Kimberly heads to state championship game
GRAND CHUTE – Kimberly booked its place in the Division 1 state championship game with a narrow 2-1 win over Eau Claire North in the semifinals on Tuesday night.
The final game of the first day of the tournament didn’t get started until after 11:30 p.m. and wrapped up after 1 a.m. due to rain early on Tuesday pushing the tournament schedule back.
The late start didn’t bother either team, though. Both squads played clean games in which they scored early, but only Kimberly was able to score late.
The Huskies got on the scoreboard first in the second inning. They loaded the bases with one out, and Jack Kron grounded out for an RBI to give North a 1-0 lead.
Kimberly responded in the third inning with a run of its own. A fielders’ choice and a double by Zach Lechnir put runners on second and third for the Papermakers. Ryan Carney came in to score on a wild pitch moments later.
The Huskies got the go-ahead run in scoring position in the fourth, but Kimberly came up with a double play to cut it down.
North threatened again in the sixth inning, getting runners on second and third with two outs, but Kimberly pitcher John Nett stopped the rally there—a common theme in the contest.
The Papemakers took the lead for good in the sixth in dramatic fashion. Lechnir led off with a bunt single, and Nett followed with a single of his own a couple of at bats later. A throw to third allowed him to advance to second on the play, putting two runners in scoring position with one out.
Kimberly proceeded to call a suicide squeeze play, but North pitcher Tanner Halvorson sailed the pitch over his catcher’s head, allowing the runner from third to score uncontested.
Down to their final three outs of the season, the Huskies got the leadoff man aboard in the seventh on a single by Nick Hestekin. He was bunted over to second base, but was stranded there by the next to batters to end the game.
Nett picked up the win on the mound. He tossed a complete game five-hitter with three strikeouts. Ryan Venne pitched four innings of one-hit baseball for North and took a no-decision. Halvorson took the tough luck loss in two innings of relief. He struck out four batters and allowed just one hit.
Lechnir finished with two of his team’s three hits. He also drew a walk. Five Huskies had hits in the loss. Noah Hanson was 1-for-1 with two walks.
Kimberly (22-8) will battle Sun Prairie for the Division 1 state championship on Thursday at approximately 6 p.m. The two teams split a doubleheader early this season, so the title game will be the rubber match.
The Big Rivers Conference champion Huskies finished the season with a 22-3 record.
