For the Tomahawk Leader

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The Tomahawk Hatchet baseball team was left searching for its first win of the season after dropping several games in late April.

Medford

The Tomahawk baseball team hit the road once again to continue the Great Northern Conference (GNC) season in Wisconsin Rapids taking on Medford in a Friday, April 21 doubleheader.

The Hatchets dropped both ends of the twin bill by scores of 9-1 and 12-0 (in five innings).

Medford played game one as the home team, and jumped out to a five-nothing lead after two complete innings. A defensive error by Tomahawk in each inning paved the way for the Raiders in taking the lead.

Tomahawk tallied their run in the third – catcher Drew Tollefson led off with a hit, then after a strikeout, left fielder Addison Peissig drew a one-out walk. Shortstop Tyler Jablonski plated Tollefson’s courtesy runner Landon Hoff with a double to deep center, but Peissig was tagged out at the plate on the same play to end the inning.

The Raiders pushed three more runs across in the fourth and a single tally in the sixth to close the scoring for game one. Brayden Larson started the game on the mound for the Hatchets, pitching into the fourth and allowing only one earned run. Ethan Ihn finished up, allowing only the sixth inning run (unearned).

Game two had Tomahawk as the home team with Jablonski starting the game on the mound. He would navigate through four innings, giving up seven runs. Once again, fielding miscues allowed scoring innings to continue and for only one of those runs to be earned.

Logan Baumgartner held the Hatchet offense in check, allowing only one hit – a Cooper Hetzel single to right – with no walks and eight strikeouts. Medford set up the run-rule, five-inning finish with a five-spot in the top of the fifth off of Hetzel, who came on in relief to start the inning.

Mosinee

The Hatchet baseball team used dry ground in Mosinee again on Tuesday, April 25 to play their home-scheduled GNC game against Lakeland, falling 14-2 in six innings.

The T-Birds plated a single, first-inning run, then broke things open with a five-run second, fueled by five walks, two balks and a double and a passed ball.

Tomahawk got on the board in the third, pushing two runs across with two outs. Addison Peissig singled to lead off but was thrown out trying to steal second. Drew Tollefson then followed with a hit and was put out at second on a fielder’s choice. Zack Friske then clubbed a double to deep right-center scoring Tyle Jablonski. Friske would score one batter later on a Brody Rigney base hit paired with a throwing error.

Lakeland would add three more in the top of the fourth, and a five-spot in the sixth without a Hatchet answer in the bottom of the inning ended the game by run rule.

Lakeland

Thursday, April 27 was a much different game than Tuesday’s run-rule win by Lakeland, but in the end Tomahawk came up just short of their first win of the season by a 6-5 final at Lakeland Union High School.

The T-Birds tallied a first-inning run, similar to Tuesdays’ game, and it remained 1-0 Lakeland until the third. Brayden Larson, who started the game on the hill for Tomahawk, drove a one-out double to deep left-center, and following a groundout and a walk to Drew Tollefson, Larson tied the game on a T-Bird error.

Unlike Tuesday, though, Tomahawk would take the lead in the fourth. Consecutive singles by Cooper Hetzel, Monty Framke and Brody Rigney loaded the bases. Ethan Ihn then drew a bases-loaded walk followed by a T-Bird error left the Hatchets up two and threatening for more.

A double-play lineout and a popout quickly ended the threat; however, and the Hatchets led 3-1 going into the fifth.

Tyler Jablonski would greet Lakeland reliever Will Fortier with a line-drive home run to left-center to extend the Tomahawk lead to 4-1. The T-Birds would eventually tie the game through six, with a single tally in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth, where Larson’s night came to an end on the mound after five and one-third innings, having given up three hits and only one earned run.

Jablonski struck again to lead off the seventh, with a booming home run to deep left-center to reclaim the lead for the Hatchets at 5-4. A passed ball and error opened the door in the bottom of the seventh for Lakeland, however, and both those runners would score, the second with one out to finish off the win for the T-Birds.

Upcoming action

Tomahawk is scheduled for games against Mosinee on the road on Monday, May 1 (weather pending), followed by home games – the first of the season – on Thursday, May 4 against Mosinee and Friday, May 5 against Wautoma. On Friday, the team will be unveiling a banner honoring the 1959 team that qualified for the spring State tournament.

Opening pitch on Thursday is at 5 p.m. Friday’s game starts at 4:30 p.m., with both matchups at Tyler Kahle Memorial Park.

A doubleheader at Johnson Creek originally slated for Saturday, April 29 has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 13.