By Bobby Narang- Photos by Jenn- Anne Gledhill
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FRANKLIN, Wis. – The 13U Illinois Wolves wanted to erase some bad memories this weekend.
Last season, despite a strong and balanced lineup and a solid pitching staff, the Wolves suffered some tough defeats in a weekend tournament to a pair of talented Wisconsin teams at The Rock Sports Complex.
On Saturday, amid a cold and windy late afternoon, the Wolves took their first step toward avenging one of their losses from last season by opening the two-day tournament against the PTA Cardinals, the number one ranked team in their age group in Wisconsin.
After giving up two runs in the top of the second inning, the Wolves added a four-spot in the bottom half to kickstart an impressive rally en route to an 8-3 victory over PTA Cardinals.
Right-handed pitcher Matthew Wiskowski led the charge with a sterling effort on the mound, striking out nine batters, allowing seven hits to toss a complete-game gem that left the fans dazzling by his gritty effort. Wiskowski batted tough throughout the tense game, dipping deep to stop every rally by PTA, including in the top of the seventh.
With the temperature dropping and a strong wind kicking in, Wiskowski struck out two batters in the seventh to seal the victory.
Illinois Wolves coach Brandin Muniz credited Wiskowski for leading the team on the mound and at the plate. Wiskowski had two hits and a sacrifice RBI to spark the offensive attack.
“We wanted to come out fast and strong against this team,” Muniz said. “I think our adrenaline kind of took over. We’ve been waiting for this game for quite a while, maybe two weeks. We knew which teams were going to be in this tournament. We’re halfway done with teams on our hitlist now. I’m proud of our boys. Matthew pitched well and came through hitting.
“He was a one-man wrecking crew. We played the matchups and our pitching is so deep. We have plenty of pitching. Everyone played a huge role and our guys came through when we needed it with bunts, key hits and we capitalized on their errors. We’re hungry.”
In front of a large crowd on the far baseball field, Wiskowski handled the tough weather conditions, an elite opponent and a few odd sequences in the game with the poise of a veteran. He shut down PTA after a two-run second, blowing them away with his fastball and location.
“I was little nervous at the start facing the number one team,” Wiskowski said. “My teammates helped me. Everything was working for me. My fastball was working and my curveball was on and off, but it got the job done.
“This is definitely one of my best outings of the year. After the first inning, I kept staying positive and had a good mindset. It felt amazing, especially after we lost to them last year. I tried to help myself on offense, to do anything I could to get on base and score to help us win.”
Wiskowski certainly did his part on the mound, along with at the plate. He started the four-run second inning with a bullet single off the third baseman’s glove that went into left field. Fred Sackley added a bloop single, then Brady Madden had the big hit of the game with a two-run single up the middle to tie the game at 2-2. Madden had a day to remember, lifting the offense with his bat, finishing 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Madden said he was happy to contribute to the win.
“I just went up and stayed positive to help the team win,” Madden said. “(Matthew) pitched great. I’ve never seen one of our teammates throw like that in a big game. We all helped him with our hitting.”
Payton Swartzendruber came up clutch with a deep drive to the base of the ball in centerfield, plating in a run for a 3-2 lead that the Wolves wouldn’t relinquish.
“I was just trying to stay in my head and stay positive because I’ve been getting behind in the count recently, so I was just thinking to hit the ball and the opportunity just came and I smoked it,” Swartzendruber said. “It felt amazing because that was my first really big hit of the season, so it felt great to get us going on offense.”
Julian Duque connected on a two-out double to pad the lead to 4-2 to cap the impressive four-run inning.
From that point on, the Wolves controlled the game and kept Prospects from mounting a big rally. In the third inning, Jackson Martin, who was 2-for-3, had a single and Christian Slazak added an RBI on a close infield hit for a 5-2 lead.
The Wolves added two more runs in the fourth, when Sackley added another key hit with an RBI single to right field for a 6-2 lead. With the offense clicking, Madden kept his memorable day rolling with an RBI single to right field to increase the lead to 7-2.
Martin said it was great to see the Wolves’ offense clicking on all cylinders against a talented team.
“The first hit felt good,” Martin said. “Everyone was hitting today and it was a team win. Matty had good pitching for us.
