Huron baseball team ousted at quarterfinals
It is not always who hits the ball the hardest that wins the game. The Hurons (31-4) hit the ball on the nose all game long, but came out on the short end of an 8-3 score in the Division IV quarterfinals June 13 against Holton. ?Sometimes baseball can be a very cruel sport and it was for us today,? said Huron coach Howard Madsen. A disastrous first two innings, sparked by a series of weakly hit, but well-placed balls, ended the Hurons’ 28-game winning streak and their shot at a state title.
Huron starter Cody Wenzel faced 17 batters in the first two innings and seven of them scored. After that, the senior dominated the Red Devils, setting down 12 in a row at one point before Holton (30-9) scored again in the seventh. After the Hurons went down 1-2-3 in the top half of the first, Holton used some good fortune and created opportunities for themselves.
In the bottom half of the first inning, Wenzel hit the leadoff man with a pitch, then struck out the next man up. A walk put batters on first and second. Wenzel struck out cleanup hitter Ben Haubauer and was one out away from getting out of a jam. With the infield deep, in position to get a force at second base on a groundout, Wenzel got the next hitter to ground weakly to short. Chris Santini charged quickly and got rid of the ball in a hurry, but his throw to first baseman Jake Bellmore came a bit too late, according to the first base umpire. That loaded the bases for catcher Rob Bush, who drilled a pitch over the head of Huron left fielder Bret Karsten for a bases-clearing double. Wenzel struck out the next batter, but the damage had been done.
Things got worse for the Hurons in the second inning. Wenzel struck out the first batter and then walked the next batter. A single and an error put men on second and third. Both scored on a double to left to make it 5-0. A pair of singles, one through a drawn in infield, drove in two more runs. Wenzel got out of the jam on a bases-loaded groundout to Santini. Even though the Hurons trailed 7-0 after two innings, there was no thought of giving up hope. ?We never did feel we were out of it,? Madsen said. His team proved that by answering in its next at bat. Rogers City came back with two runs in the top of the third. With two outs, Fairbanks and Justin Wilbert walked. Wenzel beat out a ball hit to the hole at shortstop to load the bases for Bellmore. The senior first baseman drilled a double to score Fairbanks and Wilbert with the Hurons? firs
Fairbanks scored the last Huron run in the fifth inning, coming around on a triple by Wilbert. With a runner on third and none out, the Hurons were poised to score some more. Wenzel popped out and then Bellmore?s popup was dropped by the Holton short stop. A dribbler to short, off the bat of Santini, trapped Wilbert in a rundown between third and home and then catcher Greg Peacock struck out to end the threat. The Hurons had six hits with Fairbanks, Wilbert, Wenzel, Bellmore, Santini, and Karsten each getting one. Wenzel went all six innings, striking out five, walking three and allowing eight hits.
Madsen credited the play of the Red Devils, citing their defense and hitting as making the difference in the game. ?Nobody hit Wenzel all year as hard as they did,? Madsen said. Wenzel, a four-year varsity player, will be one of the seniors missed by Madsen next season. ?This was a really great group of seniors. They set a great example for the rest to follow. It is sad to see them go. They are a special group of players,? Madsen said.