A win and the one that got away

As had often been the case during a 10-game losing streak, the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn baseball team fell behind early against West Bend-Mallard. But there was one crucial difference in the June 21 contest: the Hawks overcame adversity to claim an 8-5 win in Hartley.

West Bend-Mallard took a 4-1 lead with a run in the first inning and three more in the second as a result of timely hits and untimely miscues by the Hawks.

"It felt good to get back in the win column," said Hawk coach Jeremy Gloden. "I felt like we put a little too much pressure on ourselves to start and we dug ourselves a hole early. Once we finally settled down, we played good baseball and fought our way back. That was good to see."

Trenton Vollink scored H-M-S's run in the first inning on a groundout by Jonathan Ortiz. Tyson Tessum scored on a groundout by Vollink in the third to make the score 4-2.

In the next inning, a run-scoring single by Tanner Tesch and a two-run single by Vollink put H-M-S in front. Another run came via a passed ball.

West Bend-Mallard cut the deficit to one run in the fifth. The Hawks answered with a pair of insurance runs coming on a groundout by Tesch and a single by Nick Bronstad.

Jordan Ortega went the distance on the mound. He gave up eight hits and five runs (two earned), walked two and struck out four.

Leading hitters were Vollink with two hits and three runs batted in; Bronstad and Ortiz with two hits and an RBI; Tesch with one hit and two RBI; and Jacob Cates with a triple.

• vs. Harris-Lake Park

Another four-run deficit at Harris-Lake Park proved too much for H-M-S to overcome in a 6-5 loss on June 22.

A two-out rally in the first inning resulted in four runs for the Wolves.

"H-LP is very good at taking advantage of walks, errors and passed balls," Gloden observed. "They were able to manufacture runs on multiple occasions."

A runs-scoring single by Jordan Ortega followed by an RBI double by Jacob Cates in the third inning narrowed the gap to 4-2. But H-LP rebuilt the lead to 6-2 with a run in the third and another in the fourth.

Cates' run-scoring double and Tanner Tesch's two-run double in the fifth pulled H-M-S to within 6-5. But the Hawks had only one baserunner during the rest of the "tough loss" to the Wolves.

"We dug ourselves another early hole that we weren't able to climb back out of," Gloden said. "I was happy with how we battled back from being down 4-0, but the early deficit was too much to overcome."

Gloden was also pleased with the hitting at the top of the order. Vollink was 3-for-4; Cates was 2-for-4 with two runs batted in; Ortiz was 1-for-2; Tesch was 1-for-3 with two RBI; and Ortega was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Evan Eilers also had one hit in three at-bats.

Cates only allowed three hits and one earned run, while walking three and striking out nine.

"Jacob pitched well enough to win," Gloden noted. "Once he settled in, he was tough on the mound."

• vs. MMCRU

MMCRU jumped out to a big lead and rolled past H-M-S, 17-2, on June 24 at Marcus.

The Royals' nine runs in the first inning were the result of five hits and five walks. Five more hits led to six runs in the third inning, and MMCRU added two runs in the fourth.

Evan Eilers was the losing pitcher. He gave up three hits and eight runs, and walked five. Tyson Tessum allowed nine hits and nine runs, and walked six.

The Hawks did not have a baserunner until the fourth inning when they loaded the bases with a single by Jordan Ortega and walks to Tanner Tesch and Nick Bronstad. Jack Mastbergen walked to force in the first run and Eilers hit a sacrifice fly to add the second.

H-M-S fell to 3-14 overall and 1-8 in War Eagle Conference play.