Three Lakes-Phelps got back to their winning ways last week in two Northern Lakes Conference (NCL) games, downing Elcho early in the week 14-4 and then defeating Laona-Wabeno at home last Thursday, 11-1.

The game in Elcho was all but over early as the Jays scored three runs in the first inning and followed with four in the second to take an early 7-0 lead. They led 7-2 before tacking on five runs in the sixth.

Elcho got two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but that wasn’t enough to get the margin under ten runs and the game ended with a 14-4 final score.

Josh Cogar went the distance on the mound for the Bluejays, allowing four runs, one earned, on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

Brandon Baumann led the offense with five runs batted in. Cruz Melton drove in three, Cogar had two RBIs and Chase Melton, Charlie Liebscher, Jared Kaufman, and Carter Flannery each had one.

Cruz Melton hit a home run, while Chase Melton and Liebscher each had a triple. Chase and Cruz Melton, Kaufman, and Cogar each stole a base.

Thursday’s game was much the same as the home Jays took control early with a 10-1 lead after three innings. They scored a final run in the fifth to make it 11-1 and ended the game early due to run rule.

Carter Flannery pitched a dominating five innings, holding Laona-Wabeno to just one hit. He had nine strikeouts and issued just one walk.

Flannery and Chase Melton each had two hits. One of Melton’s was a double.

Cogar had three runs batted in while Kaufman and Flannery had two. Brandon Baumann, LJ Terlizzi, Cruz Melton, and Chase Melton each had one.

Cruz and Chase Melton stole two bases each, while Bauman and Terlizzi each swiped one.

In addition to this past Monday’s makeup game with Crandon, the Jays were also scheduled to host Northland Pines on Tuesday.

“The story of last week was again great team defense and very efficient pitching,” said Jays coach Brad Bisnette. “Josh Cogar threw five innings against Elcho on just 70 pitches and Carter Flannery took down Laona-Wabeno on just 77 pitches.

We put huge emphasis on our defense and making the routine plays that are given to us. That creates a lot of confidence in our pitching staff so they can go right at opposing hitters and attack the strike zone.”

Three Lakes-Phelps took a 13-1 record in Sunday’s post-season seeding meetings. The Bluejays received the number one seed in Sectional 2 of Division 4.

They will host their first game on Tuesday, May 30, against the winner of the game between Northland Lutheran and Wisconsin Valley Lutheran.