Posted: June 24, 2009

Nine was the Greendale Panthers' lucky number.

Two days prior to scoring nine runs in the first inning of a blowout victory over the visiting Wauwatosa West Trojans on June 18, the Panthers mounted a dramatic come-from-behind victory by scoring nine in the top of the seventh of the second game of a doubleheader against the host Cudahy Packers.

The result was an improbable 9-6 victory that came just hours after Greendale made two errors in the bottom of the seventh and gave the Packers a 3-2 victory in the first game.

Andrew Thompson hit a two-run double that tied the score in the nine-run inning and Ryan Gardetto knocked in the eventual winning run with a single later in the frame.

Greendale coach Ted Brzenk said Cudahy pitcher Alex Rejniak, who had coasted through six innings, suddenly got wild and walked six batters in the inning.

"They have to be smarter hitters and can't be helping the pitcher out," Brzenk said. "If he doesn't have real good control, they have to work him a little and make him throw or pitch, and they did that. After that, (the Packers) were sort of deflated."

In the first game, Greendale's Chris Ridgway hit a home run in the top of the fifth inning that snapped a 1-1 tie. But in the seventh, he walked the leadoff hitter and committed a costly throwing error and the Packers scored twice to win.

Greendale's Nick Jensen was 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Mark Liederbach picked four strong innings as the Panthers blew out the Trojans, 15-2, in five innings.

"Hopefully it's a step in the right direction," said Brzenk, whose team also lost, 7-2, at Waukesha West on Saturday and began this week 6-9 overall, 4-3 in the Woodland Conference.

Franklin baseball

With five starting sophomores in the lineup nearly every day and another picking up some innings as a pitcher, the Franklin Sabers are a bit ahead of schedule, according to coach Jim Hughes.

The Sabers began this week 10-6 overall and 4-3 in the Greater Metro Conference.

The Sabers were winners of three straight games and seven of their last eight, including a Saturday sweep of Grafton, 2-1 and 10-2.

Franklin won the first game when Adam Kaniewski, who had walked to lead off the inning, scored on Jay Dirienzo's squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Justin Rosinski pitched six strong innings for the Sabers. He allowed just two walks and seven hits with seven strikeouts.

The Sabers scored eight runs in the second inning on five hits and three walks in the second game. Ian Malmstadt had two hits and three RBIs in the big inning.

Four different players - Dirienzo, Malmstadt, Jacob Mahnke and Ian Schiltz - pitched for Franklin in its 5-4 win at Hamilton on June 18.Lance Baretz went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. But the biggest hit of the game was Ryan Geil's bases-loaded, three-run double in the fifth inning that tied the score at 4-4.

The eventual winning run scored in the sixth on the last of four Hamilton errors.

The Sabers also lost, 3-2, in nine innings against visiting Brookfield East.

 

Oak Creek baseball

The Brookfield Central Lancers, the hottest team in the Greater Metro Conference, handed the Oak Creek Knights a 5-1 loss at McCoy Park in Brookfield on June 18.

Central's Ricky Leachy struck out six and allowed four hits in the complete game victory and Pete Ostergaard hit two doubles and drove in a pair.

In a 3-2 loss to the Cudahy Packers in the South Milwaukee Wood Bat Tournament on Saturday, the Packers scored three times in the top of the sixth inning to wipe out a 2-0 Oak Creek lead.

Tyler Zemla pitched 5 2/3 innings and Ryan Krzyzkowski threw the final 1 1/3 for the Knights. They combined to allow only three hits but were outdueled by Cudahy's Eric Miller, who allowed four hits with four strikeouts over seven frames.

The Knights' second game of the tournament, a matchup with Arrowhead, was rescheduled for 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Cudahy's Sheridan Park.

The Knights also played Menomonee Falls at home June 16. That game was suspended with the score tied at 9-9 after seven innings and will be resumed July 14.

Whitnall baseball

A bad half inning kept the Whitnall Falcons from turning a good week into a great one.

The Falcons allowed four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning thanks to three walks, three errors and just one hit as the host Pewaukee Pirates came from behind for an 8-7 victory on June 18.

That loss came two days after Whitnall's doubleheader home sweep over the Greenfield Hustlin' Hawks and before a 3-2 road win over the host Cudahy Packers on Friday.

"We are starting to see signs of consistency but we still need to develop that killer instinct and put teams away when we get the chance," said Whitnall coach Brian Johnsen, whose team began this week 6-7 overall, 4-3 in the Woodland Conference. "The good thing though is we are not even close to playing our best baseball and that gives the coaching staff a lot of optimism."

Against Pewaukee, Whitnall took a 7-2 lead with a six-run fourth inning, but the Pirates scored two in the fifth before their late rally.

The win over Cudahy was shortened to five innings due to inclement weather.

A two-run fourth-inning double by Ryan Regeth erased Cudahy's two-run lead and Ryan Dembinski's RBI double later scored the eventual winning run.

Eric Cramer pitched five solid innings for the win.

Whitnall beat Greenfield, 12-4 and 13-3. In the first game, the Falcons scored all 12 of their runs in the first three innings. The big blow was Justin Quinn's three-run double in the second inning that gave his team a 5-2 advantage. Quinn finished with five RBIs.

Quinn also pitched five innings and struck out nine for the win.

Dembinski went 3-for-4 with three runs and his first home run of the year, and Brock McGinn added three hits.

McGinn belted a three-run home run in the third inning to snap a 2-2 tie in the second game. He also pitched six strong innings and earned the win.

 

- Compiled by David Cotey