Citizen Staff/Tom Kahl
Mitch Aplin homered and picked up the win for Beaver Dam Tuesday.
Joe Loizzo thinks of Mitch Aplin as a diamond in the rough.
Aplin got a little closer to flawless Tuesday night.
Aplin shut down visiting Jackson with three hits over five innings. He added three extra-base hits, starting with his solo shot in the first, and drove in three runs in Beaver Dam's 12-2 Southern ECAL baseball win that lasted six innings.
With the win, BD pulled into a three-way tie atop the South in the loss column. Waupun took a 13-7 win at Hartford to forge the deadlock in the standings.
"Mitch was very good," Loizzo said. "He had good command and he threw hard.
"His curve ball was very good and we played good defense behind him."
By the time Jackson got on the board with a pair of unearned runs in the fifth, Post 146 had built a 7-0 lead. Starter Taylor Koth was chased after four innings as BD pounded out 11 hits.
Nick Bannach reached on a dropped low throw to first and Ian Czarneski beat out a bunt single in the second. Tal Diekvoss advanced the runners with a sacrifice to set up Rollie Keel's two-run, opposite field double.
"Rollie's hit broke the game open," Loizzo said.
Bannach led off the fourth with a single and Koth hit Czarneski. Steve Propst hit a one-out RBI single before Keel's groundout brought in another run.
Aplin and Finke hit consecutive run-scoring doubles to push the lead to 7-0.
"Our lineup change is working out good," Loizzo said. "Steve's pounding the ball in the ninth spot."
Jackson capitalized on both BD errors to get its two runs. Post 146 answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame, including a two-run double from Propst and an RBI triple from Aplin.
A sacrifice fly from R.J. Riehbrandt ended the game in the sixth. Cody Schmitt pitched an inning of relief in the top half of the frame.
"Our kids really have worked hard," Loizzo said. "We feel this group is doing a pretty nice job coming together as a team."
BD (9-1, 5-1 South), which turned two double plays, plays at the Firecracker Tournament in Stevens Point this weekend. BD draws Oshkosh and the hosts on Saturday before facing Wausau and RSW Sunday.
BEAVER DAM 12, JACKSON 2 (6 INN.)
Jackson 000 020 - 2 3 4
Beaver Dam 120 441 - 12 11 2
WP: Aplin (5 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K)
LP: Koth (4 IP, 7 R, 5 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 1 K)
Leading hitters: J - Koth 2-3, 2B; Martin 2B; BD - Keel 2B, 3 RBI; Aplin 3-4, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI; Finke 2B; Czarneski 2-2; Propst 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI.
Waupun 13
Hartford 7
HARTFORD — Waupun took down Southern ECAL leaders Hartford with Tuesday's 13-7 road win.
The visitors pounded out 15 hits in support of Ben Navis, who struck out four over five innings for the win. Jordan DeBoer went 4-for-4 with two doubles to lead the attack.
"We hit the ball well and we did last night," Waupun assistant coach Dennis Vanderbush said. "The pitching was better tonight.
"We had a better attitude tonight for some reason and we played better."
Shawn Montsma and Jordan White each had two hits while Branden Pluim and Taylor Nehls each doubled. Nehls knocked in four runs for Waupun, which jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
Next up for Waupun (8-2, 5-1 South) is Thursday's trip to Oconomowoc.
Hartford slipped to 3-1 in South play.
WAUPUN 13, HARTFORD 7
Waupun 321 304 0 - 13 15 3
Hartford 004 111 0 - 7 9 5
WP: Navis (5 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 8 H, 4 BB, 4 K)
LP: Showalter (5.2 IP, 13 R, 8 ER, 14 H, 4 BB, 5 K)
Leading hitters: W - DeBoer 4-4, 2 2B; Montsma 2-3; Nehls 2B, 4 RBI; Pluim 2B; White 2-4; H - Brandner 2-4, 2 RBI; Buechert 2-4; A. Stephans 2-3; Grynn 2B.