For the Tomahawk Leader
PITTSVILLE – The Tomahawk Titans traveled to Pittsville on Sunday, June 13 for a 1:30 p.m. game against the Bandits and came away with an exciting 7-6 victory in 10 innings.
After an opening day victory over Rib Lake, consecutive losses versus Marshfield and Minocqua left Tomahawk’s record at 1-2 as they resumed play at Pittsville.
The Titans threatened to score in the top of the first inning as Justin Jarvensivu ripped a one-out double down the left field line. However, Pittsville pitcher Sam Schwanebeck worked out of the trouble by inducing a couple of groundouts to end the scoring threat for Tomahawk. Meanwhile, Caleb Armstrong yielded one run in the bottom of the first as he struggled with control. Pittsville drew a bases loaded walk to score the first run of the game before Armstrong got a double play to get out of the jam.
After the first inning, both pitchers settled in and scoring became very difficult. Armstrong scattered four hits over the next six innings, holding Pittsville to the lone run they scored in the first. However, Tomahawk stranded runners at third base three times before finally breaking through in the seventh to tie the game at 1-1 as Jacob DeMeyer raced home from third on a wild pitch.
The game remained tied, 1-1, as Tomahawk came to the plate in the top of the ninth inning. Justin Jarvensivu and Jacob DeMeyer stroked back-to-back singles to open the inning and put runners at first and third. After DeMeyer swiped second base, Caleb Armstrong hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Jarvensivu and advancing DeMeyer to third. Jacob Jarvensivu followed with a walk and he promptly stole second, setting the stage for Fletcher Schoone who delivered a two-RBI single to right center, giving the Titans a 4-1 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth inning.
Pittsville’s bats came to life in the ninth as they ripped two singles and two doubles to tie the game at 4-4 and send it to extra innings. In the tenth, with a runner starting at second base, Eli Wurl poked an RBI single to right to give the Titans a 5-4 lead. The Bandits’ relief pitcher then ran into some control trouble, walking three consecutive batters to plate Wurl and push Tomahawk’s lead to 6-4. After a strikeout, Jacob Jarvensivu delivered an RBI grounder to give the Titans a 7-4 lead heading to the bottom of the tenth.
Jacob DeMeyer came on to pitch for Tomahawk in the 10th and ran into trouble as an error and a walk loaded the bases for Pittsville with nobody out. A fielder’s choice grounder plated one run as Tomahawk got a force at second base for the first out with the score now 7-5 and runners at first and third. A bloop single to right made it 7-6 and a subsequent walk loaded the bases for the Bandits with only one out. The next batter for Pittsville chopped a one hopper to third baseman Jacob Jarvensivu, who touched third and tossed it home to catcher, Jakob Kahle, who applied the tag to complete the double play and end the game at 7-6.
Justin Jarvensivu and Jacob DeMeyer led the Titans with two hits apiece, and Fletcher Schoone added a clutch two-RBI single in the ninth inning to lead the Titans offensively. Armstrong, Wurl, and DeMeyer shared the pitching duties with DeMeyer getting the win on the mound.
The victory improves Tomahawk’s Dairyland League record to 2-2. The Titans host Everest at Tyler Kahle Memorial Field on Saturday, June 19. First pitch is at 6 p.m.