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The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association held its 39th annual All-Star Classic in Oshkosh last week, with six games featuring some of the state's top senior athletes.

Full recaps and box score information is available below, courtesy of the WBCA.

From the WBCA:

The month of July came in sunny and hot on EJ Schneider Field in Oshkosh as six games were played. 

NORTH 8,  SOUTH 4.

The North All-Stars scored  three times in each of the first two innings off of Sun Prairie’s Zach Brzezinski, which would prove to be enough runs to hold off the South All-Stars.  It all started with two outs in the first with no one on when Hortonville’s Camden Kuhnke doubled. Ashwaubenon’s Boone Kirst drove him in with a hard base hit to left field.  Kaukauna’s Jake Lucas singled up the middle moving Kirst to 2nd base.  Manitowoc’s Bryce Erdmann singled in Lucas and moved to 2nd.  

They got three more in the 2nd inning on hits from Denmark’s Lucas Miller who was also the starting pitcher, featuring a two RBI triple by Kuhnke and an RBI single by Kirst.

The South got on the board when Deerfield’s Cal Fisher hit a bomb to left field with a wooden bat that still hasn’t landed to cut the deficit to five in the third inning.

Kewaunee’s Payton Kohnle and Coleman’s Will Bieber drew lead off walks in the 5th off of Markesan’s Chayce Osterhaus who then hit Hortonville’s Nate Vela to load them up with one out.  Marion’s Jayden Stuhr singled in Kohnle to make it 7-1.  Osterhaus was able to strike out the next hitter to avoid any further damage.

The South had a brief rally off of Max Mueller from Chilton, who had relieved Denmark’s Miller, but it wasn’t enough.  Janesville Craig’s Jake Schaffner singled then advanced on a wild pitch.  Middleton’s Hayden Hellenbrand reached on an error.  Wauzeka-Steuben’s Caydon Lomas grounded out but drove in Schaffner. 

LEADING HITTERS:

•     NORTH
• Camden Kuhnke (Hortonville), 2x2, 2 runs, double, triple, 2 rbi
• Jayden Stuhr (Marion)  2x2, rbi
• Boone Kirst (Ashwaubenon) 2x2, rbi
• Jake Lucas (Kaukauna) 1x2, run
• Bryce Erdmann (Manitowoc) 1x2      
• Will Bieber (Coleman) 1x2
• Nathan Vela (Hortonville)  1x2
•     SOUTH
• Cal Fisher (Deerfield) 1x1, HR, 1 run, 1 rbi
• Jake Schaffner (Janesville Craig) 1x2, 1 run      
• Hayden Hellenbrand (Middleton) 1x2, 1 rbi
• Carson Dupuis (Edgerton) 2x2
• Riley Peterson (Verona) 2x2                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

WEST 2, EAST 1

The nightcap was a highly anticipated pitcher's duel between Franklin's Noah Musolf, who took the hill for the EAST and Saint Croix Fall's Bradyn Olson, the D3 Player of the Year, who toed the rubber for the WEST.  It would not disappoint.

Things did not start out well for Olson and his Westerners but he, along with a stout outfield defense, would hold the East to a single run in the top of the first.  Franklin's Boston Halloran drew a one-out walk which was followed by a blistering double to right field by Jefferson's Tyler Butina.  With Halloran on 3rd, teammate first baseman Dylan Cunningham grounded out hard to third baseman Logan Baumgartner (Medford) allowing the run to score.  Olson struck out the last hitter to end the inning.

The West tied the game at one apiece in the bottom of the third when Eleva-Strum's Hank Munson singled up the middle with one out.  He would score  after a passed ball, a walk, a hit by pitch, and a ground out.

River Fall's Eli Condon pitched three innings of relief and got the win.  He allowed one a single by Jefferson's Tyler Butina.  

Beaver Dam's Daemon Johnson also came on in the fifth inning and pitched a scoreless 5th and 6th inning.  However, a West rally in the 7th would give that team a one run, walk off victory.  Altoona's Evan Gustafson led the inning off with a blistering double into the gap.  Johnson then struck out the next two hitters and got Olson to a full count with two outs when he turned on a fastball and lined it to left.  Gustafson scored easily.

