Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

By DENNIS SEMRAU 

Wissports.net 

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STEVENS POINT[/size] – You couldn t have blamed Shane Hayes if he would have opted to remain in the dugout when it was his turn to bat in the top of the seventh inning. 

  

The West Bend West junior first baseman had struck out three times against Grafton right-hander Conor Fisk, who was recently selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2010 Free Agent draft. 

  

But the fourth time proved to be a charm for Hayes, who lined an RBI-single to left field to help rally the Spartans to a 9-7 win over Grafton in a WIAA Summer State Baseball quarterfinal game Wednesday afternoon at Bukolt Park. 

  

West Bend West (34-2) will meet West Salem (29-5), a 9-2 winner over New Holstein, in a state semifinal Thursday morning. 



"He was tough on me," Hayes said of Fisk, who finished with 11 strikeouts but also gave up six hits and walked seven. "He got me every time except the last one when I stuck in there. I had to do it for the seniors. We wanted it for them."  

 

Grafton held a 7-3 lead when West Bend West began to battle back in the fifth. 

  

Brandon Roman was hit by a pitch and one out later, Matt Wolf walked and Eric Ducharme delivered an RBI single to center, which also moved Wolf to third. Wolf scored on Steldt's sacrifice fly to right field to pull the Spartans within 7-5. 

  

West made it 7-6 in the sixth on Blake Wiskirchen's RBI double, setting the stage for a dramatic three-run seventh inning. 

  

Wolf and Ducharme led off with back-to-back walks. After Wolf moved to third on Steldt's fly ball to right, Hayes fouled off a squeeze bunt attempt and fouled off another pitch before lining a game-tying single to left. 

 

"That s like our team. We don t go down easy," Ducharme said. "If a guy s having a rough day, we pick him up. If we need that clutch hit or big hit, we re going to get it because we re going to grind the whole game, up or down because that s the kind of team we are. We do what we have to do." 

  

Ducharme then scored the lead run for the Spartans on a Fisk wild pitch when the Black Hawks were trying to pitch out and prevent the Spartans suicide squeeze attempt.  

  

"That was pretty much the game for us. It wasn t always pretty but the guys kept fighting and battling through," West coach Bill Albrecht said. "It isn t always pretty but we don t give up."

 

The Spartans jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning on run-scoring singles by Harry Steldt and Joe Stubbe and an infield error.

 

But Grafton (21-8) roared back to take a 6-3 lead in the second inning on just one hit, three errors, two walks and a hit by pitch.

 

"It was frustrating because that s not the kind of team we are," Ducharme said. "We re a fundamentally based team. But you try to stay up, correct the mistakes and keep battling. You can t get down on yourself." 

  

Dylan Mayer had a two-run single for Grafton and Ryan Hartwig, Robbie Doring and Kevin Scholz all drove in runs with ground balls that didn't leave the infield.  

  

Grafton extended its lead to 7-3 in the fourth when Scholz lined a two-out RBI-single to center.  

  

But the Black hawks, who were 4-23 a year ago and also overcame the loss of senior outfielder Matt Malkowski -- who died in an auto accident shortly before the season began -- couldn't keep West at bay. 

 

"We were flying under the radar for most of the year. For our seniors to finish their careers out on this field is just a tremendous accomplishment. It is one I will never forget," Grafton coach Brian Durst said. "They climbed the mountain. They finished at state."

 

Durst said it was Fisk s game to win or lose. 

 

"He was just gassed. He gave us everything he had this season and we rode it out to the end," Durst said. "It was his ball game and if we get a couple of balls to bounce our way, it s a different story. But he goes out a winner all the way." 

  

West Bend West, which is making its sixth trip to state in seven years, is trying to become the first team to win four titles. 

 

"We got back in the game because we threw strikes and played defense. In the second inning, we did neither," Albrecht said. "We ve played defense and pitched well all year but that second inning, that wasn t us.  But the guys stayed in there until we came back."  

 

West Bend West 9, Grafton 7 

 

[size=3][font="times new roman"]West Bend West    3 0 0 0 2 1 3 – 9  6  3 

Grafton                  0 6 0 1 0 0 0 – 7  8  3 

  

Pitchers (ip-h-er-bb-so) – Jon Nick (4-7-2-2-4), Davis Yach (W, 3-1-0-2-3). Conor Fisk (L, 7-6-5-7-11). 

  

Leading hitters: W— Ducharme 2x3; G – Mayer 3x4, Doring 2x-4, Scholz 2x4. 2B: W – Ducharme, Wiskirchen. G -- Doring. 

  



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