WANNINGER STRIKES OUT 11

Brock Wanninger made his presence known on the mound Thursday, with 11 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings to help the Stoughton High School baseball team win its first game of the season, 5-2 at Monroe. Wanninger allowed one earned run on five hits and three walks but was mostly throwing strikes Thursday. Brady Schipper, who recorded the final out with a strikeout and earned the save, finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and three runs scored, and Nick Waldorf was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored to lead the offense. Andy Johnson hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Schipper for the eventual game-winner. Waldorf ground out to bring home Saxton Shore, and Dylan Nowicki grounded out to bring home Schipper in the seventh for insurance runs. Stoughton also scored twice in the first inning. Waldorf doubled home Schipper, and Nowicki singled home Waldorf. Max Lange took the loss for Monroe. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits and four walks in six innings, striking out three. Portage 8, Stoughton 7 A late rally was not enough for the Vikings Tuesday in a Badger crossover against Portage. Stoughton (1-7 overall) scored five times in the bottom of the sixth to cut its deficit to one, but that was where the scoring ended in an 8-7 loss. Portage did score four runs in the top of the seventh, but those runs were later vacated as darkness forced the game to be called. After coaches and umpires met, they decided to call the game after six innings. While there are lights around the high school baseball field at Stoughton, the city actually owns them and the team cannot turn them on. So when the game wasn’t over yet at 7:30 p.m., it forced the coaches to call the game. “There has been some issues as far as the boys having lights and the girls not having lights,” coach Jeremy Dunnihoo said. “The school doesn’t actually own the lights, so we so not have access to turn on the lights during high school baseball season.” Portage jumped out to an 8-0 lead through 4 1/2 innings, but the Vikings finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with RBI singles by Waldorf and Nowicki. Then in the sixth, Schipper hit a long fly to center field with the bases loaded. The center fielder lost sight of the ball and it fell at the bottom of the fence for a 3-run triple. Schipper later scored on a throw to third that got away. But that is where the offense ended. The Vikings struggled at the plate in the first four innings, stranding six runners in scoring position. And three of Portage’s first four runs scored on errors. “That was the killer,” Dunnihoo said. “In the first three innings, we had a guy or two in scoring position. Not being able to find ways to get those runs, that adds up.” Dunnihoo said that the team will need to start thinking ahead before plays hurt them if they want to play more consistent this season. “It is definitely the mental preparation and anticipation,” Dunnihoo said. “This is a thinking game, and you have to be ready to go. ... That is where we are struggling. It seems like a lot of the times the ball finds us and then we are deciding what to do with it.” But there are some positives early in the season, including some of the pitching performances by Nowicki and Wanninger, and there have been some good swings throughout the lineup. The main thing, he said, is putting complete games together at the plate and not just half games.

WANNINGER STRIKES OUT 11

Photo Credit: Stoughton High Athletics

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