Posted: June 16, 2009

New Berlin West sophomore Austin Brzeski shot a two-day 161 at University Ridge in Verona and tied for 14th of 52 golfers at the WIAA Division 2 State Golf Meet on June 8 and 9.

"Austin really did a great job the entire tournament of not letting the pressure or the large galleries affect his game," New Berlin West coach Steve Murdock said. "As a sophomore, all the other golfers he was competing with were older but Austin more than held his own and showed that he belonged there and that he had the game to play with anyone in the state."

Brzeski's 6-over-par 78 that included a bogey and double-bogey on his final two holes placed him tied for ninth after the first day. He slipped a little the next day, starting with a triple bogey and finishing with an 83.

"He bounced back and played very steady the rest of the front nine finishing with a 41," Murdock said. "While playing the back nine, Austin continued doing a great job of finding fairways and greens but left himself some difficult putts and eventually lost some of his touch around the greens."

Nine of the players who placed ahead of Brzeski were on squads competing for the team title. Only four athletes competing as individuals, like Brzeski did, placed ahead of him.

One week earlier, Brzeski was the top individual qualifier with a 76 at Hawthorne Hills in the sectional. New Berlin West's Beau Gundersen narrowly missed a place at state by tying for the third qualifier spot with a 77 and then losing in a four-man playoff.

Muskego baseball

After improving to a season-best five games over .500 with an 8-3 nonconference victory over the visiting Cudahy Packers on June 10, the Warriors' offense was stymied in recent back-to-back losses.

Muskego, which began the week 7-4 overall and 2-3 in the Greater Metro Conference, lost to the visiting Hamilton Chargers, 9-2, on Friday, and on the road against the Homestead Highlanders, 11-0, on Saturday.

"There is a bit of a funk going on offensively, but two pitchers threw enough off-speed pitches that were close enough to be strikes and they threw enough fastballs to keep us way off-balanced," Muskego coach Mike Schramek said. "It made it difficult to do anything productive with the baseball."

Mike Robinson went 3-for-4 and was one of four Warriors with multiple hits against the Packers. Nick McCormack drove in two runs.

TJ Kotnik allowed two runs in four innings for the win.

Muskego had won three of its last four games before the consecutive losses.

"As disappointing as these last two games have been, we walk away knowing this is really bothering them and it's not acceptable to them," Schramek said. "They're willing and wanting to turn this thing around."

Eisenhower baseball

Adam Vlaj and Alex McRae helped the Lions quickly bounce back from their worst defeat of the season.

Vlaj struck out nine in 4 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win, and McRae knocked in three runs on three hits as Eisenhower defeated host Kewaskum, 5-3, on Friday, six days after losing, 11-1, at Muskego.

"Alex had an opportunity with some runners on base and came up with some clutch hits," Eisenhower coach Scott Schimmel said. "And for Adam to keep them scoreless the rest of the way, that was what we really needed."

Kewaskum led, 3-0, before the Lions rebounded.

With the win, the Lions improved to 7-4 overall which includes 4-0 in the Woodland Conference as of Monday. Schimmel is not surprised with his team's hot start.

"With the core of players that are returning, we have the talent to compete for a conference title," he said. "It was just a matter of having some other guys step in either from the jayvee or part-time roles. So far, we've had that, and our returning guys have really performed very well."

New Berlin West baseball

Ben Falls was dominant and Tony Smith made a memorable season debut.

Combined, they led the Vikings to a 12-2 nonconference home win over Pius XI on June 11.

Falls pitched four shutout innings with four strikeouts for the win. He threw just 49 pitches, 39 of which were strikes.

"He was in complete command and control of the ball game," Vikings coach Tom Farina said.

Falls also hit a home run, doubled and drove in four runs, slightly overshadowing Smith's offensive exploits. In his first game since joining the team after a successful track campaign, Smith drove in three runs on two hits, one of which was a first-inning home run on his first swing of the season.

"That was a big boost," Farina said of the blast. "We became relaxed and extremely confident."

It was the Vikings' third win in a row; they improved to 5-4 overall as of Monday.

"We're young and we're going to make mistakes and at times we'll struggle, but on the other side of the coin the kids have ability and are going to put games together like this," Farina said. "I couldn't ask for more out of a team. They came out with a purpose."

 

- Compiled by David Cotey

 

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See a photo gallery from Saturday Muskego/Homestead baseball game