Brotherly love helps power Twins

It is a family connection dating back about 15 years, according to Sam Koenig. So, it was business as usual when the Sauk Prairie Twins relied on the Koenig brothers to get the job done on Opening Day of the 2024 Home Talent League amateur baseball season. With right-handed reliever Sam Koenig on the mound and his older brother and manager of the Twins, Lucas Koenig, behind the plate, the Twins held off one of their biggest rivals on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon. Lucas Koenig drove in the eventual winning run with a sacrifice fly, and Sam Koenig retired the visiting Middleton 29ers in order in the top of the ninth inning to seal a 3-2 victory for the Twins in a Northern Section matchup of two of the league’s elite teams. “There’s nothing better than that,” Sauk Prairie starting pitcher Noah Frey said of watching the Koenig brothers seal the deal. “They’ve been playing together for who knows how long together. It’s nice to close out a team like Middleton with the two of them pitching and catching.”  Sam Koenig, the third of three pitchers for Sauk Prairie, hit the first batter he faced on his first pitch of the new season. But Koenig then retired the final six batters, to earn the save. “There’s not many times where I shake him off, we’re usually on the same page,” Sam Koenig said of his brother. “I trust him, and he trusts me. You try to soak up every minute because you never know when it’s going to be your last pitch. It’s a beautiful day for baseball.” Added Lucas Koenig: “It’s always a challenge of when to go to guys when, and (Sam) was feeling good. His velocity was good, and he was able to get in on their hands and make it a tough at bat for those guys.” The right-handed Frey pitched a strong six innings of shutout ball, limiting Middleton to just two hits with five strikeouts and one walk.  “He was working both sides of the plate really, well,” Middleton catcher/co-manager Jacob Ross said of Frey. “It seemed we had a difficult time in the upper half of the strike zone, trying to get on top of the ball. He threw really, well. I was impressed.” After allowing a two-out single to Connor Manthey in the first inning, Frey retired the next seven batters in order, locating his fastball to keep the 29ers off balance.  Frey allowed a leadoff double to Ross in the fourth inning. But Frey retired six of the final seven batters he faced to close out his stellar outing. “That was fun,” said Frey, who threw 87 pitches before giving way to reliever Connor Leister to open the seventh inning. “If I fell behind with a breaking ball or a changeup, the fastball was always there. I tried to get ahead of the hitters and get used to the (strike) zone and use it to my advantage. “Down and away with lefties, and up and away with righties, I was getting a few calls, so I kept going back to that.” Sauk Prairie grabbed the lead for good when Sam Koenig and second baseman Quinn Baier drew back-to-back, two-out walks from Middleton left-hander Brady Schmitt in the bottom of the third inning. Right fielder Elliot Dederich then blasted a 1-1 pitch from Schmitt to deep center field for the first of his two doubles to score Koenig and Baier for a 2-0 lead. “I was just trying to get the bat on the ball and square it up,” said Dederich, who also turned in several sparkling defensive plays including a sliding catch to open the top of the second inning and take away a base hit from Middleton designated hitter Andrew Zimmerman. “(Schmitt) gave me a fastball, and I just put the bat on the ball and hit a gap.”  Sauk Prairie added what proved to be the winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Baier led off with a single to left and moved to second on Dederich’s infield single.  After left fielder Ty Brisky advanced both runners with a perfect bunt, Lucas Koenig lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Baier for a 3-0 lead. “It felt good to get a good swing on it and get that runner in and do the job,” Lucas Koenig said.  