BATS LOSE TO MARAUDERS ON FATHER’S DAY; RETAIN CUSTODY OF FIRST PLACE
WAUCONDA — The second-place Marauders scored 4 runs in the fifth inning to break open a 5-5 ballgame en route to a 10-5 victory over the Bats in a Sunday afternoon contest at Wauconda High School. The loss dropped the Bats record to 4-1, while snapping their 4-game winning streak to start the season. The Marauders (4-2) are now ½ game behind the first-place Bats.
The Bats took advantage of a couple of Marauders errors in the top of the first to take a quick 1-0 lead. Tom Klauba’s leadoff single was mishandled by the center fielder allowing him to sneak into second base ahead of the throw into second. John Eisenmenger’s ground ball back to the pitcher was thrown to third base ahead of Klauba, but the ball was dropped allowing both runners to be safe at first and third. Greg Kaczmarek then grounded out to the pitcher for the first out as Klauba scampered home with the first run of the game.
The Marauders answered the Bats with 2 runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, but the Bats came right back with a run in the second to tie it at 2-2. Paul Abbinanti led off with a single — his first of 3 hits — and scored all the way from first on Greg Mahlstedt’s one-out double to right center field.
Two more Marauders errors helped the Bats score 3 more runs in the third inning to build a 5-2 lead. The top of the order did the damage in the third as Klauba, Eisenmenger, and Kaczmarek each scored, while Rob Matassa, Matt Weiss and Abbinanti picked up the RBIs.
The Marauders returned the favor in the bottom half of the third as they scored 3 runs aided by a Bats error leading to 2 unearned runs. That knotted the score at 5-5 after 3 innings.
Offensively the Bats struggled in the second half of the game. In the first three innings the Bats scored 5 runs on 7 hits aided by 4 Marauders errors. In the final four innings the Bats managed only 4 hits — one in each inning — while scoring no runs.
Meanwhile, the Marauders broke the game open in the fifth with 4 runs, all scored after two were out with no one on base. They added an insurance run in the sixth to secure the 10-5 victory.
The Bats (4-1) next game will be at 10:00 AM on Sunday, June 25 against the Mariners (0-6) at Krisk Park- Stan Torstenson Field in Genoa City, Wisc.
STARS OF THE GAME
1st Star — Paul Abbinanti – 3-for-3; 1 run and 1 RBI. Drove in the final run of a 3-run third inning to give the Bats a 5-2 lead. First 3-hit game of his Bats career.
2nd Star — Greg Kaczmarek – 2-for-3; 1 run, 1 RBI and a stolen base. Drove in the Bats first run of the game and had the Bats only stolen base.
3rd Star — Rob Matassa – 1-for-3; 1 RBI. Played a flawless game at second base with 1 assist in each inning for a total of 6 assists.
Honorable Mentions — Greg Mahlstedt – 1-for-3 with an RBI double to tie the game, 2-2, in the second inning. Tom Klauba — 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored.
BATS DROPPINGS
The Bats 4-1 start to the 2023 season matches their 4-1 start in 2004 as their best record ever after 5 games …. The loss dropped the Bats Father’s Day record to 5-7-1 …. Although the Bats winning streak was snapped, their streak of consecutive games with 10-or-more hits was extended to 5 games, the fourth longest such streak in Bats history. The Bats longest streak of consecutive games with at least 10 hits is 12 — the final 11 games of 2004 and the first game of 2005. They also had a 9-game stretch of 10-or-more hits in 2005, which was matched in 2022 …. Paul Abbinanti had his first 3-hit game as a member of the Bats. It marked the fourth time a Bats player has had 3 hits in a game in 2023 and the 153rd time since 2004.
