Wauwatosa East baseball team stays hot

The Wauwatosa East baseball team continued its run of success by winning four of five this past week.

After starting the season 3-8, the Red Raiders have won eight of their last 11 games to pull to .500 at 11-11. Tosa East entered the final week of conference play tied with Franklin and Brookfield East for fifth in the Greater Metro at 8-7.

Sussex Hamilton

Tosa East came away with a 2-1 win over Sussex Hamilton on June 20.

Hamilton jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Tosa East plated both of its runs in the fifth on consecutive two-out RBI singles by Ricky Serrano and Sean Denny.

Red Raider starter Aaron Plaisted walked six over seven innings but allowed just one run on four hits.

"Just a great baseball game all around on both sides," Tosa East coach Pete Schwichtenberg said. "Aaron really gave everything he had on the mound, and we were able to scratch a few across in the fifth. Ricky Serrano and Sean Denny really came up big with two-out RBIs."

Not only did Tosa East get clutch hitting and strong pitching against Hamilton, but Danny Scallon ended the game with a defensive gem, nailing a tagging Charger runner with a strong throw.

"This was an all-around team win," Schwichtenberg said. "Scallons' throw to end the game was outstanding. He has a big-time arm, and he put that one right on the bag."

West Allis Hale

After being held scoreless for the first three innings June 21, the Red Raiders scored 11 times in the final four innings to come away with a 11-3 win at Tex Belich Field.

"I was really happy with our patience at the plate," Schwichtenberg said. "We have talked a lot about taking what teams will give us, and we were able to draw 10 walks in the game. Being able to add on is something that our hitters have been working on, and we were able to do that in the late innings."

Tosa East tied the game at 2-2 with two runs in the fourth before taking the lead for good with a two-run fifth. The Red Raiders blew the game open with four runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh.

Blake Kratzer went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Denny was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Jeff Mason picked up his third win of the season for Tosa East, allowing just one earned run over four innings. Isaac Martin threw two innings of relief, and Dan Palec pitched a scoreless seventh.

Marquette

With a chance to topple one of the top teams in the Greater Metro for the second consecutive week, Tosa East fell behind early and dropped an 8-0 game to Marquette on June 23.

"This was one of those games where the score doesn't really show how we played," Schwichtenberg said. "Minus a few mistakes early, we had some solid approaches and made plays in the field. Marquette just really came out swinging."

The Hilltoppers scored three runs in the first and added two more in the third, which was more than enough for starter Jim Jarecki, who held the Red Raiders down for six innings.

Tosa East collected just four hits, two of them coming off the bat of Serrano.

Spencer Michaelis gave up three earned runs over six innings for the Red Raiders. While the Tosa East defense committed a pair of crucial errors, they also turned four inning-ending double plays.

Brown Deer

Tosa East picked up a nonconference win June 24, using a five-run fifth inning to come away with a 9-6 victory over Brown Deer.

The Falcons scored three runs in the top of the first only to watch the Red Raiders answer with a pair in the bottom half. Brown Deer extended its lead to 5-2 in the third and held that lead until Tosa East plated five runs in the fifth inning.

Brown Deer pulled to within 7-6 in the sixth, but Tosa East added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the inning.

Josh Erdtmann worked five innings to earn his first win of the season. Isaac Martin worked the final two innings for the save.

"Edrtmann did everything we asked of him," Schwichtenberg said. "He threw strikes."