Hilltoppers fall in 10 innings to Lutheran/Prairie

By Bud Milroy
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Catholic Central High School freshman Kross Krueger did everything his team asked of him Monday at Horlick Field in Racine.
The pitcher three nine scoreless innings and struck out nine without walking a batter, but gave way to Abel Wagner in the tenth in a 1-0 loss to Racine Lutheran/Prairie.
The loss dropped CCHS to 8-12 overall and 4-9 in the Midwest Classic Conference South.
“It was a well-played game with great pitching on both sides,” said CCHS coach Tom O’Connell. “We had a couple of chances to score but couldn’t get the big hit.
“We also missed on a couple of opportunities to execute that didn’t get done and that hurt us.”
Krueger was outstanding for the Hilltoppers, giving up just seven hits before Wagner took the mound for the tenth.
Ty Demuth sliced a fly ball to right field that was just off Jake Surges’ glove, giving Racine Lutheran/Prairie the double. Back-to-back wild pitches then followed and the game’s lone run crossed the plate.
Lutheran/Prairie’s Peter Drummond was also on top of his game. He went nine innings, striking out nine and walking two. Drummond also escaped Hilltopper threats in the first, second, fifth and ninth innings.
In the ninth, Rayce Wadsworth ripped a single to right field. Wagner followed with a base hit to right that sent Wadsworth to third. However, Drummond was able to slip a curve ball past Troy Ladd to end the inning.
On May 10, the Hilltoppers completed the sweep of the season series with Heritage Christian with a 7-2 win at Franklin.
Wadsworth dominated on the mound with six and a third strong innings. He gave up just two hits while striking out five and walking just one batter.
A one-out error in the seventh led to two unearned runs for Heritage Christian.