By Jacob Heid

Sports Editor

After a championship weekend in Minnesota just before the Independence Day holiday, the Plover Black Sox legion baseball team got back into conference play. 

The Black Sox got the best Rapids on Jul. 3, 9-8, before the Rangers retaliated with a shutout at Memorial Field in Plover to hand the Sox their first conference loss of the summer.

Plover’s bats had an off day on the warm evening of Jul. 5, a night when only four Black Sox players found hits.

Chase Geyer, Devin Mrozek, Carl Biechler and Adam Noskowiak got credited with one hit each for the home side.

The defense committed four errors in the loss as well.  

The first runs crossed in the third inning, with the Rangers adding three in the top half against Sox pitcher Ty Rechner.

Offensively, Plover made contact in plenty of at-bats but didn’t find the gaps needed to score runs. 

Rechner kept the Sox within three through four innings, giving up two more runs to Rapids in the fifth to end his evening. 

The SPASH senior surrendered five runs on six hits, striking out six in his outing. 

Rapids’ pitching and defense continued to keep Plover’s offense quiet. The Black Sox stranded eight runners on base.

Jordan Tibbetts dominated on the mound for the Rangers, pitching a four-hit, complete game shutout to grab the win. 

Jackson Fox pitched the last two innings for the Black Sox. 

Wisconsin Rapids added some extra insurance in the top of the seventh, leading 7-0 as the game headed to the final at-bats.

Plover looks to bounce back tonight, Jul. 6, vs. Wausau at Athletic Park at 8 p.m. 

The Black Sox sit at 22-3 (8-1) and are still in first place in the Wisconsin Valley Legion League. They are a half-a-game in front of the Rangers in the conference race.