Twins rally past Businessmen

There is no deficit that the Sauk Prairie Twins believe they can’t overcome. Case in point, the Twins allowed four runs before coming to bat against visiting Cross Plains on Sunday afternoon. But Sauk Prairie used a six-run outburst in the second inning to storm back and hold off the Businessmen, 11-7, in a Northern Section Home Talent Sunday League amateur baseball game at Chuck Hall Memorial Field. “We’ve got one of the best lineups in the whole region,” said Sauk Prairie leadoff hitter Quinn Baier, who reached base in four of his five plate appearances against the Businessmen. “So, I wasn’t too worried. We scored that six-spot in the second inning and just took off from there.” Sauk Prairie finished with 10 hits, with nine batters each recording at least one base hit. That allowed the Twins to rally from their early 4-0 deficit and improve to 4-0 on the year. Player/manager Lucas Koenig said with strong, swirling winds making judging fly balls an adventure, he expected a high-scoring game. “You don’t like to give a team that kind of momentum to start the game,” Koenig said. “But also, it was a nice day to play ball. I also felt like we were going to score a lot of runs. We’re going to score a lot of runs most games.  “As long as we can maintain the calm and put together good at bats, our offense is going to be pretty tough top to bottom and into the bench. We have a lot of good ballplayers, a lot of guys hungry to do well and be competitive and put up some runs.” Sauk Prairie right-handed pitcher Connor Leister struggled during his 3 1/3 inning start, hitting leadoff batter Garrett Pertzborn and allowing a one-out single before he served up a curve ball that Cross Plains right fielder Bryce Duhr blasted over the right-field fence for a quick 3-0 lead. “I was expecting a curve ball down the middle, and he hung it and I hit it well,” Duhr said of his first home run of the season. “It got up in the wind and got out of here.” Center fielder Josh Stumpf then reached base, on an infield single, before Leister retired Cross Plains starting pitcher Drew Meinholz on a popup. But Leister hit catcher Mike Hensel with a pitch, and third baseman Giancarlo Zwettler followed with an RBI single to right field for a 4-0 lead. Cross Plains manager Randy Meinholz said it was only a matter of time before Duhr would register his first long ball of the year. “Bryce has really been playing well this year,” Meinholz said. “He is just hitting the ball right on the money. He’s been hitting doubles, but it was good to see him get one out of here.” Baier, though, drew the first of three walks in the Twins’ opening at bat off Drew Meinholz and eventually scored on an infield error to get Sauk Prairie on the scoreboard without a base hit. Sam Koenig said Baier has been making a huge impact on the Twins’ offense and defense. “He is a much more seasoned player. He looks like he’s more composed under pressure,” Sam Koenig said. “His at bats are really, consistent. He works deep into counts and always puts the ball in play, which is huge in this league. Even defensively, I’ve seen him make a big jump.” Sam Koenig, who started at third base before relieving Leister on the mound in the fourth inning, said scratching out a run in the bottom of the first inning was a sign that the Twins were poised for a great day at the plate. “Obviously, it was unfortunate to get down right away,” Sam Koenig said. “But we know we have a long day and with the wind, we knew it was going to be a higher scoring game. We just had to be patient, ride the wave and make the most of our opportunities.” Leister gave up a one-out single but got out of the second inning without any damage, setting the stage for Sauk Prairie to come roaring back on offense. Shortstop Alex Maier drew a leadoff walk, Lucas Koenig was hit by a pitch, and Spencer Alisch reached on a bunt single to load the bases to open the bottom of the second inning. Baier followed with a single to shortstop to score Maier to pull the Twins within 4-2. “I’m seeing the ball pretty good,” Baier said. “I just try to stay with my approach, put the ball in play and good things happen.” After catcher Adam Juran lined out to shortstop Tait Monriquez, first baseman Mike Jordahl drew a walk to score Lucas Koenig. Sam Koenig then ripped a double into the left field corner to score Alisch and Baier and give Sauk Prairie a 5-4 lead. Randy Meinholz said the Twins’ quick strike offense wasn’t a surprise. “They are tough outs and always have been and probably always will be,” he said. “Sauk is Sauk. They’re just a tough team to beat.” The Twins, though, weren’t finished as they eventually sent 10 batters to the plate in the second inning.  