MARINETTE — It was a case of strike early and strike often for the De Pere Legion baseball team in a 15-5, five-inning thumping of Marinette on Wednesday.
De Pere got off to a rip-roaring start with a four-run outburst in the top of the first inning and never looked back, scoring two or more runs in four out of the five innings and forcing Marinette to play catch-up all evening long.
Marinette collected eight hits but also stranded eight runners on base, including an 0-for-3 showing with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first.
Boasting a lineup with seven players fresh off winning the WIAA Division 1 State championship in June, De Pere socked its way to 15 base knocks and saw all nine starters tally at least one hit.
“I think the game was closer than the 10-spot. Obviously, against a team like that, you basically have to play perfect and we had a few mental mistakes,” Marinette coach Brian Lesandrini said. “We left a lot of guys on base and weren’t able to get the clutch hits, but I thought that we hit the ball pretty well tonight and I was happy to see that.”
Landon Raygo, one of those State-champion sluggers, set the tone for things to come with a two-run home run in the top of the first.
After Marinette failed to capitalize on the bases being loaded in its half of the first, De Pere plated another four runs in the top of the second, two of which came off a single by Milo Upton, to seize an 8-0 advantage.
Marinette conjured up some out-out magic in the bottom of the inning after Kolton Goldsmith smoked a single into right field before moving into scoring position thanks to a double off the bat of Chase MacGregor.
Weston Hanson cashed in with a two-RBI double to put Post 39 on the board and cut De Pere’s lead down to six in the process.
Jason Lehman drove in a pair of runs with a double to push De Pere back on top by eight, but Marinette staged another two-out rally in the bottom of the third, with Braeden Huston scoring on a single by Maverick Williamson before a two-run double courtesy of Goldsmith made it a 10-5 affair.
“Clearly, De Pere can hit the ball and the challenge is to stay focused and do what you can to get yourself off the field,” Lesandrini said. “Our pitches caught too much of the plate and De Pere was able to put the barrel on the ball, but I was proud of our effort to battle back and not fold right away.”
Drew Van Oss and Javin Gauthier both drove in a pair of runs as De Pere’s lead swelled to 11 in the top of the fourth.
Van Oss picked up another RBI in De Pere’s half of the fifth to put Marinette into a do-or-die situation in order to stave off the 10-run mercy rule.
Matters appeared to be going in favor of the purple and white after Williamson led off the inning with a walk, followed by a one-out single by Caleb Klimek.
Both runners were able to move into scoring position thanks to a wild pitch, but MacGregor flew out to center field for the second out before Hanson grounded out to first base to end the game.
Landon Corwin and Goldsmith each went 2-3 at the dish for Marinette, while MacGregor and Ethan Doubek went 1-2.
Doubek was also the losing pitcher after allowing five hits, eight runs and four walks in just two innings of work.
Van Oss went 4-5 with four runs scored and three RBIs.
Zac Wotruba struck out five in the winning effort on the mound for De Pere.
Due up
Marinette: Post 39 (5-13 overall) hosts Kaukauna in the final home game of the season on Saturday at 11 a.m.
“Our bats are coming alive at the right time. We just need a good pitching effort to go with it and we certainly will have a chance,” Lesandrini said. “We just need to stay loose, keep swinging and keep battling.”
De Pere 15 — Marinette 5 (five innings)
De Pere 442 41x x — 15
Marinette 023 00x x — 5
WP: Wotruba 7IP, 8H, 5R, 4ER, 3BB, 2HBP, 5K
LP: Doubek 2IP, 5H, 8R, 8ER, 5BB, HBP, HR
Leading hitters (Marinette): Goldsmith 2x3, R, 2B, 2RBI; Corwin 2x3, R; Hanson 1x3, 2B, HBP, 2RBI; Doubek 1x2, BB
Leading hitters (De Pere): Van Oss 4x5, 4R, 2B, 3B, 3RBI; Raygo 1x2, R, BB, HBP, 2RBI, HR; Lehman 1x1, 3R, 2B, SB, 2BB, HBP, 2RBI
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