Monday, October 7, 2024
Holly Neumann Photo
By Greg Seubert
Two area high school baseball teams kept their season alive by winning a WIAA regional championship.
Iola-Scandinavia handed Marion a 12-10 loss May 31 in a matchup of Division 4 teams, while Hortonville needed only five innings to beat West De Pere 11-1 June 1 in Division 1.
Fifth-seeded Iola-Scandinavia joined No. 2 Pacelli, No. 3 Florence and No. 4 Edgar at the Athens Sectional June 6. Hortonville, a No. 2 seed, headed to Pulaski for a sectional that also included No. 1 Kimberly, No. 5 De Pere and No. 6 Appleton North.
Sectional champions will advance to state, scheduled for Monday to Thursday, June 12-15, at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.
The Thunderbirds picked up a run in the top of the first inning, but Marion answered with two runs in the third.
Iola-Scandinavia’s first seven batters reached base in the fourth, as the T-Birds went on to score five runs.
The T-Birds added another run in the fifth to go up 7-2 before Marion cut the lead to 7-4 with two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Both teams scored three runs in the sixth to make it 10-7.
Three walks loaded the bases for Marion in the bottom of the seventh and the Mustangs tied the game after a wild pitch and two-run single.
The Thunderbirds came up with two runs in the top of the eighth inning before ending the game with a double play.
Holly Neumann Photo
The Polar Bears opened state tournament play with a win and a regional championship.
The Polar Bears scored three runs in the first inning and added two more in the second, third, fourth and fifth.
Turner Kuhnke hit two home runs and drove in a game-high four runs, while Thomas Burns and Camden Kuhnke added three and two hits, respectively.
Burns went the distance and held the Phantoms to four hits while striking out five batters.
