Panthers come up just short in 11-inning semifinal

By David Nordby

The Brillion News

GRAND CHUTE – It was everything a sports fan could hope for from a state semifinal game – extra innings and nearly three hours of competitive baseball.

Unfortunately for No. 3 Reedsville and the loyal Panthers’ fans in attendance, Tuesday’s WIAA Division 4 state semifinal game at Fox Cities Stadium went in a 2-1 favor to No. 2 Potosi/Cassville.

“Be proud, that was the biggest (message to the team),” Coach Luke Ubersox said. “I want them to be proud. I challenged our underclassmen to follow the example that our seniors left.”

Both teams had plenty of opportunities in the game, but strong pitching helped keep it low-scoring.

“The game itself was a marathon. It felt like a marathon,” Ubersox said.

The crescendo finally came in the bottom of the 11th inning when Ben Infield scored a game winning unearned run after a fielding error by the Panthers.

Infield led off the inning with a single and later advanced to second base.

The Panthers finished with two hits in the game, well below their season average.

Ben Prochnow hit a single to left field in the third inning and Caleb Schwahn singled to center in the seventh inning.

“It’s frustrating,” Prochnow said. “We took some poor approaches sometimes, swinging early or going over. It was just kind of a group effort that wasn’t at our best or where needed to be to get it done. You can’t blame it on one or two plays in the field or even on pitchers not throwing strikes. It was on the bats, all nine guys. We just didn’t get it done.”

Reedsville’s lone score came in the sixth inning. Prochnow reached base on a fielding error and Nathan Christensen batted Prochnow in to tie the game 1-1.

“We did hit some balls very well, just didn’t get the result we wanted,” Ubersox said. “Sometimes it’s the little bitty things, who blinks first, and in this case, it was us.”

Tuesday marked the end of a memorable few months for Reedsville. Six members of the baseball team were also a part of the varsity team that won the state basketball championship.

Tuesday marked the first state tournament appearance in baseball.

"That’s why I hope when they look back they appreciate what we did, what we’ve done, and for the young guys to keep us at this level," Ubersox said.

A full version of this article will appear in the June 18 print edition of The Brillion News.