WEST BEND — After a five-day layoff, West Bend West’s baseball team picked up right where it left off, knocking off defending Division 2 state champion New Berlin Eisenhower 5-2 in a nonconference matchup at Regner Park on Wednesday.
The Spartans had already clinched the inaugural Glacier Trails Conference title before sweeping Kettle Moraine Lutheran last week and made it six wins in a row to improve to 23-1 overall.
The Lions struck first with a run in the top of the second, but West evened things up with a single tally in the third, then took the lead for good with one more run in the fifth.
The big blow came in the bottom of the sixth, when the Spartans struck for three runs. Eisenhower was able to push across a run in the seventh, but would ultimately fall to 16-8 on the season.
Maddex Welzien went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored to lead the West offense. Colton Steinmetz had two hits, including a double, and also scored twice out of the leadoff spot.
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Dieter Pommer added two hits in four at-bats, driving in a run, while Kingston Bechler also had an RBI for the hosts.
Cullen Roell went the distance on the mound, allowing one earned run on eight hits, walking three and also striking out three in his seven innings of work.
West hosted Campbellsport on Thursday and closes out the regular season today at former North Shore Conference foe Nicolet before turning its attention to the postseason. The Spartans are a No. 2 seed and will host the winner between No. 7 Homestead and No. 10 Oshkosh West in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal on June 4. Unbeaten Germantown is the No. 1 seed in West’s sectional.
Eisenhower, which visited Arrowhead on Thursday, is a No. 1 seed in the bottom half of its Division 2 sectional. It will host either No. 9 St. Francis or the eighth-seeded Chesterton/St. John’s Northwestern/ University Lake co-op on Tuesday in a regional semifinal.