Topper baseball gets first win in split with Vikings
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HILLTOPPER second baseman Peyton Theune flipped the baseball to first to get an out during an April 28 Dunn-St. Croix baseball game against Colfax. The Vikings rallied to beat the Toppers 11-8 in ten innings. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
The Glenwood City baseball team posted its first win of the season in a wild game against Colfax that featured 35 runs along with several hits and multiple walks and pitching changes by both sides.
That game, that was played a week earlier (April 21) in Colfax, was initially suspended because of darkness, but after further review the Hilltoppers were declared the winners by an 18-17 score.
The Vikings, however, got their revenge when they came back to topple the Toppers 11-8 in ten innings at Glenwood City last Thursday, April 28.
Glenwood City also lost to rival Boyceville 12-2 in a Monday, April 25 game played on the Bulldogs turf (see separate story).
The Hilltoppers, now 1-4, were in Elmwood Monday to take on the EPC Wolves and are scheduled to host Durand this Thursday and Mondovi next Monday, May 9 depending on the condition of Glenwood City’s ball diamond.
Colfax (first game)
It certainly wasn’t a pitchers duel or a defensive battle in the high scoring contest played April 21.
Colfax pitchers gave up 12 hits with 14 walks, allowing the Hilltoppers to come home 18 times. But the Vikings, who had just seven hits in the game, took advantage of 17 free passes to score many of their 17 runs.
Max Janson and Brady McCarthy led the Toppers offensive attack. Janson finished 4-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and five RBIs. McCarthy collected three hits, and came in to score five times. Steven Booth added two hits in as many appearances and tallied three RBIs.
Steven Booth also threw an inning and a third surrendering two hits, six walks and three runs while striking out two. Blake Fayerweather, however, went four and a third to get the win despite giving up seven runs on four hits with three walks and four Ks.
Colfax’s Bryce Sikora gave up five hits with eight runs, eight strikeouts and nine walks while Mason Yarrington allowed eight hits and 10 runs with six free passes and one K.
GLENWOOD CITY third baseman Noah Brite hustled to scoop up this ground ball and fire it to first base to record an out during the Hilltoppers home baseball opener against Colfaxz April 28. After leading 5-1 early, Glenwood City lost the contest 11-8 in ten innings. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Colfax (second game)
Despite outhitting Colfax 11 to five, Glenwood City surrendered an early advantage and lost the April 28 contest 11-8 in ten innings.
After hold the Vikings in their initial at bat, the host Hilltoppers scored four runs in the bottom of the first. McCarthy walked to open the frame advance to second on Noah Brite’s single and went to third on a fielder’s choice off Max Janson’s bat with Brite being forced out on the play. McCarthy scored on a pass ball and Janson moved over to third. Peyton Theune reached after he was hit by a pitch. Aaron Brigham then lifted a single to the outfield that allowed both Janson and Theune to score. Brigham made it home on a Colfax error to give the Toppers a 4-0 advantage.
The Toppers added another run in the second when McCarthy had a single, stole second, went to third on another Viking error and scored on a pass ball.
The Vikings, who scored twice in the second, continued to chip away, scoring single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but were still behind 8-5 heading into their final at bat.
Colfax came up with three runs in that “final at bat” to knot the score at 8-8.
Heading into extra innings, neither team scored in the eighth or ninth innings, but the Vikings used a lead-off single from Mason Yarrington and some erratic pitching by the Toppers to come up with three runs that allowed the Vikings to go up 11-8.
Unfortunately, Glenwood City was unable to respond in their bottom half of the tenth and lost by three runs.
Janson who threw the first six innings and Brady the following three did not get the decision. Blake Fayerweather, who came on in relief in the tenth frame, surrendered a pair of hits and three runs to suffer the loss. Janson allowed four hits and five runs in his half dozen innings on the mound and surrendered seven walks and had two strike outs. In his three innings of work, McCarthy was responsible for three runs on two hits with four walks and a pair of Ks.
Janson and Steven Booth both lead the Toppers’ offense with three hits in five plate appearances. Janson scored a pair of runs while Booth finished with two RBIs.