By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School baseball team finished its regular season May 23 with a confusing, 8-7 non-conference loss at East Troy.
The Elks beat Beloit Memorial 3-0 May 22 in a non-conference game at home.
Elkhorn lost its final two Southern Lakes Conference games of the regular season. The Elks lost 7-0 to Delavan-Darien May 21 at home and 8-5 to the Comets May 19 at Delavan-Darien.
The Elks open WIAA Division 1 postseason play with a regional game either June 2 or June 4. Information regarding the opponent, time and site are available on the WIAA web site.
“It’s a whole new season now,” Elks coach Jon Anzalone said. “If our kids can play like they’ve showed I think we’ve got a good chance to advance.”
Elkhorn finished with just three hits in its victory against Memorial (15-9). The Elks scored in the first, third and fourth innings.
Memorial finished with six hits. Riley Reed pitched six innings for the Elks and Joe Konopski pitched in relief. Anzalone said the Elks played well defensively.
“We were able to manufacture some runs,” Anzalone said. “The kids had great energy and focus. When they do that, they see success.”
The Elks led East Troy (13-9) by two runs going into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Trojans scored the winning run with two outs on a passed ball by the Elks.
“It was a breaking ball,” Anzalone said. “The kid tried to put it low, where he was supposed to, and it just snuck through.”
Konopski, the Elks’ ace, threw 4 1/3 innings and struck out five. Elkhorn finished with seven hits. The Elks tied the game with five runs in the sixth and took the lead with two more in the seventh.
The Elks played flat against SLC rival Delavan-Darien (9-11, 5-9 SLC).
“I didn’t think we came with the energy and focus we needed, as well as we didn’t hit the ball well either game,” Anzalone said. “We just didn’t seem to have any urgency those two days.”
Anzalone said teams sometimes have “those days,” and said the Elks’ coaching staff is working to teach players how to move ahead.
“You can’t have days where you don’t prepare your best,” Anzalone said. “You’ve got to be mentally ready, as well as physically ready.”
The Elks’ Patrick Glogovsky finished with three hits in the 8-5 loss to the Comets.