That insurance run proved crucial when Middleton rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh inning. Leister struck out first baseman Easton Zempel, walked Zimmerman and then got right fielder/reliever Drew Farrell looking on a called third strike. But pinch hitter Stephen Paulsen laced a sinking liner that eluded a diving Brisky in left field and ended up with a triple, which scored Zimmerman to trim the deficit to 3-1. “That was a good boost for us, for sure,” Ross said of Paulsen’s timely hit. “Steve is a really good hitter, and we’re expecting big things out of him this summer.” Left fielder Dylan Klock followed with an RBI single to center field to score Paulsen and pull the 29ers within 3-2. But that was as close as Middleton would get when Sam Koenig retired six of the seven batters he faced.  “We just couldn’t get that clutch hit,” said Farrell, who pitched the final four innings for Middleton. “But we kept fighting, took some walks and a hit by pitch and got some hits but you need more than four hits to win a game.” Ross said the Twins delivered their ‘A’ game from the start. “It’s disappointing to lose, but they’re a really, good team,” Ross said of Sauk Prairie. “I liked our fight, especially the last three, four innings, fighting back to get into the game. I’m really, proud of our guys.” Sauk Prairie finished with nine hits, including three by Dederich and two by Baier, who also drew a walk and scored two runs. Baier, who spent the last two seasons playing baseball at Bryant & Stratton College, said he is planning to play at UW-La Crosse next season. With Schmitt and Farrell pitching him away, the left-handed hitting Baier went the opposite way for both of his base hits. “I was thinking opposite field and that’s what I did,” Baier said. “I stuck with my approach and got the job done. “That was a big win for the seeding. Lucas (Koenig) talked about how that will be big later in the year. It’s great to get a big win the first game of the season.” Sauk Prairie played a solid game in all three phases. But the Twins especially shined on defense with Baier, who moved to third base when Sam Koenig went in to pitch, snaring a line drive from Farrell for the second out of the ninth inning. First baseman Mike Jordahl then secured Paulsen’s line drive for the third out to end the game. “We played a pretty nice game. No complaints,” Lucas Koenig said. “Defensively, we looked good. Offensively, we had pretty good at bats, our baserunning was fine. We had a solid game. We had good energy on the bench, and the guys came in ready to go. It was good.” When Frey fired his opening pitch for a strike, Lucas Koenig said the right-hander set the tone for the game. “He attacked the zone and was hitting my spots. He was going with what (signals) I was putting down, and it worked out well for us,” Lucas Koenig said. “Working all areas of the plate is really, important, and that’s how you get the most out of your pitchers when you can set guys up. Noah did a good job really hitting all areas of the strike zone, inside, outside, up and down.” Frey threw 55 pitches for strikes and didn’t allow a baserunner past second base. But Frey said having Lucas Koenig behind home plate made a big difference. “He calls a great game, obviously,” Frey said of Lucas Koenig. “You know what you’re going to get out of him. He’s a veteran presence and you’re always confident what you’re going to throw because he’ll frame it or dig it out of the dirt. I’m confident I can just throw it.” • Night League: Wisconsin Dells used a four-run fifth inning to rally for a 6-5 victory over visiting Sauk Prairie in a Night League game last Thursday. Sam Koenig, Elliot Dederick, Noah Carlson and Spencer Alisch each had two hits for the Twins. • On deck: Sauk Prairie plays at Plain in a Night League game on Friday at 7 p.m. The Twins then travel to Ashton to meet the host A’s in a Home Talent Sunday League game at 1 p.m. Sauk Prairie plays in another Sunday League game at Reedsburg on Monday at 1 p.m.   May 19 Sauk Prairie 3, Middleton 2 Middleton . 000 000 200 – 2 4 3 Sauk .....… 002 010 000 – 3 9 0 Pitchers (ip-h-er-so-bb) – M: Brady Schmitt (L: 4-5-2-2-3-2), Drew Farrell (4-4-1-1-0-2). SP: Noah Frey (W: 6-2-0-0-5-1), Connor Leister (1-2-2-2-2-1), Sam Koenig (S: 2-0-0-0-0-0). Leading hitters – M: Jacob Ross (2B), Stephen Paulsen (3B). SP: Elliot Dederich 3x4 (2-2B), Quinn Baier 2x3.