Prep Baseball Report

D3 Semifinals: St. Mary Catholic and Webster cruise to title game in opposite ways


By Steve Nielsen and Andy Sroka
Wisconsin Staff

This afternoon in the Division-3 semifinals, St. Mary Catholic played Mineral Point while D-3 newcomers Webster took on Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic Academy. In game one, the two teams combined for just three hits but the Zephyrs had starter T.J. Skrzypczak, who completely shut down the Pointers’ offense. Game two was a complete opposite – Webster and Kenosha St. Joseph combined for 24 hits and 21 runs. Webster pulled away in the third inning and mostly glided to the finish line behind a ton of stellar offensive performances.

Thursday’s D-3 title game is slated to start at noon, right back at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, following the conclusion of the D-4 championship.

Below you’ll find the game recaps for the two semifinal match-ups.

GAME ONE – Mineral Point (18-5) vs. St. Mary Catholic (18-2)

The first D-3 semifinal was all about Saint Mary Catholic starting pitcher T.J. Skrzypczak who fired a complete game one-hitter, blanking Mineral Point 4-0.

Skrzypczak retired the first 12 in order, and did not allow a hit until the sixth, a lead-off infield single off the bat off Isaac Lindsey. Skrzypczak got a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame having still only faced the minimum.

Skrzypczak retired the final six in order for a final line of 7IP, 0R, 1H, 5K, 0BB and faced the minimum 21 batters.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Zephyrs only managed two hits but manufactured four runs. Caden Uhlenbrauck led the way with two runs scored on a 1-for-2 day with a triple and a walk.

St. Mary Catholic will be back in action tomorrow, at approximately noon, when they play Webster for the D-3 State title. The Zephyrs are seeking their second title in three years and will have to do it against an upstart Webster squad.

GAME TWO – Webster (26-3) vs. Kenosha St. Joseph (20-6)

Despite a few miscues on the basepaths and in the outfield, Webster looked sturdy and like a team well-armed with a real shot at winning its program’s first-ever State title in its inaugural season as members of D-3. The Tigers tallied 14 runs on 16 hits, including five from Hunter Gustafson, which tied a D-3 State tournament single-game record.

Gustafson was a central figure in the team’s first four innings – he recorded RBI singles in three of those frames, including a big two-run base hit in the third inning.

There was a real sense that this might be a back-and-forth contest with Kenosha St. Joseph, though. After Gustafson singled home his brother Trevor in the top of the first inning, Webster trotted out the other half of their staff’s high-profile duo, Hunter Rosenbaum. He roared out of the gate, mowing down the first two batters who stepped into the box. A strike away from a spotless first, St. Joseph’s Jacob Charon ripped a triple that one-hopped the fence in right field. Jack Grosz stepped up next and worked a tough nine-pitch at-bat that eventually resulted in another lined shot triple, this time over the center fielder’s head, that scored Charon.

A silent second led to a five-run third from Webster, an inning where all nine of their batters had reached the plate. Though, again, St. Joseph rallied. With runners on first and third and one away, Charon smacked a single to right that got past Webster’s right fielder and scored both baserunners and took Charon to third. He came around to score on a groundout and it felt like the Lancers pulled themselves back into it.

But the Tigers delivered another blow and it sucked the wind out of St. Joseph’s comeback attempt. Webster got those three runs right back in their next turn at the plate, all after the first two batters were retired in the inning. The Tigers scored another three in the fifth, two in the sixth, and it was more than enough for Rosenbaum and the defense to protect successfully; final score of 14-8.

For a team accustomed to the shutout, Webster will have to clean up some of its game ahead of the championship, but their aggression without recklessness on both the basepaths and in the batter’s box is what can carry them to a trophy.

They’ll get the opportunity against St. Mary Catholic tomorrow, following the D-4 championship game, at approximately noon.

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