Posted: July 13, 2010 |(0) Comments

Muskego — When the second of two Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association summer baseball polls comes out later this month, the 10 statewide coaches who assemble it might have to make an adjustment at the top.

Since the first poll came out June 30, second-ranked Muskego has gone 10-1, clinched what many believe is best baseball conference in the state - the Greater Metro - with a final 16-4 league mark, and snapped top-ranked West Bend West's 11-game winning streak with a 7-6 home victory Saturday.

As of Monday, West still had a better overall record than Muskego - the Spartans were 28-2 and the Warriors 28-6 - but Muskego was on a roll.

"Players love games like this," said Muskego's Sam Hammer, who started a Warriors rally with a two-run home run in the fifth inning Saturday. "Everyone knew about the rankings. Everyone on our team wanted to prove why we should be number one.

"We took this as one of the most important games of the year. Obviously, conference games are very important but we came in here, put our best in the field and our best on the mound and putting it all up against them and seeing how it came out. We just said if we can run with these guys we can run with anyone in the state."

The Warriors have been proving that true all season long. They have been challenged by league foes all summer - the GMC boasts five of the state's top 10 teams - but won the league season title by two games over third-ranked Menomonee Falls.

As of Monday, half of Muskego's six losses were by one run and three of their of their four league losses came to teams seeded fourth or higher in the league tournament which began Monday (see separate story).

"We're very proud of that," Muskego coach Mike Schramek said of his team winning the eighth league baseball title in school history. "What it does is give you the ability to go into big games and have some confidence. We've had a lot of one-run (league) games. To be in a game like this (against West Bend West), we might not win all of them but we're not scared of the situation."

The Warriors were not frightened Saturday, even after falling behind, 4-1, when the Spartans scored a pair of runs off Muskego starting pitcher Cole Borek in the top of the fifth inning.

In the bottom half of the frame, T.J. Anderson led off by reaching on an error and Hammer, who had just missed a home run in the first inning, belted his seventh homer of the season over the left-center field fence off West Bend West ace Jon Nick to pull his team within one at 4-3.

Borek answered with a perfect sixth inning and his teammates responded by scoring four times in the bottom of the inning off reliever Davis Yach. Anderson tied the score with a fielder's choice ground out and Kevin Schoenbach snapped a 4-4 tie with an RBI single to right. Another run scored on a throwing error and Matt Berry drew a bases-loaded walk as 10 Muskego batters went to the plate in the inning.

"We keep going, we keep chipping away and when we finally get on top, that totally demolishes the other team's morale," Hammer said, "I love the way our team does that. We stick in there and keep going until we get back on top."

The Spartans, however, did not fold. After Borek allowed two runs on two hits and an error in the top of the seventh, he stranded the potential game-tying run at third base with a strikeout of Shane Hayes, who had homered against him in the second inning.

West Bend West coach Bill Albrecht said he planned on piecing his pitching together for the nonconference affair but allowed Nick to pitch five innings because of a low pitch count. He eventually removed his ace to protect his arm and was glad to face the Warriors this late in the season.

"A team like Muskego is a team we might see in the state tournament if we're fortunate enough to get there," Albrecht said. "We hated to lose, but it was a good gauge for us to see where we're at. We made a few mistakes but our guys proved we could play with anybody. (The Warriors) are one of the top teams we play. We play a lot of good teams. We try to get a lot of good teams on our schedule so we can get a real barometer on how good we are."

OTHER ACTION

JULY 5: The Warriors clinched their eighth league title and second consecutive with an 8-5 win over visiting Franklin. Sam Hammer was one of three Warriors with two hits; he homered and drove in three runs. Adam Schulz earned the win with five strong innings and Cole Borek picked up the save with two scoreless frames.

JULY 6: Muskego swept Franklin with a 6-1 road win. Borek allowed one run in five innings of relief for the victory and T.J. Anderson drove in three runs on two hits.

JULY 7: In a nonconference slugfest at South Milwaukee, Muskego pounded out 17 hits in an 18-10 victory. Mike Robinson was 3-for-3 with three RBIs and was the winning pitcher. Matt Fellenz scored three times and drove in three runs.

JULY 8: Before beating the Milwaukee East Legion team, 13-0, in five innings, Muskego suffered a rare league loss, 5-4, to visiting Hale. Nick McCormack was 4-for-4 with two doubles for the Warriors, who scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh but fell short.

Sectional pairings

JULY 20: Regional finals: Waukesha South (8) at Muskego (1), 5:30 p.m.; Waukesha North (5) at Whitnall (4), 5 p.m.; Kettle Moraine (6) at Mukwonago (3), 5 p.m.; Catholic Memorial (7) at Waukesha West (2), 8 p.m.

JULY 23: Sectional semifinals: Muskego/South winner vs. North/Whitnall winner at Muskego, 11 a.m.; Mukwonago/Kettle Moraine winner vs. Memorial/West winner at Muskego, 2 p.m. Sectional final: Semifinal winners face at Muskego, 5 p.m.