Victoria Dombeck, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
The small towns of Wittenberg and Birnamwood are used to playing alongside each other, but only one team could win the Western Shawano County Little League championship July 13 in Bowler. Wittenberg took the title, 13-2, to finish the season with a perfect 18-0 record.
Wittenberg started out strong on defense. After giving up a single to Birnamwood’s leadoff hitter, Logan Thiex recorded two strikeouts, and the combination of catcher Ethin Hintz and shortstop David Gauderman caught Mason Meverden attempting to steal second.
“Once you get momentum, it carries into the next inning,” Wittenberg coach Duane Potrykus said. “As soon as there is a good play made, all of a sudden, the bats come alive.”
The momentum did carry on for Wittenberg, which scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Birnamwood, which finished the season 15-5, was able to respond on defense with a clean inning in the bottom of the second.
Birnamwood put up two runs in the third to close the gap to 3-2 on hits from Max Fraaza and Brenden Luincentsen and walks to Max Kersten and Issac Szews.
Wittenberg scored one run in both the third and fourth innings, including a solo home run from Gauderman, then broke open the game in the fifth. Pierson Potrykus, Bryce Zoromski, Gauderman, Hintz and Theix had extra-base hits as Wittenberg scored eight runs.
Asked what he told his team after Wittenberg’s rally, Birnamwood head coach Phil Kersten responded: “Have fun, it’s baseball. Hits happen, errors happen, learn from it and try to score around it.”
The Birnamwood players are used to playing with Wittenberg players, and it was obvious each team knew what the other had in store.
“We are too much alike being Wittenberg-Birnamwood. It’s hard to play them, because we know them,” Kersten said.
Wittenberg’s pitchers recorded 11 strikeouts and gave up three walks. Birnamwood’s pitchers combined for three strikeouts and three walks.
After winning the tournament and being presented with the first-place trophy, Potrykus summed up Wittenberg’s season: “All year long, all we ever talked about was team, and that’s how we won, as a team.”
Wittenberg entered the 10-team, double-elimination tourney as the No. 1 seed in the West; Birnamwood was the No. 2 seed. Stockbridge was the No. 1 seed in the East, entered the tourney undefeated and was eliminated by Birnamwood.