New London’s baseball team refused to quit against the Shawano Hawks and earned a 5-4 Bay Conference win May 6.

The Bulldogs also dropped a 6-3 decision to Luxemburg-Casco.

New London 5, Shawano 4
Joe Schuster’s walkoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning turned out to be the difference in the game.

New London led 2-0 after three innings, but Shawano tied the game with runs in the fifth and sixth frames.

The Bulldogs plated one run in the bottom of the sixth to take a 3-2 lead, but the Hawks scored twice in the top of the seventh inning to regain the lead, 4-3.

The top of the order was up for New London in the bottom of the seventh and Ryan Wolf led off with a walk. Jake Pinch drilled a single and Wolf advanced to third to put runners at the corners with no outs.

Schuster stepped to the plate and drew a wild pitch from Shawano’s Taylor Prey. Wolf broke for home as Prey raced in to cover the plate. Shawano’s catcher flipped the ball back to Prey, who tagged Wolf as he slid into home plate. The umpire initially called Wolf out, but quickly reversed the call after the ball popped out of Prey’s glove as he applied the tag.

Shawano’s coach appealed the call, but the play stood and New London had tied the game.

Pinch moved to second base on the play and Schuster stepped back into the box with the winning run in scoring position. Schuster drove a single to center field and Pinch took off for third base.

New London coach Kyle Lubinski didn’t hesitate to send Pinch home despite a strong arm in center field. Pinch wheeled for home while the center fielder threw a bullet to the plate. The throw beat Pinch by a couple steps, but took a funny hop on the infield grass in front of the plate. Shawano’s catcher couldn’t corral the throw and Pinch slid safely into home to clinch the victory.

Bulldog fans erupted in cheers and players mobbed Pinch at home plate and Schuster at second base.

Tyler Jagiello pitched six innings of six-hit, four-run ball for New London, walking one and striking out six. Schuster pitched one inning of relief, allowing no runs on two hits with two walks.

Jagiello and Wolf had two hits to lead the offense. Wolf scored two runs and Jagiello knocked in two runs.
 
Pinch, Schuster, Tylan Brown, Tommy Thurber, Lane Hanadel and Aaron Yorkson all had hits for the Bulldogs.

Shawano stranded six base runners, while New London left seven on base.

Lux-Casco 6, New London 3
The Bulldogs trailed 5-3 after five innings and the Spartans added an insurance run in the top of the sixth to seal the victory.

Jagiello took the loss, throwing 1 1/3 innings while allowing three hits and five runs with two walks. Yorkson pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Schuster threw two innings, allowing one hit while striking out three.

Schuster had three hits to lead the offense. Michael Kerscher and Brown each had one hit.