Team picks up 1st conference victory since 2013
By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School baseball team recently put together a two-game winning streak and doubled its season win total.
The Elks beat Fort Atkinson 5-0 April 24 in a non-conference game at home for their first victory of the season.
Elkhorn won 4-3 April 23 in a Southern Lakes Conference game at Wilmot for head coach Jon Anzalone’s first win as the Elks’ head coach.
“The kids really put some games together,” Anzalone said. “It was doing the little things right that helped us come out on top – not missing signs, hustling, backing people up, staying focused.”
The Elks lost 3-1 April 23 at home in a SLC game against Wilmot.
The Elks played Union Grove (5-3, 2-2 SLC) at home Tuesday and again today at Union Grove in SLC games. The Elks play Westosha Central (7-2, 3-1 SLC) May 5 in a SLC game at Salem.
Elkhorn pitcher Joe Konopski threw a complete game in the victory against Fort (0-11). Konopski allowed four hits and struck out six, and threw 18 first pitch strikes.
“He threw the ball well,” Anzalone said. “He was just throwing strikes and keeping hitters off-balance.”
Anzalone said the Elks played Fort amid a mix of rain, sleet and sometimes snow. Elkhorn took advantage of four Fort errors and scored three runs in the second and two in the fourth.
Cody Johnson drove in two runs for the Elks against the Blackhawks.
The victory against Wilmot is the Elks’ first SLC victory since beating Westosha Central 11-9 May 7, 2013 in a SLC game at home. Elkhorn did not win a SLC game in 2014.
Elkhorn finished with just two hits against the Panthers, but scored one run in the first and another three in the third. Wilmot committed four errors.
Brandon Komar threw a complete game against Wilmot and allowed only five hits while striking out seven. Konopski finished with a hit and three RBI against the Panthers.
“Both of those games were just really good baseball games, with really good pitching both ways” Anzalone said of playing Wilmot. “It was old-fashioned, grind-it-out baseball.”
The Elks committed four errors in their 3-1 loss to the Panthers. Wilmot scored one run in the second inning and two in the sixth. The Elks rallied for a run in the bottom of the seventh.
Dylan Peterson finished with two hits for the Elks, and Konopski drove in the team’s sole run.
