A balk walk-off is not something that happens every day.
The Waunakee Local 9 were beneficiaries of one on Saturday, when they topped Mazomanie 6-5 in 11 innings. In the bottom of the frame, with Luke Shepski on third base and Misha Capaul on first, Mazomanie’s pitcher was called for a balk, allowing the winning run to score.
“The ending was a bit anticlimactic,” said Local 9 manager Justin Acker. “We had a good chance to score in the inning without the balk, but the umpire saw the pitcher flinch, and this allowed Luke to score. We’re happy to get a win on a day where we didn’t hit the ball like we can.”
After the Mustangs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Local 9 responded with three in its half of the inning, taking advantage of four errors. Ryne Fueger laced a double to right center to plate two runs. Mazomanie got one back in the third and took back the lead with two more in the fifth.
Down 4-3, the Local 9 fought back in the bottom of the fifth, as Jeff Thomasen reached on an error and Wade Farmer smacked a double drive in Thomasen from first base.
The score remained 4-4 until the 10th inning, when Mazomanie went back on top. However, Waunakee tied it on a Thomasen RBI single. Andy Nordloh had singled to move Shea DuCharme to third before Thomasen’s hit.
The Mustangs had a chance to score in the top of the 11th, as they loaded the bases with nobody out. However, Nordloh wriggled out of the jam, allowing no runs. The Local 9 got its turn in the 11th, with Shepski starting off on second base. He stole third, and Capaul walked. On his third pitch, the Mazomanie pitcher balked to send Shepski home.
Ryne Fueger doubled twice for Waunakee, while Farmer and Shepski also had two-baggers. DuCharme, Nordloh and Thomasen also had hits.
Adam Acker started on the mound, going four innings and allowing two hits, five walks and four runs, while striking out two. Ryne Fueger pitched the next 3 innings, giving up two hits and fanning two. Shepski tossed the eighth and ninth innings, giving up 2 hits and striking out 2. Andy Nordloh earned the win, pitching the 10th and 11th innings, surrendering 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 2.
A day later, the Local 9 shut down Wisconsin Dells in a 3-0 victory, as the Rivermen were coming off a walk-off win of their own. It was a pitchers’ duel, with neither team recording a hit until the fifth inning. Dells’ pitcher Payton Steiner did not allow a baserunner until the sixth inning.
That’s when the Local 9 went to work, as Shepski’s two-out single advanced Zach Johnson to third. DuCharme walked to load the bases, before Nordloh singled to right to score Johnson and Shepski. Jarrett Fueger singled to score DuCharme moments later. That was it for the scoring.
The game lasted only an hour and 27 minutes, with Waunakee’s Blake Bieri throwing a complete game. He allowed just two hits and a walk, while striking out four. Incredibly, Bieri’s pitch count only reached 80.
“There was great defense behind me today and Jeff (Thomasen) called a great game as the catcher,” said Blake Bieri.
Now 3-1 on the year and currently tied for second in the Northern Section, Waunakee travels to Middleton on Sunday for a 1 p.m. game.
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