Legion baseball: Wausau ends five-year state drought

MARSHFIELD - Grant Hill, Garrett Hohn, Logan Grunenwald and Payton Nelson were lights out on the mound in a series of shutdown pitching performances.

Their jobs were made a heck of a lot easier by an air tight defense that saw the Wausau American Legion baseball team flash some serious leather on defense.

To top things off, the Bulldogs’ bats were as hot as the weather, averaging 8.6 runs per game in the Marshfield Regional, with the top of the batting order leading the charge.

Put it all together and it’s easy to see why the Bulldogs earned their first AAA state berth since 2010 with a 7-4 win over Stevens Point at Jack Hackman Field on Friday.

“I’m glad it worked out the way it did, it’s great,” said Payton Nelson, who picked up a save and struck out five over the final three innings.

“I feel like we can beat anybody in the state when we play like this.”

Wausau advances to a first-round state tournament matchup with Eau Claire starting July 26 in Marshfield. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.

By virtue of being the host site, Marshfield also earns a spot in the state tournament and meets the winner of the Green Bay area regional at 7 p.m.

Wausau picked a perfect time to turn in three of its best all-around performances in succession this season.

“State’s always fun,” said Wausau coach Tom Magnusson, who received a much appreciated shower from his players after the game. “You’re playing good teams. You’re one of the last eight big teams standing, so it’s always fun.”

Meanwhile, the Sixers watched a gallant run filled with some magical come-from-behind victories, including a night earlier, come to an end.

When Stevens Point put up four runs in the top of the seventh inning there was a sense that the Sixers had at least one more miracle to force a second title game in the double elimination format.

In the end, Point wasn’t able to dig out of the 7-0 hole this time around and had to deal with the stark realization its season was over.

“We thought, ‘Hey, maybe we have one more trick up our sleeves,” said Sixers coach Jason Rieck, whose team left 12 runners on base. “We finally got a little pep in our step. We were that one hit away all game.

“There are a lot of what-ifs, but we came up a little short.”

Matt Helms turned in a gutty performance on the hill for the Sixers after a shaky start.

The right-hander was rocked for hits by the first three batters he faced as Wausau put up a three-spot in the opening frame.

On the verge of being pulled, Helms dug down deep from that point on and held the Bulldogs in check with all four remaining runs being unearned.

His performance was typical of the fight-to-the-end mentality that enabled the Sixers to shrug off an opening 15-3 loss to reach the regional title game.

“These guys have no reason to hang their heads,” Rieck said. “Our kids battled all week. They were the underdogs after losing the first game. They played with a lot of heart. I wouldn’t trade this group with anybody.”

Grunenwald was the winning pitcher. He and Chandler Fochs each had a pair of hits for Wausau.

Piotrowski collected three hits with an RBI to pace the Sixers attack. Gus Turner-Zick chipped in with two hits and a run.

WP - Logan Grunenwald 6IP, 3K, 5BB. Save - Payton Nelson 3IP, 5K, 0BB. LP - Matt Helms 8IP, 2K, 0BB. 2B - Stevens Point, Zach Ksicinski; Wausau, Zach Pearson.

Records: Wausau 18-17; Stevens Point 13-16.

Scott A. Williams can be reached at 715-345-2282, or on email at ssswilliam@stevenspoint.gannett.com. Find him on Twitter as @SPJScottWill