x4; Alex Mayer 2x5; Mike Jordahl (2B). V: Justin Scanlon 2x2, Johannes Haakenson 2x4; Stephen Lund (2B); Tristan Largent (2B); James Rae (3B).