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PREP BASEBALL: RRC/WWG comes back to beat Wabasso to reach Section 3A championship game

Photo by Sam Thiel RRC/WWG’s Taylor Bunting winds up a pitch during their game against Wabasso on Saturday. The Falcons defeated the Rabbits 3-2 to advance to the Section 3A championship game.

MILROY – On a day where temperatures were floating in the mid-to-upper 80s, it was only fitting to have two baseball teams square off in a heated playoff battle.

The Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove Falcons and Wabasso Rabbits faced each other Saturday afternoon at Irish Yard in Milroy, and after a back-and-forth affair, the Falcons forced a late-inning comeback and earned a 3-2 victory in the Section 3A tournament.

The Rabbits struck first, scoring a run in the bottom of the first when Caleb Frericks got an RBI single to reach the outfield grass.

Wabasso then added another run in the bottom of the third when Nick Altermatt hit a leadoff triple and later came home on a wild pitch to give the Rabbits a 2-0 lead.

The game also featured a pitcher’s duel between RRC/WWG’s Taylor Bunting and Wabasso’s Devan Liebl. Both starters were in cruise control the entire game, with Bunting allowing just the two runs and four hits through up until the sixth inning while Liebl had allowed no runs and four hits up until that point.

In the top of the sixth, the Falcons broke through on the scoreboard, starting with a pair of singles by Mitchell Willhite and Bunting. After a wild pitch advanced the runners, Wabasso coach Chad Olson pulled Liebl and put Altermatt on in relief. Austin Irlbeck then stepped up and recorded an RBI single to cut it to 3-1. Another wild pitch brought in the second run, before Trevor Pederson got an RBI single of his own to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead.

Wabasso would get two more chances to retake the lead, but Bunting got five of his final six outs on strikeouts, including the final three Rabbit batters to seal the victory for RRC/WWG.

Wabasso coach Chad Olson said he liked his team’s attitude early throughout the game but felt he should have made a pitching change a little sooner so that RRC/WWG wouldn’t have started their rally.

“I thought we came out with the right attitude and got runs early. It was probably my fault for letting Devan go that long; it was their third time through the order and I should have pulled him one batter sooner, and then maybe they wouldn’t have been able to get that threat going,” Olson said. “That’s some of the stuff you do as a coach; you make the right decisions and sometimes you make the wrong ones.”

RRC/WWG coach Derrick Jenniges said his team did just enough to earn the win and said their sixth inning gave the team its spark back.

“Wabasso played really good defense to start the game. They didn’t give us any holes and to get those hits to lead off the sixth inning were big. A wild pitch here or there really sparked our dugout,” Jenniges said. “When we got behind, I thought our guys kind of lost their intensity, but by the fifth inning were able to pick it back up. I thought our guys did just enough to win today, but when you have a lot of seniors who have been through a lot together, you can count on them to come through.”

Frericks and Ty Kemp led the way for Wabasso with a hit and RBI each. Liebl went five innings and added three strikeouts to his two-run, four-hit night. Altermatt took the loss, tossing the final two innings while allowing two hits and one run while striking out three.

Olson said he was pleased with Liebl’s effort on the mound despite the start to the Falcons’ rally.

“He’s a good lefty, he’s crafty and does a nice job of keeping the ball down. But you see him and couple of times and that becomes an advantage because he’s not going to blow it by anybody,” Olson said. “He’s a contact pitcher but he did a phenomenal job and gave us a chance to win.”

Bunting led the way for RRC/WWG with three hits while Irlbeck and Pederson each added a hit and an RBI. Bunting also earned the win on the hill, going all seven innings while allowing two runs on three hits while striking out 11.

Jenniges said when Bunting is on the mound, his team has faith their starter is going to lead them to a win each time he steps foot on the field.

“Taylor’s been solid for us all year. The guys really believe that when he is on the mound that they are going to win the game and he believes that they are going to make the plays behind him,” Jenniges said. “He struck out the side in the seventh, but in the meantime he was able to get a lot of groundball outs and stay around the zone.”

Wabasso (16-7) will face Lac qui Parle Valley on Tuesday at 7 p.m. while RRC/WWG (22-3) advances to the Section 3A championship game and will face the winner of the Wabasso/LQPV game on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Olson said their biggest takeaway will be maintaining their high level of focus and gritty play the rest of the way.

“I thought we battled great and that’s the kind of mentality we need to have going forward,” Olson said. “We’ll try and see if we can get back there next Thursday.”

Jenniges said they will prepare like they have before and just enjoy playing another game.

“Just wait and see who the opponent is and have to prepare to see good pitching. We’ve got to put balls into play and nothing really changes,” Jenniges said. “It’s just another baseball game and it’s something that these guys have done hundreds of times in their life. Hopefully we can send that message and come out and enjoy the day.”

RRC/WWG 3, Wabasso 2

RRC/WWG 000 003 0 — 3 6 0

Wabasso 101 000 0 — 2 3 0

HITTING: RRC/WWG (Bunting 3 H; Irlbeck 1 H, RBI; Pederson 1 H, RBI); Wabasso (Altermatt 1 H; Frericks 1 H, RBI; Kemp 1 H, RBI).

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO): RRC/WWG (Bunting 7.0-3-2-1-2-11); Wabasso (Liebl 5.0-4-2-2-0-3; Altermatt 2.0-2-1-1-0-3).

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