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May 9, 2009

Prep baseball: Hitting fails Assumption late

By Michael Kommer
For the Daily Tribune

WISCONSIN RAPIDS -- Despite turning in a strong defensive effort that including four double plays, the Assumption baseball team fell to Edgar 8-4 Friday night at Witter Field.

"We just didn't hit as well as we could have," Assumption coach Mike Schulte said. "Our pitching was great and kept us in the game, but we were just unable to get the timely hit we needed."

The Royals got their offense started with a bang. Trailing 1-0 with two outs in the second inning, Assumption's Brad Birkhauser tied the game with one swing of the bat as he took the first pitch Edgar pitcher Sam Lemmer offered him and sent it over the left-center field fence.

"I got a little high on (Birkhauser)," Lemmer said. "After that, I threw a lot of off-speed pitches and wanted my defense to do the work behind me."

In the fourth inning, the Wildcats regained the lead when Lemmer brought home Dakota Heidman, who reached with a leadoff double, but the lead was short-lived because the Royals mustered two runs of their own in their half of the inning to take a 3-2 advantage.

Despite finding themselves trailing for the first time in the game, the Wildcats set out on a mission to regain the lead for good. Edgar's Andy Borchardt, Grant Bergander and Dylan Smith accounted for each of the three runs Edgar got in both the fifth and sixth frames and regained the lead for good.

"The two three-run innings we gave up hurt," Schulte said. "The difference was we couldn't get our offense going."

The Royals were able to notch a run in the fifth inning, but when the Royals threatened with runners in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, they were not able to overcome the pitching efforts of Lemmer and Dylan Smith, who combined to fan four while walking two.

"Andy, Grant and Dylan all had key hits," said Edgar coach John Albee. "They all scored key runs as well, but our pitching kept us in this one."

Edgar 010 133 0 -- 8 10 5

Assumption 010 210 0 -- 4 5 2

WP--Sam Lemmer. LP--Nick Buntrock. SO--Lemmer 2, Dylan Smith 1; Buntrock 4, Joey Ashbeck 1. BB--Lemmer 1, Smith 1; Buntrock 5. 2B--Edgar, Dylan Lepak, Dakota Heidman, Andy Borchardt, Grant Bergander; Assumption, Brad Birkhauser, Alex Erdmann. HR--Assumption, Birkhauser.

Records: Edgar: 8-5 overall, 7-4 Marawood South Division; Assumption: 5-10 overall, 5-7 Marawood South Division.

Assumption teammates congratulate Brad Birkhauser after hitting a home run against Edgar in Friday's game at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids. (TOM LOUCKS/DAILY TRIBUNE)