Red Hawks break open regional with bases loaded offense

With the game tied at two in the bottom of the fifth inning last Thursday, an opportunity to take control stared the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau baseball team in the face.

The host Red Hawks had the bases loaded with no outs against them in the WIAA regional against Northland Pines, and the home team made the most of their opportunity.

Owen Eddy stole home to give G-E-T a 3-2 advantage, and Wyatt Hanson scored teammate Jack Beedle with a double. Thomas Haney threw down a sacrifice bunt to bring Hanson home in the next at-bat.

A 2-2 ballgame was now a 5-2 lead for the Red Hawks, one they wouldn’t relinquish in an 8-4 win. The Red Hawks advance to visit third-seeded West Salem this Tuesday.

Coach Scott Hovell told his team that with the bases loaded, all the pressure was on the visitors. He wanted his team to focus on smart at-bats.

“What I told them is that they’re not the ones in trouble right now so there’s no reason to be nervous. Not to cloud their head with ‘I gotta get a hit’ or ‘I gotta get a run’. We did some things in the running game and some small ball with a few bunts that were really helpful and just put a little pressure on them,” Hovell said.

Base running was a big emphasis for G-E-T in the regular season, and it continued in their playoff opener — Eddy’s score on the steal was one of many aggressive plays on the base paths that gave G-E-T the scoring it needed to get a win.

Hovell said his assistant coaches watch for positioning and hints from pitchers as far as when they can be more aggressive stealing bases.

“They’ll be tipping on some things that we can pick up on and take advantage of that and get some extra bases that way, and people don’t really realize what’s going on necessarily, but it makes a huge difference for us.”

The Red Hawks added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning before conceding late runs to the visitors.

Depth in the lineup showed throughout the game, as four different players recorded at least two hits. Beedle, Eddy and Hanson all hit doubles for the Red Hawks.

The hosts lured Northland Pines into six walks and brought home six RBIs.

“That’s not a bad team at all that we just faced, and it’s only going to get better from here. So having guys have quality at-bats throughout the entire lineup is gonna be huge for us,” Hovell said. “It’s always great when you can get a win and everybody contributes up and down the lineup.”

Collin Handke got the win for G-E-T by allowing three hits and two earned runs in six innings of work. Handke struck out eight Northland Pines batters and walked three others.

West Salem is a team G-E-T knows well. The teams split their two Coulee Conference games this year—the first a 14-4 win for West Salem and the second a tighter 5-4 win for G-E-T.

To win on Tuesday, the Red Hawks will need to bring their best on both sides of the ball, Hovell said.

“They’re going to put the ball in play. They’re a really good hitting team. … so we gotta throw strikes and make plays.”