Eagles sweep week on the diamond with strong performances

The Northland Pines varsity baseball team continued its strong placement in the Great Northern Conference standings with a 3-0 week as the Eagles had multiple powerful performances.

With all wins falling inside the conference, the Eagles improved their record to 10-4 overall and 6-1 inside the Great Northern Conference. That puts them just behind Rhinelander, who sits at 7-0 inside the GNC.

Pines took out Tomahawk 6-1 last Tuesday to start the week, before sending Antigo back home with 2-1 and 11-5 losses in Eagle River on May 1.

Pines and Antigo hooked up in an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel in Eagle River, as Pines won the first game of a doubleheader.

Antigo scored its only run in the top of the first inning as Eagles starter Brody Hoeft shut out the Red Robins the rest of the way, holding them to four hits.

Pines finally got on the board in the fifth inning after Antigo led 1-0 for the first four and a half innings. A ground ball by Evrett Leslie plated Ethan Miller for a 1-1 tie.

Hoeft then singled in the sixth to send home Jonah Will with what proved to be the winning run.

“Brody had a big game for us,” stated coach Peter Aerts. “Six scoreless innings before driving in the winning run, which was impressively dominant in the cold and wind.”

Lesie’s game-tying RBI came in his first game back after sitting out a couple of weeks due to an injury.

Game two of the twin bill was an 11-5 victory for the Eagles, as they scored three runs in the first and sixth innings and two in both the third and seventh. Griffin Beyer drove in three runs, had two hits and scored twice.

Nolan Huelskamp also had three runs batted in, along with a pair of hits and a run scored. Miller was the winning pitcher in the contest.

Coach Aerts was also very pleased with his team’s decisive 6-1 home win over Tomahawk earlier in the week.

The visiting Hatchets had been putting up a ton of runs this season in the conference but not this day.

Aerts talked about another dominant performance from his senior pitcher, Aiden Minx, who was the

“Aiden was the big neutralizer today, striking out seven and walking only two in six innings,” he stated. “Jonah Will pitched a perfect seventh, striking out all three batters he faced, and he is a weapon at the end of our bullpen.”

The Pines defense was impressive again, with no errors and multiple incredible plays.

On offense, Minx, who is also the leadoff hitter, was on base four times. He had two hits, scored two runs and drove in a run.
Miller had two big runs batted in and has been a clutch hitter for the Eagles all year.

The Pines boys were back to work to host Merrill this past Tuesday. The final score was not available at press time.

The school’s baseball schedule lists a home game with Ironwood, Mich., on Thursday, May 7, at 4:30 p.m. Rhinelander then comes to town this Friday, May 8, as the top two teams in the GNC, as of this writing, clash in Eagle River, starting at 5 p.m.