Post 17 blows through regional to qualify for state tournament

Another chapter was added to the long story of Arcadia summer baseball on Sunday as the Tickfer-Erickson American Legion Post 17 baseball team defeated Osseo Post 324, 14-2, to qualify for the Class A State Tournament in Prairie du Chien this weekend.

While the Arcadia spring team has yet to qualify for the state tournament, this is the second time the Post 17 senior team has done so, also qualifying in 2019. The program’s junior team also has a state appearance, qualifying in 2017, when the program did not have a senior team. 

Arcadia’s success in summer baseball goes back much further, however. The team made 10 appearances in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Summer Baseball Tournament. The school-sponsored team played summer baseball until 2012 when the Dairyland Conference disbanded and switched to playing in the spring season. The summer of 2012 was the first time the Arcadia program played legion baseball — the coach of the 2023 team, Nate Pronschinske, played for the 2012 team.

While the 2023 Post 17 team had two close games, the final tally from the Osseo regional was a 4-0 record, outscoring opponents 32-7. Arcadia didn’t allow more than three runs in any of the four games and none of the runs allowed were earned. Pronschinske said pitching and defense were key for his team’s tournament run.

“I think we’ve got three or four guys that can come and throw strikes,” Pronschinske said. “That’s the biggest thing…you don’t give them free bases, you don’t make mistakes. Our defense played fantastic this weekend.”

Arcadia committed just six errors combined in the four games and had a number of possible run-saving plays. 

“If we’re playing good defense with pitching, it’s tough to beat us, especially when we have a good lineup together,” Pronschinske said.

The team began the tournament Friday with a 4-1 win over Whitehall, scoring all four runs in the top of the sixth inning. It went on to upend top-seeded Baldwin, 11-3, before beating Post 324 twice, 3-1 on Saturday and 14-2 on Sunday. 

Arcadia’s state tournament run begins on Friday as they will play Viroqua, which won the regional it hosted. Viroqua won the Coulee Conference in the spring and finished second in the Mason Division of the Coulee Region American Legion Baseball League with a 9-2 record. 

Games continue on Saturday with the loser of the first game playing at 10 a.m. and the winner at 4 p.m. Unlike spring baseball, the legion tournament series consists of double-elimination tournaments. 

Arcadia 4 Whitehall 1

Post 191 took the lead late, but Post 17 rallied in the next inning.

Neither team’s offense was able to get anything going through four innings on Friday, but an error sparked Whitehall.

With one out, Hunter Guenther hit a grounder to shortstop. The throw to first from Collin Weltzien was a little low and first baseman Vince Braun couldn’t pick it out of the dirt. The ball bounced passed Braun and allowed Guenther to go to second. Bryce Schorbahn followed with a single two batters later to give Whitehall a 1-0 lead. 

Then Arcadia did something that few others had been able to do in either spring or summer play as they got four runs on three hits off of Guenther, an ace from Gilmanton who earned all-state honors in the spring.

Max Sobotta led off the sixth with a single and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Prestin Scow. That brought up Arcadia slugger Carson Martin, who dropped a single just inside the line in left field, scoring Sobotta to tie the game. 

After an intentional walk was issued to Weltzien, Maverick Drazkowski hit into an error, loading the bases. The go-ahead run came home when Login Scow hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Devon Baier then doubled in two more runs to put Arcadia ahead by the final.

Login Scow pitched a complete game for the win, striking out two with three walks and seven hits allowed. The only run Whitehall scored was unearned. 

Arcadia managed just four hits and three walks off of Guenther, while striking out nine times. 

Brandon Sylla and Connor Stevens both had two hits for Whitehall.

Arcadia 11 Baldwin 3

The first big upset of the tournament came when Baldwin simply could not keep up with Arcadia.

Post 240 came into the tournament as the top seed, but didn’t manage a single win. They had a bye in the first round and ran into Arcadia in the second. 

Baldwin scored two runs in the top of the third to tie the game, but Login Scow put Arcadia ahead with an RBI single in the third before another run scored on an error.

Sobotta hit an RBI single as part of a three-run fourth for Arcadia as they went ahead 7-2. Sobotta added a two-run double in the fifth then scored on a two-run double by Martin, opening the floodgates and putting Arcadia ahead by the final score.

Sobotta had four hits and five RBIs for Post 17 while Login Scow was three-for-three and Martin had two hits and two RBIs. 

Weltzien kept Post 240 in check, striking out five, while allowing six hits and two walks in six innings before being replaced by Martin.

Arcadia 3 Osseo 1

It was the closest Arcadia came to a defeat in the tournament, but they scored two runs in the top of the eighth to claim the win.

Arcadia took a 1-0 lead in the second when Weltzien scored on a squeeze bunt by Login Scow. Osseo tied the game with an unearned run in the fourth. 

The teams remained tied after regulation before Arcadia’s offense woke up again in the top of the eight.

Cam Boland led off the eighth with a single, then Sobotta walked. After a sacrifice moved runners into scoring position, Martin walked to load the bases. 

Arcadia took the lead when Boland scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Weltzien. Drazkowski then singled in another run.

Osseo got two runners on in the eighth, but Boland got the final out without allowing a run.

Prestin Scow was the winning pitcher as he went into the eighth inning before reaching the 100-pitch limit, He allowed four hits and three walks, while striking out five.

Drazkowski had two of Arcadia’s six hits.

Arcadia 14 Osseo 2

The rematch wasn’t nearly as close as Osseo ran out of pitching and Arcadia took advantage.

While Arcadia had some room for error, entering what turned out to be the final game of the double-elimination tournament without a loss, they didn’t let up.

“That was the mentality, to not let off the gas,” Pronschinske said. “As soon as you lose a game in a double-elimination tournament, you start wasting pitchers and you start running out of pitching.”

Pronschinske said he thought that was the biggest difference between the games played between the two teams on Saturday and Sunday. Osseo ended up using three different pitchers in the game, all surrendered runs and allowed multiple walks.

Arcadia took the lead when Sobotta led off with a single and was followed by a double hit by Prestin Scow.

They started to break the game open in the top of the third with five runs. The first scored on a fielder’s choice hit by Weltzien. Arcadia added three runs on walks with the bases loaded and another on a dropped third strike. 

Osseo scored two runs in the bottom of the third, but Arcadia got one back in the fourth before plating three in the fifth. Martin tripled in a run before scoring on an error. Baier singled to make the score 10-2. 

Martin added an RBI single in the sixth, scoring Max Blaschko who led off with a double. Martin later scored on a passed ball before Baier hit another RBI single to put Arcadia ahead by the final.

Sobotta was in control on the mound, striking out four with one walk and five hits allowed. Neither of the runs scored were earned as Arcadia. He also had two hits at the plate. 

Baier was three-for-five with two RBIs and Martin added two hits and two RBIs. Prestin Scow, Weltzien and Braun all had two RBIs as the team finished with 12 hits. 

“Guys just put the ball in play and challenged defenses,” Pronschinske said. ‘We didn’t strike out a lot this weekend, when you put pressure on defenses in high school, good things are going to happen.”