GRAND CHUTE — Even though Reedsville’s first-ever trip to the WIAA state baseball tournament ended with a loss, it certainly was memorable.
The third-seeded Panthers fell to No. 2 Potosi-Cassville 2-1 in 11th innings on June 16 in the Division 4 semifinal.
For the game to go as long as it did was a testament to the resilience of Reedsville which refused to give up no matter what setbacks occurred.
Starting pitcher Landon Maertz didn’t make it out of the second inning, being relieved in favor of Lucas Lodel with two outs in the bottom of the second.
Lodel responded by tossing 7 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, constantly getting out of jam after jam from the moment he stepped onto the mound.
Potosi-Cassville stranded a new all-division state-record 19 runners on base which broke the previous record of 14.
There were even two plays at the plate to end scoring chances for the co-op.
By all rights, the Panthers shouldn’t have been in the game if not for their tenacity.
In total, the Panthers had two hits all game yet found ways to keep fighting.
Reedsville scored its lone run of the game in the sixth inning when Ben Prochnow, the hero at the state basketball tournament, reached base on an error.
He then advanced to second on a bunt but saw nobody covering third base so he hustled another 90 feet to put himself in prime scoring position.
A groundout plated Prochnow and the game went into a perpetual tug of war with Potosi-Cassville threatening to walk the game off only for the Panthers to get the big play needed to escape.
In the end, Reedsville finally relented in the bottom of the 11th but it’ll be a game nobody forgets anytime soon.
And if you can’t get a victory, that’s at least a solid consolation.
Contact Tom Dombeck at 920-686-2965 or tdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Tom_Dombeck.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Reedsville baseball falls to Potosi/Cassville in 11 innings in state semifinal
Reporting by Tom Dombeck, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter / Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tom Dombeck, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter | USA TODAY Network
