Meverden twirls gem in Chargers’ win

Witt-Birn blanks Bonduel
By: 
Morgan Rode
Sports Editor

Mason Meverden pitched a gem to guide the Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School baseball team to a 5-0 Central Wisconsin Conference-East Division victory over Bonduel on May 2 in Bonduel.

Meverden finished just one out shy of a complete game shutout. He instead settled for 6⅔ impressive innings, scattering nine hits. He struck out six batters and walked just two.

“Just trusting the coaches and the pitches that they call, and then just executing the pitch,” said Meverden on what made him successful. “To go all the way through the whole game, you gotta be efficient and not walk people, and that’s what I tried to do, just throw strikes.”

He got some timely defensive plays behind him and the team’s offense was eventually able to get him some run support.

The first inning was one of Bonduel’s best scoring chances after a leadoff double from Noah Weier. The Bears tried to bunt him to third, but the Chargers pounced on the ball and eventually got Weier out after a rundown. Later in the frame, Meverden got a flyout to strand runners at first and third.

Bonduel’s Karson Stoss singled to open the third inning, but he never moved off the base as Meverden got a strikeout and two flyouts to escape the frame. Reece Stoltenow walked and Adam Beilfuss singled in the fourth inning for Bonduel, but Meverden was able to pick off a runner at second base to end the threat.

Charlie Tauchen and Colin Margelofsky each singled in the fifth for Bonduel, but Meverden escaped the inning with a strikeout. Bennett Engel and Stoltenow singled to open the sixth, but a forceout followed by a double play ended the scoring chance.

Tauchen and Weier each tallied hits in the seventh against Meverden, and he eventually went over 100 pitches. Ben Wesolowski came on in relief and needed just two pitches to induce a game-ending groundout.

“We’ve been really consistent all year, not many errors,” said Meverden. “So I pitched to contact — let them put it in play because I’m confident every single time that we can get them out. Our outfielders are great, they cover so much ground out there. It calms you down a lot.”

After stranding the bases loaded in the first two innings, Witt-Birn was able to push across the game’s first run in the third.

Max Fraaza and Evan Meverden were hit by pitches and Chase Krull walked to load the bases for the Chargers. Kaden Schmidt then walked to plate Fraaza.

While it ended up being the only run against Bonduel starting pitcher Mason Bohm, the visitors drove his pitch count up in a hurry and forced a pitching change in the third.

The Bears ended up using three pitchers in the contest in an effort to preserve some pitching for later games in the week.

“So they really made me throw strikes. They were really patient in the box,” said Bohm, who ended up getting the first seven outs. He walked four batters and hit three others while striking out three. “We were battling a tight zone all day — and they were too. I thought it was a pretty good zone, I just couldn’t hit it.”

In all, Witt-Birn drew nine walks, with Quinton Sippl having four of them.

Witt-Birn added two runs in the fourth, with Sippl walking and Ian Salvesen and Ben Wesolowski singling to load the bases at the start of the frame. Fraaza came through with a sacrifice flyout to plate Sippl, and then Pierson Potrykus grounded out to plate Salvesen.

In the sixth, a misplayed flyball and error on a grounder helped the Chargers score their final two runs. Wesolowski scored when Fraaza reached on the error. Fraaza later scored on a balk.

“This kept us in the running for first and second in conference, so we just have to play it that way I guess,” said Fraaza on what the win meant to the team.

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