With a trip to the WIAA Division 1 State Tournament on the line, the sixth-ranked Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) baseball team (21-3, 11-1) had its postseason run come to an end with a loss to third-ranked Eau Claire North (21-3) in a Sectional Final at Carson Park in Eau Claire Tuesday, June 5.

The Panthers opened the day with a 5-0 over Eau Claire Memorial in a Sectional Semifinal Tuesday afternoon, before Eau Claire North used a fourth-inning rally to take the lead for good in a 5-2 win over the Panthers in the Sectional Final Tuesday night to advance to the State Tournament at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.

Second-seeded SPASH used a 3-2 win over seventh-seeded New Richmond in a Regional Final at Bukolt Park Thursday, May 31, to earn a trip to Sectionals, where it took on third-seeded Eau Claire Memorial in the semifinals Tuesday afternoon.

The Panthers struck in the bottom of the second inning, as junior right fielder Tristan Aldrich led off with a double, senior left fielder Sam Lawrynk singled and second baseman Michael Glodosky drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out.

Junior center fielder Brady Franz reached on an error with one out to score Aldrich and give SPASH a 1-0 lead, while one out later, junior designated hitter Jack Kelly belted a grand slam to right field to push the lead to 5-0.

That was all the offense junior pitcher JD Schultz would need, as he allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked two in six shutout innings to earn the win on the mound, while Franz came on and struck out two in the seventh inning to close out a 5-0 victory.

Kelly finished 2-for-3 with a grand slam and four RBI, and Aldrich was 2-for-3 with a double to lead the offense, as SPASH scored five runs on five hits.

The win sent the Panthers to the Sectional Final to face top-seeded Eau Claire North, which won 8-1 over fifth-seeded Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln in the other Sectional Semifinal Tuesday morning

SPASH got out to an early lead again, as junior shortstop Brett Ehr had a one-out single in the top of the first inning, and senior third baseman Cole Wright hit a two-out double off the top of the fence to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

North answered in the bottom of the first inning, as it had a lead off single against junior pitcher Dylan Trigg, and used a sacrifice bunt and a two-out error to score a run to tie the game at 1-1.

It remained that way until the bottom of the fourth inning, when North used a pair of walks and a bunt single to load the bases with one out, and then came up with a two-run double off Trigg to take a 3-1 lead.

North had a leadoff double and a RBI single in the bottom of the fifth off senior relief pitcher Isaac Perner to increase its lead to 4-1, and added another run in the sixth to go up 5-1.

SPASH rallied in the top of the seventh, as senior second baseman Michael Glodosky had a leadoff single, and Franz and Ehr were both hit by pitches to load the bases with one out.

Kelly followed with a RBI groundout to make it 5-2, before North got a groundout for the final out to win 5-2 and advance to the State Quarterfinals.

Trigg took the loss after he allowed two earned runs on three hits, struck out two and walked three in three and 1/3 innings.

Ehr and Glodosky both went 2-for-3, Kelly was 2-for-4 with a double, and Wright and Aldrich each had a double to lead the SPASH offense, which finished with eight hits.