2023 WBCA All-Star Classic: Game 3

                                  1 2 3   4 5 6   7         R  H  E 

SOUTH ALL-STARS      0 0 0   0 1 1   0        2 -   5 - 0
EAST ALL-STARS        5 1 0    0 0 0   x        6 -   9 -  0

Menomonee Falls’ Zach Wolfram toed the rubber for the East and gave up a single to Janesville Craig’s Zach Schaffner, but he was stranded on 1st as Wolfram struck out two hitters in the opening frame. 

Verona's Riley Peterson took to the hill for the South squad and unlike Wolfram, he was greeted with East bats that were up and at ‘em as the first four East batters belted out base hits in the bottom of the 1st inning which led directly to five runs being scored.  Ten batters would eventually bat in the inning with three walks adding to the South’s misery.

Franklin’s Boston Halloran doubled to lead off the 2nd, his second consecutive base hit and scored on a Tyler Butina base hit.  Jefferson’s Butina was having one of top offensive clinics.

The South got their first run in the 5th when Lodi's Keegan Fleischman singled and then later scored on a triple by Baraboo's Hudson Turner.  They scored again in the sixth when Beloit Turner's Connor Hughes led off with a single and then scored on a sac fly off the bat of Wauzeka-Steuben's Caydon Lomas. 

Wolfram got the win while Peterson took the loss.

    EAST leading hitters (ab-r-h-rbi)

• Kelli Grennier 1-0-1 2B
• Tyler Butina (Jefferson) 2-1-2-1
• Boston Halloran (Franklin) 2-2-2-1  2b
• Owen Nowak (Wilmot) 2-1-2-1

SOUTH

• Jake Schaffner (Janesville Craig) 1-0-1
• Connor Hughes (Turner) 1-1-1
• Keegan Fleischman (Lodi) 1-1-1
• Hudson Turner (Baraboo) 2-0-1-1  3B

2023 WBCA All-Star Classic: Game 4

                                      1 2 3   4 5 6   7         R  H  E 
WEST ALL-STARS           4 0 0   0 0 8  0        12-13-0
NORTH ALL-STARS       1 0 0   1 1 0   0         3   7 -1

The West jumped on the North All-Stars and their starter, Jayden Stuhr (Marion) right away with putting four on the board in the first. Altoona’s Evan Gustafson got on with a one-out single.  Nothwestern’s Lucas Sedin later doubled, La Crosse Central’s Mason Elston, and Independence’s Hunter Guenther later singled in runs.  

The North got one back in the first when Appleton North’s Garrett Hietpas got a two out single and later scored on a single by Kewauskum’s Hunter Loser off of West Starter and DIV Player of the Year Cole Selvig from Eau Claire Regis.  The University of Texas recruit would give up one more run in four innings of work to get the win.

A close 4-3 game going into the top of the 6th was blown wide open when the West put up eight runs.  Hortonville’s Camden Kuhnke had silenced West bats for two innings but that didn’t hold as seven hits including a homerun by Gustafson blew it wide open.

LEADING HITTERS

    WEST

• Evan Gustafson (Altoona) 5-2-2-3  HR
• Jake Busson (Hudson) 3-1-1-0
• Chris Calico (West Salem) 1-1-1-1  SB
• Luke Sedin (Northwestern) 2-1-1-1  2B
• Brayden Olson (St. Croix Falls) 1-2-1  2B
• Mason Elston (LaX Central) 2-1-2-2
• Eli Condon (River Falls) 1-1-1-1
• Keegan Yohnk (Bloomer) 2-0-1
• Cal Hargrove (LaX Aquinas) 2-1-2-2
• Hunter Guenther (Independence-Gil) 2-1-1-1

NORTH

• Garrett Hietpas (App. North) 2-1-1-
• Hunter Loser (Kewaskum) 1-0-1
• Boone Kirst (Ashwaubenon) 1-0-1
• Ashton Henning (Shawano) 1-0-1
• Will Bieber (Coleman) 2-0-1
• Brayden Deering (Kimberly) 1-0-1

WEST                                                  IP   R  ER  H  K  BB

Cole Selvig (Regis) W                           4    2    2    3   6    1
Logan Baumgartner (Medford) S          3    1    1     1   3    0

    NORTH
Jayden Stuhr (Marion) L                      3     4    4    6      2    0
Camden Kuhnke (Hortonville)           2.2    6    6    6     1     2
Jake Lucas (Kaukauna)                       1.1  0    0    1    2     1    

2023 WBCA All-Star Classic: Game 5

                                    1 2 3   4 5 6   7         R  H  E 
WEST ALL-STARS        0 0 0   0 0 9   1        10 - 9  -2
SOUTH ALL-STARS     0 1 0   0 3 3   0         7 - 7  - 2

In the final game of the weekend for both teams, the South looked they were going to get their first win and hand the West All-Stars their first loss all at the same time.

