Senior Sawyer Martin and the Verona baseball team had the book on how Waunakee’s Wes DuCharme planned to attack the Wildcats with first-pitch offspeed pitches.
Senior Sawyer Martin went 2-for-4 and had four RBIs to lead Verona to a 15-0 five-inning win over Waunakee in a WIAA Division 1 regional championship on Thursday, June 4, at Stampfl Field.
Photo by Mark Nesbitt
Verona remained patient in the batter’s box and didn’t miss many of their pitches in slugging its way to a 15-0 five-inning win over Waunakee in a WIAA Division 1 regional championship on Thursday, June 4, at Stampfl Field.
Martin went 2-for-4 and had four RBIs to power Verona. The Wildcats had the leadoff runner on every inning. Verona pounded out 13 hits in four at-bats and scored a run or more every inning.
“He (Verona coach Brad D’Orazio) trusts us to go up with our approach,” Martin said. “We like to go after our fastballs. We knew he was going to come with offspeed and we knew he was going to pitch backwards. We knew it was all coming. We were ready and prepared.”
With the win, Verona (20-7) advances to the WIAA Division 1 Sun Prairie West sectional where the Wildcats will play Sun Prairie East in a sectional semifinal on Tuesday, June 9. Verona is one win away from tying the school record for wins in a single season. The Wildcats won the Big Eight Conference championship for the first time since joining the league in 2009. The last time Verona won a conference title came in 2002 when they won the Badger Conference.
“We have goals and this is just the start of our goals,” Martin said. “We have a lot more we can do.”
Junior Oliver Heckelsmiller hits an RBI single in the top of the first inning in Verona’s 15-0 win over Waunakee in five innings in a WIAA Division 1 regional championship on Thursday, June 4, at Stampfl Field.
Photo by Mark Nesbitt
Verona sophomore Caden Martin went 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Senior Will Scharenbroch knocked in two runs and scored two runs. Senior Grady Miller finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two triples and scored two runs. Junior Oliver Heckelsmiller went 1-for-1 and drove in two runs.
Verona senior Will Scharenbroch singles in the first inning against Waunakee in a WIAA Division 1 regional championship on Thursday, June 4, at Stampfl Field. Scharenbroch knocked in two runs in the Wildcats’ 15-0 win.
Photo by Mark Nesbitt
“It was a good night to hit with the wind blowing out and I was really happy with our approach,” Verona coach Brad D’Orazio said. “He’s a great all-conference pitcher and I didn’t see him give up more than two runs all year.”
Miller tripled in the bottom of the first inning. Heckelsmiller knocked in Miller with an RBI single.
“I think definitely getting that run in the first inning helped us set the tone,” Heckelsmiller said. “We constantly put pressure on them and I don’t think they could handle the pressure.”
The Wildcats scored three runs in the bottom of the second. Sawyer Martin had an RBI single to center. Miller delivered an RBI triple to right to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead. Heckelsmiller knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-0.
“We are a bunch of dogs,” Heckelsmiller said. “We never give up. We just fight.”
In the top of the third, junior Jaxon Wepking led off by bunting for a single. Scharenbroch smoked an RBI double to center and Caden Martin had an RBI single to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead.
Verona exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth. Sayer Martin crushed a three-run double to center and junior Dejon Knutson had a two-run double to center.
Verona seniors Landon Lassahn and Cooper Stier combined to toss a four-hit shutout. Lassahn, a Rock Valley College commit, pitched four shutout innings and allowed just two hits, while striking out three to earn the win. Steier tossed one inning in relief and struck out one.
“He gives us a chance to win every time,” D’Orazio said of Lassahn. “He started getting ahead of guys and staying out of fastball counts. He has been terrific all year.”