Posen drops two to NSL champs
The Viking baseball team (17-11, 7-5) was swept by the North Star League champs Au Gres on the County League Field Monday by the scores of 7-4 and 7-5. Coach Pat Kowalski said his squad pitched and hit the ball well but ?didn?t make the routine fundamental plays in the field.? He talked in practice Tuesday about staying mentally ready in the field. The Wolverines ended the year with a 13-1 record in the conference, while Posen had two remaining league games at Atlanta Wednesday (past press time). There also will be two added games on the schedule next Wednesday at home against Oscoda.
With 10 days before Posen?s district opener against Atlanta in Onaway June 4, Kowalski was in search of some competition before the tournament and Oscoda had an opening in its schedule and, like Posen, wanted to see a little action before the post-season tournament.
MATT SZCZEROWSKI (5-2) started game one against Au Gres. He pitched the entire six innings, giving up eight hits, only three earned runs, and had two walks, and struck out five. Nick Goupell had a terrific day at the plate, going four-for-four in the doubleheader, including a double in the first game. In game two the Wolverine pitchers issued two intentional walks to the senior because they didn?t want his hot-swinging bat to hurt them. Andy Styma was two-for-two with a double and an RBI. Kowalski believes the Vikes had enough runs to win game two with five, but ?threw the ball around? and made errors. The Viking bats struggled in the nightcap with Au Gres racking up 10 strikeouts. ?I don?t know what happened there,? Kowalski said.
A NICE PERFORMANCE by Brandon Hentkowski (7-5) was wasted in game two. He came on in the third inning and finished up the last four innings by fanning 10 Wolverines and allowing only two hits while walking two. Of the seven runs scored in the game, only two were earned. Nathan Strzelecki had a couple of hits in three trips to the plate. In the only other action in the last week, the Vikings swept an overmatched Brimley Bay squad. Brimley was the school the Posen basketball team faced in the regional finals in Newberry, but that excellence on the bas
The Vikings nipped the Bays in both games, 18-3 and 12-1. Szczerowski picked up the win in game one. It was his fifth win of the season. In three innings of work in the mercy-shortened affair, he gave up one earned run, walked two, and struck out four.
GOUPELL HAD a double and a triple in the game and was four-for-six in the doubleheader. Hentkowski had two hits and two RBI, while Derek King and Styma both were two-for-two. Hentkowski upped his season strikeout total in game two with nine and won his seventh game of the spring campaign. He allowed only one hit.
Nick Delekta was three-for-three, while Strzelecki was two-for-three with two runs batted in. Hentkowski and Szczerowski both were two-for-three. Hentkowski collected two RBI.