Legion Wins Three of Four at Madison Trip

The Raiders traveled to the Madison area this weekend to take on 3 quality opponents in Waunakee, Baraboo and Middleton. Coach Pavlue graduated from Waunakee High School in 2007. Baraboo is a traditionally strong baseball school within the same conference in which Coach Pavlue played baseball, and Middleton is a top-notch program which is usually ranked in the top 5 teams in the WIAA each spring season.

Hudson opened up the weekend with a 14-5 win over Waunakee on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, the Raiders handled Baraboo 8-3 but lost the second game of the doubleheader in a close 6-5 decision. On Sunday, Hudson shocked the home Middleton crowd as they topped Middleton by a final score of 7-4.

GAME SUMMARIES

7/16 @ Waunakee

Kellen Pearson made his 4th start of the season as he helped boost Hudson to a 14-5 victory over Coach Pavlue's high school alma mater. Pearson pitched a 7-inning complete game and improved to 3-2 on the season as he struck out 8 Warrior hitters and gave up just 3 earned runs. Offensively, the Raiders were clicking on all cylinders as they exploded for arguably their best offensive performance of the summer. All together, Hudson collected 14 runs on 14 hits, swiped 6 bags and walked 6 times. Andrew Entenza led the way as he reached base in 4 of his 5 plate appearances and finished 3-4 with 4 runs, 2 singles, a double, a stolen base and 2 RBI. Brett Steinwagner also collected 3 hits, two of which were doubles, and plated 4 runners as he finished 3-5 on the evening. Lawrence Pruitt and Erik Benzinger also each added two hits of their own as Pruitt finished 2-3 with 3 RBI and Benzinger finished 2-2 with 2 RBI.

7/17 @ Baraboo (Game 1)

Brett Steinwagner started on the bump for the Raiders as they began a twinbill with the Baraboo Thunderbirds in Baraboo on Saturday morning. Steinwagner pitched a 7-inning complete game and earned himself the victory. Steinwagner struck out 8 hitters and gave up just 2 earned runs as he propelled the Raiders to an 8-3 victory. Offensively the Raiders remained hot as they plated 8 runs on the power of 12 hits, 3 stolen bases and 6 walks. The Raiders were led by Derek Krumrei who finished the game 2-4 with a critical go-ahead 3 RBI double in the top of the 7th inning. Erik Benzinger continued to swing a hot bat as he came off of the bench and collected a RBI double and a RBI single in the 6th and 7th innings as he finished 2-2 in the game.

7/17 @ Baraboo (Game 2)

The second game of the twinbill on Saturday featured Hudson's Jon Stoffer making his 4th start of the summer on the mound. Despite Jon's effective pitching performance, the Raiders were unable to squeak passed Baraboo in game two as they lost by a final score of 6-5. Stoffer pitched 5 and 2/3 innings and struck out 3 Thunderbird hitters along they way. Brian DePauw made his second appearance of the summer and his first appearance as a reliever in the bottom of the 6th inning as he displayed great poise and concentration to retire the first hitter he saw after coming into the game with the bases loaded with a 1-run deficit. Offensively Hudson continued to swing the bat well as they collected 5 runs on 10 hits, stole 6 bases and walked 3 times. The Raiders were once again led by Derek Krumrei who singled three times in the game and finished 3-4 with a RBI. Andrew Entenza continued to swing a hot bat as he hit his team-leading 2nd homerun (a 3-run HR) of the season in the 5th inning and finished the game 2-4 with a run, a stolen base and 3 RBI. Kory Koller added a double and a single and scored twice in a 2-4 effort and Brett Steinwagner also added 2 hits and finished 2-4 with a RBI and a double in the game.

7/18 @ Middleton

Hudson came into Sunday's game vs. Middleton as large underdogs but proved to the home crowd that they cannot be taken easily as they pulled off an upset 7-4 victory. Cory Larson made the start on the mound and pitched a 7-inning complete game as he earned himself and the team one of the biggest victories of their young careers. Larson gave up just 4 runs on 5 hits and struck out 7 Cardinal hitters. With the win, Larson maintained his team-leading ERA which is now at an impressive 1.91. Offensively the Raiders got ahead early as they struck for 4 runs in the top of the first inning courtesy of an RBI single by Brett Steinwagner, a 2 RBI single from Erik Benzinger and a RBI single from Lawrence Pruitt. Middleton fought back in the bottom of the 2nd inning as they plated 4 runs on 3 hits to tie the game at 4-4. Cory Larson settled in nicely as he pitched a scoreless 3rd inning. In the top of the 4th inning, the Raiders struck again and regained the lead courtesy of a 2 RBI single from Derek Krumrei and a successful suicide squeeze from Kellen Pearson. With the three runs, the Raiders were up 7-4. Cory Larson took the mound with a lead in the bottom of the 4th inning and didn't look back as he shut down a talented Middleton offense to earn the Raiders a hard-fought and well-deserved upset victory. Offensively the Raiders were led by Erik Benzinger who finished 2-4 with 2 RBI and Derek Krumrei who finished 1-4 with 2 RBI. Kory Koller also added a single and a double in the game and finished 2-3 with two runs and a walk.


Hudson will be back in action on Tuesday, July 20th at home against River Falls before they head to Superior on Thursday July 22nd for their AAA Legion Regional Tournament.