Bandits struggle in loss

By Andy Davis - News Republic

The Baraboo American Legion baseball team was haunted by errors again Tuesday in a game against Wisconsin Dells.

The result was too familiar as well, an 11-1 loss at Mary Rountree Field.

The Bandits (1-5) made four errors in the second inning — one at first base, one at second base, one at shortstop and a passed ball — to give Wisconsin Dells (2-1) two runs without a base hit.

Baraboo coach Craig Schlender said a big reason for that is that there hasn't been any consistency in the starting lineup, and that's taken its toll on everyone on the team.

"It's pretty frustrating that we don't have any consistency on defense," Schlender said. "We played a real good defensive game in that last game in (Wisconsin) Rapids.

"We've yet to have two of the same starting nine in there, and we had three starters gone tonight.

"I don't think it's a lack of commitment. I think the kids are pulled in a lot of directions, and it's really not their fault. I've talked to other teams, and it's the same thing. It's just really tough for kids these days to be pulled in that many directions.

"I think it's hard to focus on three sports in one summer."

Still, he said that wasn't really an excuse for the players on the field not making the plays.

"The plays they weren't making were pretty routine plays," Schlender said.

Wisconsin Dells plated two more runs in the third inning and another in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead, and that was plenty for Dells pitcher Kalen Mace.

Mace, a lefty with a hard fastball, threw a complete game, giving up five hits and three walks while fanning eight.

"He's a good pitcher," Schlender said of Mace. "He moves the ball around, he nibbles and he's always around the corners. He tries to get the batters to swing at poor pitches."

That was a perfect combination to hold the Baraboo offense in check, as the Bandits hitters seemed impatient and often swung at pitches that were a foot or more outside the strike zone.

"After the game we talked about that," Schlender said. "When you get a pitcher like this, you have to make adjustments. A lot of the guys that were hitting the ball were hitting the ball right on the handle. You have to be able to move in the box, and they have to be a little more purposeful up there."

The Bandits threatened in three of the first four innings but came away empty-handed each time.

In the first inning, a double play erased the team's

first base runner.

In the third, Tanner Mulock walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch, then got to third on a nice bunt single by Jon Schlender. Schlender stole second to put to runners in scoring position with two outs, but Mace struck out Luke McGann to get out of the inning.

Even when Wisconsin Dells didn't play cleanly, it still managed to find a way to keep Baraboo off the score board.

In the fourth, a leadoff single by Nick Labeots was quickly washed away on an odd double play. Sam Seymour hit a one-hopper back to the mound, and Mace wheeled and fired to second base. But the throw was off target, and shortstop Matt Luboda and Mace picked off Cody Holloway for the third out.

The Bandits finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, when Robbie Schultz tripled off the right field fence and scored on Ethan Dosier's ground out to first, making it a 5-1 game.

Baraboo got two runners on in the sixth, and Mace struck out the side in order in the team's final at bat.

Coach Schlender said the biggest bright spot of the game was the pitching. Despite giving up 11 runs, eight of which were earned, the Bandits got Jon Schlender and Brady Olson some valuable work off the mound in a game situation. Schlender hadn't thrown during the spring season or summer, and Olson had thrown a limited amount of innings.

"The biggest positive was the pitching — that Brady Olson threw 70 pitches. He can throw strikes and he hasn't been bothered by coming in in the middle of the game. He's probably going to be the guy who comes in and get us out," the coach said. "Now that Jon Schlender has had a chance to pitch a little bit and also threw 70 pitches, he will be able to come in in a pinch now. I think he can be real effective against some of the better teams."

Schlender started and threw three innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits and three walks. Olson threw the last four, giving up five earned runs on nine hits and no walks.

Baraboo was led at the plate by Labeots, who was 2-for-3, and Schultz, whose triple was the team's only extra-base hit.

The Bandits host Portage in a 7 p.m. game on Thursday.

Wis. Dells 022 102 3 — 11 12 0

Baraboo 000 010 0 — 1 5 6

Pitching: WD — Mace 5h 3w 8k; B — Schlender 3h 3w 4k, Olson (4) 9h 0w 2k.

Hitting: WD — Yacko 3-4, Showers 2-4, Zamzow 2-5, Luboda 2-4; B — Labeots 2-3, Schultz 3B.