Cross Plains right-hander Logan Schultz relieved Drew Meinholz and induced center fielder Elliot Dederich to hit a ground ball to Manriquez at shortstop. But Jordahl beat Manriquez’s throw to home plate to increase the Twins’ lead to 6-4. Ty Brisky followed with an RBI single to center field to score Sam Koenig, and Sauk Prairie never looked back. “When you can put one up after a big inning, it settles you back in,” Juran said of the Twins’ first inning run. “Now it’s going to be a baseball game. We weren’t really worried. The six was huge the next inning. They had all the momentum, and that shut them down.”  Duhr’s RBI single to center field in the top of the fourth inning scored Pertzborn, who had walked and moved to second on a walk to Will Doherty and to third base on an infield out. But Doherty was cut down at home plate trying to score on Duhr’s hit to end the rally. Baier, who was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and four RBIs, used his speed to help Sauk Prairie extend its lead to 8-5 in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Baier drew a one-out walk, he scored from first base one out later, on Jordahl’s wind-aided fly ball that dropped in right field for a single. “The wind was a factor today,” Sam Koenig said. “There were a couple of plays where the ball was in the air longer or went a little farther than expected. It was something you had to deal with, both sides.” Lucas Koenig said Baier’s speed and aggressiveness is a plus at the top of the Twins’ batting order. “He’s been playing really hard,” Lucas Koenig said of Baier, who played collegiately at Briggs & Stratton Junior College the past two years and is planning to walk-on at UW-La Crosse this fall. “I’ve been impressed with how his intensity has been. He runs everything out. “He was stealing second on Jordahl’s pop fly single, but he was going hard all the way around to score. That young athleticism is a good add.” After Cross Plains scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh inning, Sauk Prairie put the game away with three runs in its half of the frame. Baier, who was making his first start as the Twins’ leadoff batter in Sunday League play, ripped a bases-loaded double to right field to score Alex Maier, pinch runner Benjamin Lenerz and Alisch to push the Twins’ lead to 11-6. “(Adam) Juran led off for his college team. (Alex) Maier has been a good leadoff hitter for a long time,” Lucas Koenig said when asked about the debut of Baier at the top of the batting order. “We have a lot of guys, and we’ll see where the lineup ends up in the end. We have a pretty stacked lineup of hitters, who are doing a good job for us.” Doherty’s RBI double in the top of the eighth inning for Cross Plains capped the scoring. Sam Koenig picked up the victory for Sauk Prairie, pitching a solid 5 2/3 innings. He allowed one earned run on three hits with a walk and five strikeouts. “That’s Sam for you,” Juran said. “That’s kind of what he does. He throws all his pitches for strikes. He gets a lot of outs. That’s what I expect out of him every time.” Lucas Koenig agreed. “Today was the furthest we’ve stretched him out,” he said. “It was nice seeing him snapping a few more breaking balls and getting some strikeouts. I thought that was a good step.” Sam Koenig said the swirling winds made it a challenge for the pitchers as well as the position players. “It was really a grinder all day,” he said. “My fastball was okay from time to time. With the wind and the direction it was going, it was leaving my fastball a little flatter than normal. “I didn’t have much more in me, but I got us to the end. I struggled a little bit, working from behind on several counts. But our defense was there enough to make the routine plays.” • Night League: Spencer Alisch and Ty Brisky each had two hits to lead host Sauk Prairie to a 5-3 victory over the Arena Aces in a Night League game last Thursday. Right-hander Adam Ballweg earned the win for Sauk Prairie, pitching two innings in relief and allowing two hits and an unearned run with one strikeout and a walk. Baier started on the mound for the Twins and allowed one base hit and two unearned runs in three innings with three strikeouts and one walk. • On deck: Sauk Prairie hosts Cazenovia in Night League action on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Twins host Reedsburg in a Sunday League game at 1 p.m.    June 9 Sauk Prairie 11, Cross Plains 7 XP…......... 400 100 110 – 7  9 1 Sauk ….. 160 001 30x – 11 10 2 Pitchers (ip-h-er-so-bb) – CP: Drew Meinholz (L: 1.1-3-7-7-1-5), Logan Schultz (5-5-3-3-2-8). Romine (1.2-2-1-1-0-0). SP: Connor Leister (3.1-6-5-5-3-2), Sam Koenig (W: 5.2-3-2-1-5-1). Leading hitters – CP: Bryce Duhr 2x3 (HR); Will Doherty 3x4 (2B); Drew Meinholz (2B). SP: Quinn Baier 2x3 (2B); Sam Koenig (2B).