MARINETTE — One day after heavy rain forced the second cancellation of this year’s M&M Game between the Marinette and Menominee baseball teams, the Marines hosted Crivitz in a final tuneup for postseason play on Wednesday.
With hits hard to come by for both teams, pitching, defense and some astute base running by the Marines helped Marinette shut down the Wolverines 3-0 and close out the regular season on a high note.
The Marines concluded the regular season with an overall record of 9-13, a seven-game improvement over last year.
Crivitz fell to 15-7 overall with Wednesday’s setback. The loss also snaps an eight-game winning streak for the Wolverines.
Marinette was held to just four hits by the Wolverines and instead had to rely on the legs of Sam Sommerfeldt and Weston Hanson to score runs.
Sommerfeldt gave Marinette a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after reaching base on a fielder’s choice before coming around to score on a wild pitch from Stephen Allard.
Hanson followed Sommerfeldt’s lead in the bottom of the fourth by smoking a one-out single into right field before crossing home plate on another wild pitch, this one by Colten Tarmann, to put Marinette on top 3-0.
Sandwiched between those two runs was the most impactful of all four Marine hits, as Wyatt Stauss mashed a solo home run over the fence in left field to make it a 2-0 game.
Three of Marinette’s four hits came in the fourth inning, with Levi Hanson laying down a bunt-single in addition to Stauss and Hanson’s knocks.
Crivitz mustered a mere two hits against Chase MacGregor.
Tyler Wene got the Wolverines off the schneid with a two-out single in the top of the third before moving into scoring position after MacGregor issued a walk to Tarmann, but JJ Brand flew out to left field to get the Marines out of the inning unscathed.
Kaden Klaver collected the Wolverines’ second hit to lead off the fifth inning after poking a ground ball-single up the third base line, but MacGregor quickly regrouped and struck out Jaxon Kroll, Kory Calvert and Tyler Wene, in order, to end the frame.
Crivitz stranded five runners on base and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
MacGregor was the winning pitcher after tossing five innings of two-hit ball. He walked two and racked up eight strikeouts.
Weston Hanson covered the final two innings and nailed down the save, issuing two free passes while collecting a pair of strikeouts in the process. He was also Marinette’s leading hitter, going 2-3 at the dish.
Allard took the loss on the mound despite not giving up a hit or a walk in three innings. He allowed one earned run and tallied three punchouts.
Tarmann went 0-1 at the dish but earned two walks and added a stolen base.
Due up
Menominee: The Marines traveled to Fox Valley Lutheran for the opening round of the Division 2 Regional playoffs on Thursday, with results unavailable at press time.
Crivitz: The Wolverines were at Oconto to begin the Division 3 playoffs on Thursday, with results unavailable at press time.
Marinette 3 — Crivitz 0
Marinette 100 200 x — 3
Crivitz 000 000 0 — 0
WP: MacGregor 5IP, H, 2BB, 8K
LP: Brand 3IP, R, ER, 3K
Leading hitters (Marinette): W. Hanson 2x3, R; Stauss 1x3, R, RBI, HR; L. Hanson 1x3; Sommerfeldt 0x3, R, SB
Leading hitters (Crivitz): Tarmann 0x1, 2BB, SB; Wene 1x2; Klaver 1x2; Hank Watson 0x0, BB
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