TURNING TWO … Evergreen shortstop Bryce Bolger fires to first base to complete a double play.
(PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
NWOAL PLAY … Kahle Albright throws a pitch in a start on the mound for Wauseon in last Monday’s NWOAL opener versus Evergreen.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
WAUSEON (April 14, 2025) – When a team gets 11 hits, and nine more base runners on walks, you would expect them to win the game, right?
Wauseon got those big on base numbers against Evergreen but could only put seven of them across the plate, and the Vikings got big hits when they needed them in the final two innings to chalk up a 9-7 come from behind victory.
“Everybody took a role in today’s victory,” Viking coach Chris Owens expressed. “We had some mistakes; we’re a very young team and we are going to make some of those mental errors. But when the time came, we stepped up and made plays.”
Evergreen took a quick 1-0 lead in the first on a pair of walks and a Layne Vance RBI single but a base running mistake where a runner didn’t tag from third on Colton Robertson’s liner to center with no one down cost the Vikings a chance to get more.
Wauseon countered with two to take a one-run lead against Viking righty Austin Burghardt in their half of the first. A pair of walks, and an error tied the game.
Kahle Albright’s infield hit, and Max Russell’s fly ball put the Indians ahead, but Evergreen escaped further damage, spinning a double play on Braylon Miller’s grounder.
A walk and Bryce Bolger’s ringing double against the left field fence off Albright knotted the game in the second but Wauseon again scored two to grab a 4-2 advantage.
Three straight walks to open the inning ended the day for Burghardt and Jack Altstaetter’s pop fly single to right marked the first run.
Troy Manz struck out the next two hitters, but Albright walked on a close 3-2 pitch to force home another run.
Albright got through the third but walked the first two of the fourth and hit another batter, bringing Maddox Schneider to the hill.
Bolger hit into a force at home, but John Herdman followed with a base hit to right center that scored one run and when the Indians were slow getting the ball back to the infield, Manz sprinted home to tie the game.
Altstaetter got the Indians the lead with a base hit, stolen base, then after a wild pitch, he scored on an errant pickoff throw to regain an Indian lead.
Russell’s triple and a sac fly from Miller doubled the margin in the fifth, and when Wauseon loaded the bases with one down, Manz departed, and Nolan Hudik came to the mound.
Hudik got Alstaetter on a pop to short and Caleb Kissel on a force play to extinguish the threat.
Evergreen used that opportunity to grab the lead in the sixth. A walk, Herdman’s second hit, an intentional walk to Vance with one out and a hit batsman sliced the lead to a run.
Robertson’s sacrifice fly knotted the game, and Blake Boucher delivered a two-out double down the left field line to put Evergreen on top.
Wauseon answered on three straight hits from Albright, Russell and Miller, two of those loopers that made the outfield grass, to tie the score again but Evergreen got out of further trouble when Russell was erased making an attempt to go to third on Miller’s hit.
Again, Evergreen put together a rally in the seventh. Bolger was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game, then stole second and third to give him five stolen bases on the night.
After Herdman struck out, Chris Shrader delivered another big hit with a single through the left side to give the Vikings the lead for keeps.
Evergreen got one more on another walk, Robertson’s infield single and an error to take a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the inning.
Hudik retired two hitters after issuing a walk to start the bottom of the seventh, but Kissel’s bouncer up the middle and another base on balls loaded the sacks for Albright.
Robertson was summoned to the mound and got the Indians clean-up hitter on a bouncer to the mound to end the marathon contest just before the setting sun was close to disappearing in the western sky.
Owens was exuberant with the way his team handled adversity in the final two innings. “Chris was 0-4 going into that at-bat but gets a big hit to put us ahead.”
“Colton Robertson comes in and really hasn’t pitched that much but gets one of their best hitters on a grounder to the mound. You know, offensively, it wasn’t our best day but when we needed big hits we got some. Everyone stepped up when it was important.”
Evergreen hosts Swanton Thursday and travels to Edgerton Saturday. Wauseon goes to Patrick Henry Thursday and hosts Ottawa Glandorf Saturday.
EHS 110 203 2 – 9 7 2
WHS 220 111 0 – 7 11 1
Records: EHS 4-4 1-0 NWOAL; WHS 1-5, 0-1 NWOAL
WINNING PITCHER: Hudik (2.1 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 earned, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts) Other: Burghardt, Manz, Robertson
LOSING PITCHER: Schneider (4 innings, 5 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts) Other: Albright
LEADING HITTERS: (Evergreen) Bolger – double, RBI, 3 runs; Herdman – 2 singles, 2 RBIs; Boucher – double, single, RBI; (Wauseon) Miller – double, single, 2 RBIs; Russell – triple, single, RBI; Alstaetter – 2 singles, RBI, 2 runs