Baseball: Late rallies doom Pumas

Had the Poynette baseball team held onto a couple leads, it would have been a better week for the Pumas.

A pair of losses to rival Lodi left the Pumas (4-14 overall, 1-7 in Capitol North Conference play) with a sour taste in their mouths.

In a seesaw affair, Poynette lost 12-9 to the Blue Devils on Tuesday, May 14, giving up six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning after taking an 8-6 lead with six runs of their own in the top of the fifth.

“The boys played well today, but we just weren’t able to hang on to the end,” said Puma head coach Davy Tomlinson. “We stayed alive and rallied in the last inning, but we weren’t quite able to get the tying run on base. We’ve got a bunch of games where we play well for most of it, but unfortunately, we slip and give up a big inning.”

Brett Hackbart led the way for Poynette, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Hunter Webster went 2-for-5, driving in one run, while Chase Maier had a hit in two at-bats and two runs scored, plus an RBI.

Ashton Meister, Justin Wells and Webster pitched, combining for 10 earned runs, six strikeouts, and seven walks, while allowing 12 hits.

On Thursday, at home, Lodi scored nine runs in the first inning en route to a 12-1 loss.

“We just couldn’t get out of the first inning today, and it killed us,” said Tomlinson. “However, we did pitch well the rest of the way and played solid defense.”

Hunter Wells and Maier had the only hits for Poynette, as Wyatt Breuch, Justin Wells and Alex Busch threw for four strikeouts and four walks, while allowing eight hits.

Westfield 6, Poynette 5At Westfield on Friday, the Pumas fell, after leading 5-2 in the seventh inning.

“That was a tough one to take,” said Tomlinson. “We played a very good six innings, but we just weren’t able to close it out. Ashton Meister threw a great game in his six innings of work, allowing no earned runs on one hit.”

Hunter Wells and Maier did their part offensively, with Wells going 2-for-4, finishing with a double and two RBIs. Maier scored a run in a 3-for-4 day at the plate. Webster reached base three times in four at-bats and scored a run.

WIAA State TournamentIn the WIAA State Tournament, Poynette is the No. 8 seed and will play at home against Wisconsin Heights, the No. 9 seed, on Thursday.