Falcons set for repeat showdown
Whitnall will face top-seeded Muskego in sectional semifinal
Hales Corners — The rivalry between Whitnall and Muskego will have another chapter.
One year after Muskego ruined the Whitnall baseball team's hopes of its first WIAA state tournament appearance since 2001, the Falcons now have an opportunity to turn the tables on the Warriors this week.
As a result of their 5-2 home regional final win over fifth-seeded Waukesha North on Tuesday, the fourth-seeded Falcons advanced to the sectional semifinals to face Muskego, the host school, at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
The sectional championship is at 4:30 p.m. later that day, also at Muskego.
Team is optimistic
"(We're) definitely confident we can pull off the 'W,' " said Whitnall senior Alex Jaskulski, who reached base in all three of his plate appearances against North.
Part of the reason Jaskulski said he is confident is because the Falcons (19-14) defeated the top-ranked Warriors (29-7) earlier this year and gave Muskego all it could handle in the postseason last year before losing, 15-13, in 10 innings of a wild sectional final.
Whitnall's 7-6 win over Muskego came June 1, the team's seventh game of the season. Can the Falcons pull off the upset seven weeks and 26 games later?
"We know we can compete with them, and we know we can beat them, but we have to play better than we did (Tuesday)," Whitnall coach Brian Johnsen said.
Digging a hole
Whitnall fell behind early after Waukesha North scored when Nolyn White's wild pitch got past catcher Aaron Hushek in the top of the first inning. The Northstars added another run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly.
The Falcons, however, responded in a big way.
After drawing two walks off North starting pitcher Scott Rivers to open the third inning, Luke Mentkowski was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out.
North coach Kyle LeMieux came out to calm the junior down, but it did not work, as Jaskulski ripped a two-RBI double under the glove of the diving North shortstop.
With runners on second and third and Hushek facing a 0-2 count, the senior drilled a single between third and short, scoring Jaskulski and Mentkowski and giving Whitnall a 4-2 lead.
"We were fortunate they gave us some base runners," Johnsen said. "The two big hits by Alex and Aaron were huge."
Whitnall tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ben Schaefer's RBI groundout scored Josh Serio.
Not an easy win
While North didn't score another run after the second inning, the Northstars threatened all day, and gave White and reliever Brock McGinn all it could handle.
The Northstars, who left nine men on base in the game, had runners in scoring position in the third and fourth innings, but White escaped the jams unscathed.
White was laboring in the fourth, so Johnsen summoned McGinn for the final three innings.
"We thought they were knocking on the door with Nolyn," Johnsen said. "Nolyn battled. He didn't have his best stuff. Brock came in and was a good change of pace, and he did an outstanding job."
A perfect seventh inning by McGinn finally let Johnsen breathe a sigh of relief.
McGinn, on the other hand, wasn't nervous at all.
"You just get used to the pressure, and you just bear down," he said. "You know when to make your big pitches and when you need them to get out of jams."
His ability to do that allowed the season to continue.
"This is one of the games I think that due to our experience, we were able to battle and win a game like this," Johnsen said. "Our goal was to go to state and that's still there. We have the opportunity; that's all we can ask for."
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