The Manitowoc Lincoln baseball season has come to an end, and one local softball team has punched its ticket to the WIAA State Tournament while another fell short.
Nine Ships seniors played their final high school game last night as they fell to the #1-seeded and undefeated Germantown Warhawks.
The Hawks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning, and then exploded for 5 runs in the 3rd.
The Ships would respond with a run off the bat of Sophomore Nick Minikel, but that and a hit from Freshman standout Bently Henrickson were all the offense they could muster.
Minikel and Senior Gabe Eichmann split time on the mound, giving up 13 runs in the loss, but Eichmann did strike out four batters over his 2 and two-thirds innings of work.
The Ships season ends with a 15-13 overall record, and a 6th place finish in the FRCC at 10-9.
Elsewhere, New Holstein faced off against Wittenberg-Birnamwood last night at Wrightstown High School and knocked off the Chargers 9-2.
The Huskies started slow, plating a pair of runs in each of the first two innings, before erupting for 5 runs in the 4th, and two more in the 5th.
The Chargers were able to slow the bleeding with runs in the 5th and 6th innings, but it wasn’t enough as the Huskies rolled to a Sectional Championship, and an invite to the state tournament on Godman Diamond in Madison.
New Holstein was led offensively by a 3-hit night by Natalie Wagner, while Emma Manderscheid drove home three of her team’s runs.
Reese Kraus earned the win on the mound, striking out 4 batters while allowing 5 hits in a full game performance.
Spooner, Lomira, and Lodi also won their respective Sectional championships, but the seedings for the state tournament have not yet been determined.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s bid to repeat as state champs fell just short.
The Vikings fell to Fox Valley Lutheran 7-6 in Plymouth.
The Foxes struck first, scoring twice in the 1st inning, but the Vikings responded in the 3rd, taking a one-run lead.
Fox Valley Lutheran retaliated with five runs over the next three innings, and Denmark added a pair, leaving them down 2 entering the final inning.
The Vikings would get one of those runs, but fell just short in its comeback attempt.
Hazel Fields, Maffie Frank, and Shaelyn Kraschnewski accounted for a majority of the offense, each notching a pair of hits, with Frank turning those into 3 RBI.
She also pitched four innings of 4 strikeout ball in the loss.
The state tournament will begin with Division 1 Quarterfinals on Wednesday, with New Holstein playing at either 11:30 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. on Friday (June 12th).
