SPASH baseball team wins WVC Title
Portage County Gazette
By John Kemmeter
The Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) baseball team won for the 16th time in 17 games, as it beat Wausau West at Memorial Park in Plover to claim the Wisconsin Valley Conference (WVC) Title outright Thursday, May 23.
The fifth-ranked Panthers (19-4) scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to rally from a 2-1 deficit and take the lead for good, as they went on to a 7-2 win to finish 11-1 in the conference and win the WVC Title outright over Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln (10-2).
SPASH clinched at least a share of the Conference Title with a 4-1 win at Wausau West Tuesday, May 21, and looked to claim sole possession of the WVC Championship for the seventh time in eight years against West Thursday night.
Wausau West scored a pair of unearned runs on SPASH sophomore pitcher Logan Schulfer in the top of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead, while the Panthers got a RBI single from junior third baseman Austin Beyer in the bottom of the third to make it 2-1.
Junior designated hitter Dayne Hoyord and senior left fielder Tristan Aldrich had back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, while junior catcher Vinnie Fonti came through with a two-run double to give SPASH a 3-2 lead, and senior shortstop Brett Ehr had a sacrifice fly later in the inning to make it 4-2.
Senior second baseman Justin Morton added a RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to increase the lead to 5-2, while the Panthers pushed across two more runs in the sixth inning on a RBI single from Beyer and a sacrifice fly from senior right fielder Mason King to go up 7-2.
Senior Dylan Davis closed out Wausau West in the top of the seventh to seal the 7-2 victory for the Panthers, as he struck out two and allowed two hits over the final two innings, while Schulfer didn’t allow an earned run, struck out eight, walked three and allowed two hits over five innings for the win.
Senior first baseman Jack Kelly was 2-for-2, Hoyord went 2-for-3, Beyer and Aldrich both went 2-for-4, and Fonti had a double and two RBI to lead the SPASH offense, which totaled 11 hits in the win.
The Panthers received the top seed in their second and are scheduled to close the regular season with a nonconference game against Sussex Hamilton at Ripon College at 4 p.m. Friday, May 24, before they open the postseason against either eighth-seeded Eau Claire Memorial or ninth-seeded La Crosse Central in a WIAA Division 1 Regional Final at Bukolt Park at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30.