June 29, 2018 at 1:27 p.m.
Happy Daze upsets the Snowhawks
Happy Daze upsets the Snowhawks
The Snowhawks don't lose very often and when it does happen, their opponents usually have lively bats.
Happy Daze certainly had some strong hitters Monday, while Lake Tomahawk struggled to find its grove at the dish, dropping the game, 16-10.
"(Happy Daze) has a pretty good team this year," Lake Tomahawk manager Jeff Smith said. "It's one of the best teams they've had in a long time. We needed to swing the bat, we needed to get hits and we were a little sour on that. Maybe next week."
Happy Daze jumped on top of the Snowhawks immediately, as the first five batters of the game crossed home plate and the first six batters registered a hit.
After Lake Tomahawk scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, Happy Daze added two more in the second to take a 7-3 lead.
The Snowhawks trimmed the lead to one in the third, thanks to a home run by Brent Cella, but that's as close as they would come the rest of the game.
Lake Tomahawk went scoreless in four consecutive innings, mustering just three hits during that span as Happy Daze pulled away.
"We were off," Smith said. "We squandered too many guys on base, but we'll bounce back. We're a good hitting team. I don't think we'll go with 13 hitters next week, we'll probably go with 11 just to keep the count down. We've got some new guys and we're going to feel through a few things this year and try to pick their spots to see where they want to play, but it was a fun time. They got the hits. They really hit the ball."
Happy Daze padded the lead in the top of the fifth inning with yet another 5-run frame.
Travis Dossart, Denny Roberts, Jeff Ziemba and John Ottoson all scored and Brady Bruhl ended the inning with a 3-run dinger that went past the Lake Tomahawk Volunteer Fire Department.
Happy Daze would tack on two more runs in the following inning, eventually heading into the bottom of the ninth leading, 16-7.
Lake Tomahawk started to rally in its last opportunity to make some hay, getting hits and runs from Cole Punches and Cella to start the inning, along with another hit and run from Dustin Schowalter, but two consecutive outs ended the game.
"We just left too many guys on base," Smith said. "It's just the same old thing. We got out in front of the ball and didn't let it come to us. There's no reason we shouldn't be scoring 20 runs a game. There's no reason we shouldn't have that. That's what our mindset is going to be going into next week."
Punches went 4 for 4 with three runs on the day, while Cella, Schowalter and Paul Miller each went 3 for 4 for the Snowhawks (0-1).
Ottoson went 4 for 5 for Happy Daze, while Ziemba and Bruhl each went 3 for 5. Joey Marshall was 3 for 6 in the win.
The Snowhawks look to rebound with two games next week, starting with the D&R Bombers on Monday followed by the usual July 4 showdown with the Chicago All-Stars.
"We've got the D&R Bombers on Monday and some of those guys will play for the Chicago All-Stars in the July 4 game," Smith said. "It's always a good game. We've won a few, they've won a few. Whoever gets the most hits wins the game."
Both games begin at 7:30, with fireworks following Wednesday's game.
Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected].
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