Citizen Staff/James Wold
Waupun's Taylor Nehls bashed his sixth home run in the last five games Tuesday against Beaver Dam.
WAUPUN — Last year, Bo Miles came on in relief and won the Division 2 state baseball title game for Waupun.
On Tuesday night, he saved its Little Ten title hopes.
Beaver Dam had already scored a run to cut the Warriors' lead to 10-7 and had the bases loaded in the top of the sixth with no outs. Miles pitched out of the jam with no further damage and Waupun tacked on three runs in the bottom of the frame for a 13-7 win over the Golden Beavers that lasted nearly three hours.
Waupun (12-4, 6-4 LTC), ranked fifth by the WBCA, has to win at Hartford today and at home against Milwaukee Lutheran the following Tuesday for a title share. BD (11-6, 8-4) is already in the clubhouse with a share of the crown clinched by virtue of yesterday's 11-8 shootout over Waupun.
"If we have to share it with them, it won't be a bad thing," BD coach Joe Loizzo said of the Warriors. "They've got players up and down the lineup and I'm sure they'll represent the Little Ten well in the tournament."
In between the high points of the last two springs, there's been plenty of setbacks for Miles. After serving a suspension, health problems delayed his contributions to a successful team.
"I was in and out of the hospital with heart problems and a seizure," Miles said. "It was pretty frustrating."
Miles feels that the chemistry is quite similar to last year's team. His return to form — and more importantly, good health — might be arriving at just the right time for the Warriors.
"I finally got my curve ball working," Miles said. "This is my third game of the year pitching."
Tyler DeBoer gutted out 143 pitches on two days' rest before giving way to Miles. Waupun coach Kevin DeBoer trusted his senior ace to be honest with his status.
"I left it all up to him and he's a kid that knows his body," coach DeBoer said. "He's come to me before in the fourth inning of a game and told me 'Get someone loose.' He felt fine all game."
For the second straight start, DeBoer struggled to get his bearings early. He issued a walk with the bases loaded in the first and gave up five runs in the second inning.
Fortunately for the Warriors, BD was fighting with one hand tied behind its back. Cody Schmitt left Monday's game injured, Nick Rechek threw six innings and Dusty Blanchard pitched Saturday, leaving the Beavers to start sophomore Mitch Aplin.
Waupun has made a habit of working over LTC teams that haven't thrown top-tier pitching against them and Tuesday was no different. Three straight hits, the last being a double from the scalding-hot Taylor Nehls, and three walks gave the Warriors a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the first.
"Their kids swing the bat real well and are really disciplined," Loizzo said of Waupun. "We didn't have a lot of experience available and it's tough to throw the ball over the plate to those guys, especially Nehls."
Nehls chased Aplin with a two-run blast that took minimal time leaving the yard for his sixth home run in five games. Cory Keel came on and was greeted with two singles and a walk. By the time the second inning was done, Waupun turned a 6-4 deficit into a 9-6 edge.
"I've never seen Taylor swinging it as well as he is now," coach DeBoer said. "The consistency now...he's just exploding through the ball.
"We've hit teams well that haven't thrown their ace against us."
DeBoer settled down and threw three scoreless innings before encountering trouble in the sixth. Coach DeBoer said his ace relied a lot more on his changeup this time than any other start, which might bode well for the future.
"DeBoer was struggling but he's an awfully good player," Loizzo said. "He put in a gutsy performance."
DeBoer went 4-for-5 and followed up a two-run double by Zach Tavs in the sixth. That enabled Miles, who might get the start at Hartford today, to relax a bit in the seventh.
"That's the young man we've seen when he was little," coach DeBoer said. "When he got out of that, it fired us up and we got some more runs.
"He's finally healthy and he's got that sharp little slider that's tough to hit."
Nehls finished 3-for-3 while Tavs and Jake Wojahn each had a pair of hits.
Ben Schmid went 3-for-4 and Nick Rechek doubled for BD, which visits Monona Grove Friday.
Notes: Brock Guetzke went the distance in Hartford's 2-1 win over Wisconsin Lutheran Tuesday. Milwaukee Lutheran picked up a 2-1 win over Watertown...LTC standings — Beaver Dam 8-4, Waupun 6-4, Hartford 6-4, Milwaukee Lutheran 6-4, Wisconsin Lutheran 5-5, Watertown 3-7, Oconomowoc 3-8.
WAUPUN 13, BEAVER DAM 7
Beaver Dam 150 001 0 - 7 9 3
Waupun 450 013 x - 13 15 1
Pitchers (ip-h-er-bb-so) - Aplin (L; 1-5-7-3-0), DeBoer (W; 5-9-6-8-5), Miles (SV; 2-0-0-1-2).
Leading hitters: BD - Schmid 3x5; W - Wojahn 2x4, Nehls 3x3, DeBoer 4x5, Tavs 2x3. HR: W - Nehls. 2B: BD - Rechek; W - Nehls, Tavs. RBI: W - Tavs (2), Nehls (3).