Six-run ninth inning lifts Athens to state
WISCONSIN RAPIDS - After a 35-year wait, the Athens baseball team is headed back to the state tournament.
The Bluejays scored six runs in the top of the ninth inning to secure a 9-3 WIAA Division 4 sectional title win over Niagara at Witter Field on Tuesday.
Tied at three, Seth Coker gave the Bluejays the lead by dropping down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Colton Weiler. Dakota Willemssen provided some insurance runs by clubbing a bases-clearing double.
The clutch at-bats kept coming for Athens, as Connor Westfall brought home Willemssen on a RBI triple. Westfall later scored to cap the ninth inning rally.
After a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, the Bluejays forced a game-ending double play to secure their spot at state.
"I'm ecstatic," Willemssen, a sophomore, said. "I'm very proud of our team for all the things that we did. Everyone has contributed."
"It's great, it's what we've been working for since we were knee-high," junior Marshall Westfall said.
"The guys believed the whole time," Athens coach Bill Coker said. "They never gave up. We have such a young team, and for them to show that much maturity and poise, I'm very, very proud of them. They played their tails off."
Athens will battle Oakfield next Wednesday in a state semifinal matchup. The game will start approximately 25 minutes following the completion of the 8 a.m. state semifinal.
Klay Ellenbecker tossed the final 1⅓ innings to pick up the win for Athens. Ellenbecker also earned the win in the Bluejays 7-2 sectional semifinal win over Pittsville earlier in the day.
In Athens' sectional semifinal win, Willemssen drove in a pair of runs while Marshall Westfall and Coker each added a RBI triple. The Bluejays opened up a tight game with three-run innings in the third and fourth.
The sectional title game started in a similar fashion, as through three innings, the game was scoreless. The Badgers scored twice in the fourth inning to grab a lead before Athens responded with a two-run inning of its own in the fifth. Coker delivered a two-RBI single to score Weiler and Jake Stange.
The game remained deadlocked at two until the eighth inning, when each team scored once. The Bluejays surged ahead when Guyler Luther reached on an RBI infield single. The Badgers tied it when Anthony Hansen drove in a run on a single. The Bluejays kept the game alive by throwing the winning runner out at home.
The Bluejays' state roster will feature just one senior. While Stange will end his high school career playing for a Division 4 title, both he and the Bluejays will first will soak up his team's wild, sectional title win.
"I'll definitely be soaking this win in for a bit," Stange said. "Then we will get back to practice and hopefully go there (state), win a couple games and play some good baseball."
"Right now, we are at a point where we can enjoy the experience," coach Coker said. "We are going to take a step back, take a deep breath and soak it all in."
Despite the school's accomplishment, the Bluejays still are not satisfied with their season.
"Making it to state, it's a dream," Marshall Westfall said. "It was the goal, but I don't think it would be a complete season without two more wins. I expect nothing less than a gold medal."
Morgan Rode can be reached at 715-345-2258, or by email at mrode@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter as @MRode23.
Athens 7, Pittsville 2
WP - Klay Ellenbecker 4IP, 3K, 1BB; LP - Kordel Landphier 2⅔IP, 0K, 3BB; 2B - Athens, Dakota Willemssen, Seth Coker; 3B - Athens, Marshall Westfall, Coker.
Athens 9, Niagara 3 (9)
WP - Klay Ellenbecker 1⅓IP, 0K, 0BB; LP - Jacob Bousley 4IP, 1K, 0BB; 2B - Athens, Dakota Willemssen; Niagara, Anthony Hansen, Kelvin Jeffords; 3B - Athens, Conner Westfall.