Prep baseball: Old Abes ride hit parade to fifth straight conference win
May 9—Timely hitting and solid pitching is usually a winning combination on the baseball diamond. That was the case Tuesday afternoon as Eau Claire Memorial defeated Menomonie 14-4 in six innings at Dave Howe Memorial Field at Wakanda Park.
The Old Abes pounded out 11 hits, with nine different players contributing at least one, as they notched their fifth straight Big Rivers Conference victory.
"I thought our approach was incredible today," first-year Memorial head coach Kyle Kaufman said. "We have had a lot of guys stepping up each game.
"I thought we made good adjustments. And when you do that behind a pitcher like (Trapani) and give him a little bit of room — you are in a good spot."
Senior Roman Trapani went the distance on the mound for the Old Abes, striking out six and keeping the Mustangs off balance throughout the contest.
Memorial plated three runs in the top of the first inning as Trapani smashed a two-out single to left to score sophomore Grant Lokken, who led off the game with a walk. Senior Mason Stoik followed with a line-drive single to center field that drove in two as the Abes took a lead they would never relinquish.
Menomonie scored twice in the bottom of the first and then added two more in the fifth — but Memorial put five runs on the board in both the top of the third and sixth innings to push out to a comfortable advantage.
Junior Sawyer Stein had a triple and three RBIs for the Abes, while junior Leo Lauscher had two walks, was hit by a pitch and added three RBIs. Sophomore Cooper Jesperson led Memorial (which is now 9-7 overall) with three hits in four at bats.
Getting contributions from all over the lineup is something Coach Kaufman was excited about, but not surprised to see.
"This has kind of been our thing," he said. "It has typically been a few different kids stepping up into that spotlight and making a play."
Sophomore Cage Sorensen led the Mustangs with two hits, including a double.
The win on Tuesday was the kind of thing Kaufman hopes can help propel his team the rest of the season.
"When the season started, our guys hardly knew each other," he said. "We are really starting to come together and find some cohesiveness. We're playing for one another and that's been kind of infectious."
The Old Abes and Mustangs will face-off again on Thursday at Carson Park in Eau Claire.
