The Plover Black Sox American Legion Baseball team won the 30th Dan Schlutter Central Wisconsin Classic at Veterans Memorial Park in Plover Sunday, July 14. Team members are, front row from left: Bat boy Sullivan Schober, Tristan Aldrich, Cam Stampfl, Derek Baumgartner, Kaden Roberts, Dylan Trigg, JJ Lilly, Vinnie Fonti and bat boy Dalton Fischer. Back row: Brett Ehr, assistant coach D.J. Drohner, Connor Mrozek, Mike Glodosky, Dylan Davis, Austin Beyer, Mason King, Kenny Schultz, Sterling Lutz, Logan Schulfer, assistant coach Corey Opper and manager Wayne Sankey. Not present was Jack Kelly. (John Kemmeter photo)

Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

The Plover Black Sox American Legion Baseball team won its home tournament for the first time since 2014, as it won the 30th Dan Schlutter Central Wisconsin Classic Thursday through Sunday, July 11-14.

Plover overcame a loss to defending State Champion Sheboygan to win its pool and advance to the Championship Game Sunday, where the Black Sox beat Rock County of Beloit 8-3 at Veterans Memorial Park Sunday to win the Central Wisconsin Classic Title.

“There was a lot of good competition this weekend,” said Plover outfielder Mason King. “I feel like coming out on top really shows that we are good team this year, and we can do great things.”

“We really have been tearing it up, especially this last week,” said Plover second baseman Mike Glodosky. “We had a tough loss, but the whole week, we seemed like we were pretty locked in and focused, so we’re excited to see where we can go in the future.”

Mike Glodosky, Tristan Aldrich (9), Dylan Davis (7), Derek Baumgartner, Dylan Trigg, Kaden Roberts and Mason King receive the plaque for winning the 30th Dan Schlutter Central Wisconsin Classic following their 8-3 win over Rock County at Veterans Memorial Park in Plover Sunday, July 14. (John Kemmeter photo)

Plover opened against reigning State Runner-up Eau Claire Thursday night, where the Black Sox scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and four runs in the second to build a 6-0 lead on the way to an 8-2 win.

Cam Stampfl struck out four and allowed one earned run on two hits over six innings for the win, and Kaden Roberts struck out one and didn’t allow a hit in one inning to combine on the two-hitter, while Roberts went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, Logan Schulfer was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, Glodosky went 2-for-3, and Derek Baumgartner and Jack Kelly each had two RBI to lead the offense.

The Black Sox followed with a 10-0 win over Superior in six innings Friday, July 12, as Connor Mrozek struck out four and walked none over six innings to earn the win in a complete-game, three-hit shutout, while King was 2-for-3, Brett Ehr went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Sterling Lutz had two RBI.

“It’s nice to see our pitchers, and not just one or two, but four, five six of them are throwing very well right now going into the playoffs,” said Plover manager Wayne Sankey. “And that’s what we’re looking for, we have that depth, and the only way you create that depth is by playing as many games as we do.

“Cam just did a nice job of shutting down a good Eau Claire team, and we really hit the ball well against Superior,” said Sankey. “That’s probably the best game Connor’s thrown all year, and if we don’t get those pitching performances from those guys early in the tournament, we’re not able to win the tournament later.”

In the first of a pair of games Saturday, July 13, Plover won 1-0 over defending Central Wisconsin Classic Champion Madison, as Baumgartner went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in the game’s only run on a RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning, while Austin Beyer struck out three and allowed three hits over six shutout innings for the win, and Dylan Davis allowed one hit in the seventh to pick up the save.

“The pitching was great this weekend,” said Baumgartner. “We had a couple of shutouts in there, and they were just hitting their spots, being confident, and letting the defense make plays.”

“Austin’s been throwing very well his last couple of games, and Davis with the save again,” said Sankey. “Obviously we wanted to get more than one run, but one was enough to win it, so our pitching staff and our defense really carried us in that game.”

Plover closer Dylan Davis recorded two saves to help the Black Sox win the 30th Dan Schlutter Central Wisconsin Classic Thursday through Sunday, July 11-14. (John Kemmeter photo)

Plover closed out Pool Play against defending State Champion Sheboygan Saturday night, where the Black Sox scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a 2-2 tie and take a 5-2 lead, which it remained into the seventh inning, when Sheboygan rallied for nine runs and went on to win 11-6.

