By Bud Milroy
Sports correspondent
The work in progress that is the Catholic Central High School baseball team continued a roller coaster season, winning a pair of games Saturday at the Midwest Classic Challenge but losing a pair of conference games.
The Hilltoppers spotted Kenosha St. Joseph a five-run lead through five innings April 12 and came up short 5-4.
“We played OK against St. Joe’s but once again, a mental error, a fielding error and too many walks put us in a hole,” said CCHS coach Tom O’Connell.
The Hilltoppers were within a run in the seventh with Rayce Wadsworth on base, but he was stranded there.
In the opening game of the Midwest Classic Challenge Saturday, CCHS took on Milwaukee King. After leading early, the game went to extra innings. Kross Krueger retired the King side in order in the top of the eighth.
T.J. Walkington opened the bottom of the eighth with an infield single, and Alec Wegge sacrificed him to second. Jake Surges followed with a bunt on which he was retired, but the throw back to third to try and cut down Walkington went awry, enabling him to score the game winner.
In the Hilltoppers’ second game of the day against Gilman, Catholic Central trailed 1-0 after the top of the first, but then scored all the runs it would need in the bottom of the inning.
With one out, Nolan Girard singled and Wadsworth followed with a double. Abel Wagner singled in Girard and after he stole second, Zach Mehring delivered a two-out single to drive in both runners to make the score 3-1.
The final would turn out to be 7-1, with CCHS adding four more runs in the second inning.
Wadsworth was on cruise control from the first inning on, allowing just seven hits, striking out four and walking just two.
“We had a good day,” said O’Connell. “Two real solid efforts on the mound good defense, no errors in either game and some nice at-bats.”
On Tuesday, Catholic Central dropped a 12-2 game against Shoreland Lutheran at Somers.
“We had no focus,” O’Connell said. “I don’t ever recall a day like this when an entire team was so totally out of focus.”
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