May 29—JANESVILLE — Saturday’s baseball doubleheader between crosstown rivals Janesville Craig and Janesville Parker had a little bit of everything.
In the first game, three Craig pitchers combined on a no-hitter in the Cougars’ 12-1 Big Eight Conference win at Riverside Park. The game was called after five innings due to the 10-run rule.
In the second game, Parker finally found a way to win a close game, taking down the Cougars 6-5 in nine innings.
The two games featured some clutch hitting, some shoddy fielding, a bunch of walks and a solid relief effort from Caleb Wilson in nailing down the win for Parker in Game 2.
Craig pitchers Aiden Schenk, Jack Ryan and Eric McLevige combined on the no-hitter in Game 1.
After seeing his team struggle at the plate in the first game, Parker coach Kerry Michaels was glad to see the bats come alive in Game 2. The Vikings scored four runs in the third inning on five hits.
“We put the ball in play and the guys got the job done,” Michaels said of the win. “It would’ve been tough to lose that one.
“Everybody realizes that we didn’t play well in the first game, but after winning the second game, they now also realize they can play with anybody. That’s a good Craig team we beat.”
With Parker leading 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Craig tied the game on Isaac Stried’s clutch RBI single.
The Vikings got the game-winner in the ninth. Sam O’Leary walked with one out and advanced to second on a fielder’s choice. He scored on a Craig throwing error to make it 6-5.
Craig (7-6, 6-5) had runners on second and third in the bottom of the inning, but Wilson got back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
“Caleb crossed the threshold today,” Michaels said. “He just hung in there and got the job done.”
The completion of Tuesday’s suspended game was all Cougars. Craig scored six runs in the first inning before rain stopped play Tuesday and picked up where it left off Saturday.
The Cougars led 10-0 after three innings and put it on cruise control. Stried had three RBI in the game and lead-off man Jake Schaffner scored two runs, stole three bases and drove in a run.
Parker (5-7, 5-6) went without a hit and scored an unearned run in the seventh to avoid the shutout.
Craig coach Vic Herbst was happy with the win but hoped for a sweep.
“We had two errors with a fly ball and a ground ball or we probably win that second game,” Herbst said. “Those are two routine plays that we have to make.
“But our pitchers kept us in the game. We didn’t play poorly today, but we didn’t take advantage of some opportunities we had in the second game in the seventh, eighth and ninth. It’s disappointing to not take two today.”
Craig hosts Middleton on Tuesday, while Parker plays at Sun Prairie.
——
(Game 1)
CRAIG 12, PARKER 1 (5)
Janesville Craig;631;02—12;6;1
Janesville Parker;000;01—1;0;1
Schenk, Ryan (2), McLevige (4); O’Leary, Skryzpchak (2), Smith (5)
Leading hitters—Stried (C) 2×3
SO—Schenk 1, Ryan 1, McLevige 2, Skryzpchak 3. BB—O’Leary 2, Skrzypchak 6, Smith 4, Ryan 2, McLevige 2
(Game 2)
PARKER 6, CRAIG 5 (9)
Janesville Parker;004;010;001—6;9;5
Janesville Craig;001;300;100—5;9;3
King, Wilson (6); Schorck, Ryan (4), Schmitz (9)
Leading hitters—Skryzpchak (P) 2×5, Simons (P) 2×4, Schaffner (C) 3×5. 2B—King (P), Skryzpchak (P)
SO—King 3, Wilson 5, Schork 4, Ryan 4, Schmitz 2. BB—King 3, Wilson 2, Schork 1, Schmitz 1