Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

By DENNIS SEMRAU 

Wissports.net 

  

GRAND CHUTE – It wasn t just a baseball game Tuesday night at Fox Cities Stadium. 

  

The WIAA state baseball semifinal game between Bay Port and Waunakee was an adventure to put it mildly. 

  

But Bay Port used an eight-run third inning to advance to Thursday s Division 1 state championship game with a hard-fought 13-5 victory that was played in a driving rain at times and under less than stellar conditions. 

  

"We talked in the dugout when they were rallying a little bit we said ‘Guys, composure, "Bay Port coach Mike Simoens said. "We were going to persevere through this. 

  

"We didn t let the two- or three-run inning become a six-run inning. Because in high school ball, if you give up a five, six or seven run inning, as we did to them, then you re in trouble." 

  

Defending Division 1 state champion Bay Port will meet the winner of Wednesday's other semifinal between Waterford and Madison La Follette on Thursday at approximately 6 p.m., weather permitting, of course. 

  

Waunakee manufactures a run in the second inning when Riley Aiello draws a lead-off walk, steals second and scores with two outs on Max Chamberlin's sharp single to left field. 

  

After Luke Pankow drew the fourth walk of the game for Waunakee, Derek Lyght dropped a single into left field that a diving Marshall Zahn couldn t come up with to score Chamberlin for a 2-0 Waunakee lead. 

  

"Waunakee can really swing the bats," Simoens said. "I wasn t familiar with them but I was impressed with how they hit the ball." 



Bay Port put the first two batters on base in the second inning on errors by left fielder Riley Martinez and an error by third baseman Jacob Soper.  Following an infield out, Sam Messenger hit a booming two-run triple to center field to tie the score at 2-2. 

  

Ben Messenger then gave Bay Port its first lead of the game at 3-2 with a sacrifice fly to left to score Sam Messenger. 

  

Waunakee opened the third inning with a walk to Riley Martinez, the fifth free pass issued by Ben Messenger, a single to center by Derek Straus and an Aiello sacrifice. 

  

Matt Follen followed with a first pitch single to left to score Martinez and tie the game at 3-3 and when Messenger committed a balk, Straus scored for a 4-3 Waunakee lead. 

  

Soper singled Follen to third and Chamberlin singled to center for his second RBI of the game and a 5-3 Waunakee lead. 

  

But Messenger bounced back to strike out Luke Pankow and Derek Lyght to end the inning. 

  

"Once he got over the nerves he was fine," Simoens said of Messenger, who allowed nine hits and six walks but also struck out nine and made several fine defensive plays. 

  

"Last week at sectionals he was superb. I think the nerves got to him a little bit this week. Once he settled down, he put zeroes on the board from the third inning on. He was stronger the further along he got." 

  

Bay Port opened the third with a lead-off double by Zac Peterson and Dom Putula s single to left to put runners at the corners. The Pirates pulled within 5-4 when Aiello threw the ball away trying to pick Peterson off third base. 

 

Dom Utrie reached base on Soper's throwing error to put runners at the corners. Waunakee's fifth error of the game proved costly when A.J. Gaura ripped a double to the gap in left-center field to score Putala and Utrie and give Bay Port a 6-5 lead. 

  

Sam Messenger and Putala added RBI-singles, Zac Peterson hit a run-scoring triple and Ben Messenger reached on a fielder s choice for another run as Bay Port scored eight runs on eight hits and an error in the disastrous third frame for Waunakee. 

 

"That was a backbreaker," Waunakee coach Spencer Lee said. "We obviously made some mistakes on defense but boy did they hit the ball hard, too." 

 

Bay Port added two more runs in the fifth for a 13-5 lead. The Pirates pounded out 13 hits, including three doubles and three triples. 

  

"We re feeling great right now. We re getting hits out of everyone in the (batting) order," said Peterson, who scored three runs and had three hits, including two triples to power the Pirates. "We want to go into the championship with a swagger. 

  

"We want to go in confident but not too cocky." 

  

**** 

  

The WIAA announced that the Waterford-Madison La Follette Division 1 semifinal was moved to UW-Oshkosh's Tiedeman Field on Wednesday at noon. Conditions Tuesday night had deteriorated to the point that it was determined another game could not be played following the Waunakee-Bay Port semifinal. 

 

Bay Port 13, Waunakee 5 

  

Waunakee     0 2 3 0 0 0 0 –  5    9  6

Bay Port        0 3 8 0 2 0 x – 13 13  0 

  

Pitchers (ip-h-er-bb-so) – Aiello (L, 2-4-7-0-1). Cefalu (2/3-4-4-0-0), Lyght (3.1-5-0-0-3). B. Messenger (W, 7-9-5-6-9). 

  

Leading hitters: W-- Chamberlin 2x3, Follen 2x4. B – Peterson 3x4, Gaura 3x4, S. Messenger 2x4, Putala 2x4. 3B: B -- Peterson 2, S. Messenger. 2B: W -- Lyght. B – Peterson, Gaura 2.