For the Tomahawk Leader
TOMAHAWK – In a highly competitive and entertaining game, the Tomahawk Titans defeated the Interwald Woodticks 4-3 on Saturday, July 17 at Tyler Kahle Memorial Field in Tomahawk.
With the victory, the Titans have won three of their last four Dairyland League games as they continue to pursue a postseason playoff berth in the Wisconsin Baseball Association.
The Titans got things going in the bottom of the first inning as Eli Wurl led off with a single to center, and Jared Jarvensivu followed with a single down the first base line. A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, and Jacob Jarvensivu promptly lined a single to center, plating both runners and giving Tomahawk an early 2-0 lead.
Interwald got a run back in the third inning as James Holiday scored from third on a wild pitch to make the score 2-1. The Woodticks threatened to score again in the fifth inning as a couple of hits and a sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third with one out. Zak Iverson then lifted a fly ball to left field which Connor Ahrens gloved and quickly hit the cutoff, Jacob Jarvensivu, whose relay throw home nailed the Interwald runner who had tagged up from third base. The double play ended the inning and preserved the 2-1 advantage for the Titans.
Tomahawk rallied in the sixth inning as Caleb Armstrong singled and Martin Hoger walked to put runners at first and second. Fletcher Schoone sacrificed the runners to second and third with a perfect bunt down the first base line. Jakob Kahle drove in Armstrong with a deep fly ball to right field, giving the Titans a 3-1 lead.
Once again, Interwald answered with a run in the top of the seventh inning when an errant pickoff attempt at second base resulted in Matt Mohr scampering all the way home to cut the Titans’ lead to 3-2.
The score remained 3-2 until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Jacob Jarvensivu led off with a single to right-center and Caleb Armstrong was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with no outs. After a pop out and a strike out, Jakob Kahle poked a liner toward right field that the second baseman knocked down, but could not handle in time to get Kahle at first. Jarvensivu never stopped running from second and scored with a head first slide at the plate, giving Tomahawk a 4-2 lead going to the ninth inning.
Interwald rallied for a run in the ninth, but the Titans hung on to get the final out on a grounder to third and bring home the 4-3 victory.
Eli Wurl was the winning pitcher for the Titans as he tossed five innings, allowing one run on six hits, while striking out five and walking two. Caleb Armstrong pitched the sixth and seventh innings, and Martin Hoger closed out the eighth and ninth to earn the save.
At the plate, Tomahawk pounded out 10 hits and Interwald tallied 9 hits, but they stranded 11 runners on base. Jacob Jarvensivu led the Titans, going 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs, while Jakob Kahle went 2 for 2 with 2 RBIs and Eli Wurl went 2 for 4 from the leadoff spot.
With the victory, Tomahawk’s record improves to 5-4 with two games to play in the Dairyland League. The Titans travel to Wausau on Saturday, July 24 for a 1:30 p.m. game to be played at Wausau West High School.
The regular season finale takes place on Saturday, July 31, when Tomahawk hosts the Merrill Rangers for a 6 p.m. game at Tyler Kahle Memorial Field.