Central ends RAHS season

By Todd Sommerfeldt
LaCrosse Tribune

LACROSSE—The Reedsburg High School baseball team used a solid performance to qualify for the championship game in Tuesday's WIAA Division 1 sectional at Copeland park.

But the Beavers couldn't put together another big game against La Crosse Central, which advanced to its 18th state tournament with a 6-0 title victory.

The Red Raiders (14-9) broke the game open with a five-run sixth inning against Travis Schrank and Mike Huber.

Schrank allowed two of the first three batters to reach safely before he was relieved by Huber, who gave up a single to load the bases.

Central sophomore Bobby Juan then sent an 0-1 pitch from Huber over the wall in right-center field for a grand slam to give his team a 5-0 lead.

That hit essentially brought to an end a big day that began with a 3-1 semifinal victory over Middleton.

The Beavers (15-8) won that game by scoring three runs in the second inning and taking advantage of four errors by the Cardinals.

"We took advantage of a couple of the mistakes they made," Reedsburg coach Dennis Schommer said of the Cardinals. "We didn't have any mistakes. We played very good baseball.

"When you throw strikes and don't walk anybody and play good defense, you'll be in a lot of baseball games."

Junior Zach Downing struck out one and didn't walk a batter. He gave up just a single run in the fourth.

Shortstop Mike Lennon was 3-for-4.

The Beavers didn't get much going against Central's Lukas Penovich in the championship game.

Penovich, a senior, limited Reedsburg to four singles and struck out eight while walking two.

"I'll tell you what, he looked very good to me," Schommer said of Penovich. "That's probably one of the better pitchers we've seen this year."

The Beavers put their leadoff batter on safely in two of the final three innings, but Central escaped.

Juan nullified a leadoff walk to Dillon Berg in the fifth by catching a bunt that popped off the bat of Matt Lennon and doubling courtesy runner Dustin Gasser off at first.

Jeramy Greenwood singled to lead off the sixth, but he was thrown out by Mitchell Ghelfi when he tried to steal second base.

Penovich was given the chance to shine by teammate Lucas Warren, who pitched Central past Logan 4-3 in a morning semifinal. Penovich and Warren combined for 18 strikeouts and gave up eight hits over 15 innings in the sectional.

Penovich started the season as Central's No. 2 starter, but Drew Ghelfi took over that role as the season progressed. Penovich concentrated on his job as a catcher instead, but he was eventually replaced by freshman Mitchell Ghelfi.

But Penovich, who posted a 3-0 record as a starter this season, stood proudly at center stage on Tuesday and baffled Reedsburg with his fastball and curve.

"When I got to the bullpen before the game and started warming up, it felt great right away," said Penovich, who played as the designated hitter in the semifinal. "The curveball was working, and the fastball was there.

"It was a great day."

It became an easier day in the seventh inning. Clinging to a 1-0 lead it took in the first inning, Central (14-9) was trying to break the game open.

Two of the first three batters reached safely, and Reedsburg pulled starter Travis Schrank in favor of reliever Mike Huber.

John Munson singled to load the bases for Bobby Juan, who wasted little time before sending one of Huber's pitches over the wall in right-center field.

Juan's grand slam, which gave him five RBIs in the game, allowed everyone in a Central uniform to breathe a sigh of relief.

Juan also doubled and scored the winning run in the eighth inning of the semifinal win over Logan. The sophomore third baseman was 4-for-8 in the sectional.

"The tension was so high with it being a one-run game," Juan said. "Anything could have happened, and with a couple of extra runs, everyone was able to calm down."

There was another sense of calm after two big defensive plays by the Red Raiders.

The Beavers (15-8) put their leadoff hitter on safely in two of the last three innings.

Juan ended the threat in the fifth inning by charging the batter's box and catching a bunt that was popped up. He fired to first successfully for the double play.

Jeramy Greenwood then led off the sixth with a single, but Ghelfi threw him out trying to steal second base. The throw was right on the bag and paved the way for Central's big inning.

DIVISION 1

CENTRAL SECTIONAL

At Copeland Park

CHAMPIONSHIP

CENTRAL 6, REEDSBURG 0

Central 100 005 0 — 6 10 0

Home 000 000 0 — 0 4 3

CENTRAL (14-9)

Ledvina, cf, 3-2-2-0; Munson, lf, 3-1-2-0; Juan, 3b, 4-1-2-5; Penovich, p, 4-1-0-0; D. Ghelfi, 1b, 3-0-1-0; Blaschke, rf, 4-0-1-1; Warren, dh, 4-0-1-0; Trussoni, 2b, 0-0-0-0; M. Ghelfi, c, 3-0-1-0; Schultz, cr, 0-1-0-0; Pfennig, ss, 3-0-0-0. Totals: 31-6-10-6.

REEDSBURG (15-8)

Lennon, ss, 3-0-0-0; Greenwood, lf, 3-0-1-0; Huber, cf-p, 3-0-0-0; Mazur, 3b, 3-0-0-0; Huinker, c, 2-0-1-0; Johansen, cr-cf, 1-0-0-0; Dempsey, rf, 2-0-2-0; Schrank, p-1b, 2-0-0-0; Hess, ph, 1-0-0-0; Berg, 1b, 1-0-0-0; Gasser, cr, 0-0-0-0; Farber, dh, 2-0-0-0; Lucas, 2b, 0-0-0-0. Totals: 23-0-4-0.

2B—Blaschke, Warren. 3B—. HR—Juan.

Pitchers

Central: Penovich 7ip, 4h, 0r, 0er, 8k, 3w.

Reedsburg: Schrank 61/3ip, 7h, 3r, 3er, 2k, 1w; Huber 2/3ip, 3h, 3r, 2er, 1k, 0w.

WP: Penovich. LP: Schrank.

SEMIFINALS

CENTRAL 4, LOGAN 3 (8)

Central 010 110 01 — 4 7 3

Logan 002 010 00 — 3 4 3

Pitchers: C—Warren; L—Lubinsky. WP—Warren (10k, 6w). LP—Lubinsky (4k, 0w).

Leading hitters: C—Juan 2-4 (2b), D. Ghelfi (2 rbi); L—Weber 2-4.

Records: C 13-9; L 17-4.

REEDSBURG 3, MIDDLETON 1

Reedsburg 030 000 0 — 3 6 1

Middleton 000 100 0 — 1 5 4

Pitchers: R—Downing; M—Heise. WP—Downing (1k, 0w). LP—Heise (3k, 2w).

Leading hitters: R—Lennon 3-4; M—Drunansky (2b).

Records: R 14-8; M 17-5.