Bradford baseball senior Daniel Kleutsch came up clutch in Saturday’s season opener.
He fired a five-inning no-hitter with 12 strikeouts as the host Red Devils cruised to 10-0 victory over nonconference foe Heritage Christian.
Bradford first-year head coach Eric Corrao takes over after five years as an assistant coach with the program. He replaces longtime head coach Matt Labuda, who stepped down in the off-season.
Corrao said Kleutsch was in control on the mound.
“Danny had command of all of his pitches today and pounded the strike zone,” Corrao said. “He consistently challenged hitters with his fastball and was able to get ahead of a lot of hitters and put them away with his off-speed pitches. Danny showed true senior leadership leading a young team to a win in its first game of the year.”
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The Red Devils scored six runs in the first inning and four in the second to pull away and eventually won on the run-rule over Heritage Christian.
AJ Oliver socked an RBI double (1 for 2) to lead the Red Devils, and Tyler Marquise added an RBI single.
Drew Dammann provided the only other hit for Bradford.
The Red Devils host Oak Creek in a Southeast Conference opener Tuesday.
INDIAN TRAIL STARTS 2-0: The Indian Trail Hawks opened the season with two big victories over nonconference Southern Lakes Conference foes — an 11-4 drubbing of Waterford on Friday followed by a 7-2 victory over Union Grove Saturday.
Conner Foster and Jack Zeller combined to allow only two hits and strike out six to shut down the Broncos in Saturday’s home opener.
Zeller was also 2 for 3 at the plate with two RBIs, and Gage Finch added two hits, including a three-run triple to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Seth Koci and Brad Bomkamp each added a hit.
Foster got the win after starting with four hitless innings and Zeller closed the door for the save for the final three outs.
According to Prep Baseball Wisconsin, the Broncos are ranked No. 3 in the state.
Against Waterford Friday at the Rock Sports Complex in Franklin, the Hawks got four innings of shutout baseball from pitcher Sam Callow, while Nick Beth and Payton Mancusi finished the game on the mound.
The Hawks scored 11 runs on eight hits, including two hits from Adrian Moyao and a hit and three RBIs from both Zeller and Bomkamp. Brad Filippis added a hit and an RBI.
It was Indian Trail head coach Lane Och’s first career win.
WESTOSHA CENTRAL 12, RACINE HORLICK 0 (5 innings): The visiting Falcons only needed five frames to run-rule the Rebels Saturday afternoon at Horlick Field in Racine.
Westosha Central is 3-0 on the season.
The Falcons allowed only three hits, all by junior starter Joe Suokko, who struck out three in three innings with one walk.
Carson Schultz and Bryce Backus each pitched an inning, with Backus striking out two and Schultz fanning one.
The Falcons scored four runs in the second, three in the third and four in the fourth to pull away.
Mason Mitacek went 2 for 2 with three RBIs and a triple. Jack Brenton went 2 for 2.
Backus did damage at the plate as well, hitting a three-run single and scoring three runs.
Other Falcons with a hit were Carson Sieler, Jake Urban, Gunner Schwartz, Braedon Moeller, Charlie Dietz and Max Nottingham.
On Monday, Central hosts Union Grove at 4:30 p.m.
SHORELAND LUTHERAN 0-5, PALMYRA-EAGLE 5-4: The host Pacers (1-1) split a pair of games in nonconference action Saturday in Somers.
In game one, the Eagles shut down the Pacers 5-0 behind 15 strikeouts.
Shoreland’s James Craig got the loss after pitching the first 2⅔ innings and allowing four hits and five runs, only one earned. Craig struck out four.
Isaac Lopez and Michael Curran threw 4⅓ innings of scoreless baseball, but the damage was done by Palmyra-Eagle, which scored two runs in the second and three in the third.
Craig was 2 for 2 at the plate for Shoreland, and Curran and Slayton Smith each had a hit.
“Palmyra got a strong pitching performance from their starter,” Shoreland Lutheran head coach Tim Mielke said. “He did a good job hitting spots and keeping us off-balance. While we did manage to get runners on and into scoring position, we never were able to string any consecutive hits together to drive them in.”
In game two, the Pacers got five solid innings from Smith, who allowed six hits, four earned runs and struck out four with three walks.
