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

By DENNIS SEMRAU 

Wissports.net 

  

GRAND CHUTE – The third time was a charm for Nick Blume Wednesday afternoon at Fox Cities Stadium. 

  

The Marathon senior pitcher and infielder made his third and final trip to the WIAA Division 3 state championship game a memorable one. 

  

Blume pitched a complete game and set a division record with five hits to spark Marathon to a 15-7 victory over La Crosse Aquinas for the Red Raiders second title in three years. 

  

"It s exciting for sure. To come back here three years in a row is something that a lot of people can t say they did," said Blume, who was 5-for-6 at the plate, including a double, and scored a run and drove in two. "We were able to do it and get a victory twice." 

 

Marathon (27-3) defeated Aquinas 3-2 for the 2008 Division 3 title and edged the Blugolds 7-6 in the state semifinals a year ago. 

  

"You know you re going to get a tough battle when you play Marathon," Aquinas coach Scott Bagniefski said. "You want to play the best and we did today. They came up on the upper end today." 

  

The Red Raiders were poised to break the game open when they scored six runs before the Blugolds came up to bat. 

 

"That was a key, getting six runs for us in the beginning," Blume said. "It really helped us relax."   

  

Blume ignited the rally with a lead-off double, moved to third on a sacrifice and trotted home when Koleman Schilling followed with his fourth home run of the season, a long blast over the left field fence to stake Marathon to a 2-0 lead. 

  

Cody Hanke and Will Reiche both walked and Cole Petersen, and Mitchell Seliger delivered back-to-back RBI-singles to increase the Red Raiders lead to 4-0. 

  

Ben Krautkramer followed with an RBI double and Blume had his second hit of the first inning, an RBI-single to left, to cap the outburst. 

  

Jim Coady got Aquinas (23-7) off to a good start in the bottom of the first inning with a booming triple to right-center field. Nic Barnes followed one out later with an infield single to score Coady. 

  

But the Blugolds made it a new game and pulled itself out of its early hole with a five-run outburst in the bottom of the third inning. 

  

Evan Pederson and Coady led off with back-to-back singles and Pederson scored on an infield error. Zach Kammel delivered a bases-loaded single to left to score two runs and Andy Fuchs scored on an errant relay throw from shortstop Will Reiche. 

  

Ethan Jerue tied the score at 6-6 with an RBI-single on a 0-2 pitch. 

  

"They came back with five runs and it was tough but we knew we had to get our bats going and play better defense," Blume said. "We were able to do that and come away with the win." 

 

Marathon, though, jumped back in front on Reiche s two-run single with the bases loaded in the fourth. 

  

"The two runs hurt because we had just gotten the momentum and they took it back," Bagniefski said. "We could have quit but we didn t. We left it on the field." 

 

Marathon tacked on three more runs in the fifth when Josh Ahles ripped an RBI single and Hanke and Reiche drew bases-loaded walks. 

  

"Aquinas had one big inning but they only had one. That was probably the key to the game. We settled down," Marathon coach Steve Warren said. 

  

The Red Raiders capped the scoring with four runs in the seventh. 

  

"In the beginning I was leaving the ball right down the middle of the plate which hurt us," Blume said. "Then I started hitting my corners better and thankfully we were able to hold them off." 

  

 

Marathon 15, Aquinas 7 

 

Marathon     6 0 0 2 3 0 4 – 15 15 4 

Aquinas       1 0 5 0 0 1 0 –   7 10 2 

  

Pitchers (ip-h-er-bb-so) – Blume (W, 7-10-3-0-4). Fuchs (L, 4-9-8-4-1), Vegel (2/3-3-3-2-0), Marx (2.1-3-1-3-0). 

  

Leading hitters: M – Blume 5x6, Seliger 2x3, Schilling 2x4, B. Krautkramer 2x4. A – Jerue 2x3, Coady 2x4. HR: M – Schilling. 3B: A -- Coady. 2B: M – Blume, B. Krautkramer 2.