BABA matchups between the Waupaca Lakemen and Scandinavia Vikings are usually close-fought, nail-biting affairs.
That wasn’t the case May 17, as the Lakemen improved to 2-0 in South-Central Division play and 4-0 on the season with a 19-0 seven-inning win.
With the winds blowing out of Ellison Field, one could have expected a high-scoring game with multiple home runs. As it turned out, there were no home runs and not many long fly balls, but lots of scoring by the Lakemen.
The game could not have gotten off to a worse start for the Vikings, as the first five hitters in the Lakemen order – Jeff Riddle, Wes Austin, Luke Behm, David Yeska and Rocky Mondello – singled. A couple of fielder’s choices and an error, plus a sacrifice fly off the bat of No, 9 hitter Kyle Douglas, led to six runs, as the Lakemen sent 10 men to the plate.
Riddle then did his thing on the mound, as he retired the Vikings in order.
Neither team scored in the second, although each had a hit (Austin and Jesse Dickert for the Vikings).
The Lakemen scored three in the third after two outs. R.J. Rosenthal knocked down Travis Holat’s line drive, but couldn’t make a play. Douglas drew a walk and Riddle drove a triple over the head of the center fielder. Austin drove Riddle in and the Lakemen had a 9-0 lead.
Rosenthal had a single in the third and Chris Yenter singled in the fifth to account for the other hits off of Riddle, who left after five frames. Reliever Joe Nelson walked his first batter, but then got three straight outs in the sixth. He also hit a batter in the seventh, but gave up nothing else.
The Lakemen finished off the rout with five runs in the fifth and seventh innings off of reliever Dave Candra.
Candra did mow down the Lakemen on three strikeouts in the fourth, but wildness proved his undoing in the fifth. The five runs came on two hits, a hit batter and four walks. Yeska hit a two-run double down the left-field line.
Candra got through the sixth, but everything the Lakemen hit in the seventh seemed to find outfield grass. Ethan Dayton and Josh Peterson doubled, while Douglas, Eric Brehmer, Tyler Dayton and Andy Wanty singled.
Riddle and Austin had three of Waupaca’s 18 hits, while Ethan Dayton and Yeska added each. Yeska drove in a team-high three runs, while Riddle, Behm, Wanty and Douglas knocked in two each.
Waupaca will host Manawa at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 24, at Lakemen Field.