Interwald pours it on late to send Marshfield Chaparrals baseball to first loss of the season

By Steve Pilz
For OnFocus

RIB LAKE – The Marshfield Chaparrals amateur baseball team made their road debut for the 2019 season at Rib Lake against the Interwald Woodticks, but ended up on the losing side for the first time this season, dropping the Sunday afternoon affair 11-5.

The Chaps (2-1) outhit the Woodticks 14-13 and the game was tied at 5-5 going into the fifth, but the Chaps’ bats fell silent after getting nine hits in the first four innings and Interwald took advantage.

Interwald got an infield RBI in its half of the first before the Chaps bounced right back in the top of the second. Sam Schwanebeck led off the inning with a double and Shawn O’Connell drove him in. Hunter Korger followed that with a double, and after an out, Connor Jasurda lifted a fly ball to right to score O’Connell. Al Lalicata’s single scored Korger and the Chaps led 3-1.

Interwald got those two back in a hurry on a Chaparrals’ error and an RBI by the Woodticks’ Shane Coker tied the game 3-3.

Bobby Pilz scored after the first of his three singles when Korger lifted a sacrifice fly ball to right and the Chaps went back on top 4-3.

The Chaps increased their lead in the fourth when Pilz’s RBI groundball scored Jasurda, who had led off with a single.

That lead evaporated for good when Jasurda, the Marshfield starter, couldn’t get an out in the fourth and was replaced by Schwanebeck, who stemmed the tide, but a pair of groundball outs by Coker and James Holiday scored two runs and the game was tied at 5-5.

Pilz relieved Schwanebeck and promptly got the first two outs, but after a walk and a hit batter, the Woodticks scratched out three-straight singles and the Chaps were on the ropes trailing 8-5.

Now, with their bats in the deep freeze, the Chaps defense fell apart. A lead-off double in the Interwald seventh and successive infield errors helped nothing. An unearned run and Holliday’s sacrifice fly to center made it 10-5.

Kade Lancour pitched the eighth for the Chaps and he too was bit by an infield error that came around to score for an 11-5 Woodticks’ advantage, leaving the Chaps with their hands full if they were to comeback.

Pilz kept hope alive when he beat out an infield single up the middle. It was his third single of the day and his eighth hit in 12 at bats on the young season. Jason Kurth followed with a single, going 2-for-4 on the day and improving to 10-for-15 on the year.

Schwanebeck provided at least half a gasp when he pounded one into the wind in deep centerfield. A fine play by Fliehs put the Chaps’ chances to sleep and the visitors came up on the short end for the first time this season.

“We hit the ball well enough to win today but they outplayed us defensively,” said Chaparrals manager Justin Rayburn. “Interwald is always a tough team to beat because they put the ball in play and put pressure on your defense.”

Pilz led the Chaps going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Jasurda, Lalicata and O’Connell each had two hits and an RBI, and Kurth also finished with two hits for Marshfield.

The Chaparrals’ next game is also a Dairyland League contest when they travel to Everest to take on the Merchants, on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Woodticks 11, Chaparrals 5
Marshfield 013 100 000 – 5 14 3
Interwald 120 230 21x – 11 13 1
WP: Peter Devine. LP: Bobby Pilz.
SO: Connor Jasurda (3 inn.) 3, Sam Schwanebeck (1 inn.) 1, Pilz (3 inn.) 3, Kade Lancour (1 inn.) 0; Devine (9 inn.) 4. BB: Jasurda 1, Schwanebeck 1, Pilz 1; Devine 2.
Top hitters: M, Pilz 3×5, RBI; Jasurda 2×3, RBI; Al Lalicata 2×4, RBI; Jason Kurth 2×4; Shawn O’ Connell 2×5, RBI; Schwanebeck 2B; Hunter Korger 2B. I, David Fleihs 3×5; Zane Schreiner 2×4, 2B, RBI; Craig Scheithauer 2×5, 3 RBIs; Shane Coker 3×5, 3 RBIs; James Holliday 1×4, 3 RBIs.
Records: Marshfield 2-1 overall and Dairyland League; Interwald not reported.

Steve Pilz is a writer for MarshfieldAreaSports.com, a contributor to OnFocus.