Blue Devils turning things around
By Hub City Times staff
MARSHFIELD – After a 5-11 start to their season, the Marshfield American Legion Blue Devils have turned things around, going 6-1 in the week following a slow start.
On July 1, the Blue Devils won both games of a doubleheader with D.C. Everest at Jack Hackman Field in Marshfield. Post 54 won the first game 3-0. Stratford’s Chandler Schmidt tossed a complete-game shutout. Schmidt scattered five hits and struck out seven. Preston Wagner went 2-for-2 and Jacob Earll had a sacrifice fly.
Marshfield won the second game 5-2. Logan Schreiner was the winning pitcher. He threw five innings and gave up two runs on four hits while walking four and striking out one. Wagner drove in two runs with sacrifice fly balls in the second and fourth innings. Riley Boushack tripled and singled. Earll doubled and Devyn Palmer and Ben Gust each singled.
The Blue Devils won a third-straight game on July 3, with an 11-1 win over Wausau Post 10. Wagner got the win, tossing five innings and giving up one run on six hits while walking one and striking out four. Mason Coffren doubled and knocked in a pair of runs. Boushack singled and drove in two runs as well. Wausau pitchers also walked 11 Marshfield batters.
Marshfield was right back in action after the July 4 holiday, winning three of four games at the Eau Claire River City Classic baseball tournament July 5-7 in Eau Claire.
On July 5 Post 54 defeated the Green Bay Shockers 13-0. Post 54 scored nine runs in the fourth inning. Cole Hediger picked up the win, striking out seven batters. Earll drove in three runs and Greenwood’s Tragen Bogdonovich had a pair of RBIs.
Marshfield then split two games on July 6, first losing to Winona, MN, 13-2. Schmidt suffered the loss on the mound. At the plate, Palmer singled and doubled. Stratford’s Ty Pankratz added two singles and an RBI.
The Blue Devils came back later in the day to beat Eau Claire, 6-0. Coffren got the complete-game win while tossing a four-hit shutout. Earll doubled and tripled and drove in a run. Boushack, Pankratz, and Hediger each had two singles and an RBI.
In their final game of the tournament on July 7, Marshfield held off Altoona 8-7. Altoona scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead, but the Blue Devils rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the inning to get the win. Pankratz was the winning pitcher. Palmer singled and tripled and drove in a run. Luke Erickson had a single, a double and an RBI. Ben Gust doubled and knocked in a run. Bogdonovich had two hits as well.
After starting the season 5-11, Marshfield was 11-12 heading into action in the second full week of July. The Blue Devils play at Waupaca on July 12, then host Holmen for two games on July 13, followed by a doubleheader with Onalaska July 14 at Hackman Field. Post 54 plays Wisconsin Rapids at Witter Field on July 15.