Spooner tops Hawks at WBA state tournament

After advancing to the Wisconsin Baseball Association Division A state tournament, the Hayward Hawks lost their quarterfinal game 7-2 to the Spooner Cardinals Saturday Aug. 17 at First National Bank Field in River Falls.

Tom Danczyk started on the mound for Hayward, and Nate Harrison and Jonah Sande saw action in relief. Jeremy Bloomquist pitched the win for the Cardinals.

Austin Wessel slammed a solo home run for the Hawks in the top of the seventh to trim the Spooner lead to 6-1. In the ninth, Tom Danczyk had an infield single, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Kanters to make the final score 7-2 for the Cardinals.

Kanters and Austin Wessel (double, home run) each had two hits for the Hawks and Micah Bacon had a single.

Spooner stymied the Hawks with two double plays in the game.

Spooner’s Sam Holden had a two-run single in the sixth. The Cardinals finished with 11 hits while the Hawks had five hits. Spooner had the game’s only error..

The Hawks finished their season with an 11-8 record.

Spooner advanced to the WBA semifinals, where they lost to eventual state champion River Falls 3-0.

In the Division A state championship game on Sunday, the River Falls Fighting Fish blasted the Tilden Tigers 13-2.

The WBA Division B state finals were held over the weekend at Mike Roiger Stadium in Whittlesey. The Osceola Braves won the championship game over the Elmwood Expos, 11-6.