Craig rallies past West in Big Eight Conference baseball

May 6—JANESVILLE — Janesville Craig's baseball team put their rally caps on Wednesday.

The Cougars scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning in rallying for a 7-4 win over Madison West in a Big Eight Conference game at the Youth Sports Complex.

Craig (4-1, 3-1) trailed 4-2 in the sixth but got a clutch two-run double from Jake Hansen and a strong relief performance from Aiden Schenk in picking up the win.

"All things being said, we're starting to do the little things that are needed to have success," Craig coach Vic Herbst said. "And I like our competitiveness. We left a lot of men on, but when we had to have the clutch hit, we got them in the sixth inning.

"Our conference is so tough, and even though we beat West last night, we knew they weren't going to just lay down and give us the game. It was a good win in a well-played high school baseball game."

Craig threatened to break the game open in the first when it pushed two runs across and had the bases loaded with nobody out. A fielder's choice, strikeout and pop-up ended the threat.

West (0-4) tied the game in the second, with one run coming on Caleb Karll's long home run and took a 4-2 lead with two more in the third.

The Cougars left 11 men on base for the game, including 10 through the first five innings.

With one out in the sixth, Craig's Patrick Schork reached on an error and advanced to second on a hit-by-pitch. Isaac Stried's sacrifice fly cut the lead to 4-3, and Jack Adams' RBI single tied the game. Hansen followed with a two-run double, and Jack Ryan capped off the rally with an RBI single.

Schenk was dominant in relief. The sophomore left-hander retired 14 of the 16 batters he faced.

"Aiden did a great job for us today," Herbst said. "We've used him in that capacity I think three times this year already and each time, he's come in and got the job done.

"He's pounding the plate and not walking guys, and that's all we can ask of him."

Craig finished with eight hits and played errorless ball for the third straight game.

The Cougars play at Beaver Dam in a nonconference game Saturday.

CRAIG 7, WEST 4

Madison West 022 000 0—4 6 1

Janesville Craig 200 005 x—7 8 0

Anderson, Baccus (4) and Karll; McLevige, Schenk (3) and Udelhofen

Leading hitters—Karll (W) 2x3, Barfield (W) 2x3, Udelhofen (C) 2x3. 2B—Osterberg (W), Hansen (C), Barfield (W). 3B—Baccus (W). HR—Karll (W).

SO—Anderson 2, Baccus 3, McLevige 2, Schenk 5. BB—Anderson 2, Schenk 1