Sports Wrapups: July 20

Franklin baseball

The Sabers began WIAA regional play this week on the heels of advancing to the championship game of the Greater Metro Conference tournament Wednesday.

Franklin lost that game, 5-4, at Menomonee Falls, but Evan Walton almost carried the Sabers to the title.

Franklin had leads of 1-0 and 4-3, but the Indians scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, with the last one coming off a perfectly placed bunt that scored the go-ahead run from third.

Walton drilled a three-run home run in the second inning, giving the Sabers a 4-3 lead. The Sabers offense, however, was silenced by Falls relief pitcher Joe Sanicola the rest of the game.

The loss snapped Franklin's six-game winning streak.

"Our problem was going five innings without scoring," Franklin coach Jim Hughes said. "We just couldn't get a clutch hit after Evan's homer."

One day later, Franklin's offense was absent once again in a 3-1 home loss to North Shore Conference runner-up Nicolet.

Franklin pitchers Ryan Geil and Marcus Schlemm were sharp; they combined for 10 strikeouts and limited Nicolet to only six hits.

Schlemm also collected two of the team's four hits, stole two bases and drove in the team's only run. Franklin, which had runners in scoring position in every inning, failed to capitalize on four Nicolet errors.

The losing streak ended at two when the Sabers regained their form in a nonconference game Friday against the Hamilton Legion, 13-1, on Senior Night. Seniors Eric Charbonneau, Brandon Wiedenfeld, Joe Gricar, Matt Sklander and Adam Kaniewski were honored along with their parents prior to the game.

Sklander contributed three hits and drove in two.

Pitchers Matt Busalacchi and Matt Konz combined for eight strikeouts in the five-inning win as Franklin finished the regular season with a 24-14 record. The win was Hughes' 742nd of his career, tying him for that most in state history with former Arrowhead coach Tim O'Driscoll.

Oak Creek baseball

With a doubleheader sweep of visiting Cudahy on Saturday, the Knights set a school record for regular season victories.

Oak Creek finished 28-9. The Knights are four wins shy of the school record of 32 set in 2005, a total that included 26 regular season games and six postseason victories, including the state title.

In the first game, a 7-1 victory, freshman Hayden Krimmer improved to 5-2 by limiting Cudahy to three hits over five innings.

Tyler Zemla went 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

In the second game, Jordan Hoffmeier picked up his second win of the season by pitching five innings in relieve.

Casey Magyar went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Ben Heicher registered his first career three-hit game. Zemla belted his 14th double and knocked in three runs.

Greendale baseball

The Panthers entered postseason play on the heels of an offensive shootout against defending state champion Arrowhead that did not go Greendale's way Saturday.

Greendale trailed, 7-0, after two innings, but the Panthers scored six in the third to claw back.

Host Arrowhead scored five during the next two innings to take a 12-6 lead, but the Panthers did not quit as they scored a run in the sixth and five more in the top of the seventh to draw even at 12-12.

It would not be tied for long, however, as Arrowhead scored one in the bottom of the seventh to win the nonconference tussle, 13-12.

Junior Mike Prescott led the Panthers, who were outhit, 18-12, with three hits and three RBIs. Junior Brandon Kozinski also contributed two RBIs.

Two days earlier, the Greendale offense was no where to be found in an 8-0 nonconference loss at Homestead.

Prescott pitched a complete game but gave up four runs in both the first and fourth innings.

The week, however, had started much better when the Panthers jumped all over visiting Pewaukee, 12-2, July 13.

With a 5-1 lead after the third inning, the Panthers exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning putting the game out of reach.

Nate Van Ells, a second-team all-Woodland Black Division selection, pitched a complete game and held the Pirates to seven hits. Van Ells also performed well at the plate going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Sam Brink was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI, and Kozinski, a first-team all-Woodland Black choice, scored two runs and tripled.

Whitnall baseball

The Falcons managed just enough wins down the stretch to hold on to second place in the Woodland Conference Black Division.

Thanks in large part to a doubleheader sweep of visiting Greenfield on July 12, Whitnall finished 15-7 in league play, one game ahead of third-place South Milwaukee but five games back of league champion New Berlin Eisenhower.

The Falcons posted wins of 15-5 and 4-3 in the sweep. In the blowout, Whitnall's Dustin Devine was 4-for-5 with two runs scored, Brock McGinn belted a home run and drove in three and Aaron Hushek tallied three hits.

Josh Serio turned in a solid effort on the mound in the nightcap, pitching a complete-game five-hitter with six strikeouts.

Devine and Hushek tallied three more hits each.

The Falcons lost to host South Milwaukee, 5-4, on July 13, when the Rockets scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 4-4 tie.

Whitnall ended the regular season with a 5-1 nonconference home loss to defending state champion Arrowhead on Friday.

- David Cotey and Christopher Kuhagen