Roberts took the loss in one and 2/3 innings of relief after Sheboygan scored eight unearned runs on five Plover errors, while the Black Sox finished as the Pool 1 Champion at 3-1, ahead of Eau Claire (3-1), Madison (2-2) and Sheboygan (1-3).

“I told the kids, when we had that one bad inning against Sheboygan, ‘don’t let that define what you guys have been doing the last week or two, continue to ride and play the way you have been, and you’ll be fine,’” said Sankey. “And that’s what they came in (Sunday) and did.”

Plover catcher Vinnie Fonti gathers the ball before he attempts to tag a baserunner out at the plate in the Black Sox’ 8-3 win over Rock County in the Championship Game of the 30th Dan Schlutter Central Wisconsin Classic at Veterans Memorial Park in Plover Sunday, July 14. (John Kemmeter photo)

Rock County went 3-1 to win Pool 2 and advance to the Championship Game Sunday afternoon against Plover, where it scored one run in the top of the first inning and one run in the third inning to take a 2-1 lead.

Baumgartner had a RBI double and Schulfer followed with a RBI single in the bottom of the third inning to give the Black Sox a 3-2 lead, before Rock County had a RBI single in the top of the fourth off Plover starter Dylan Trigg to tie the game at 3-3.

The Black Sox responded in the bottom of the fourth, as Vinnie Fonti had a RBI groundout to give the team 4-3 lead, Glodosky delivered a RBI single, and Baumgartner came through with a two-run single to increase the lead to 7-3.

“We’re really starting to turn up our bats and stuff at this part of the season, going into the playoffs,” said Trigg. “And it’s working out pretty well.”

Plover first baseman Sterling Lutz digs for third base on a double from Tristan Aldrich during the Black Sox’ 8-3 win over Rock County in the Championship Game of the 30th Dan Schlutter Central Wisconsin Classic at Veterans Memorial Park in Plover Sunday, July 14. (John Kemmeter photo)

Ehr added a RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-3, while Rock County loaded the bases with one out in the top of the sixth inning, when Davis came on to pitch and got a line out to Glodosky, who flipped to Ehr for the inning-ending double play.

Plover went on to close out the 8-3 win, as Baumgartner was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI, Schulfer went 2-for-2, Ehr and Glodosky both went 2-for-3, and Tristan Aldrich added a double to lead a 12-hit attack for the Black Sox.

Plover pitcher Dylan Trigg delivers a pitch during the Championship Game of the Central Wisconsin Classic at Veterans Memorial Park in Plover Sunday, July 14. (John Kemmeter photo)

Trigg struck out four, walked one and allowed two earned runs on nine hits over five and 1/3 innings for the win, while Davis pitched the final one and 2/3 innings for the save, as Plover captured the Central Wisconsin Classic Title for the first time since it won four in a row from 2011 through 2014.

“It’s our home tournament, there’s a ton of good teams here, and we’ve been playing well lately,” said Ehr. “So it’s great to cap this off with a ‘W.’”

“This is one of the premier tournaments in the state, with big AAA teams that usually you see the next week at the State Tournament,” said Sankey. “And so to win this, it just means that we’re playing well at the right time of the year.

“And hopefully we can carry this into the playoffs,” he said.

Plover third baseman Kaden Roberts prepares to throw a runner out at first base after he fielded a ground ball during the Black Sox’ 8-3 win over Rock County in the Championship Game of the 30th Dan Schlutter Central Wisconsin Classic at Veterans Memorial Park in Plover Sunday, July 14. (John Kemmeter photo)

Pinch runner JJ Lilly heads to third base in the Plover Black Sox’ 8-3 win over Rock County in the Championship Game of the 30th Dan Schlutter Central Wisconsin Classic at Veterans Memorial Park in Plover Sunday, July 14. (John Kemmeter photo)

Final year Plover Black Sox players Mike Glodosky, Brett Ehr, Dylan Trigg, Derek Baumgartner, Dylan Davis, Tristan Aldrich, Kaden Roberts and Mason King walk up to receive the Championship Plaque for the 30th Dan Schlutter Central Wisconsin Classic from manager Wayne Sankey, following Plover’s 8-3 win over Rock County in the Championship Game at Veterans Memorial Park in Plover Sunday, July 14. (John Kemmeter photo)