Mielke said Smith was keeping hitters off-balance, getting ahead in counts and using his defense.
Down 4-2, the Pacers got two runs in the sixth to tie it up, setting the stage for the bottom of the seventh.
Shoreland freshman Chase Creuziger led off with a single and Lopez moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Smith got a base hit to left, advancing Creuziger to third base.
Jackson Sadowski hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the winning run.
“I was really proud of how our guys settled down, bounced back in game two and battled,” Mielke said. “We played great defense and had timely hitting. A big credit to senior Tayven Holmes for coming in in relief, holding them scoreless, and picking up the win.”
TREMPER 7, MILWAUKEE KING 0: The Trojans opened their 2024 campaign with a shutout Friday at Andy Smith Field at Tremper.
Rory Dutton singled in two runs in the Trojans’ four-run fifth inning to break the game open. He finished with two hits and four RBIs.
“Rory gave us a quality start, and Matt (Renner) gave us length out of the bullpen, and Chris (McMahon) closed the door,” Tremper head coach John Matera said. “I’m proud of those three seniors and so glad to see them have success. We had a lot of quality at-bats and were able to push runs across when we had runners on.”
Ethan Bauerschmidt went 2 for 4 with three runs to lead Tremper, and McMahon, Alex Papka and Chase Maika each added a hit.
Dutton allowed only one hit in the first three innings and Renner struck out three and gave up two hits in the next three frames.
Softball
SHORELAND LUTHERAN DROPS TWO: The Pacers finally got some live action after seven postponed games, but it didn’t result in victories Friday and Saturday.
Friday at Indian Trail High School, Brookfield Academy downed Shoreland 18-8. Brookfield pounded out 18 hits and took advantage of seven Pacer errors.
Erin Borchardt took the loss for Shoreland, going all seven innings.
At the plate, Borchardt went 3 for 4 with a double, two triples and three RBIs.
Grace Olson also went 3 for 4, with two doubles and two RBIs. Alyssa Pavlovich added a hit, two walks, three runs and an RBI.
On Saturday at Indian Trail, Burlington defeated the Pacers 16-2. The Demons led 7-2 heading into the seventh before adding nine runs on eight hits.
Borchardt took the loss again. Burlington improved to 3-0.
“I saw great improvement from Friday’s game,” Shoreland head coach Kelly Hill said. “Our young outfield is learning on the fly. Thanks to Indian Trail High School and Academy for (use of) the field. It was great to finally play after seven canceled games.”
Olson led the way at the plate with a 2-for-3 day, while Pavlovich and Jackie Miller each added a hit.
Boys tennis
WESTOSHA CENTRAL OPENS SEASON 2-2: The Falcons split four duals Friday and Saturday at the Mukwonago Invite, earning victories over quality competition.
On Friday, Central knocked off Wauwatosa East 5-2 behind three singles wins and two doubles victories.
Christos Dovas won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 1 singles, while Jordan Oppenneer won, 6-1, 6-1, in No. 2 singles. Central’s Paxton Ferruzzi dominated at No. 4 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 win.
In doubles, Central’s No. 1 team of Brett Hanke and Camden Oppenneer won, 6-0, 6-2, and the No. 2 team of Owen Sweeney and Owen Goergen won, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
Friday’s other dual saw Germantown beat Central 4-3, thanks to a sweep of all three doubles matches. Dovas (6-4, 6-2), Oppenneer (6-0, 6-1) and Ferruzzi (4-6, 6-1, 10-8) picked up Central’s wins.
On Saturday, the Falcons won 5-2 over Waukesha West.
Both singles and doubles were strong, as Dovas and Ferruzzi both won in straight sets in singles. No. 2 singles Jordan Oppenneer battled and also won 6-3, 7-6 (6).
The No. 1 doubles team of Hanke and Cam Oppenneer along with the No. 2 team of Sweeney and Goergen both won in straight sets.
In a close 4-3 loss to Hartford, Central’s victories came from Jordan Oppenneer at No. 2 singles (6-0, 6-1), Hanke and Cam Oppenneer at No. 1 doubles (6-0, 6-0) and Sweeney and Goergen at No. 2 doubles (6-0, 6-0).