It looks like the Eastern Valley Conference baseball race will go down to the wire.
Waupaca, Ripon and Freedom are currently tied for first place with a 10-4 record and the Comets’ two remaining EVC games are against Ripon. Waupaca will host the Tigers at 4:45 p.m. Friday, May 23, while the rematch in Ripon originally scheduled for May 19 was rained out and has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 27.
The Comets picked up a 9-4 conference win May 16 over Little Chute and also swept Berlin May 15 in a doubleheader.
Waupaca 9, Little Chute 4
LITTLE CHUTE – Matt Wagner gave the Mustangs a 4-1 lead in the third inning with a grand slam, but Waupaca came back with a four-run fourth.
The Comets opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning and also added runs in the fifth and sixth and two more in the seventh.
Walker Smith and Johnny Popham each had two of Waupaca’s nine hits, while Zander Neuville got the win on the mound. The Mustangs also committed four errors.
Waupaca 11, Berlin 1
BERLIN – Nate Nelson struck out eight batters over six innings to get the win in the first game.
The Comets scored single runs in the first and second innings and added two more in the third to take a 4-1 lead. Berlin picked up a run in the bottom of the third, but Waupaca added a run in the fourth, three in the sixth and three in the seventh.
Jared Erickson homered and drove in four runs for the Comets, while Owen McCann had three of Waupaca’s 14 hits and Erickson, Dan Turrubiates and Joe Ogden added two hits each.
Waupaca 11, Berlin 1 (5 inn.)
BERLIN – The Indians took an early lead with a run in the top of the first, but Waupaca came back with nine runs in the third and two in the fifth.
McCann got the win on the mound, homered and drove in three runs, while Popham drove in four runs and Alex Grall drove in a pair. Smith, Popham, Grall and McCann each had two of Waupaca’s 13 hits.
Waupaca will wrap up its nonconference schedule at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 22, by hosting Hortonville in a rescheduled game.