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By Tom "Sky" Skibosh
Saturday, Jul 19 2008, 12:48 PM
After Brookfield Central dropped games to Hamilton and Marquette in the first week in July, it looked like it would take a miracle for the Lancers to win or share the Greater Metro Conference title.
While nobody walked on water, Central did come back from the dead.
The Lancers won six of their final eight GMC games against the likes of contenders Hamilton (1-1), Marquette (1-1) and Menomonee Falls (2-0) and crosstown rival Brookfield East (2-0).
But a few things had to happen for the miracle to be complete.
First, Central beat Falls for the second straight game July 15 to complete its successful final run. But the Lancers needed Hamilton to beat Marquette, which had one less loss, to be assured of sharing the title.
With the latter game still going on about 20 minutes up the road, Jeff Mierow, the father of Central player Mike Mierow, gathered the players around the home plate area after the game as he spoke on a cell phone to a friend at the Hamilton-Marquette game.
Trailing going into the seventh, Hamilton tied the game and went into extra innings, delaying a Central celebration. The elder Mierow then hung up and called back about 20 minutes later and by then the huddle had moved out behind the mound.
Marquette hadn’t scored in the top of the inning and Hamilton had two outs and no one on base when the Chargers tripled and the Lancers went crazy. The Chargers then singled in the winning run and the Central players started a title-sharing celebration by dousing coach Jeff Bigler and yours truly who happened to be standing next to him with bottled water and then jumping on the coach (I stayed away from that part of the celebration).
Now Marquette and Falls needed to win a makeup game against Wauwatosa East and Brookfield East, respectively, the next night, in order to share the title four ways.
Since the Red Raiders and East had seven wins between them, the Hilltoppers and Indians stood a good chance to win out and share the title.
But a sophomore named Danny Sayles of Tosa East and a senior named Justin Wagner of Brook East had something else in mind.
Sayles tossed a complete game, singled twice, homered and drove in three runs in an 8-6 Red Raiders’ win July 16.
The Spartans had to wait until the next day because of heavy rains, but Wagner tossed a three-hitter and defeated the defending champion Indians and ace pitcher Alex Erdmann, 1-0, scoring the game’s only run.
So Central and Hamilton tie for the title with 15-6 records and Falls and Marquette tie for third with 14-7 marks.
When I asked Bigler if he had a message for Granger and Tosa East coach Matt Dahlstrom for helping him out, he said.
"Thank them for playing as hard against them, as they did against us."
Lazarus couldn’t have said it better.
Always remember, be a hit and have a ball!
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By Tom "Sky" Skibosh
Tuesday, Jul 8 2008, 02:48 PM
Like sunflower seeds in a dugout, here are some things to chew on.
Local Brookfield and Tosa high school teams
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Brookfield Central, by far the best of the local teams, is not going to win the rugged Greater Metro Conference. If pitching is the name of the game, then it will be interesting to see what the Lancers do in the postseason. Mike Bogard, Ricky Leachy, Mike Mierow and Cale Ross are four decent pitchers and Lee Severson is a good closer. But the key to the Lancers' success will come at the plate. Coach Jeff Bigler will need more offense than Bogard, Severson and Pete Ostergaard can provide by themselves. Someone else has to step up or the fourth-seeded Lancers, who play fifth-seeded Pewaukee July 22, can call it a day.
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Losing has affected the three other teams I cover. Going into Tuesday, Brookfield East was 3-18, Wauwatosa East was 7-22 and Wauwatosa West was 3-19. They would need a postseason miracle to advance too far.
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The stress has affected Tosa West coach Chad Mateske, who was upset over the Lancers' Lee Severson playing all nine positions against the Trojans last week. Right or wrong? Check out my column in the WauwatosaNOW online and paper on Thursday.
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Defense, which I haven't see a lot of this summer, is important to Alex Dati and Zach Stewart of Brookfield East. Check out my story in the BrookfieldNOW online and Thursday's paper for the feature.
Brewers
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With the addition of CC Sabathia, the Brewers should suddenly make the summer a lot more fun. I was part of the 1982 Brewers front office and the excitement of a pennant race is simply amazing. Many highs when you win and many lows when you lose. But enjoy the moment.
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Friend of mine told me the other day that he used to count the days until Packer training camp, but now he doesn't because of the Brewers.
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Jayson Stark of ESPN had an interesting stat. Sabathia and Prince Fielder are the only two players over 270 on the same roster since the White Sox Bobby Jenks and Andrew Sisco (who?). That's based on listed weight, since some teams lie about their larger players.
Bucks
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As a former PR guy, I felt sorry for the Milwaukee Bucks bringing Richard Jefferson into town for a meeting with the media the same day as the CC trade was announced. That sucks. Jefferson seemed as classy as CC.
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Check out my Mo Williams story in this week's WauwatosaNOW paper and online addition on Thursday. He is coaching a local AAU basketball team and loving it.
Packers
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He's retired, he's not retired, he's retired, he's not retired. I can't even get myself to say his name anymore. I know one thing, he has changed my entire opinion of him from this day forward. I'm happy I'm not blinded like some people are towards their "hero." What a joke he's turned into.
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Unlike a lot of people who ripped Ted Thompson when he was hired, working in a front office of a professional team, I know what goes on behind the scenes and I always felt just give the man time before judging him. He has done a wonderful job hiring a coach and a great job rebuilding a team that Mike Sherman ruined. Now the Thompson haters are trying to make him the bad guy in this whole "I'm retired-I'm not retired" thing. Sad.
