Seth Kuhn (22) slides safely head first into home on a passed ball to help Mosinee defeat Seymour 9-3 in the sectional semi-finals
After claiming their first regional title since 2010, Seymour baseball fell to Mosinee 9-3 in the sectional semi-final round played in Clintonville Tuesday morning.
In two games this postseason, Seymour had outscored their opponents 16-0, however they were unable to keep pace with Mosinee, which scored runs in all but one inning in which they came to bat.
Mosinee jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-RBI single from Ben Vandehey. They added two more runs in the third, scoring one run each on a pair of singles from and Brandon Bernarde and Austin Freiboth.
Seymour would score their only runs in the game with a three-run fourth inning that cut the lead to one. David Michaelson poked a bloop hit into right field to plate a pair, while Caleb Derus followed that with an RBI single of his own.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, Mosinee had an answer in the home half of the inning, getting all three runs back, two of them unearned. That put the Indians in control, as they would cruise to the six-run victory.
“I think we were kind of inconsistent,” Seymour coach Curt Jefson said after the game. “We had opportunities and Mosinee made some plays. They came out early and hit the ball with runners in scoring position.”
Jefson said after the team’s regional final win last week that it would take a strong effort to eliminate them from contention, but the bats from the Mosinee lineup did just that.
To this point, Seymour’s pitching combination of Justin Krull and Austin Marcks had been lights out. Krull took the loss in the game, allowing eight hits in 3 1/3 innings, while giving up five earned runs.
Marcks tossed 2 2/3 innings of relief, giving up four runs, two of them earned, on four hits. He also walked three batters.
“Our pitcher, Justin Krull, was kind of battling, I thought,” Jefson said. “The first few innings he had gotten up in the 70’s in pitching. I thought it was a good time for a change and they took advantage. Austin wasn’t as sharp as he had been and that’s kind of how it goes. That’s baseball.”
Despite only finishing with five hits, the Thunder lineup was able to put the ball in play and not one batter struck out.
David Michaelson paced Seymour, going 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI, while Trevor Cornell went 0-for-1, but reached base three times and had a run scored.
With the loss, Seymour’s baseball program will say goodbye to seven senior leaders, a group coach Jefson says will be missed next season.
“The senior group is a very special group in terms of they care more about each other than they do about themselves. Really our run was about them, so it’s hard to say goodbye to them. It’s a really neat group of seniors.”
Jefson added that’s he’s encouraged about the core group of returning players and the support they received from the community during their run.