Five-game win streak includes key SLC victories
By Mike Ramczyk
BURLINGTON – After a devastating home loss to Waterford last week, the Burlington baseball team’s chances of a third straight Southern Lakes crown seemed doomed.
The Demons still had to play in Waterford and had to finish the conference slate with a two-game series against SLC-leading Wilmot.
What a difference 10 days makes.
Since that humbling defeat, Burlington has reeled off five straight wins, four in conference, culminating with a 6-1 victory over visiting Wilmot Thursday night at Beaumont Field.
Ironically, it was an assist from Waterford that helped the Demons clinch at least a share of their third straight SLC championship.
Shortly before the first pitch of Burlington-Wilmot, Waterford was upset by rival Union Grove, 12-10, thanks to four hits from the Grove’s Tyler Gamble and three hits each from Jack Clark and Owen Erickson.
So the table was set for the Demons, who were in the driver’s seat for another title.
And Burlington didn’t waste any time, scoring four in the first inning and riding a complete-game gem from Trent Turzenski for a comfortable 6-1 victory.
With the win, the Demons improved to 13-6 overall and 9-4 in conference, while Waterford sits at 9-5 and Wilmot and Westosha Central are both 8-5.
Burlington hosts Delavan-Darien today, and a win guarantees the outright SLC championship.
Tucker Strommen smashed a two-out, two-strike, two-run double in the opening frame, and Turzenski added an RBI single.
Burlington was able to beat Wilmot’s ace, Kyle Gendron, a Winona State University commit, and chase him in the sixth inning with a Derek Koenen RBI single.
The run support was more than enough for Turzenski, who fired a complete game three-hitter with three strikeouts.
Burlington head coach said the opening-inning offensive surge demoralized Wilmot and took them out of the game.
“There was so much energy in the place,” Staude said. “We put the foot on the gas pedal and came out swinging. Trent was really good tonight. He was dynamite.”
“They hit some balls pretty hard, and our guys made some good plays.”
Grant Tully made two diving catches in right field, and Michael Rozell made another outstanding catch in center field, Staude said.
“It’s nice to see guys step up in crunch-time moments,” he added.
In the sixth, Strommen executed a suicide squeeze to score Joe Tully, and Koenen’s hit ended the scoring.
“We’re happy to be in this position,” Staude said. “It helped to play Waterford and Wilmot the last two weeks. This is different because we’ve had to be a little more creative in the way we score runs. We knew we could pitch, but could we score runs? We’re finding ways to score runs.”
Staude said the team’s pitching staff has been excellent this season.
As a staff, the Demons have an ERA under 1.2 this season.
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