By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The Plover American Legion Post 543 baseball team has had its share of games where the Black Sox nearly hit the cover off the baseball.
On Monday night against Wisconsin Rapids, though, Plover didn't need its big swingers. In fact, the Black Sox didn't have many chances to start an offensive barrage.
The two Rangers pitchers combined to walk 16 batters and hit another by pitch as the Black Sox improved to 3-0 in the Valley (10-4 overall) with a 13-4 win.
After Rapids rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 4-4, Plover answered with eight runs on three hits in the bottom half of the frame.
"Good teams will answer. I'm proud of our guys," Plover coach Kraig Terpstra said. "We showed excellent patience tonight. The game isn't about who had the most hits, it's who had the most runs.
"I'd rather have 13 runs and 13 hits rather than have two runs and 13 hits."
Steve Wiczek opened the inning with a single and then the walk parade began. Chad Kingston, Mark Schwarz and Matt Pacyna drew three straight free passes from pitcher Dan Jepsen, scoring Wiczek. Ben Peterson struck out and then Kingston scored on a wild pitch. Kevin Polito and Adam Pezewski followed with walks, plating Schwarz.
Brandon Bowling came in to pitch and Josh Owens greeted him with a two-run single. Bowling then walked Kyle Bohm to load the bases and Pezewski later scored on a wild pitch. Wiczek followed with a two-run single to put Plover ahead 12-4.
The Black Sox added another run in the seventh when Bohm walked with the bases loaded.
In the meantime, Plover's Ben Peterson shut down the Rangers. Peterson relieved Wiczek and put out the fire in the sixth inning. He allowed only one hit in his 3-1/3 innings of work while striking out six.
"Ben has found that role for us," Terpstra said. "He's shown he can be a starter and a reliever. Right now, he has a lot of confidence."
Plover built its early lead by scoring once in the second, twice in the third and once in the fourth. Schwarz scored on a double-play grounder in the first, Schwarz and Pacyna singled to score runs in the third and Bohm had a run-scoring single in the fourth.
Despite putting four runs on the scoreboard, the Black Sox stranded nine runners in the first four frames.
"We were to the point of frustration," Terpstra said. "But they kept with it and kept the faith. When it gets to the point of irritation it can affect your play."
Terpstra was pleased to knock the Rangers (6-6 overall, 3-1 in the Valley) out of the ranks of the unbeaten in the Valley.
"Every win is a big win when you play this many games," Terpstra said. "Rapids, the last couple of years, has snuck up on us."