Agree or disagree, always remember...
Be a hit and have a ball.
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By Tom "Sky" Skibosh
Tuesday, Jul 1 2008, 02:01 PM
Here are some observations on the four local baseball teams to chew on.
There is no question that Wauwatosa West's talented catcher Zach Bertoni can hit the baseball. But with a young Trojan team looking for leadership on the field, Bertoni needs to take a bigger part.
"It does get frustrating," Bertoni said after a recent loss, "I let myself get down to a level where I mope around. I can’t really do that anymore. I’ve come to the fact of life. I need to become a senior leader and help the team any way I can. Sometimes the kids don’t want to hear anything, so it’s hard to do that.
"Me, my dad, the coaches, have talked about it for the past several weeks. We can talk about it as much as we want, but I’ve got to act on it. I must try to do as much as I can, no matter what the score is."
If the emotional Bertoni, who has been known to toss a few helmets around, can focus that drive in a positive manner, then the young Trojans will be benefiting from more than just his outstanding offense.
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With the return of pitcher Ricky Leachy from an athletic code suspension, Brookfield Central coach Jeff Bigler has as deep a pitching staff as anyone in the Greater Metro Conference. Starters Mike Bogard, Leachy, Mike Mierow, Cale Ross and Collin O'Gorman and closer Lee Severson give the Lancers plenty of depth.
The question that must be answered is the hitting must come through down the stretch. Bogard, Severson, Leachy and Mierow will key the offense with the addition of junior Pete Ostergaard and freshman Ryan Hinz, but someone from the group of Paul Copoulos, Tim Peterson, Jack Moro and Matt Upson, among others, must be prepared to step up and play the heroes roll at any time.
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Wauwatosa East has already tied last year's overall win total (6) going into the week and first-year coach Matt Dahlstrom continues to preach fundamentals to his young troops. The Red Raiders' two best players are sophomores - Dan Sayles and Tyler O'Brien - so the future is bright for Tosa East.
"They got three hits off us in two games and split the series," Bigler said recently. "I am glad to get them behind us. They can be tough."
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Finally, Brookfield East, which rallied to be South Milwaukee in the seventh inning last week. Like Tosa East and Tosa West, Spartan fans have to be patient with a young team. But coach Tim Granger has a good group of juniors and sophomores backing up his five seniors, and freshman Brian Sylla should some decent stuff in his first outing, to make a contribution as the year winds down.
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Until next time, remember to always, be a hit and have a ball.
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By Tom "Sky" Skibosh
Tuesday, Jun 24 2008, 03:37 PM
The local high school baseball teams are starting to get an idea on what kind of season is on the horizon for them with June coming to a close and July just around the corner.
After a slow start - for them - the Brookfield Central Lancers are starting to come around. Central recently had an 11-game winning streak stopped and brought a 7-4 Greater Metro Conference record and a 14-7 overall mark into this week's action.
The Lancers are led by Mike Bogard (Shameless plug: see my feature on Bogie in Thursday's BrookfieldNOW), Lee Severson, Mike Mierow and newcomers junior Pete Ostergaard and freshman Ryan Hinz, the last two seeing their first varsity action this year. These fellows can hit, people.
But what sets Central apart is their pitching. Starters Bogard, Mierow, Cale Ross and Collin O'Gorman were joined Tuesday by Ricky Leach, who returns to the lineup after missing 20 games for breaking the athletic code rules. Leachy will also help the batting attack. And don't forget Severson, Central's cool-headed closer.
The Lancers are two games in the loss column behind Menomonee Falls and one behind Marquette and surprising Hamilton. They have their work cut out for them, but the talent is there.
Brookfield East is still looking for its first conference win, but coach Tim Granger has some talent to draw on. Mark Altenbach, Justin Wagner, Jake Janowski and Kyle Smith give him some mound talent, with consistency being the key word here. And nobody chases down a flyball like center fielder Alex Dati or works harder behind the plate than Zach Stewart. And the ball jumps off the bat of Demetri Tongas.
Wauwatosa East's team, under first-year coach Matt Dahlstrom, has seen tremendous progress last week, topping it off with an outstanding 2-1 win over Central, which snapped the Lancers' 11-game win streak on Monday. While key seniors like Matt Karger, Mike Gouvion and Mike Brown provide steady play and leadership and juniors Eric Woodard and Jake Pipping have been solid on the mound, perhaps the Red Raiders best players are sophomore catcher Tyler O'Brien and pitcher-1B Danny Sayles.
Dahlstrom believes in his team, but how quickly the Red Raiders believe in themselves will be the difference in an OK season and a surprise one.
Wauwatosa West coach Chad Mateske was asking for volunteers to pitch the other day after losing star Spencer Lameka with a pulled left hamstring while running out a double. With a healthy Lameka and Allan Rozanski, Mateske has a solid top two starters. Ben Falk, Chris Anger and little freshman junkballer Zach Podzaline have potential.
If senior catcher Zach Bertoni can provide more leadership behind the plate to go along with his big bat and Sean Akin continues his hitting, the Trojans could win their share of games, They just went through a five game stretch where they averaged eight runs a game.
Plenty of local baseball to watch as summer really begins (this is Wisconsin, remember). So grab your favorite outdoor chair, some sun tan lotion and your favorite (non-alcoholic) drink and go watch these guys play. It's worth your time.
And remember - always be a hit and have a ball.
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