Team was 4-2 heading into game against Badger
By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
The Delavan-Darien High School baseball team played five games over a six-day stretch last week. Entering the week, the Comets were 0-1, but in its second game of the season against Williams Bay on April 11, its offense got rolling.
Jordan Ziolkowski scored the opening run in the bottom of the second inning, and four more runs ensued in the bottom of the third. The Comets scored in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as well, eventually defeating Williams Bay, 9-2.
One day later, the team travelled to Union Grove and scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning. The pitching closed out the game, leading to the 6-1 victory.
Josh Pickel went 2-for-2 on the day while Ziolkowski finished 2-for-3. Ethan Cesarz recorded a game-high two RBIs while scoring a run as well.
Noal Brouwer pitched all seven innings, allowing only four hits and one run while striking out six. The Comets were 2-1 after the meeting with Union Grove, but on April 14, the team faced Union Grove once again, but this time, at home.
Home-field advantage seemed to mean nothing between the two teams, as Union Grove fired back in the rematch between the two schools with a 6-1 victory of its own. It took nine innings to do it, and eight innings of scoreless baseball led to an action-packed ninth inning.
Cesarz pitched five innings of scoreless baseball for the Comets and reached base three times, but couldn’t get across the plate throughout the game. Union Grove scored six runs in the top of the ninth inning thanks to three singles and an error. Bradley Hansen of Union Grove had three hits and two RBIs, leading all hitters.
The loss dropped the Comets to 2-2 overall but a double-header against Clinton Saturday gave the team an opportunity to get back above .500. The Comets won both home games.
The first game didn’t see a lot of offense, but Delavan-Darien mustered up four runs on four hits compared to Clinton’s five hits and two runs. The Comets got two runs in the bottom of the second inning to open up the scoring and scored another run in the bottom of the third.
Jacob Benzing went 1-for-1 at the plate and walked twice in his other two-plate appearances. Jacob Klewin led all players with two runs scored. Roman Gonzalez also had a strong outing pitching, going seven innings while allowing just one earned run and striking out seven batters by the game’s end.
In the second game of the double-header, the 10-run rule came into effect after Clinton failed to score in the top of the fifth inning. The Comets scored three runs in the bottom of the first, four in the bottom of the second and three more in the bottom of the fourth, leading to the 10-0 victory.
The top of the lineup had great success in this game as Logan Rios finished the game going 3-for-3 and scoring three runs in the process. Gonzalez finished 2-for-3 while scoring two runs and Benzing went 2-for-2 and recorded three RBIs as well.
Jared Amborn pitched a shutout in his five innings pitched and allowed four hits throughout his 47 pitches. The Comets are now 4-2 this season with a game against Badger in a Southern Lakes matchup that was scheduled for Monday at home against Badger. The team was scheduled to play Burlington on the road Tuesday.
