Mauston, WI - The Badger State Battle tournament came to an end on Sunday evening, with each age level crowning a champion amongst a talented pool of over 50-plus teams. In the 16U bracket, two teams from one of Wisconsin’s premier travel baseball programs, STiKS Baseball Academy, faced off against each other for the 16U title. 

It was the STiKS Red team that took an early lead in the championship game. Extra-base hits by Tyler Young (West Bend West, 2021) and B.J. Yost (Pewaukee, 2021) propelled STiKS Red to a four-run lead after two innings. Chase Katterhagen’s single in the top of the third inning scored their fifth run of the game.

A double steal in the bottom of the second inning put STiKS Black on the board. A couple of errors and a Kale Dietz single (Burlington, 2021) brought STiKS Black within one run. 

Anthony Gross (Catholic Memorial, 2021) made a game-changing play in the top of the fourth inning to shift the momentum in STiKS Black’s favor. With his team down a run, Gross threw a dart home on a line to prevent a run from scoring, keeping his team within a run of the Red squad. 

Dietz struck again in the bottom of the fifth inning, as STiKS Black tied the game on his RBI single to center field. Zach Peterson (Oak Creek, 2021) followed Dietz up with a single into the right-center gap to give Black their first lead of the game. 

They weren’t done there, however, as a sacrifice fly from Q Phillips (Brookfield East, 2021) and an Alex Hayes (Muskego, 2021) single gave them a three-run lead that they would hold onto to secure a victory. 

Eli Hoyt’s (Waukesha West, 2021) pitching performance was a major reason as to why STiKS Black came out on top. He tossed five scoreless innings in relief, allowing only three hits and striking out six. 

STiKS Black did not lose a game in the entire tournament, including a victory over an undefeated STiKS Red team, and outscored their opponents by a total of 41 runs. 

Top Performers: 

Eli Hoyt (STiKS Black): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K, BB

Chase Ketterhagen (STiKS Red): 2-for-3, 2 1B, RBI

Kale Dietz (STiKS Black): 2-for-3, 2 1B, 2 RBI

RELATED CONTENT