Legion baseball team takes down Union Grove, 8-5
By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
The early part of the summer season hasn’t been all that kind to the East Troy Post 188 Legion baseball team.
But after getting its first win of the season Sunday, the hope is that things are starting to turn around a bit.
East Troy dropped its first three games of the week before it finally broke into the victory column Sunday with an 8-5 win over Union Grove.
The victory came on the heels of losses to Kenosha 7-6 and to Lake Geneva in a doubleheader 6-5 and 7-6. East Troy now is 1-3-1 overall.
East Troy coach John Wick was pleased to see his team do what it needed to in the win over Union Grove.
“We didn’t hit the ball very well, but we took what we were given,” he said. “The kids are getting smarter on the bases and are moving well.”
While the East Troy offense was doing enough for the win, the pitching was the highlight.
Nathan Bertschinger worked the first four innings, and allowed just one hit before he was relieved by Jason Dopke, Richard Hastings and Logan Parsons the rest of the way.
Bertschinger avoided disaster in the third inning when he started a bases-loaded double play off a hot smash by the Union Grove hitter.
“I was really impressed with Nick’s work on the mound,” Wick said. “He has had struggles in the past, but his velocity improved, and his confidence seemed to grow with every pitch. He will be important to the pitching staff if we are to be successful.”
Parsons’ effort at the end of the game was another key, Wick said.
“I was also pleased with Logan’s job,” he said. “We are short (of) arm, and he hasn’t thrown in three years, but hit the strike zone well.
“When I asked who could throw, or who could fill in at third, I got a great response from Jason Dopke, (who said), ‘We’re baseball players, coach, we can play any position you need us (to).’ We are going to need that as we get into our tournaments.”
Legion falls in twinbill
East Troy led the opener with Lake Geneva 5-4 after the fifth inning, but the hosts earned the walk-off win with a two-run hit in the seventh.
Josh Oswald led the offense with an RBI single in the first inning and a game-tying home run in the fourth.
The second game was similar as the first, as Lake Geneva recorded another late-inning victory.
East Troy led 1-0 in the first and 3-1 in the third on an RBI hit by Tyler Schweder, but a throwing error ruined a solid pitching effort by Will Iloncaie.
“(He) pitched another great game,” Wick said. “He was hurt by a couple of errors and inconsistencies in the field.
“This was another game where we got preoccupied with the umpires and let our heads go a bit. … We are four plays away from being 4-0. It’s a learning curve, and we are getting there.”
East Troy led 6-4 in the week’s first game at Kenosha, but couldn’t hang on, as the hosts rallied for the 7-6 victory.
The legion was back in action Tuesday against visiting Richmond, Ill., and hosts the Kenosha Rake Thursday at 5:30 p.m. East Troy travels to Jefferson Friday for a three-day tournament at Fischer Field, beginning with a game against the hosts at 5:15 p.m.
