Prep baseball: Home runs lift Memorial past North in regional championship

Spencer Flaten, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·4 min read

Jun. 17—Dylan O'Connell was cooling off in the dugout when he heard it.

And as soon as he heard the ping of the baseball making contact with the bat, he knew.

No visual required — Jack Redwine had just launched a home run out of Carson Park to give Eau Claire Memorial a late two-run lead over Eau Claire North in a Division 1 regional final.

"I heard the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd, and I was like, 'Yeah, that one's going a long way,'" O'Connell, the Old Abes' starting pitcher said. "I didn't even have to see it to know that one was gone."

And that lead, taken in the top of the sixth inning, gave Memorial's pitchers enough cushion to work with. The Old Abes held on for an 8-5 win Thursday over the Huskies to win a regional title.

"I was just looking to put it in play," Redwine said of his two-run charge over the right field wall. "It was a long at-bat, and I got a fastball over the plate and I was able to drive it."

It was the second homer of the game for the Old Abes. Peyton Platter launched a solo shot to right field in the fifth inning to tie the game at 4-4.

The blasts helped make the difference in a back-and-forth rivalry affair with a trip to sectionals on the line.

"One through nine, they were tremendous hitters today. They were tough outs," North coach Bob Johnson said of the Old Abes.

Memorial will play River Falls in the sectional semifinals at 10 a.m. on Monday in Marshfield. The winner of that game advances to the sectional final later that day, where a trip to state will be on the line.

The game featured five lead changes, with Redwine's home run serving as the final one. North held leads of 1-0, 3-2 and 4-3, but Memorial had an answer each time.

"I'm kind of speechless, to be honest," said O'Connell, who worked six innings on the mound. "North's a really good team, and I know Memorial has a history of losing this game in the past five years or so. So that one felt good."

Memorial led 2-1 after an inning and a half thanks to Jake Becker's two-RBI double, but the Huskies were resilient. Jack Kein drove in a run with a groundout in the bottom of the second, and Evan Zachow put the Huskies up 3-2 with an RBI single.

Vincent Trapani knotted things up in the top of the third with an RBI double for Memorial, and the Old Abes appeared set to take the lead in the fourth when they loaded the bases with just one out. But the Huskies picked off two of the three baserunners, wiping out the threat in a big way.

They turned the momentum into offense in the next inning when Kein singled in a run to put North ahead 4-3. But Platter's homer tied it in the fifth, and Redwine gave Memorial the lead for good in the sixth.

"It's a great feeling. They're a good team, they fought hard," Redwine said. "So did we. We played great D and Dylan O'Connell pitched a great game. It's exciting, for sure."

Redwine finished 3 for 3. Becker, Trapani and Campbell Kapanke added two hits each for Memorial.

Kein finished with three RBIs for North.

"I'm really proud of the way my team played today," Johnson said. "They advanced runners, they scored runners when they needed to, they played with energy. Memorial was just a really, really tough offensive team today."

O'Connell held North to six hits across six innings and gave up five runs. Peyton Platter earned the save by striking out the side in the seventh.

"Pretty much the whole game was punch-for-punch," O'Connell said. "Those two home runs really put us over the edge. I feel like it gave me a lot more confidence on the mound knowing the scoreboard behind me was going in our favor."

North ends the season at 18-6 and graduates a five-player senior class which helped the team compete for a Big Rivers title this spring.

"They're very kind, courteous, caring young men, and that was kind of the theme of my speech to them after the game," Johnson said. "Right through the whole roster, it's just a great group of fun young men to be around."

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Memorial 8, North 5

Memorial;021;013;1;— 8 12 0

North;120;101;0;— 5 6 0

WP: Dylan O'Connell (6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 K, 5 BB). LP: Henry Wilkinson (0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 K, 1 BB). Leading hitters: Memorial: Jack Redwine 3-3 (HR, 2 RBI), Jake Becker 2-4 (2B, 2 RBI), Vincent Trapani 2-4 (2B, RBI), Campbell Kapanke 2-4 (2B, RBI), Peyton Platter 1-4 (HR, RBI). North: Jack Kein 1-2 (3 RBI), Chad Kron 1-3 (2 R, 3B), Sam Feck 1-4 (R, 2B). Records: North 18-6, Memorial 19-7.