Coming off of a tough series against La Salle, the Wildcats were looking to continue their reign over the NWOC with an 8-1 league record. With the top spot acquired, the Wildcats set out to steal a game on the road against Milwaukee, and that’s exactly what they did.

Luke Haener took the mound in game one, looking to continue his excellent season so far. Haener leads the Wilsonville rotation, posting a 1.129 ERA in April, and continues to prove why he belongs at his day one starter position. 

Haener commented on his performance early on, saying, “I think I wasn’t as sharp as I have been the past couple of games, so in the future I need to hit my spots more.”

Milwaukee leeched on to the scoreboard early, putting up one run in the first off of an RBI ground ball to Kheller Larson. Wilsonville turned the tables quick, finding themselves up 9-1 due to a string of extra-base hits led by Berkely Reents and Jacob Ogden. 

Wilsonville’s offense maintained its level of play even after losing up-and-coming star outfielder Drew Hall to injury. Berkely Reents had this to say about how this loss has impacted them. 

“It brings on a role for a lot of people; we’re going to miss Drew, but it brings on opportunities for others to step up,” said Reents.

Wilsonville extended its dominance on the defensive side, clocking in with only one error while allowing zero runs through three innings. In the fifth inning, however, Milwaukee turned on the heat and gave Wilsonville a shock.

The Mustangs led off the inning with two singles, putting runners on second and third with the top of the order due up. Milwaukee capitalized on Wilsonville’s slow tempo and brought in three more runs, putting the score at 10-4 while slimming down Wilsonville’s lead.

Wilsonville maintained its iron fist over Milwaukee going into the top of the sixth, exhibiting superb plate discipline. The Wildcats forced three hit-by-pitches in the sixth, setting up major scoring opportunities.

With Owen Eggert on third and Colby Turco on second, Mark Wiepert stepped up to do damage. Wiepert singled on a ground ball through the left field gap, scoring both runners and extending the lead to 13-4. 

With the bases loaded, Luke Larson would wear a pitch, bringing in the winning run and putting them over the mercy rule to take the win.

Wilsonville will take on Hood River Valley next Tuesday in an exciting matchup between a historically good team in the NWOC and look to continue their campaign.