Luxemburg-Casco beats Sturgeon Bay for regional title
Luxemburg-Casco's Mitchell Jandrin (left) cheers as Mason Isenberg (middle) slides safely into home plate in the first inning on Wednesday (Spencer Flaten/Wisconsin Baseball Central).
LUXEMBURG—The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans exploded out of the gates and held off a late fight from Sturgeon Bay to claim a 6-2 win over the Clippers in the Division 2 regional finals.
The Spartans scored five runs in the first inning on their way to their first regional title since 2014. The early spurt proved to be crucial in the clash of conference champions.
Luxemburg-Casco batted around the order in the bottom of the first. Jake Thyes hit an RBI single to get the scoring started, and both Bryce Te Kulve and Shaefer Mleziva followed with two RBI singles to quickly give the Spartans a 5-0 cushion.
Sturgeon Bay starting pitcher Jared VanBramer settled down after the first, and kept the Spartans off the scoreboard for a while afterward.
The Clippers scored their first run of the game in the third thanks to a sacrifice fly by Jeffrey Alberts. They added another in the fourth on an RBI single by Tanner DeGrave.
The biggest moment of the game came in the top of the fifth inning. The Clippers loaded the bases with just one out, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. Max Bordeau crushed a fly ball to deep center, missing a grand slam by five feet or less. None of the baserunners tagged up on the play, and the Spartans escaped the big jam without giving up a single run.
Luxemburg-Casco added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth via a sacrifice fly by Te Kulve.
Down to their final three outs of the season, the Clippers showed signs of life in the seventh inning. Anthony Moore led off the frame with a single and Ryan Jacobsen followed with a walk to put two runners on with nobody out. However, the Spartans managed to end the danger by retiring the next three batters.
The Spartans celebrate after recording the final out of the game (Spencer Flaten/Wisconsin Baseball Central).
Thyes led the Spartan offense with a 2-for-3 performance with an RBI. Mason Isenberg also went 2-for-3, and Te Kulve finished with three RBIs. Mleziva had two hits and two RBIs.
Trent Ehlers went 3-for-4 with a double for Sturgeon Bay, and Jacobsen finished 2-for-3.
Ian Doell earned the win on the mound, pitching 3.1 innings and allowing just one earned run for the Spartans. He struck out four batters and walked one.
VanBramer pitched 5.1 innings for the Clippers, allowing six runs and striking out four.
Sturgeon Bay ends the season with a 15-5 record and as the champion of the Packerland Conference.
The Spartans improve to 24-4 and will face the winner of the regional final between Fox Valley Lutheran and Waupaca in the sectional semifinals on Tuesday. In their last trip to sectionals, the Spartans fell to Freedom in the sectional semis.