Ahead 4-0 going into the 6th looked good for the South until a disastourous top half of the inning gave them their third and final loss of the weekend and left them winless.

Janesville Craig’s Aiden Schenk threw four innings of shut out baseball while he scored the South’s lone run with a double and a scored on a sacrifice fly by Waunakee’s Andy Nordloh, all off of Hudson’s Ben Berkhof who started and threw four pretty good innings himself.  Independence-Gilmanton’s Hunter Guenther gave up six earned runs in 1-2/3rds  on six singles, two walks, and a hit batsman.  Hudson’s Jake Busson would eventually get the victory by retiring all four hitters he faced.

The nine-run sixth inning for the West featured a three-run homer by Wisconsin Rapids Brennan Huebner.

LEADING HITTERS

    WEST

• Evan Gustafson (Altoona) 2-1-1-2
• Benett Klish (Stevens Point) 3-2-1-2
• Brayden Olson (St. Croix Falls) 2-0-1  SB
• Eli Condon (River Falls) 1-0-1
• Logan Baumgartner (Medford) 4-1-1
• Jake Busson (Hudson) 3-1-1-2
• Brennan Huebner (Wis. Rapids) 2-2-2-3 HR

2023 WBCA All-Star Classic: Game 6

                                  1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9          R  H  E 
EAST ALL-STARS       1 0 1   1 2 0   0 1 2         8  - 10 - 1        
NORTH ALL-STARS    1 0 0   2 1 0   1 1 0         6 - 12- 1

The North All-Stars were able to plate a run in the 7th to send the game against the East into extras, and score once in the 8th to tie them again, but they couldn’t catch them in the 9th as the East held on to a 8-6 lead, a victory, and 2nd place in the 39th WBCA All Star Classic with a 2-1 record.  The North finished with a 1-2 record.

Keli Grennier was the first to score in the 9th.  He started the inning on 2nd with no outs as the WBCA has adopted the MLB tie breaker by putting a runner on 2nd to start innings in extra innings.  Tosa East’s Tyler Meyer singled him home and he later scored on a sacrifice fly by Waukesha West’s Ethan Brown.

Milwaukee Saint Thomas More’s Eli Niemiec got the victory by going five innings and giving up three runs, two earned over that period.

LEADING HITTERS

    EAST LEADING HITTERS (ab-r-h-rbi)

• Keli Grennier (Meno. Falls) 3-2-1, 2 sb 
• Boston Halloran (Franklin) 3-0-1
• Tyler Meyer (Tosa East) 2-1-1-1
• Owen Nowak (Wilmot) 4-1-2-2  2 2b, SB
• Kaleb Zabielski (Burlington) 4-1-2  2B
• Parker Wyatt (Marquette Univ.) 2-1-2  sb
• Daelen Johnson (Beaver Dam) 1-0-1-1

NORTH

• Jayden Stuhr (Marion) 2-0-1 sb
• Garett Heitpas (App. North) 3-1-2-1 sb
• Camden Kuhnke (Hortonville) 4-1-3-1
• Boone Kirst (Ashwaunbenon) 4-1-3-1
• Brayden Deering (Kimberly) 1-1-1-
• Bryce Erdmann (Manitowoc) 3-0-1-1

    EAST                                            IP   R    ER  H  K  BB
Luke Agnew (Marquette Univ.)          4    3    3    6   1  1  
Eli Niemiec (St. Thomas More)   W    5    3     2    6    6  3 

    NORTH
Nate Vela (Hortonville)               3     2    2   3      1     2
Brayden Deering (Kimberly)        4     3    2   5     0      1
Landon Lozier (Notre Dame) L    2     3     2   1    0      3

Altoona's Evan Gustafson, a University of Oregon State recruit, was named the Tom Nygaard MVP.  He went 5x12, scored three times, drove in six runs, doubled, homered and showed outstanding defensive skills at catcher and 1st base.