'They played their hearts out': Edgar baseball team loses in semifinals in first trip to state tournament

GRAND CHUTE - The Edgar High School baseball team waited its entire existence to make its WIAA state tournament debut.

So having to wait an extra nine hours to finally get on the field was no big deal for the Wildcats. And playing two extra innings just added to the experience.

Unfortunately for Edgar, the first trip to state didn’t end how the Wildcats hoped as they lost to Ithaca 4-3 in nine innings in a Division 4 semifinal game Tuesday at Fox Cities Stadium.

The game was supposed to start at 9 a.m. but didn’t begin until 5:35 p.m. because of an all-day rain that was still lightly falling during the first three innings, stopped for a few innings and then was falling again a little heavier during the final few innings.

“Pulling in this morning at 7:45, walking off the bus and first thing they say is the game’s at 5:30 tonight,” Edgar coach Connor Handrick said. “We walked the grounds a little bit to get the kids used to it, then we headed back to the hotel for a little bit, went to the mall and went and hit at Kaukauna High School.

“It was a long day for sure. It seemed like it was forever long waiting, anticipating this big game tonight. But the kids adapted well. They came out, we put up some runs, then we let them back in the game and we answered with a good game played. We just came out short.”

Edgar scored three runs in the top of the second inning for a 3-0 lead. Back-to-back walks and a passed ball put runners on second and third with no outs. Brady Stencil drove in the first run with a grounder to short, then Justin Davis hit a double over the head of Ithaca left fielder Wes Nelson to make it 2-0. Keghan Hartway then singled to center with two outs to score courtesy runner Brock Mauer for a 3-0 lead.

Ithaca responded with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. No. 9 batter Hewsen Boland doubled over the head of Edgar right fielder Dakota Ellenbecker to bring in two runs, then Boland went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a grounder to short to make it 3-3.

Ithaca had a runner on second with one out in the sixth, runners on first and second with no outs in the seventh and runners on first and second with no outs in the eighth but couldn’t push across a run.

After Edgar went down in order in the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs loaded the bases on a walk, a single up the middle that glanced off second base and trickled into center field, and an intentional walk to load the bases.

Sammy Clary, the No. 3 hitter in the Ithaca lineup, then sent a deep fly ball into left-center field. The ball bounced out of the glove of outfielder Brett Baumgartner for the fourth Edgar error of the game, but it wouldn’t have mattered because it was deep enough to score Boland with the winning run.

It was a tough ending to a long day but Hartway, one of five seniors on the team, said the trip was worthwhile for Edgar.

“It’s a little exciting just because we’re the first team and we can say that we were the first team to ever come down here,” he said. “We are the best team in Edgar baseball history because no one else has ever gotten down here. It just feels good to be a senior captain and like guide the way for the younger guys on our team. We were a young team and I expect them to be down here next year.”

Edgar managed only four hits off two Ithaca pitchers. Clary pitched seven scoreless innings in relief of starter Micah Salisbury, allowed two hits and struck out eight to get the win.

Sophomore Jase Apfelbeck pitched six innings for Edgar, allowed five hits, three runs (one earned) and struck out six. Freshman Lucas Stahnke pitched the final two innings, gave up one hit, one run and struck out two in taking the loss.

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Edgar ends the season with a 13-8 record after finishing fourth in the Marawood South Conference.

“The legacy that they get to leave behind, at the end of the day win or lose, they get to lay their head on their pillow tonight saying they’re the first team in Edgar baseball history that has made it to the state tournament,” Handrick said. “What that means for these guys, us coaches, this community, it’s huge.

“They played their hearts out all year long. They played good when it mattered. They got us here and we just came up short today, but at the end of the day they need to hold their heads high knowing that they’re the first team to do it. No one else can ever take that away from them.”

This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Edgar Wildcats fall short in WIAA Division 4 state baseball semifinal